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Darwin's Blade is a book written by Dan Simmons. Released in 2000, it features accident investigator Darwin Minor facing off against an organized crime ring.
Characters[]
- Darwin Minor
- Sydney "Syd" Olson
- Lawrence Stewart - one of Dar's two co-workers at Stewart Investigators, first appeared in Simmons' earlier novel Summer of Night.
- Trudy Stewart
- Dallas Trace - the frontman of the Alliance
- Pavel Zuker - one of the two snipers
- Gregor Yaponchik - one of the two snipers
- Jorgé Murphy Esposito - minor member of the Alliance
- W.D.D. (Willard Darren Dirks) Du Bois - lawyer working for Stewart Investigators
- James Warren - an FBI Agent working against the Alliance
- Bill Reinhardt
- Frank Hernandez
- Tom Sutton
- Paul Fields
- Richard Allen "Dick" Weid
- Captain Ned Butler, Jr.
- Buzz McCall
- Marlena Schultz
- Bob Gauss
- Jeanette Poulsen - an NICB attorney who is secretly working for the Alliance
- Bill Whitney
- Lester Greenspan
- Charles "Chuckie" Bromley
- Paul Cameron
- Patrolman Elroy
- Henry Goldsmith
- William Riley Williams
- Ms. Maxwell
- Mr. Strubbins
rest to be added
Publisher's summary[]
Darwin Minor travels a dangerous road. A Vietnam veteran turned reluctant expert on interpreting the wreckage of fatal accidents, Darwin uses science and instinct to unravel the real causes of unnatural disasters. He is very, very good at his job.
His latest case promises to be his most challenging yet. A spate of seemingly random high-speed car accidents has struck the highways of southern California. Each seems to have been staged-yet the participants have all died. Why would anyone commit fraud at the cost of his own life? The deeper Darwin digs, the closer he comes to unmasking an international network specializing in intimidation and murder, whose members will do anything to make sure Darwin soon suffers a deadly accident of his own.
Full Summary[]
Chapter 1: "A is for Hole"[]
Darwin Minor is sent by a CHP officer named Paul Cameron to investigate a mysterious car crash in Borrego Springs. The baffling crash turns out to be the result of a car with rocket thrusters attached to it.
Chapter 2: "B is for Bud"[]
The next case that Dar investigates (this one in his official capacity with Stewart Investigators) is a death at a retirement mobile home park. Dar finds out that the victim was stuck in an electric cart (dubbed a Pard) due to a stroke three years ago and accidentally died after his cart tipped over.
While leaving, Dar is ambushed on the road and his car is shot at.
Chapter 3: "C is for Careering"[]
Dar begins a high-speed chase with the car shooting at him. This chase is followed by a police car (briefly) and a news helicopter. During this chase, Dar is able to snap photos of the car as its occupants shoot at him. The chase ends with the other car careening off of a cliff and Dar being arrested.
Chapter 4: "D is for Dickweed"[]
Dar is brought to court over this, though not for any charges to be brought up against him (though a few people in the court want him to be charged with vehicular manslaughter). Dar is instead brought into an FBI team investigating coordinated insurance fraud, as the shooters that Dar killed are believed to have been part of a Russian mob operation specializing in insurance fraud, dubbed the Alliance.
Chapter 5: "E is for Ticket"[]
Immediately after their time in court, Dar and Sydney Olson (a major force within the investigation who serves as a bodyguard for Dar) leave for an apartment owned by Dar. They discuss various different subjects (such as the placement of books within Dar's shelves). After this, Dar brings Sydney onto one of his cases, a fatal crash at a movie concert caused by two people trying to sneak into it in an extremely incompetent way.
Chapter 6: "F is for Foreperson"[]
Dar watches a sexual harrasment lawsuit and then meets with Sydney to talk about the Alliance's operations. After this, they leave for the house of Dar's coworkers within Stewart Investigations, Lawrence and Trudy. While in the house, they have a battle of wills over what car has the worst name.
Chapter 7: "G is for Whiz"[]
After discussing various figures within the fraudulent insurance claims world, Lawrence and Trudy then have Sydney give them advice on a case they are investigating. Lawrence used a hidden camera to gain footage of a slip-and-fall claimant that could destroy her case, but, during this Lawrence accidentally caught embarrasing footage of himself. Sydney tells them that though they can't edit the embarrasing part out of it, the full footage probably won't be shown. Dar and Sydney then leave for the wilds of California.
Chapter 8: "H is for Preparation"[]
Dar and Syd enter into the small town of Julian. While in the town, they discuss Dar's findings on the Challenger explosion. They then leave for a cabin built by Dar for his wife (killed in a plane crash several years before the events of Darwin's Blade). Darwin gives Sydney a "sheep wagon" (a small cozy building) right outside the cabin. They have a rather lengthy discussion over several matters (during which, Dar realizes that he is falling in love with Sydney) before Dar leaves for the cabin.
Chapter 9: "I is for Witness"[]
The next day, Sydney and Darwin discuss a vehicular homicide case which was ignored due to homophobic office politics. Though it initially seems unconnected to the Alliance's machinations, it turns out that all of the people within the homicide have ties to a major force within the fraud world - Jorgé Murphy Esposito, a lawyer prevalent in fraud cases.
Chapter 10: "J is for Jorgé"[]
While out sailplaning, Dar discovers that Esposito has been killed. While at a construction site, Esposito was killed by a falling lift (his head opened up like a soup can). While it appears to be an accident at first glance, Dar's rudimentary examination of the scene reveals that Esposito was murdered.
Chapter 11: "K is for Strike Out"[]
After dealing with rush hour traffic, Dar and Sydney present lawyer Dallas Trace (the father of one of the victims of the vehicular homicide) with the computer generayed footage of the accident. Despite this, Dallas refuses to believe that his son was murdered. While there, Sydney asks about Dallas' support for a charity mega-organization called Helpers of the Helpless that provides help to Latin American immigrants.
Later, after Dar and Sydney visit a hospital filled Helpers, Sydney reveals that she suspects that Dallas is one of the front men of the Alliance, with the Helpers serving as a mass recruitment organization. This is a bridge too far for Darwin to believe, and he quits the investigation.
Chapter 12: "L is for Long Shot"[]
The day after Dar quits the investigation is seemingly normal for Dar except for two things.
The first event is that Darwin is visited by Sydney and a fellow investigator (Tom Santana). The duo give Darwin a shotgun and attempt to get him to accept their protection. During this, Sydney reveals the true nature of the "Alliance" - it is an Alliance of lawyers (possibly including Dallas Trace) who have ties with Russian mobsters. Ultimately, Sydney and Santana's attempts fail.
The second event is that, as Dar readies for bed, he is shot at (again).
Chapter 13: "M is for Mist"[]
Dar survives because the sniper accidentally shot his reflection in a bathroom mirror. Sydney (who was camped outside protecting Dar) chases after the sniper but loses the sniper (who drops their sniper rifle). After this, Dar's house is filled with cops. Sydney tries to get Dar back onto the investigation of the Alliance but he essentially gives a nonanswer. After everyone else leaves, Dar slips into his bed and falls asleep.
Chapter 14: "N is for Los Niños"[]
After Lawrence stays at Darwin's flat for the night, the duo drives to a case in which a car dealership accidentally destroyed one of their cars while filming an ad. While driving back, Dar drives into a traffic snake caused by a crash between a car and a truck carrying cars that essentially annihilated a family. The crash was instigated by a capper and, after seeing what lengths the Alliance will go to, Dar decides to rejoin the investigation against them.
Chapter 15: "O is for Organizatsiya"[]
Sydney holds a conference with various other organizations (and Dar, Lawrence, and Trudy) showing the full breadth of the Alliance and the identities of the hitmen who went after Darwin (a Russian sniper duo who fought in the Afghan War and who now work for the Russian mafia). Afterwards, Dar gets coached by W.D.D. du Bois in the ferocity of the Alliance and James Warren invites Dar to a barbecue restaurant.
Chapter 16: "P is for Pertinence"[]
After gaining files on the snipers from Warren, Dar goes shopping for materials to build a gilly suit. He is followed by Sydney - from whom he learns that the conference was largely to discover the identity of a mole within the anti-Alliance taskforce. Dar then returns to his cabin and grabs an old sniper rifle from a secret basement. He is interrupted by Sydney knocking at the front door of the cabin. She reveals that she has learned about Dar's past - specifically about events that took place in "Dalat".
Chapter 17: "Q is for Quagmire"[]
After making dinner for Syndey and himself, Dar reveals the history of Dalat.
Dalat is a city in Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, the United States helped the South Vietmanese forces build a nuclear reactor within its confines. This reactor was quickly forgotten but as the war reached its end, two Vietnamese engineers reminded the American forces that the reactor was still running and (due to the city being overrun by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops) required scuttling.
As such, two American engineers were sent to the Dalat nuclear reactor to scuttle it and recover the radioactive material while a team of snipers (including Dar) accompanied them as protection. During their battle with the enemy forces, every sniper besides Dar was killed but the engineers completed their job - grabbing (what they thought) was plutonium.
While driving with Sydney, Dar reveals that the engineers accidentally grabbed polonium instead of plutonium due to a labeling error.
Chapter 18: "R is for Recon"[]
After Dar builds the ghilie suit, he has Lawrence drop him off near Dallas Trace's Mulholland Drive house and spies on him. This shows Dallas meeting with the snipers (and also shows his wife cheating on him).
After this, Dar meets with the son (Captain Ned Butler, Jr.) of one of his Vietnam comrades. Ned gives Dar a new rifle. As Dar is leaving the military base that Ned works at, he is called by Lawrence - who tells him that they have found another of the Alliance's lackeys.
Chapter 19: "S is for Satchelbigge"[]
The lackey in question (Paulie Satchel) died at his current job - a hamburger factory - by being fed into a hydraulic press used to make hamburger patties. It is a somewhat obvious murder. After examining Paulie's body, Dar gives the surveillance photos to Sydney. He then discovers that he has been put in charge of a taskforce on accident investigation along with Lawrence and Trudy.
The trio then begins work on analyzing the deaths of various people tied to the Alliance - including a lawyer who supposedly died after drunkenly driving his car off of a cliff. During this investigation, Sydney finds out that Tom Santana (who was undercover at the time) was killed.
Chapter 20: "T is for Sympathy"[]
In response to Santana's death, Sydney holds a conference to announce that she has found the mole within the investigation. This is NICB attorney Jeanette Poulsen - who is promptly arrested.
Shortly after this and Santana's funeral (during which Dar and Sydney discuss how the Organizatsiya has taken almost complete control of the Alliance), Dar and Sydney visit Dar's cabin. It is in the cabin that Dar and Sydney's relationship truly begins. While in the cabin, Sydney asks Dar to take her sailplaning with him.
Chapter 21: "U is for Updraft"[]
Dar and Sydney's sailplaning voyage seems normal until it is interrupted by Alliance hitmen in a helicopter. Though they are nearly shot down, Dar is able to stop them by crashing the sailplane into the helicopter - with Dar and Sydney bailing out right before the sailplane and the helicopter crash. Though the helicopter's pilot is killed, the gunman (Tony Constanza) is alive and nearly kills Dar. Constanza is shot in the leg by Sydney before he can shoot Dar.
Chapter 22: "V is for Vincible"[]
After Constanza gives up information on the Alliance, the investigators move into arrest the major figures. While Dallas Trace is arrested, the snipers manage to escape. As this happens, Dar readies himself for an assault on his cabin by the snipers.
Chapter 23: "W is for Wait"[]
Dar lies in wait for the snipers. During this time, he mulls over his philosophical views before sighting the snipers and several other Organizatsiya goons. Before he can call Sydney and Warren, he spots Sydney's car driving to his cabin.
Chapter 24: "X is for Terminate"[]
Dar manages to warn Sydney about the snipers before they can shoot her. To hide from the Organizatsiya forces, Sydney hides in the cabin - but is found by the goons. Dar is able to neutralize them, but is hit by the snipers in the process. While moving positions, Dar is found by the one of the snipers (the spotter, Pavel Zuker) and kills him with a knife.
Chapter 25: "Y is for Yaponchik"[]
After regrouping, Dar and Sydney begin tracking the surviving sniper (Gregor Yaponchik) before he can escape. Yaponchik tries to escape using a stolen car. Darwin shoots the gas tank of the car, causing it to explode. This dosn't kill Yaponchik but he is promptly killed in a sniper duel with Dar.
Chapter 26: "Z is for Zoological"[]
As Dar heals from his injuries, he and Sydney visit a zoo - where one of the zoo's employees (possibly the father of a character from Dan Simmons' earlier novel Fires of Eden) was accidentally killed by the elephant he cherished. During this, Dar shows anger towards cops who make snide remarks at the deceased and starts crying during the examination. After the examination, Sydney discusses this - claiming that it is hesma phobou (or a shedding of fear practiced by the Spartans).
Sources[]
- Goodreads