Stephen Donaldson has a genius for words, a ruthless and all-encompassing empathy, and a world class left hook to the reader’s solar plexus. That expressed, the fan begins to exercise self-control. Here we go. In THE MAN WHO FOUGHT ALONE, “Brew” Axbrewder is recovering from a serious wound and the end of a destructive relationship. Unemployed in an unfamiliar city, he takes a job as extra security, during a display of valuable antiques at a martial arts tournament. Brew is accustomed to win his...

The Man Who Fought Alone is the fourth in The Man Who series and also the longest book of the four. This is a great story that capitalizes on Donaldson’s knowledge of and involvement in the martial arts. Ginny plays a very small part in this one, so we get to see Mick - sorry! Brew - working to find out who he is without Ginny, battling his personal demons and recovering from his previous gunshot wound and former alcoholism. All while in over his head on a case that involves competing schools of...

Such a quick read for how many pages it had. I didn't figure out who the killer was until the very last chapters which was a cool experience. The protagonist 'Brew' isn't the most likable protagonist but that's exactly why I enjoyed him so much. It's obvious in his style of writing that Donaldson is usually a fantasy author, but this was still a great read.

Not Donaldson’s genreI am notoriously poor at figuring out mysteries, but this was obvious. Character study excellent of main characters and the mechanisms of alcohol dependence and codependency are well drawn.

Masochism Getting angry at the lead character but then reading more, then getting mad again, I must be a masochist to keep doing this to myself, but I love this series, even if Brew needs his head rattling!

Dang, I did not figure who the bad guy was until the protagonist did.

Axbrewder will take you higher!

From 1980 to 1990, author Stephen R. Donaldson veered away from his usual sci-fi and fantasy genres to pen a loose trilogy of detective novels under the pseudonym Reed Stephens (reportedly the publisher's decision, not his). In 2001 he returned to the series with this title under his own name, followed by a reprinting of the earlier three. I don't know if Donaldson consciously framed this book so that readers wouldn't have to be familiar with the previous volumes, but it was the first one I ever...

It took me a few pages to get really involved. Stephen R. Donaldson's protagonists are often filled with such self-loathing that it's hard to get to like them. But in the case of Mick Axbrewder, it doesn't last long enough to be disheartening.Axbrewder is recovering from his previous life, which involved abusing alcohol, getting shot in the stomach, breaking with his lover, and shooting his younger brother dead by accident. Sounds like a bad country song. He finds himself holed up in a cheap apa...

I ordered this book because I'd very much enjoyed the other three Axbrewder novels. Donaldson has a knack for this genre, something I hadn't known at all about until this past August when I purchased a signed copy of The Man Who Killed His Brother, signed by author "Reed Stephens, aka Stephen R. Donaldson". Being a fan of Donaldson's Gap series of Science Fiction, and the characters he brings alive, I read it immediately. Damn glad I did. That, and the two other books that followed it in quick s...

Thoroughly enjoyed this 4th chapter in the series, probably my favourite out of the set in actual fact. The first book is about a drunk; the second about protection, and danger; the third a horrible mystery event weekend, and the fourth about martial arts. Now, I have absolutely zero interest in such a topic but the way the main man of the series is unleashed in this entry makes it more interesting than I expected. Plus apparently he's a complete stud. Who knew?Must admit I struggled a bit with

It seems that I either love Donaldson ("Mordant's Need" duology) or hate him (Thomas Covenant books). This book broke that pattern. I finished it, but wasn't all that impressed.The main character is a private investigator trying to pull his life and career back together after being gut-shot by an enemy and then having his romantic and professional partner (a woman with one hand) break up with him in both relationships. I found him intriguing, but wished he had been given a better story.This one

This is my least favorite of the series. Partly because a large part of the book involve various martial arts schools and I'm not terribly interested by that, and partly, because Ginny wasn't a large part of this book. I'm also disappointed that there's not a fifth book because clearly Ginny and Brew's story isn't wrapped up. But these books came out in the 90s and didn't do all that well, so I'm sure that killed the series. A pity. I would read more if were more to read.

Extremely down on his luck p.i. protects martial arts artifacts that some are willing to kill for.I thought the mystery part was a great example of noir written in a contemporary voice. The martial arts parts I was not fond of. Either the protagonist is completely dismissive of martial arts or he is completely awestruck by the mystical masters.

Interesting book that explores a side of martial arts that maybe not everyone sees. He still manages to make it seem almost too unreal though. But he has a voice I love to hear and a gift for storytelling that is always worth the read.

Donaldson's mystery series does not rate with his fantasy or sci fi writings (in my opinion), but the fourth (and final?) volume of "The Man Who" series kept me interested - the more I read the better I liked it. Still, pales compared to "Thomas Covenant"....

I found this book interesting, and I like the character. It seems to me it could use a nice tight edit. This is Donaldson, but it's not Thomas Covenant. This also extended into a four book series. I read this one but not the others. Not yet.

I haven't read many mystery novels, but this one (the fourth in the "Man Who" mystery series starring Mick Axebrewder) is by far my favorite. I wish Donaldson would do a fifth one in this series.

Took awhile to get into. Not a bad read, but not an amazing awesome read either.

An interesting mystery featuring the all-to-common lost soul detective. Worth reading.

My first by Donaldson. Solid, but mundane