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Perhaps I should state my bias here before proceeding with the review of what I at first took to be Stephen Donaldson's first mystery novel. I considered myself a devotee of Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (Lord Foul's Bane, The Illearth War, The Power That Preserves, The Wounded Land,The One Tree, White Gold Wielder The Mirror of Her Dreams, A Man Rides Through ) enthusiastically although I was not quite as appreciative of them as I was of Thomas Covenant. Then came The Gap series ( The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story, The Gap Into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge, The Gap Into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises, The Gap Into Madness: Chaos and Order) and I am afraid I switched off. I did not enjoy them. When I saw a mystery being released in Donaldson's name I greeted the prospect of a return to (what seemed possible) form with enthusiasm and I began reading with pleasant anticipation. I am afraid I was in for a disappointment. It was not until I finished reading the book and began to research the author that things began to make sense. The Man Who Fought Alone is not a stand-alone book, nor even the beginning of a series. It is, in fact, the fourth in The Man Who sequence of adventures. The previous tales are The Man Who Killed His Brother, The Man Who Risked His Partner and The Man Who Tried to Get Away. The preceding books were written under the nom-de-plume of Reed Stephens. The reason for this latest release being published under the Donaldson name puzzles me since possibly his mystery fans might miss out on the significance of a book under the other name and fantasy readers could get a severe shock were they to rely on the excellence of Donaldson's work in that genre. I can only assume, although in a cursory search of the Net could find no confirmation of the assumption, that Donaldson is a martial arts aficionado. If you, Dear Reader, are of a similar bent, then possibly you will enjoy this rather laboured epic. Briefly, Mick Axbrewder (he abhors his given name and prefers to be addressed as 'Brew') and his sometime partner, sometime lover, Ginny Fistoulari have taken refuge from el Senor, a gang lord from Puerta Del Sol, where they previously worked, in Carner, a tropical hell hole. Brew is reluctantly being cared for by Ginny and resents the inversion of their roles since he had previously cared for her when she had her hand blown off by a bomb she was holding. Ginny has obtained work from a former friend, Marshal Viviter. Viviter is the embodiment of all things wholesome and amiable and Brew decides on little or no evidence, that Ginny is being bedded by this acme of masculine perfection. Brew, being totally broke and needing to recoup his finances, goes to Marshal seeking employment and is horribly rude to him, which makes the latter's actually putting work in Brew's way somewhat incredible. Brew, who is recovering from a bullet in the guts, is given a job at a martial arts tourney. He is to be responsible for general security while the customary security guards concentrate on protecting some antique 'chops' which are of great idealistic as well as historical and material value to various sections of the martial arts community. The value of the objects depends on their authenticity. Brew feels personally insulted when the elderly security guard who employed him becomes the first corpse while attempting to overpower the 'drop' in a pickpocket gang who are plying their innocent trade amongst the spectators. Brew therefore, after he has been hired by the insurance company, after the close of the tournament, puts his heart and soul into tracking down the murderer, at, of course, considerable risk to himself and his painful gut (which, fortunately for Brew does not require a colostomy bag.) I felt the entire tale was very far from engaging. There was too much concentration on fighting so that instead of advancing the plot, the martial arts descriptions appeared to be simply showing off the knowledge of the author about the various disciplines. Such illumination did more than slow the action: it brought it to a dead halt for several pages. In fact, remove all the fighting and the largish book would become a slim volume.There was a sick-making scene in a fight club (shades of the movie and book of the same name) at the end of which the purported murderer of the previous corpse found himself dead. The characterisations were far from convincing - why on earth an attractive, well off woman would fall for someone sweaty and presumably smelly in a suit that was never changed, was beyond me. Why, too, Viviter would be so patient with a man who patently loathed him was not made abundantly clear. The language used by Donaldson did not, for me, flow. It seemed edgy and unpleasant. The author's description of the heat did not convince me, although the later depiction of heavy rain had me reaching for my brolly (or was that the cause of the reaching?) Another aspect of the narrative was Brew's reliance on his intuition. While it did serve to advance the story and cover some annoying gaps - to a degree - as a plot device it did not enthuse me. And closing recommendation for the reader? If you enjoy martial arts, fine, this book may be for you. If, on the other hand, you prefer a traditional mystery with the villain not made obvious in the first half of the book, it might pay to look elsewhere for gratification. In a word, for a heretofore proven author it was a disappointing attempt. Editoržs Note: This is a review of the Australian edition  ISBN 0752846884, 463 pp, from Orion available on June 8, 2002. $Au29.95
Reviewed by Denise Wels, June 2002
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