This writer knows that a competent editor will save an author from boners such as those (Shame on you, Little, Brown!). Readers who don't customarily pick such nits probably won't notice the mistakes because they'll be too busy having fun with Lange's story.
Thus my verdict is that This Wicked World is rock-em, sock-em, arm-breaking, armchair adventure. The message is about doing the right thing, about how much trouble the effort brings us, about what it's worth to us as human beings. Moral ambiguity is a leitmotif in This Wicked World. Good and Evil are a hard pair to separate throughout. Wrong things (even armed robbery and murder) can look like right things if they're done in a just cause by people who for whatever reason try too hard to do right.
So it is with Jimmy Boone. Driven by his need to accomplish just one good thing, Jimmy leads a small crew of his friends neck-deep into the muck of thuggery.
When the blood all dries and the dust all settles, Jimmy Boone thinks he's about through with Los Angeles. This writer suspects, however, that Los Angeles is not through with Jimmy Boone. Fans of crime fiction, having read This Wicked World, will hope that Richard Lange finds new adventures for Jimmy (and a better editor) soon.
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