The Widowmaker Unleashed

The Widowmaker #3

by Mike Resnick, Donato Giancola (Illustrator)

He was the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy, the consummate killing machine, a man known only as the Widowmaker. Now, after a century of being cryogenically frozen, Jefferson Nighthawk has a new lease on life--and new enemies who want him dead....

Jefferson Nighthawk has been awakened from his frozen sleep, his deadly disease cured. But although he still has the experience and instincts of the legendary Widowmaker, Nighthawk is now biologically in his sixties. His reflexes slowed by age, looking only to live out his days in peace, he decides on a quiet retirement on a Frontier world.

Easier said than done. For while Nighthawk lay in cryogenic sleep, his two clones were killing in his name, leaving a trail of vengeful enemies in their wake. Nighthawk has one no one knows who he is just yet. But once word gets out that he's back, every assassin on the Frontier will be out to make a rep by gunning him down. Suddenly the Widowmaker has only two pick up his weapons...or face death again--and this time for keeps.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

231 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a century in deep freeze, the original Jefferson Nighthawk is unthawed and cured of his disease. Unforunately, he's 60 years old and slowing down and has lots of old enemies on his trail, along with up and comers wanting to make a name at his expense. Eventually, he concocts a plan to get them off his trail for good...

Widowmaker Unleashed is both the story of a man out of time and about an aging gunfighter wanting to escape his old life. It reminds me of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven with elements of Gran Turino. Old Man Nighthawk, despite being older and slower, seems like the deadliest of the three so far. The ending both makes the universe think he's dead and ensures the Nighthawk name and reputation will live on. It dovetails nicely into Gathering of Widowmakers.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is intertextuality in Mike Resnick’s Widowmaker Unleashed and it is not merely between this book and other books in the series (The Widowmaker and The Widowmaker Reborn). At one point, the former bounty hunter protagonist, Jefferson Nighthawk, is asked about the most dangerous outlaw he had killed. Even though the “Widowmaker” refuses to name one, he says he can’t isolate one, not even notorious criminals like Santiago (Santiago: A Myth of the Future) or the perpetrator of massacres, Conrad Bland (Walpurgis III (third in the Birthright series)). Instead, Nighthawk says, “What I’m trying to say is that every man you see walking around with a weapon in his holster is undefeated in mortal combat.” (p 88)

The plot essentially works as follows. Former bounty hunter Jefferson Nighthawk was dying of a skin-devouring disease. There was no cure for the disease, so he opted to spend the fortune he had amassed in killing outlaws to place himself in cryogenic stasis. But the cure came along slower than anticipated and no one ever expects inflation early enough, so something had to be done to sustain his body. First, one clone was created to carry on his bounty-hunting (The Widowmaker) and send back a significant portion of his earnings to keep Jefferson’s body frozen. Then, another clone was created, a new and improved version, for The Widowmaker Reborn. In The Widowmaker Unleashed, Nighthawk has been cured. He doesn’t look over a century old, but he does look 62. That’s too old to continue a life of bounty hunting, but that’s fine with Nighthawk because he has had enough of killing.

So, he uses his fortune to buy property off the beaten path, somewhere in the Inner Frontier. But even off the beaten path, one’s reputation is likely to catch up with one. The catch in The Widowmaker Unleashed is that he doesn’t know who his clone has killed or who the allies or descendants of his victims might be. Anyone who would touch down on the planet(s) where he tried to live in peace could feasibly recognize Nighthawk while he, at considerable disadvantage, would almost surely not recognize them. Worse, once the word got out, younger and faster gunmen were likely to come after him to enhance their own reputations.

We used to have a saying when I was younger, “Never underestimate old age and trickery.” Well, trickery (or in the nomenclature of a former U.S. President, “strategery”) keeps Nighthawk alive for a while, but even the Widowmaker himself knows that it can’t last. So, what can be done? That’s the point of the book. Live through Nighthawk’s frustration and, at times, desperation. Rejoice at the clever escapes and mourn the negative consequences. The Widowmaker Unleashed is enjoyable. Even though I usually gravitate toward Resnick’s more humorous writing (though he once sent me a copy of an underrated serious book called The Branch that was fairly impressive and certainly not comedic in nature), this one was an entertaining adventure.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew I was coming in late by reading the third book of a trilogy. However, I felt it would work well as a stand alone novel and it pretty much did.

Nighthawk was once the most famous bounty hunter lawman on the frontier. (If that sounds more western than Science Fiction that’s because this one is almost a western set in the frontier of Space). Afflicted by a deadly and disfiguring disease he is forced to have his body frozen until a cure can be found. The maintenance costs outpace his cash and so his lawyers create a clone and sends the clone out to earn money to help pay for his ongoing freezer berth. This clone does his job, but is killed. Some years later, his lawyers do it once more, this time putting all of their client’s memories into the new clone. The new clone takes over as the widowmaker and earns tons of money before tiring of the killing and obtaining a new identity and retiring in seclusion. After 112 years, Acura is found and Nighthawk is removed from cold storage and treated and cured of his disease. He tries to retire, but the enemies of clone #2 start coming after him. Soon he is back in killing form, seeking to avoid conflict, but having to kill more and more.

Here the novel takes on its westernized theme of the weary gunslinger who just wants to settle down.

A very odd book, but a quick read. Fun, but nothing really sticks out as amazing or wonderful. Lots of fights and killing, but the action is very outlandish— almost comic bookish in its demonstration that Nighthawk is the greatest killer of all time. Very little emotion and characterization is all very minimal. A pleasant afternoon adventure in reading but will not make a best 10, 100, or Eve 1,000 list.

[Hubert · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I think this is less exciting than the previous 2 novels in the series, it does serve to pull them together. Book 1 - young, naive, and impetus (does not survive). Book 2 - middle aged, more reasoned (survives). Book 3, this one - older, reflexes failing, trying to outlive his reputation (would like to survive). How does a legend retire?

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this long ago. Great fun. I miss.Resnick.

[John Loyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this sci-fi western Jefferson Nighthawk is a 62 year old bounty hunter who has just woken from 112 years of cryogenic freezing. A cure for the eplasia that was killing him having been found. The Widowmaker was the fastest gun on the frontier. He'd now like to retire, and figures there won't be a problem--after a century on ice all of his enemies should be dead. The problem is he ran out of funds and to continue to pay the bills so a clone was made, and then another. These two clones earned the funds that kept him alive, but in doing so racked up a sizable number of enemies. Eventually one of these enemies found him and burned his house down. Moving to a new planet saw three more goons try to take him down, and now he was making his own enemies.

Nighthawk's adventures lead him to Tumbleweed where he meets the proprietor of the Tumbleweed Roadhouse, a woman who turned in a band of drug runners and is now on their enemy list. He takes the job as head lawman and takes care of this drug gang. The populace is bragging about their new sheriff. Now every hot shot gunslinger that wants to make his name has the goal of being the guy to take down the Widowmaker. Eventually they trickle in to Tumbleweed.

Really really fantastic witty dialog and some very clever ways for the Widowmaker to escape tricky situations made this a really fun read. Not deep. There seems to be an endless supply of outlaws and very spotty law enforcement. Read this one for the humor and be happy with the little twists he throws into the plot.

[Jeff Yoak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this third installment. I imagine that many readers will object, particularly to the first half, that less happens in the third novel and now that we've established the character we can just sit around and let him hang out. It didn't get to me, but then I tend to be far less bothered by that than most. Heck, Robert A. Heinlein is one of my favorite authors. :-) Still, things pick up at the end and there is a moderately clever twist that is supposed to wrap up the story. It will be interesting to see if A Gathering Of Widowmakers is well-integrated or a tack on.

2017: The kids are just LOVING this series.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resnick's four volumes that feature Jefferson Nighthawk, the Widowmaker, are entertaining books set in his excellent future history series. They don't have quite the exciting quality of the first Santiago novel, but are fun page-turners. His ability to tell stories of larger-than-life future myth is unparalleled, and the way the plots progress and the characters develop is fascinating. They're very enjoyable science fiction.

[Marcus Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any fan of gun-slinging, futuristic, space westerns should scoop up the Widowmaker books. Resnick has a gritty, unpredictable style one has to admire.

[Patti (baconater) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ending to a great trilogy.