Wayne of Gotham: A Novel

by Tracy Hickman

Overview

Batman must uncover the truth about his parents' murder in this mystery about the legendary DC Comics hero from a New York Times–bestselling author.

Behind every mask is a real man.

Two men joined by blood but separated by murder: Thomas, the rebellious doctor and heir to the vast Wayne empire, and Bruce, his son, whose life is forever altered when he witnesses the brutal death of his parents.

The slaying of Thomas and Martha Wayne is the torturous point on which Bruce turns to become the mysterious crusader Batman—the genesis of a simple mugging gone horribly wrong. The Dark Knight's file on the case has long been closed, the foundations of Bruce Wayne's secret life secure. But these foundations are shaken when an unexpected guest invades the grounds of Wayne Manor, raising questions about the event that ended the lives of the mother he loved and the father he worshipped, and sparked his unquenchable drive to protect and avenge.

To discover his true family history, Batman must face down old foes, confront his only confidant, invade the evil heart of Arkham Asylum, and shoulder the terrible new burden of a dark legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062074225
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/21/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	307
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Tracy Hickman is a bestselling fantasy author best known for his work on Dragonlance, as a game designer and coauthor with Margaret Weis, while he worked for TSR. In all, Hickman wrote more than thirty novels in collaboration with Weis. He lives with his wife, Laura, and their four children.

Editorial Reviews

Much closer to the Burton/Nolan Batman films and the Frank Miller graphic novels than to the campy 1960s TV and comicbook incarnations of the character. An imaginative look at the human side of an iconic superhero.” — Booklist

“Wayne of Gotham truly digs into new ground.” — USA Today

From the Publisher

Much closer to the Burton/Nolan Batman films and the Frank Miller graphic novels than to the campy 1960s TV and comicbook incarnations of the character. An imaginative look at the human side of an iconic superhero.

Booklist

Wayne of Gotham truly digs into new ground.

USA Today

Wayne of Gotham truly digs into new ground.

USA Today

Much closer to the Burton/Nolan Batman films and the Frank Miller graphic novels than to the campy 1960s TV and comicbook incarnations of the character. An imaginative look at the human side of an iconic superhero.

Booklist

Bruce Wayne, Gotham City's dark knight, discovers that the primeval event of his life--the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha--may hold clues to the nature of his worst enemies. Industrious fantasy novelist Hickman (Embers of Atlantis, 2011, etc.) turns his attention to the weird world of Batman in this noir-tinged thriller. To assemble his plot, the author has gone back to Batman's well-known origin, doing his fair share of retconning along the way. For the casual fan, the superhero will be just as familiar, armed with Teflon-coated Batarangs and rumbling around Gotham in the pimped-up Batmobile. But the book spends equal time with Bruce's father, Thomas, a doctor who is enraptured with his future wife, Martha Kane. But the good doctor is also using the Wayne fortune to finance research into eugenics, the science of manipulating human populations. Back in the present, Bruce/Batman keeps running into lunatics like Harley Quinn, who seem to believe that they are long-dead contemporaries of Thomas, and that Bruce is in fact Thomas. As Batman, Wayne uncovers his father's part in the creation of the '50s-era gang of vigilantes called The Apocalypse. The conspiracy bits of the book struggle a bit with explication, but Hickman does a nice job of measuring the bleakness of the late-'50s set story with a blend of action, technology and the high-pitched madness that Batman inspires. Neither as grim as its cinematic counterpart nor as byzantine as the current comics, but casual readers and fanboys alike may be caught off guard by this divergent adventure.

Kirkus Reviews