Vigilante by Robin Parrish
July 1, 2011 by Bethany House
Paperback, 352 Pages
Review Copy
Nolan Gray is an elite soldier, skilled in all forms of combat. After years fighting on foreign battlefields, witnessing unspeakable evils and atrocities firsthand, a world-weary Nolan returns home to find it just as corrupt as the war zones. Everywhere he looks, there's pain and cruelty. Society is being destroyed by wicked men who don't care who they make suffer or destroy. Nolan decides to do what no one else can, what no one has ever attempted. He will defend the helpless. He will tear down the wicked. He will wage a one-man war on the heart of man, and he won't stop until the world is the way it should be.The wicked have had their day. Morality's time has come. In a culture starving for a hero, can one extraordinary man make things right?
Review
Nolan Gray is a decorated war hero and a kick-butt soldier trained in weapons and strategies in war. He knows evil and has seen more than enough things to break his spirit and his sanity. Instead of becoming a bitter shell of man though, Nolan has promised himself and the innocent of the world that he would become the justice they have been yearning for. He alone would rid the world of evil and corrupt men and bring about peace and hope to society that has long ago lost their way. After years of planning and months of organizing, with the help of two friends, Nolan fakes his own death and is reborn as New York City’s vigilante hero: The Hand.....While taking a stand and cleaning up the streets overrun with gangs, drug lords and murderers, Nolan begins to strike a cord with the people and they label him their savior, however not everyone loves this new doer of good and every superhero needs his villian, which is why crime city boss Yuri Vasko has marked him as a dead man. As the two men race to accomplish two different set of agendas, the city will see a darkness they have never known and only one man will be left standing.
American society is obsessed with superheroes, just recently I watched the new X-men and was awed and thrilled by the mutants super strength, their supernatural abilities and even my shock at really liking Magneto and understanding why he became the bad guy that he did. Why is it that we crave stories about comic book characters and are fascinated by their powers? Is it because we long to be superheroes ourselves? Or could it be a deeper longing, one perhaps that creates in us a desire for a savior? Nolan Gray himself longed to change the world by saving the innocent and became a hero for a city so lost in its own destruction that the people began to rely on and worship him. While Nolan’s main objective was honorable, his vision went off track once in the thick of his plan, playing vigilante and handing out justice to the evil doers of the world ...aka NYC…gave him the role of an almost God-like avenger and for me was what really hit home, begging the question: How should we as believers (and a people) handle the atrocities going on around us?
American society is obsessed with superheroes, just recently I watched the new X-men and was awed and thrilled by the mutants super strength, their supernatural abilities and even my shock at really liking Magneto and understanding why he became the bad guy that he did. Why is it that we crave stories about comic book characters and are fascinated by their powers? Is it because we long to be superheroes ourselves? Or could it be a deeper longing, one perhaps that creates in us a desire for a savior? Nolan Gray himself longed to change the world by saving the innocent and became a hero for a city so lost in its own destruction that the people began to rely on and worship him. While Nolan’s main objective was honorable, his vision went off track once in the thick of his plan, playing vigilante and handing out justice to the evil doers of the world ...aka NYC…gave him the role of an almost God-like avenger and for me was what really hit home, begging the question: How should we as believers (and a people) handle the atrocities going on around us?
Obviously the whole notion of an eye for an eye isn’t what’s taught in our local churches. Nolan’s intentions were never to kill people but teach them and punish the criminals wreaking havoc on innocent lives, but when we start taking on vigilante justice does it make us just as bad as the criminal? Or is there a point when we can honestly stand up and say enough is enough and I will not stand by any longer. I wonder what would happen if people, myself included would actually stand up for something and be able to change the world the way Nolan set out to do....
Mr. RP writes to intrigue, to turn things inside out and makes a reader really dig into the twisted, the dark and the saving graces our world has to offer. I find Parrish’s novels very unique, with his use of newspaper articles, huge signs or actual photos, the visual action makes it feel like your living it right along with the character, in 3D format. Fabulous writing, exciting action and hold your breath scenes… what more could a superhero junky ask for?
Rating
Vigilante is recommended to adult readers and contains: Violence- including action-hero type, war, gangs and domestic. Intense action scenes, suspense, criminal activities and murder/death scenes.
4/5- CF-Thriller
Thanks to Bethany House and the Cfba for review copy
Fascinating. I hadn't heard of this one.
ReplyDeleteWow, this one sounds incredible! I'm definitely a fan of unique stories with great writing. Wonderful review, I'll definitely look for this one :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a superhero junkie, well, at least when it comes to books but this one does sound fun.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and tough questions, T.
I don't think there is anything to gain from an eye for an eye. There are just some people out there who commit horrible crimes and they don't feel remorse the way others do. Vigilante justice might not be the way I'd go because I do believe that judgment will come for those that hurt others.
This is my favorite review I've seen yet. You're pondering all of the right questions, AND you enjoyed the ride.
ReplyDeleteThanks for getting it, Tina!