Days of Atonement

I read this book about 10 years ago when I was getting into the sci-fi genre and have loved it ever since. Like more than a few of Williams books, it does start a little slow, but has a great build up to a very pleasing, if a little sad, end.

Remember the small town cop from the first Rambo movie, First Blood? He's a good comparison of our main character, Loren Hawn, the small town, good ole boy, sheriff who gets things done, even if he has to break a few laws to do it. He loves his family, his town, his way of life. But forces come into play that try to upset everything. Drug dealers, local teen hoodlums, mean drunks, crazy street people, eco-terrorists all turn on Loren and try to change his town and the people he has sworn to protect. Then there is the strange goings on at the new local Physics lab. William Patience, Hawn's nemesis, is the head of security of the lab and does everything by the book, his book, that is. On top of all the other problems for Loren there is the Murder. The recent murder of someone who died in a car wreck 20 years before. And Loren is sure Patience and his lab are somehow mixed up in it. As Loren tries to find the killer many of the towns dark secrets are pushed out into the light. And his hard-knock methods cause his friends to turn on him. But that's alright, Loren gets things done anyway as he sets out to right wrongs because he is the Sword and Arm of the Lord! This book shows Walter Jon Williams' versatility as a writer. Although it has Sci-Fi and cyberpunk elements, it's really nothing like my other two favorite books of his, Voice of the Whirlwind, and Hardwired. If you are fans of those works, be ready for a change of direction. A fantastic story of one man's fight for what he thinks is right!Days of Atonement

______________________________________________ Just a quick heads-up re this excellent New Mexico political/police-procedural/SF thriller, which I just reread. It's a terrific page-turner -- kept me up til the small hours. I enjoyed it more the second time than the first -- I hadn't remembered it as being so good, and put it on the reread pile after someone online commented on how good the book is. This is as good a portrayal of red rage as you're likely to see anywhere. There are nits to pick -- a 3 digit code to unlock the heavies' Uzis! -- but they won't bother you during the read. This was WJW's "crossover" novel before The Rift, and it's a far, far better book -- one of his best. Don't miss. Out of print, but readily available. Happy reading-- Pete Tillman

A wonderful and exciting novel with a lot of surprises. Hard SF meets the Southwest Law and Williams makes it interesting all the way through.

I didn't expect to like this book. In fact, I left it sitting on my pile for months before I gave it a chance. An unlikely combination of police procedural and hard science fiction, this novel somehow manages to pull it all together perfectly, making it one of Williams' best (which is saying a lot). Try it