Sigh ... F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack series ends and starts with the last RJ book Wilson plans to write (at least that's what he said). i hope RJ appears in other short stories in the future, but if this is the last of the series, then WHAT a conclusion. The answering machine is busy recording yet another plea for help (thanks to Abe), as we leave our favorite anti-heroic protagonist.
The book starts deceptively easy going, as Jack indulges his comic book paraphanelia hobby. From there, the action and tension builds steadily as we see all the players / plotlines play their roles. WE know they have to intersect, but the HOW is what Wilson deftly steers us (and his characters) to the exciting climax: we know what happened in real life, but why did it end up that way? Some answers resolve why we don't see some of the main supporting characters from this trilogy. But the hand of Fate, while heavy, is much more subtle about its presence than in the past two books. So you still mourn the loss of these people, but our foreknowledge of the future sllows us to understand why this had to happen. For those who have not read the full series, there is a reason. It's just not revealed to Jack as yet.
--Sidebar advice on how to read these books
So if you are relatively new to Repairman Jack, then the Cold/Dark/Fear City trilogy is a great intro to the main Adversary and Repairman Jack series. If you want a deeper appreciation, read the first 3 books in the Advesary cycle. THEN start the RJ series until half way through. Stop and read the 4th and 5th Advesary books. Save the earlier "Nightworld" until you reach the same title in the RJ timeline. Then read the earlier version fbefore you read the newer version. You will appreciate just how more complete the 2nd version is. Both are really great suspenseful novels. The 2nd gives a broader picture.
--Sidebar advice on how to read these books
Anyway. I hauled my copy over to China but didn't crack the covers until I knew I had a few hours to hunker down and read. So the first half was read in the hotel on my last night there. The second half was at the airport and the return flight. I'm glad I took that approach, as the 2nd half accelerated to and through the hours just before the "Mohamedans" attack. It was worth the weight.
As with the other two Early Jack books, the viewpoint switches quickly between the different plot threads. But my overall impression was Wilson changed his selection style, so chapter endings left you tumbling just over the cliffhanger instead of breaking off just before.
Now. I have to go and dig out my old copies of the series and read them from the start. One consolation. I got my sibling hooked on RJ this past summer, so we will both mourn the end of the series.
Kuzu
PS. I have seen authors swear they will write no more books after they end a series, but come back 10-20 years later with another set. FPW is still young enough to come in at the low end of that scale when he recharges his Repairman Jack or Adverseries pen.
The book starts deceptively easy going, as Jack indulges his comic book paraphanelia hobby. From there, the action and tension builds steadily as we see all the players / plotlines play their roles. WE know they have to intersect, but the HOW is what Wilson deftly steers us (and his characters) to the exciting climax: we know what happened in real life, but why did it end up that way? Some answers resolve why we don't see some of the main supporting characters from this trilogy. But the hand of Fate, while heavy, is much more subtle about its presence than in the past two books. So you still mourn the loss of these people, but our foreknowledge of the future sllows us to understand why this had to happen. For those who have not read the full series, there is a reason. It's just not revealed to Jack as yet.
--Sidebar advice on how to read these books
So if you are relatively new to Repairman Jack, then the Cold/Dark/Fear City trilogy is a great intro to the main Adversary and Repairman Jack series. If you want a deeper appreciation, read the first 3 books in the Advesary cycle. THEN start the RJ series until half way through. Stop and read the 4th and 5th Advesary books. Save the earlier "Nightworld" until you reach the same title in the RJ timeline. Then read the earlier version fbefore you read the newer version. You will appreciate just how more complete the 2nd version is. Both are really great suspenseful novels. The 2nd gives a broader picture.
--Sidebar advice on how to read these books
Anyway. I hauled my copy over to China but didn't crack the covers until I knew I had a few hours to hunker down and read. So the first half was read in the hotel on my last night there. The second half was at the airport and the return flight. I'm glad I took that approach, as the 2nd half accelerated to and through the hours just before the "Mohamedans" attack. It was worth the weight.
As with the other two Early Jack books, the viewpoint switches quickly between the different plot threads. But my overall impression was Wilson changed his selection style, so chapter endings left you tumbling just over the cliffhanger instead of breaking off just before.
Now. I have to go and dig out my old copies of the series and read them from the start. One consolation. I got my sibling hooked on RJ this past summer, so we will both mourn the end of the series.
Kuzu
PS. I have seen authors swear they will write no more books after they end a series, but come back 10-20 years later with another set. FPW is still young enough to come in at the low end of that scale when he recharges his Repairman Jack or Adverseries pen.
Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed Fear City (Repairman Jack Early Years Trilogy) on + 1031 more book reviews
This is the last book F. Paul Wilson wrote about Repairman Jack, although it's in the middle of the chronology. I'm not sure if this trilogy really gave me a good idea on the evolution of Repairman Jack. Wilson wanted to tell a story about the first World Trade Center bombing, and it fits excruciatingly well into the Secret History. It was actually kind of uncomfortable for me to read, because those were real terrorists and what they did was real. Not to mention the terrible future. But anyway, that's something different. Well-rounded characters and convincing dialogue have really never been Wilson's strong suit. He's got great ideas, interesting plots, and he moves the action along. Jack is definitely a great character, Wilson's best character, and this trilogy should have spent more time with him. Vinnie Donuts is a recurring character in the main series, but we didn't need all the detail about how he got established. He isn't interesting. We also didn't need to see so much of the terrorists either, IMO. I would rather have had more scenes between Jack and Bertels, Abe, Julio to show how his thinking evolved. I did think the subplot with Kristin was interesting, Jack never considered that while he is hiding his identity from her, she's also hiding from him. It's a decent book, it wraps up this story arc very well, but I'd have liked more Jack POV and less others.
P.S. I thought I was done with the whole Repairman Jack set, because Wilson says in the forward "Fear City will be the last Repairman Jack novel for a while...maybe forever". And it turns out "a while" is 5 years, because there's a new one out now in 2019.
P.S. I thought I was done with the whole Repairman Jack set, because Wilson says in the forward "Fear City will be the last Repairman Jack novel for a while...maybe forever". And it turns out "a while" is 5 years, because there's a new one out now in 2019.
