Wow. That was a rough one to get through.
Wayne of Gotham deals with the parallel and intersecting stories of Bruce Wayne and his father, Thomas Wayne.
In Thomas' story we see his friendship with Martha Kane (later Wayne) and how he had to keep his feeling for her secret. We are also introduced to his emotionally abuse relationship with his father, Patrick Wayne, and Thomas' rebellion as he goes into medicine instead of following in his father's step. His choice leads him down a dark path and in the end the consequences not only affect his entire life, and Bruce's, but that of all of Gotham.
In Bruce's story we watch as his father's story is fed to him in fits-and-spurts in the form of clues from an anonymous source. Suspicion is cast on the only person left in his life - Alfred Pennyworth. In the end, as he discover's his father's secrets he has to make a life-changing decision.
The way I've written these summaries make the story sound pretty interesting, actually. Thomas' story is definitely worth a look. It's written interestingly and from a point-of-view I've never seen before. Bruce's story is SO INCREDIBLY BORING AND INSIPID that I almost stopped reading the book half a dozen times. I have never seen Bruce Wayne written so terribly. Even now that I'm (thankfully) finished, I kind of can't believe it. Even the "twists" that happen to Bruce are incredibly uninteresting and the ones that appear promising - his investigation into the Gruidae Paper Company - are complete dead ends.
Finally, this book needed a much more involved editor. In one chapter, as Thomas chat's with a man named Lewis, we see him called both "Lew" and "Lou" one page right after the other. In another, the author describes the scenery by saying things like "The dawn had not yet broken", "early morning light", and that only "a few citizens were stirring" even though the time stamp at the top of the paragraph clearly says "Gotham / 10:46 a.m.".
I know I'm getting nit-picky, but as a lover of books, sloppy editing does really bother me and during the course of reading, obvious inconsistencies like that take me out of the story.
Bottom line is, Thomas' story is great and engaging, but only makes up about 35% of the novel. Bruce's story is mind-numbing and because it is the majority of the story, I cannot with good conscious recommend this book.
Wayne of Gotham deals with the parallel and intersecting stories of Bruce Wayne and his father, Thomas Wayne.
In Thomas' story we see his friendship with Martha Kane (later Wayne) and how he had to keep his feeling for her secret. We are also introduced to his emotionally abuse relationship with his father, Patrick Wayne, and Thomas' rebellion as he goes into medicine instead of following in his father's step. His choice leads him down a dark path and in the end the consequences not only affect his entire life, and Bruce's, but that of all of Gotham.
In Bruce's story we watch as his father's story is fed to him in fits-and-spurts in the form of clues from an anonymous source. Suspicion is cast on the only person left in his life - Alfred Pennyworth. In the end, as he discover's his father's secrets he has to make a life-changing decision.
The way I've written these summaries make the story sound pretty interesting, actually. Thomas' story is definitely worth a look. It's written interestingly and from a point-of-view I've never seen before. Bruce's story is SO INCREDIBLY BORING AND INSIPID that I almost stopped reading the book half a dozen times. I have never seen Bruce Wayne written so terribly. Even now that I'm (thankfully) finished, I kind of can't believe it. Even the "twists" that happen to Bruce are incredibly uninteresting and the ones that appear promising - his investigation into the Gruidae Paper Company - are complete dead ends.
Finally, this book needed a much more involved editor. In one chapter, as Thomas chat's with a man named Lewis, we see him called both "Lew" and "Lou" one page right after the other. In another, the author describes the scenery by saying things like "The dawn had not yet broken", "early morning light", and that only "a few citizens were stirring" even though the time stamp at the top of the paragraph clearly says "Gotham / 10:46 a.m.".
I know I'm getting nit-picky, but as a lover of books, sloppy editing does really bother me and during the course of reading, obvious inconsistencies like that take me out of the story.
Bottom line is, Thomas' story is great and engaging, but only makes up about 35% of the novel. Bruce's story is mind-numbing and because it is the majority of the story, I cannot with good conscious recommend this book.
