Remembering Mike Resnick: The Widowmaker turns 25

When I last wrote about Mike Resnick’s work on this site, it was to bring attention to the fact that his space western opus Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future was celebrating an anniversary year, and that if you hadn’t picked it up yet, you needed to remedy that at warp speed.

In the course of my research for that column, it further dawned on me that another of his more memorable sagas was also having a milestone year. The trilogy-turned-tetralogy Widowmaker books, the first of which published in 1996. It’s something of a rare trilogy where each successive entry surpasses the previous (and I’ll note now that I did not read the late-added fourth book), and as such deserves to have a light shone upon it during its silver anniversary.

The story

If you’d like a bit of backstory as to why Resnick is among the greats of not only science fiction but space pulp at large, check out my previous article here. As for the Widowmaker series, it’s further proof that Resnick’s tried and true formula remains just as popcorn-light and tasty decades after he began writing it. It features a new peerless assassin from the author’s extensive gallery, traversing the galaxy with a band of colorful side characters who aid in the hunt for a notorious criminal. You know exactly what you’re getting when you pick up one of Resnick’s pulps, and he’s about the only one who could go to this well so many times and still draw water.

The first book, The Widowmaker features one Jefferson Nighthawk, forced into retirement in his sixties after contracting a deadly wasting disease known as eplasia. His extensive life earnings have paid for decades of cryogenic sleep while a cure is worked on, but eventually hyperinflation hits the The Rim. That’s when he’s unceremoniously awakened with an offer from his lawyers that he literally can’t refuse: be cloned and freelanced out for the government in exchange for keeping the cryochamber plugged in.

A copy of a 23-year-old Nighthawk is created at at his peak physical prowess and with minmal oversight from the Oligarchic government, sent on his way. But the kid, while physically capable, is immature; he’s emotional and moody, falling fatally in love with an alien dame who’s no good. While he accomplishes his mission, he does so sloppily, with a lot of collateral damage, and leaves a trail of fresh enemies for the future Widowmakers in his wake.

The second entry, Widowmaker Reborn sees a second clone of Nighthawk made, this time aged 38 and considerably more level-headed and tactical. His money’s run out again, and this time his mission is to rescue the daughter of a planetary governor from the mysterious revolutionary Ibn Ben Khalid. Nighthawk agrees, not having any choice, and his clone is sent on his way. Before he begins his mission proper, however, he makes sure to exact revenge on the military bureaucrat responsible for treating his predecessor as disposable at point blank range in the middle of a crowded restaurant. As is par for the course with Resnick’s space westerns, Nighthawk recruits a motley team along the way. This includes, but not limited to a stoic space samurai who trained the first clone, an alien explosives expert only willing to hold back his genocidal urges against humans for a chance to work with the legend, and an empathic hooker (don’t worry, the book’s PG). Things of course take a turn when he finally tracks down his elusive target and it turns out they’re quite different from what he’s been told.

The third entry sees Nighthawk finally cured of his disease and restored to health, ready to retire to a quiet Frontier world, and for a while he manages to do just that. He’s got a wife, and a few good friends and he’s not being bothered, which is just the way he likes it. The legendary once-lawman even puts on a badge again to help protect the quaint town he now calls home. The problem? Well, word gets out before long that The Widowmaker is back, the real one, and all those enemies his clones have been making for the past two books are looking to collect their own pounds of flesh, along with every dime-a-dozen hired gun looking to make a name for themselves.

The characters

As mentioned in my review of Resnick’s masterpiece Santiago, he’s got a wonderful knack for unique and colorful characterization, be it his heroes, villains or side characters. There are too many to list here, but with names like Father Christmas, Johnny Colt, Friday, Blue Eyes and the Marquis of Queensbury, there’s plenty of memorable supporting cast members helping to flesh out the adventure. The two mainstays in each book are Nighthawk himself and the samurai turned sidekick Kinoshita, who plays Tonto to his Lone Ranger.

Nighthawk himself, being introduced to the reader suddenly as clones in the first two books, isn’t allowed room for conventional character growth. Resnick, however, accomplishes a satisfying amount through well-flowing dialogue -- each character’s distinct voice, fears and attitudes come through. The brash impulsiveness of the young clone, the abrasive yet cold confidence of the middle-aged one, and the decidedly softer tone of the elderly Widowmaker, wondering if he’s still got the killer instinct in him, knowing hitmen and bandits are being drawn to his doorstep.

The world

Resnick’s sci-fi books usually take place in the massive timeline of his Birthright saga. Many planets exist under a series of slowly corroding forms of government. Widowmaker takes place during the Oligarchal period, when inflation and government corruption are rampant, and life is cheap. Laws are especially heavy handed: a bot at a customs checkpoint informs Nighthawk that the penalty for being caught with any amount of an illicit substance is death. The same government also isn’t above enlisting people to do their dirty work in exchange for insulation from those same laws (and money). These are even flaunted fairly openly by the government itself -- cloning is technically highly illegal throughout the galaxy, but is a tool that is repeatedly used by them to achieve their ends. Of course black markets flourish, drawing buyers and sellers into contact with one another, making it believable when Nighthawk manages to find the people with the necessary talents to recruit for his various missions.

The politics

While these books do tend to feature the role of various greasy government officials, such characters are handled in a neutrally libertarian way. Inherently untrustworthy, and involved enough to get their part of the plot moving forward before moving on to the action. If Nighthawk treats some bureaucrat or military official with sarcastic scorn,  its more focused on a universal disgust for selfish or corrupt authority figures and not on proselytizing on behalf of some political viewpoint.

Content warning

Not really necessary; violence is not gratuitous and fade-to-black sex scenes are rare, brief and tasteful, Cursing is minimal, but does occasionally happen.

Who is it for?

If you like space westerns, especially with plenty of laser fire, fun characters, and dry but snappy dialog, the Widowmaker novels can’t miss. If you’ve read any of Resnick’s stuff and enjoyed it, these are as sure a bet as any.

Why read it?

The Widowmaker novels, especially Reborn and Unleashed have a bit more depth to them, given the nature of the ethical morass that is human cloning. The second incarnation of Nighthawk and the original especially take issue with the government holding his life virtually hostage while they ignore their own laws to exploit his genetics: it’s a layer of human ethos not typical found in many of Resnicks’ gunslingers, but never crosses the threshold into dour navel gazing. If you read online reviews, you won’t find as many fans of it as Santiago, but feel free to ignore them: this is as enjoyable a ride as they come.