Customer Reviews

Widowmakers

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WIDOWMAKERS(1998) is a SFBC omnibus trilogy of SciFi Western stories, set in the same universe as the fairly similar "Santiago" galaxy-frontier bounty hunter stories, also by Mike Resnick. Unfortunately, the three WIDOWMAKER stories; THE WIDOWMAKER(1996), THE WIDOWMAKER REBORN(1997), and THE WIDOWMAKER UNLEASED(1998), don't compare very well to the orginal and very excellent SANTIAGO(1986)*****, or even THE RETURN OF SANTIAGO(2004)****1/2.

Here are brief reviews of each of the three Widowmaker stories in this trilogy:

THE WIDOWMAKER(1996)**1/2 - Mediocre story, fairly short at about 200 hardcover pages. The most famous "bounty hunter" of the galaxy frontier is Jefferson Nighthawk, AKA The Widowmaker - but at 60 years of age he has contracted an incurable disease, and has put himself in suspended animation... but, after 100 years, there still is no cure, and his investments are running low, and the payments to the institution that is keeping him alive are due. But, just in time, some planetary military leader foots the bill to have The Widomaker cloned to help hunt down the assasin of a planetary leader... the clone has the reflexes of the original, but the hormones and lack of experience of a teenager... The clone is sent out to bring in the assasin, in order to earn enough money to foot the bill to keep the original Widowmaker alive until a cure can be found. The clone ends up killing all those who stand in his way, but also ends up falling head over heals in love with a stripper, which leads to a lot of frustrating situations. Young Jefferson is not a likeable character, and neither are any of the other characters for the first half of the story... finally Resnick introduces one likeable character known as Father Christmas - but, in the end, you end up asking yourself why he even bothered hanging around young Jefferson.

THE WIDOWMAKER REBORN(1997)*** - About 210 pages, and better than the first story, but still lacking in originality, believability, and good characters. We have some interesting aliens, and 35-year-old Jefferson (with the memories of the 60-year-old original) is slightly more likeable than young Jefferson, but the action is repititious and sometimes contrived.

THE WIDOWMAKER UNLEASHED(1998)**** - Shortest (~180 pages), but best of the bunch. The original Jefferson Nighthawk has been cured, and after an intense rehabilitation, the 62-year-old lasergunslinger wants to fade into retirement obscurity on a peaceful frontier world - but The Widowmaker's reputation won't allow for that.

One other thing worth mentioning about this book - it had an excellent front cover, by Donato... I've scanned it, and provided it as an image.