"Wayne of Gotham" is an original approach to Batman lore, and has a lot of positive traits as a whole, but there are also several factors that end up undermining the novel, in my opinion. Tracy Hickman is a strong writer and that will hold the attention of most readers, luckily; he deserves much credit for maintaining the tone and style of this book on a consistent basis which makes up for some of my perceived faults of the story.The premise of this novel is essentially a mystery involving Bruce Wayne's murdered parents, that he was not previously aware of, but is being exploited by unknown persons. Wayne is older and more reclusive, not unlike the character from "The Dark Knight Rises" movie. He relies more on the technology of his Batsuit and other gadgetry to maintain his stature as a crimefighter, and I thought this was one of the best parts of the book. Wayne is almost Bond-like in his approach to things, having to rely on subterfuge and cunning to gather information that Batman wouldn't necessarily gain access to. It keeps the book at a mature level, as well.What took me out of the mystery and really detracted, I thought, was the appearance of The Joker. I am not a big fan of that character, but I thought he was completely out of place in this book. I cannot express my disappointment strong enough. Ironically, he is not a major character in this story, which made his appearance all the more confounding. Is he linked to the mystery in some way, though? It didn't matter to me.The story involves flashbacks to when Thomas and Martha Wayne were alive, and I quite enjoyed this. Thomas has a poor, abusive relationship with his father as he desperately tries to carve out his own niche in becoming a doctor. As his story unfolds, it does become somewhat convoluted, but can be summarized in the reader's head on a basic-enough level to keep the plot flowing. There were times when I thought it meandered a bit too far from having anything to do with Bruce Wayne in the present, but it rights its course enough to be forgiven. There is a hint as to what may have inspired the actual Batman costume which I felt was a nice tip-of-the-cap.The payoff of the storyline is alright, but didn't necessarily "wow" me. Overall, I felt like this was a book about strained relationships: Batman with Jim Gordon & Gotham, Thomas Wayne with his father, Martha with her boyfriend before Thomas, and some other characters that would take too long to explain that figure into the mystery. Mostly, though, and what is really strong, is the struggles between Alfred and Bruce. It's a strange dynamic where Alfred works for Bruce, but in many ways, is his boss, certainly his elder, and clearly has an uneasy disposition with the Batman identity. His role of also being the keeper of such secrets for a generation weighs heavily on him. Apart from Bruce, Alfred is really well-represented in Hickman's writing, I thought.Kind of a mixed bag of a novel but I'm happy to have read it and expanded my own knowledge of The Dark Knight Detective motif. Not quite a recommended read but you could also do much worse. Se você espera encontrar os pais de Bruce como as estátuas de mármore que fazem deles, esqueça este livro! São mais de gesso do que poderíamos imaginar...E é ruim saber disso? Bem, se você não quiser ler um romance sobre a história de Batman, tente os quadrinhos ou os filmes, pois aqui o autor começa a trama um pouco depois do original de 1939; ele escolhe falar um pouco de Thomas Wayne e de sua relação com o avô de Bruce, Patrick, em meados de 1953. No Prólogo, vemos um lado sombrio e duro de Patrick, em que ele força Thomas a 'ser homem' na base da força...Em seguida, aparecem personagens das histórias de Batman, como Scarface e uma que fala: "Onde vamos encontrar um herói, Sr. Morcego-da-torre?", e outra que é descrita como tendo "uma cabeleira selvagem... maquiagem desigual... terno roxo... olhos terríveis... voz de cascalho riscando um quadro negro..."; há bastante descrições dos aparatos do Batman, os bat-gadgets: 2 páginas para descrever tanto a bat-roupa quanto o bat-móvel.O termo que Alfred usa "Jovem" Bruce não é tão bom quanto "Patrão" Bruce, clássico da série animada. Esse mordomo tem também seu passado: ele mentiria para Bruce? E seu pai Jarvis Pennyworth, cuja profissão era de limpar as coisas...Descobrimos como um não conhecido Thomas Wayne se relaciona com os amigos de uma nada convencional Martha Kane; mais a frente temos um pouco da histórica de Arkham; temos algumas cenas de ação, como o desafio alucinante nos trilhos de Gotham com o bat-móvel.O livro entrelaça passado e presente mostrando Batman em busca da real história de sua família... mas eu nunca imaginaria Bruce Wayne pedindo socorro!
What do You think about Wayne De Gotham (2013)?
Really good book. It was a quick read but thoroughly enjoyable.
—jasmine
