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Gladiator
 
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Gladiator (Paperback)

by Philip Wylie (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
List Price: CDN$ 30.95
Price: CDN$ 19.50 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Customers buy this book with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

Gladiator + Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Price For Both: CDN$ 31.90

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  • This item: Gladiator by Philip Wylie

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

  • Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

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Product Description

Product Description

"'What would you do if you were the strongest man in the world, the strongest thing in the world, mightier than the machine?' He made himself guess answers for that rhetorical inquiry. 'I would run the universe single-handed. I would scorn the universe and turn it to my own ends. I would be a criminal. I would rip open banks and gut them. I would kill and destroy. I would be a secret, invisible blight. I would set out to stamp crime off the earth.'" Hugo Danner is the strongest man on earth, the result of a monstrous experiment by his scientist father. Nearly invulnerable, he can run faster than a train, leap higher than trees, lift a wrecked vehicle to rescue its pinned driver, and hurl boulders like baseballs. His remarkable abilities, however, cannot gain him what he desires most-acceptance-for Hugo Danner is desperately lonely, shunned and feared for his enormous strength. An enduring classic in speculative fiction and the reported inspiration for the original comic hero, Superman, Gladiator is a melancholic tale of a boy set apart because of his unique gift and his lifelong struggle to come to terms with it. Philip Wylie (1902-71) wrote several classic works of speculative fiction, including When Worlds Collide, available in the Bison Frontiers of Imagination series. Janny Wurts is the acclaimed author of many novels, including Peril's Gate, from the Wars of Light and Shadow series, and To Ride Hell's Chasm. She is the coauthor, along with Raymond Feist, of the internationally best-selling Empire trilogy.

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3.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
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3.0 out of 5 stars Tragic Hero, May 12 2004
By Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
"Gladiator" by Philip Wylie is thought to be the book from which Superman was derived. Hugo Danner is the strongest man on earth. His father, Professor Abednego Danner, attempts to duplicate the strength displayed by small insects. He tests a solution he creates on tadpoles, and a kitten, before finally drugging his pregnant wife, Matilda, and injecting it into her abdomen. The result is a bullet-proof, super strong, super fast baby boy.

Aside from similarities in abilities between Hugo and Superman, the stories are very different. "Gladiator" is the story of a man blessed with super abilities, and cursed because he has them. As he goes through life, he always must try to hide just how strong and fast he is. Time and time again, he feels he is forced to flee from his current situation when those around him learn of his abilities. He spends time as a Sports hero in college, a strongman in a sideshow on Coney Island, a war hero, and many others. Each time he thinks he has found a place, but each time he is disappointed.

This book was tied for 9th on the Arkham Survey of 'Basic SF Titles' in 1949. It is not without flaws, but I found it to be entertaining. It is certainly not a great book, but just as certain it is worth reading. If the legacy of "Gladiator" is the Superman comics, then that alone would make it noteworthy. As an early SF novel, it is also of interest.

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