****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it's well drawn, with plenty of great action and gut-punching emotional scenes. I also love this revised origin for Tony Quinn: rather than the crusading DA of the original pulps, he's a self-centered jerk who's now suffering the consequences of his own greed and corruption. That's great. The big reveal in the last third about who the real villain is, is also great.On the other hand, this is frustrating. The book is a deconstruction of the costumed vigilante trope, and I'll admit it's a well-done version of that. But, that isn't what the book was marketed as, and it was a real disappointment, because I wasn't looking for that. But, that didn't have to be the end of it. No, what clenches it for me, is how DEPRESSSING the ending is. I don't mind a less than happy ending, but if the story ends with the idea that the status quo of the setting is objectively worse than it used to be, and our hero has lost all hope, that's not my cup of tea, and frankly, while I won't tell people what they can or cannot write, I don't see the point in nihilistic art.Also, Carol goes from being a major character to serving as a chauffer to drive the hero to the final battle after which she disappears from the story with no explanation. Not good writing.
