Title: Batman: Nightwalker (DC Icons #2)
by Marie LuPublishing Info: January 2, 2018 by Random House Publishing Group
Source: Received from the publisher for review purposes
Genres: Young Adult, Action/Adventure
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: December 26, 2017
Related Posts: Legend (Legend #1), Warcross (Warcross #1), The Kingdom of Back
Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.
The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list.
One by one, the city's elites are being executed as their mansions' security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family's fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he's forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city's most brutal criminals.
Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce's only hope.
In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.
I’m not a big comic book/superhero person but I have enjoyed all of the Batman movies (well, I guess I should say the recent ones. (This is where Batman fans spit on me)) but I was definitely excited for the DC Icons series written by some big-name young adult authors! I also adore a good prequel so it was even more exciting to see how some of these superheroes got their beginning and reading their origin stories.
BATMAN was actually the book I was most excited for out of the four DC Icons novels. It’s the character I know the most about and the one I thought I would most enjoy, but very surprisingly, this book felt a little flat for me. Between Batman and Marie Lu, I was expecting a lot more from this book and I kind of feel like not a lot happened. I think it would have been fine (yet still underwhelming) if it had been a regular YA mystery/thriller but for it to be about Batman, it was really just missing that extra spark and that extra thrill. Marie Lu well represented Bruce Wayne’s need to save, help, and make the world a better place but BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER seemed a whole lot more psychological and less action/adventure, and the feel of the book just wasn’t there for me. Aside from a couple of high-speed driving scenes in fancy cars, there wasn’t much to speak of that was action-packed and Bruce spent a lot more time trying to figure out the mind of the antagonist than putting plans into action. There were mentions of the fancy Wayne technology but they weren’t really put to use as much as I had hoped.
I read some other reviews that praised the character development but I felt like quite a few of the characters were underdeveloped. I liked the inclusion of Harvey Dent, being a name that even a non-Batman fan knows, but that felt important to me and I felt like he didn’t get as much on-page time as I had hoped. I wished Bruce’s friend or Alfred or Lucius Fox would have been included more in the story since they’re such beloved names and characters, and I wished Bruce had more support from those who became his family after the death of his parents. Then again… It does seem almost a little fitting that Bruce handled so much on his own because that does seem true to character. He doesn’t seem like the kind who seeks out the help of others and takes care of things on his own. I guess I just wished I had seen more supporting characters get more involved.
I was sadly underwhelmed by BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER but I did still enjoy it. It wasn’t nearly what I was expecting or hoping for but I also think it’s still worth the read! It was fun to see Bruce Wayne/Batman’s origin story and although I had hoped for more, it was interesting to see how it all got started. Being from Marie Lu, whose other books that I’ve read I’ve really enjoyed, it just didn’t seem to come together in the stellar fashion that I’m used to.
Kept Me Hooked On: Origin stories. I’m a sucker for a good prequel/origin story. Batman is one that I really enjoy so it was fun to see how the Batman concept got kicked off with a teenage Bruce Wayne.
Left Me Wanting More: Action. I just felt like not a whole lot happened and there were some serious thrills missing from this story.
Addiction Rating
Try it
Although it wasn’t what I was expecting, I think it’s worth the read to see the origins of Batman!
BOOKS LIKE BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER
1 thought on “Batman: Nightwalker (DC Icons #2) – Marie Lu”
I read this book a little while ago and generally felt the same way about it. A fun read, to be sure, but underwhelming. I’ve noticed that’s most reviewer’s reactions. It’s weird because I love Marie Lu’s other books so much!