Girls of Geek Book Review: Wayne of Gotham

Written by: Scotty

Following in your father’s footsteps, or at least showing that you are as strong as or stronger than your father is what every young man dreams about.  Nothing means more to a young man as he battles through his youth to come out triumphant and show his father that he has made a man of himself as well.  With all of the challenges that have been placed in front of young men, it is sometimes hard to show that they are ready for their next rite of passage.

Thomas Wayne was well on his way to becoming a fantastic doctor, but his father wanted so much more for his son.  Trying to teach young Thomas how to hold a gun and defend his future family was much more important than a framed certificate hanging on his wall.  If you are not able to defend what you believe in and love, how will you ever be able to survive the streets?  Patrick Wayne wanted nothing but the best for his son, but more importantly, he wanted Thomas to be strong in every way.

Thomas took this to the next level in his young schooling.  Being paired up with Doctor Richter during his time in med school, Thomas found out there was much to be discovered that could improve the mental health of many.  Trying to take this knowledge to the next level, Thomas started to work at the Arkham Asylum, working on his treatments and trying to make those who were bad into the next heroes of Gotham.  Little known to him, there is a fine between heroes and villains and by creating someone with super abilities, you cannot change what is hidden inside of them.   

Bruce Wayne is working on cleaning up the city of Gotham as best as his persona Batman will allow it.  Bruce Wayne has turned into an almost fictional character around the streets as he is never seen anymore.  On his latest task, Batman finds that everyone in the city seems to be brainwashed, with Commissioner Gordon trying to kill him for what happened to his daughter, to himself being tormented by the wooden doll of Scarface.  Something is changing in the city and it is up to the aging Batman to figure out what it is.  Not knowing who he can trust as his trusted butler Alfred is keeping some vital information hidden away, Wayne is challenged with putting his faith in a stranger that seems to know more about the Wayne family than he does.

Wayne of Gotham follows the progression of the Wayne family as they flourish in the city of Gotham.  Patrick Wayne has no trust for anyone in the city, besides his family, but that is being put to the test as his son has trust in some of the local crime lords.  Thomas Wayne is only looking for a way to make the criminals of the city disappear and create a crime fighting unit out of them.  With all of his research and experiments, the next step is needed to make the city the most crime free area in the country.  Bruce is no on the scene, battling his father’s demons as a woman that calls herself Richter comes back, beckoning for an audience with him.  Bruce needs to know more about the woman and what she really knows before lowering his defenses, but with his closest friend not being very forthcoming about the situation, Bruce has to face this battle on his own. 

An intriguing read to say the least.  Loving the recent Batman saga, I would not be able to find a way to avoid this novel.  Tracy Hickman makes sure to include all of the basics of the Batman storyline, along with adding a touch of her own.  With making the butlers more essential to the story telling is more gutsy than what most writers would try to do, she pulls it off. I would recommend this book to anyone that really loves the genre, you do not get to miss out on any of the regular villains as Harley Quinn and the Joker are there as staples.  The novel does bounce around quite a bit as you see the situations through Thomas’ and Bruce’s eyes as the story persists.  Just stay with the story, as you find out who really created the menace that Batman has to fight on a nightly basis and you will not be disappointed.  

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