Tigerman places a superhero in a realistic, modern-day setting, albeit in a fictitious island called Mancreu. It explores the complex relationship the man behind the mask has with his superhero persona, his environment and the people around him. Less emphasis was placed on the superpowers (of which there really isn't none, aside from athleticism and combat awareness, no megabillionbuckaroos here); the story focuses on the protagonist's journey from a sergeant of the British Army to Tigerman (not tiger man, mind).
Mancreu, an former British colony, can be attributed to any number of real-world analogue, except in this case, Mancreu is about to be devoured by a cloud of toxic stuff. This places it in a legal limbo that allows Tigerman to come to being. It actually makes sense and gives the story a setting that is more grounded in realpolitik; at least, more so than Gotham ever was (to my casual reader's eye at least).
While Mancreu is built in such a way that it becomes a character in the book (albeit a non-speaking one), the core of the book deals with Lester Ferris' (the said British Sergeant) relationship with his side-kick/young friend (aptly named Boy, or the Boy in certain cases) -- this relationship explores, in great personal detail, what Batman's relationship with Robin would possibly be like: father-son, teacher-mentor, pedophile-love interest.
The novel is very, very personal, in the sense that it puts you deep inside Ferris' head. It's very, very tight-first person storytelling here and it took me ages to read through this novel because I couldn't read beyond a chapter at a time. There's nothing wince-worthy here, nor was the story-telling particularly bandwidth intensive. It was just told in a manner that requires me to take a day long breather after every session.
I wouldn't call Tigerman a particularly fast-paced novel, it's pretty much like a month at the beach -- slow going, almost idyllic, with moments of intense activity. But it's a very interesting read -- the core idea is one that appeals to the (casual) comic book fan in me and treats the thesis with the gravitas it deserves, without taking itself too seriously.
Verdict 4/5 Good read, solid piece of work.
TL;DR:
+ Very well written, the central idea is solid, so is the storytelling
+ Great characters, you really get inside the protagonist's head, with all that implies
+ The setting, Mancreu, comes alive. It almost makes me want to go visit. Almost
- Pace is a bit slow, not exactly a book that you pick up and won't put down.
Details:
Author: Nick Harkaway
Genre: Superhero, Political/Real-world Fiction
Book Length: 352 Pages (Hardcover Version)
Read on: Ebook Version
Published: July 29, 2014
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Tigerman-A-novel-Nick-Harkaway/dp/0385352417
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