Customer Reviews

Dydeetown World

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Dydeetown World really isn't a novel, it's a collection of three novellas that, while self contained, form a strong and much larger story arc. A clone of Jean Harlow asks a private detective for help. At first reluctant (it's just a clone after all, not a human) the detective chooses to do what is morally right, help the clone. What follows are a series of unique and startling adventures that never fail to entertain, highly recommended.

Dydeetown World,

Dydeetown World is actually three short stories strung together to form the whole. The characters, stories, and writing are all very simple yet interesting enough to keep a reader entertained.
The main character is a Private Eye who appears to be a bit down on his luck but his luck and his life all change when a clone of Jean Harlow enters his office seeking help. Jean Harlow leads us to the Lost Boys, which in turn leads us back to Jean Harlow weaving the stories together seamlessly.

I did enjoy the read but on the other hand I found the book to be a bit choppy in its pace. Although the stories flowed together nicely, I found the stories in themselves to be a bit thin. Perhaps F. Paul Wilson could have added more detail to the world building aspects of this book. I feel he also could have taken a bit more time developing the characters. This single book may have made a nice thick trilogy.

All in all the book was enjoyable even in its very simplistic form.

Of all the futuristic, "harder" sci-fi books that Wilson has written, Dydeetown Town is by far the most successful, largely because it finally emphasizes character and plot, which are Wilson's stronger points, over his interesting but somewhat shallow worlds. Mixing private eye stories with genetic engineering and Orwellian government, Dydeetown World creates an intriguing subculture out of its cast of outcasts, black marketeers, runaway clones, and violent underworld figures. And in its three short tales, Wilson ends up crafting a complicated tale that would hold its own in the mystery genre, one with some legitimately surprising payoffs and some nice twists along the way. It's no Repairman Jack, but of Wilson's future-based books, it's easily his strongest piece, and well worth reading.

This was a Nebula finalist. If you like the Larry Niven Gil Hamilton stories you'll love this one.

This book had some interesting ideas going for it, and I really enjoyed the ending. The detective was also a very interesting character, he seemed like such a uncaring person but as you read father into the book you discovered that he actually had a really big heart. The whole novel was quite good and I'm more than willing to read it again.