Synopses & Reviews
In this sprawling new novel, Stephen R. Donaldson tells a tale of a hero's dark night of the soul.
The Man Who Fought Alone will enthrall the millions of readers who followed Thomas Covenant's adventures through six bestselling books.
Mick Axbrewder has enough problems to kill ten lesser men. He's a recovering alcoholic. He's healing painfully and slowly from a gunshot wound that nearly killed him. His old partner and lover, Ginny, seems to want as little to do with him as possible.
Years ago, he and Ginny worked side-by-side. But that was before he accidentally shot and killed a cop. While drunk. A cop who happened to be his brother.
Now Axbrewder "Brew" to his friends is trying to make his way back to self-respect. It isn't easy. It doesn't help that Ginny has moved the pair of them to the sprawling, heartless Sunbelt city of Carner, where he can't get the "feel" of the streets. At least he has work, handling security for the area's booming martial arts industry, a world of modern commercial competition and ancient resentments. A world with hidden stakes, over which someone is evidently willing to kill.
But Brew's real job isn't the one for which he's been hired. His real job is regaining his own self-respect.
Review
"The fourth book in bestseller Donaldson's "The Man Who..." mystery series (previously written under the pseudonym Reed Stephens) continues the story of ex-PI Mick ("Brew") Axbrewder and his search for redemption after the accidental shooting death of his own brother....The author's shotokan karate experience (he's a second degree black belt) lends the martial arts scenes an authoritative touch. Fans of Donaldson's better known fantasy (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series) and his cranky, self-involved antiheroes will find familiar enough territory to satisfy them." Publishers Weekly
Review
"The well-known science fiction and fantasy author (Reave the Just, 1999, etc.) dons a trenchcoat for what might be the beginning of a hard-boiled detective series....Cliched, chop-soggy whodunit that might be tough love for fans of Donaldson's Thomas Covenant and Gap Into Power series." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
In a sprawling new novel, Stephen R. Donaldson tells a tale of a hero's dark night of the soul.
Mick Axbrewder has enough problems to kill any ten lesser men. He's a recovering alcoholic. He's also healing-painfully and slowly-from a gunshot wound that nearly killed him. His old partner, Ginny, seems to want as little to do with him as possible.
Years ago, he and Ginny worked side by side. That was before he accidentally shot and killed a cop. While drunk. A cop who happened to be his brother.
Now Axbrewder-"Brew" to his friends-is trying to make his way back to self-respect. It isn't easy. It doesn't help that Ginny has moved them to the sprawling, heartless Sunbelt city of Carner, where he can't get the "feel" of the streets. At least he has work, handling security in the booming martial-arts industry centered in Carner. A world of modern commercial competition and ancient resentments. A world with hidden stakes, over which someone is evidently willing to kill.
But Brew's real job isn't the one for which he's been hired. His real job is regaining his own self-respect.
About the Author
The author of eight
New York Times bestsellers, including the
Chronicles of Thomas Covenant,
Stephen R. Donaldson lives in northern New Mexico.