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shell_s's review
5.0
John C. Bruening had me at "exploding dice."
I'm so glad I caught a live reading from this thrilling pulp adventure series at ConCoction, a local (to Cleveland) science fiction and fantasy convention, and went on to buy the series. There are two books so far, including its sequel Midnight Guardian: Annihilation Machine, both set in fictional metropolis Union City that is reminiscent of late 1930s Chicago.
Midnight Guardian: Hour of Darkness is a hero origin story that centers around a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse between notorious and unstable (from addiction) gangster "Nicky Diamond" and Jack Hunter, by night a vigilante in high-tech helmet and goggles and by day an earnest and noble hearted District Attorney and the son of a martyred policeman.
Diamond is the sort of unpredictable, over-the-top villain for whom the word "dastardly" was invented, written perfectly for the genre. He has colorful underlings that could've been snatched from Dick Tracy with their on-the-nose nicknames and nefarious skills to match. He has it coming, and the final showdown was everything I could have hoped for and more.
With Jack, Bruening sidesteps all the bleak modern trends I find wearisome (YMMV) of the traumatized, cynical, addicted and/or dangerously obsessive hero in favor of embracing the old-fashioned pulp standard: a hero with fundamental decency and conviction in doing the right thing to protect the innocent.
Jack was a breath of fresh air to me just for being earnest, good-humored, even-tempered, likeable, and willing to take risks unto himself to save lives without any emotional baggage other than mourning his father, which is handled with sympathy and dignity especially when he talks to his dad's old colleagues. He's also sweetly bashful around the pretty secretary Betty, who is a nice co-worker he yearns to know better, and who ends up giving him a break in his case.
I'm delighted that Betty's useful skills give Jack a break in the case, so she doesn't exist solely to go on dates or get kidnapped and motivate the hero. Certain male characters get captured and need rescued too, so I did NOT feel Betty's eventual (very genre appropriate, or classic, if you will) 'damsel in distress' moment was handled in a patronizing way or anything.
Jack wrestles with his conscience just a smidgen over how his vigilantism is illegal, especially when circumstances place him at odds with, or in pursuit by, well-meaning lawmen. Ultimately though he carries conviction that his city needs him to "don the mask" as the mysterious and suspicious figure the newspapers dub "the Midnight Guardian."
Jack's sidekick, his cousin Buzz who invents the Midnight Guardian's gear that enhances his senses and reflexes, is an endearingly geeky engineer who was once a soldier. He's also innocent and caring and full of quiet conviction in what's right--what can I say except I adore him.
My other favorite side character (who reappears in the sequel) is Bart Maxwell, nicknamed 'Max,' a natty, nosy reporter who can be quite helpful to Jack. That is, when he isn't burning the midnight oil trying to unmask the Midnight Guardian and his "agenda," which adds some fun crackling tension.
WHEN AN ADVENTURE GIVES YOU GOOD COMPANY AND A SATISFYING DESTINATION, SPEAK UP--BOOST THE SIGNAL!
I'm so glad I caught a live reading from this thrilling pulp adventure series at ConCoction, a local (to Cleveland) science fiction and fantasy convention, and went on to buy the series. There are two books so far, including its sequel Midnight Guardian: Annihilation Machine, both set in fictional metropolis Union City that is reminiscent of late 1930s Chicago.
Midnight Guardian: Hour of Darkness is a hero origin story that centers around a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse between notorious and unstable (from addiction) gangster "Nicky Diamond" and Jack Hunter, by night a vigilante in high-tech helmet and goggles and by day an earnest and noble hearted District Attorney and the son of a martyred policeman.
Diamond is the sort of unpredictable, over-the-top villain for whom the word "dastardly" was invented, written perfectly for the genre. He has colorful underlings that could've been snatched from Dick Tracy with their on-the-nose nicknames and nefarious skills to match. He has it coming, and the final showdown was everything I could have hoped for and more.
With Jack, Bruening sidesteps all the bleak modern trends I find wearisome (YMMV) of the traumatized, cynical, addicted and/or dangerously obsessive hero in favor of embracing the old-fashioned pulp standard: a hero with fundamental decency and conviction in doing the right thing to protect the innocent.
Jack was a breath of fresh air to me just for being earnest, good-humored, even-tempered, likeable, and willing to take risks unto himself to save lives without any emotional baggage other than mourning his father, which is handled with sympathy and dignity especially when he talks to his dad's old colleagues. He's also sweetly bashful around the pretty secretary Betty, who is a nice co-worker he yearns to know better, and who ends up giving him a break in his case.
I'm delighted that Betty's useful skills give Jack a break in the case, so she doesn't exist solely to go on dates or get kidnapped and motivate the hero. Certain male characters get captured and need rescued too, so I did NOT feel Betty's eventual (very genre appropriate, or classic, if you will) 'damsel in distress' moment was handled in a patronizing way or anything.
Jack wrestles with his conscience just a smidgen over how his vigilantism is illegal, especially when circumstances place him at odds with, or in pursuit by, well-meaning lawmen. Ultimately though he carries conviction that his city needs him to "don the mask" as the mysterious and suspicious figure the newspapers dub "the Midnight Guardian."
Jack's sidekick, his cousin Buzz who invents the Midnight Guardian's gear that enhances his senses and reflexes, is an endearingly geeky engineer who was once a soldier. He's also innocent and caring and full of quiet conviction in what's right--what can I say except I adore him.
My other favorite side character (who reappears in the sequel) is Bart Maxwell, nicknamed 'Max,' a natty, nosy reporter who can be quite helpful to Jack. That is, when he isn't burning the midnight oil trying to unmask the Midnight Guardian and his "agenda," which adds some fun crackling tension.
WHEN AN ADVENTURE GIVES YOU GOOD COMPANY AND A SATISFYING DESTINATION, SPEAK UP--BOOST THE SIGNAL!
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