Hello! I just registered the other day, and figured the best way to start posting was with something I knew.
Is anyone else here a fan of F. Paul Wilson’s Repairman Jack novels? The series spans the books The Tomb, Legacies, Conspiracies, All the Rage, Hosts, The Haunted Air, and the brand new Gateways. Great books, all.
They’ve been described as “weird meets crime”. A little difficult to explain, really, but here’s a run-down for the curious: Jack is a “repairman”–a guy who says he fixes appliances, but in truth fixes situations. What officialdom can’t help with, Jack will. Sounds a little formulaic, but the books are anything but.
So, anyone else a fan? Or interested?
Oh, and by the way–hello, again. Look forward to posting here.
I read the first Repairman Jack novel, I thought that was great. But I didn’t realize he wrote more until a few years ago. Then I picked up the one about the wireless energy source, and I thought it was a big letdown.
But I love how Repairman Jack came to be, especially what he did to the kid who killed his mother.
Yeah, out of all the books, that’s the one Wilson tried to play the most “real”. The rest of the stories are more along the lines of The Tomb; they contain somewhat supernatural settings, elements, situations. I’d recommend you try to pick it up again with Conspiracies; it’s a fun book.
And to Charybdis–the setup sounds comedic, but they’re played straight. If you read them, you’ll see that it’s anything but comedic (although Jack can be humorous).
I’ve read all but the latest, and for the most part heartily endorse them.
However.
The first Jack was a bit grittier than the current Jack. Wilson is trying to cram too much conspiracy theory in every book, and I think it’s getting in the way of character development. After all, we read these books for Jack, not for broadcast power, Rakosh, MIBs, or . . . the Adversary. (Guess Cthulu was taken, huh?)
Still, good reads. I’ll pick up haunted air as soon as the library has it.
I see what you’re saying–the thing is, the Jack books relate to Wilson’s Adversary Cycle (The Keep, The Tomb, The Touch, Reborn, Reprisal, Nightworld). He admits to trying to create a Lovecraftian feel to the whole thing; Lovecraft was his chief inspiration. The AC is actually damned good, and once the Jack books are done (he said he’ll cap it at around 10 books), they’ll provide lots of backing for the whole thing.
