A Gathering of Widowmakers

The Widowmaker #4

by Mike Resnick

There is only one thing that Jefferson Nighthawk, the original Widowmaker, really wanted to do and that was retire on a far away planet and raise a garden. There were still two clones of him to keep the peace and carry on his legend. Unfortunately for him, his two clones have come to a disagreement. When a widowmaker takes on a widowmaker everyone runs for cover. There is only one man who can stand up to the clones of the Widowmaker... the Widowmaker himself.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction

268 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2005

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]

Jefferson Nighthaw, now cured of his disease, teams up with one of his surviving clones from the Widowmaker Trilogy to mentor Jeff Nighthawk, the young Widowmaker clone created at the end of Widowmaker Unleashed.

This was a Resnick fan's dream and fortunately for Mike, it turned out pretty damn good. Even though it was about the Widowmaker and his clones, it was really a story about generations and learning from your elders. But with rayguns and a decent body count.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of Resnick's entertaining reads. This, a continuation of the "Widowmaker" saga, with a new batch of bad guys, the usual jaded galactic background, and wry wit. There also seemed to be more introspective discussion of why the widowmaker became the widowmaker, cool stuff. If you like Resnick (and who does not), you will like this. A quick and fun read.

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The newest widowmaker, Jeff, goes after a bounty. The man is protected by Jason Newman, the previous Jefferson Nighthawk clone, who vehemently states the man is innocent. Jeff disables Jason and takes the man anyway. Kinoshita sees this and goes to tell the original Nighthawk that Jeff blundered. Rather than scour the inner frontier for Jeff, Nighthawk and Kinoshita go to the District where no law man is safe and start collecting bounties in order to draw Jeff to them. Once they’ve got Jeff squared away, Jason, who is just barely recovering from receiving new organs, is pulled into a conflict.

Fast paced, bring in the bad guy, repeat upping the ante. There are four [more] confrontations, each outlaw with different abilities. The Widowmaker(s) has to find a clever solution for each. Nice addition to the series. 4.5 stars.

[Jeffrey French · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all 4 of the Resnick Widowmaker books one after the other. I really enjoyed them. I will say the later books really need some better editing.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

With all the clones running around, and given that this is the fourth Widowmaker book but the only one I've read, it could have been really confusing. I was able to follow it pretty easily, though, so kudos to Resnick for that. The bounties hunted down by the various Widowmakers in the story were really interesting and I really liked the way their special abilities and weaknesses were explored. The futuristic technology was well handled. It all seemed plausible, and enhanced the story without bogging things down in a lot of convoluted technobabble. I know some people like a lot of technobabble in their stories, but for me, a little goes a long way.

The story in general is very dialogue heavy. Nighthawk in particular spends a lot of time explaining things, usually to Kinoshita who, despite his many years as a bounty hunter and Widowmaker "sidekick," asks an awful lot of questions. In spite of this, I always felt like something was happening throughout the book, perhaps because much of the story revolves around Nighthawk's plans and way of thinking.

One thing I would have liked to see more of was the alien races. There are a number of them alluded to, but rarely do we hear more than the species name. Granted, this is the fourth book, so it's possible more detail about the various types of aliens can be found in the other stories, and for the most part they had no significant bearing on the story, but I would have liked to see them fleshed out better anyway, if only to provide a richer backdrop.

Some of the themes and ideas Resnick explores in his book are really interesting, the kind to make you stop and think. What kind of morals can a man uphold when he kills other people for a living? When a clone is created with all the memories of the original man intact, how does he manage to accept that he's not, in fact, who he thinks he is?

I really found myself enjoying the story, and it's easy to see why Mike Resnick has won more major science fiction awards than nearly any other writer. I finished the story feeling completely satisfied and closed the book with a smile. It's hard to ask for more than that.

[Johne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book scratched an itch I didn't know I had. It's a fascinating look at three different stages of Jefferson Nighthawk, the most dangerous principled shootist in the Birthright Universe. That is to say, there are three versions of Jefferson Nighthawk, aka The Widowmaker; the retired original, a retired clone going by the name Jason Newman, and the current young version of The Widowmaker. Separately, they are each the most dangerous shootists around. Together, they are Hell on wheels.

When facing the alien Younger Brothers (who may be one, three, six hundred, or innumerable legion), it will take a gathering of Widowmakers to survive and live to shoot another day.

[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.

[Jeff Yoak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may have been a slightly weaker story than the others in the series, but I'm always a sucker for a novel that gets all the old characters together. I enjoyed it throughout and find myself a little sad to set Jefferson Nighthawk aside for a while.

2017: Enjoyed this with the kids straight through the series.

[Conal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a "fun read". As in the previous books in this series, Mike Resnick creates an interesting story with great characters. You can can expect more action as you have three widowmakers in this story along with some fun bad guys.

Recommended for any SF action fans.
4 stars.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

As quick and easy to read as the first ones. Also as good.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Resnick never fails to deliver a great read.

[Steve Arndt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and fun to read. Just what you would expect from Mike Resnick and his Widowmakers.