Gateways

Rating:
Summary: Back in Action!
Review: F. Paul Wilson's iconic hero-without-a-history, Repairman Jack, is back for his seventh, and possibly finest, adventure.

News of an accident involving his estranged father sends the self-styled Mr. Fix-it to a creepy retirement community in Florida, where longevity is a theory, not a practice.

If the culture shock isn't hard enough for NY's native son, a string of unsolved murders and some very creepy locals alert Jack to the fact that the supernatural Otherness, which has been plaguing him since Wilson's THE TOMB, is back for another helping.

With enough action, firepower, one-liners, and wicked monsters for a a dozen novels, GATEWAYS showcases F. Paul Wilson and Jack in top form-- kicking bum and taking names.

See for yourself why Repairman Jack is the greatest series hero in modern genre fiction!

Rating:
Summary: Repairman Jack is Losing Steam
Review: I am an avid reader and longtime Amazon buyer and browser. I have read many reviews, but this is the first time I feel compelled to share my views on a book/series. I'm a big fan of F. Paul Wilson as an author and have read many of his books, including the entire Repairman Jack series. I have enjoyed them all, but I am finding the last few RJ books a letdown. When Wilson first wrote "The Tomb", the first of the series, he never intended it to be a series and the book was complete and enjoyable. One of my favorite parts about reading "The Tomb" was the depth of description about NYC - it brought me back to what the city was like in the early 1980's before it got so clean and tourist-friendly! Wilson did a wonderful job noticing and describing all the small details of a big city.

Now I find that each of the new books is less complete and less enjoyable than the previous one, because nothing ever really happens. We hear about "The Otherness" and see examples, but in the past 4 books, there has been no resolution or any real plot development. And the plot development that does occur seems forced and pedantic: Jack and his dad are now miraculously reunited and surpise! His dad was a sniper in the Marines - just in time for Jack to need a sniper to help him.

Each book I read makes it seem like the series is meant to go on indefinitely- which does not make me want to keep reading - it feels more like a TV series than a book. My other complaint is that there seems to be very little character development of Jack himself. He seems amazingly shallow to be of the age he is and living in the biggest city in America. Yes, that is some of the charm of his character, but for a guy that knows an arms dealer and seems to be pretty good in his craft, he has a remarkably slim grasp of the world around him. While the storyline has been updated to the new millenium, the characters seem stuck in 1950's stereotypes.

That being said, I know I will keep reading this series because it is interesting enough to keep me coming back and I really want to see how Wilson will address these supernatural issues. I just hope that future books start resolving some of those issues.

Rating:
Summary: Repairman Jack is Losing Steam
Review: I am an avid reader and longtime Amazon buyer and browser. I have read many reviews, but this is the first time I feel compelled to share my views on a book/series. I'm a big fan of F. Paul Wilson as an author and have read many of his books, including the entire Repairman Jack series. I have enjoyed them all, but I am finding the last few RJ books a letdown. When Wilson first wrote "The Tomb", the first of the series, he never intended it to be a series and the book was complete and enjoyable. One of my favorite parts about reading "The Tomb" was the depth of description about NYC - it brought me back to what the city was like in the early 1980's before it got so clean and tourist-friendly! Wilson did a wonderful job noticing and describing all the small details of a big city.

Now I find that each of the new books is less complete and less enjoyable than the previous one, because nothing ever really happens. We hear about "The Otherness" and see examples, but in the past 4 books, there has been no resolution or any real plot development. And the plot development that does occur seems forced and pedantic: Jack and his dad are now miraculously reunited and surpise! His dad was a sniper in the Marines - just in time for Jack to need a sniper to help him.

Each book I read makes it seem like the series is meant to go on indefinitely- which does not make me want to keep reading - it feels more like a TV series than a book. My other complaint is that there seems to be very little character development of Jack himself. He seems amazingly shallow to be of the age he is and living in the biggest city in America. Yes, that is some of the charm of his character, but for a guy that knows an arms dealer and seems to be pretty good in his craft, he has a remarkably slim grasp of the world around him. While the storyline has been updated to the new millenium, the characters seem stuck in 1950's stereotypes.

That being said, I know I will keep reading this series because it is interesting enough to keep me coming back and I really want to see how Wilson will address these supernatural issues. I just hope that future books start resolving some of those issues.

Rating:
Summary: Repairman Jack
Review: I have to agree with Kathleen Griffin's note that you should first read "The Barrens." It lends appreciation to this Repairman Jack piece.

Jack heads down to Florida after his father is involved in an auto-accident. There are no more coincidences for Jack, of course, and he finds more going on with his dad than he would ever have expected.

The repairs in Gateways are personal and not as layered as those in The Haunted Air or Hosts (for example), but the personal information on Jack's life and the much-needed reconnection with his father make this a more-than-worthwhile read. And, afterall, it is Repairman Jack, and F. Paul Wilson doesn't disappoint here. It'll keep you going from start to finish.

Rating:
Summary: Repairman Jack
Review: I have to agree with Kathleen Griffin's note that you should first read "The Barrens." It lends appreciation to this Repairman Jack piece.

Jack heads down to Florida after his father is involved in an auto-accident. There are no more coincidences for Jack, of course, and he finds more going on with his dad than he would ever have expected.

The repairs in Gateways are personal and not as layered as those in The Haunted Air or Hosts (for example), but the personal information on Jack's life and the much-needed reconnection with his father make this a more-than-worthwhile read. And, afterall, it is Repairman Jack, and F. Paul Wilson doesn't disappoint here. It'll keep you going from start to finish.

Rating:
Summary: Best Repairman Jack Since The Tomb?
Review: I once read a series of six books by Wilson, called the Adversary Series. It started out with The Keep and ended with an out of print, rare book called Nightworld. Nightworld was an extraordinary book wherein the evil, reborn Rasalom, after a titanic seemingly unwinable battle and against all odds, was vanquished for once and for all, or was he?

With Gateways, it seems our illustrious author is leading us back to another cataclysmic clash with this maleficent character, a reprise of sorts or maybe even a reissue of Nightworld, in which Repairman Jack played a significant part. That would explain why Jack seems to have no recollection of major events that happened in a novel written ten years ago. I suppose we will have to wait and see what Wilson has in mind, so let's get to the story at hand.

Background on Repairman Jack

This is the seventh book involving, the very popular fictional character, Repairman Jack, a character that has become one of the most beloved literary creations since James Bond.

Repairman Jack is an unobtrusive looking guy who has slipped in under the government radar. He doesn't exist as far as the government knows. He has no social security number, no credit cards, pays no taxes, pays cash for everything always keeps a low profile.

Jack "The Equalizer". If you remember the TV show of that name from several years ago, that is what Jack does. No he's not "The Equalizer" but if you've been wronged and you've got the money, Jacks available and Jack can be deadly. He can be your worst nightmare but as nightmares go everything is relative and Jack takes second fiddle in this book as he fights for his and his father's life

Plot

Jack's seventy year old father, was involved in a hit and run accident and is comatose in the hospital. Jack flies down to be with him and as well as to nose around to see if he can find out what happened.

Well the more he finds out, the stranger things get, as Jack seems to have gotten himself involved in yet another supernatural incident involving a young woman who can control animals and older woman with somewhat magical powers.

When Jack finally gets to his fathers hospital room he runs into his father's neighbor, the enigmatic Anya, a mysterious seventy-something lady of surprises. She insists that Jack stay in his dad's house so they in effect are neighbors as well. While there Jack discovers that Anya is indeed more than meets the eye.

As Jack tries to investigate, his fathers accident many things don't add up, such as the anonymous call about the accident preceding the accident by twenty minutes. He also discovers there have been three unnatural deaths among Gateways residents about three months apart and Jacks dad may fit that pattern.

Eventually Jack runs into a white haired girl named Semelee, the defacto leader of a strange group of misshapen young adults called the Clan, that live in the Everglades. Semelee seems to have some advanced knowledge of Jack and also seems to be smitten with Jack, much to the chagrin of Luke, Semelee's wannabe boyfriend.

The next day Jack runs into a gardener named Carl who has a lazy eye and apparently no left arm. He later discovers that Carl used to be a member of the deformed group and gets him to lead Jack to the clan's secret lagoon.

After a couple days in Florida, with the ostensible help of Anya, Jack's father comes out of the coma and that's when things get really interesting.

Conclusion

This is a fun read. A fast moving story of about 370 pages, it may be the most interesting of the Repairman Jack novels since he debuted with the Tomb. The writing is fluid and compelling and we finally get to meet Tom, Repairman Jack's father who is quite a guy himself. You remember him, he's the guy in previous novels that thought Jack repaired appliances.

And don't go away folks. The way the book ends is definitely setting up at least one sequel and when it comes to Repairman Jack, that's good news!

Final rating 4.6 stars

Rating:
Summary: Repairman Jack a favorite
Review: I've read one other Repairman Jack book, The Haunted Air, and I think I'm going to be hooked. Wilson is master of characterization, giving characters believable personalities even in extreme circumstances. Jack's feelings for his father come through in doses, as he learns about his accident and meets some very odd people surrounding him...and his facing of the supernatural menace is expertly handled. No silly farce but deadly serious. Can't wait to read more Repairman Jack and other Wilson books. I read The Keep a few years ago, and it is excellent also.

Rating:
Summary: We Love Repairman Jack!
Review: If you have been reading the Repairman Jack novels, you don't need to read any further...in fact, you are probably already putting this one on hold for yourself or checking it out (if it's on the shelf). If you are new to the series or haven't heard of it yet, this is a good one. Jack's story started in The Tomb way back in 1984. At one point it seemed to have ended (with the world as we know it) in Nightworld in 1992/1993. But Wilson (thankfully!) has decided to go back and fill in the missing years of Jack's life between The Tomb and the beginning of the Nightworld trilogy. This is (I believe) the sixth of those fill in the blank novels. Jack is fix-it man. If someone is blackmailing you, you call Jack to...take the pressure off. He is an "invisible" man. He has no social security number. He looks like your average Joe. But he's an amazing fighter and arms expert. Since The Tomb, though, he has been running in to supernatural problems. It helps to read the books in order, but it's not 100% necessary. In this installment, Jack leaves his beloved New York city (and his near complete anonymity therein) to fly to Florida to check on his Dad who has had a run in with--well, I won't spoil anything, but I will say it is connected to Jack's main adversary "The Otherness" Check out the series if you haven't. Stephen King is the president of the Repairman Jack fan club. If you read one, you'll be a member too!

Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: Of course, I love all of F. Paul Wilson's books. Repairman Jack is definitely my favorite character. Highly recommended, it's a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: Of course, I love all of F. Paul Wilson's books. Repairman Jack is definitely my favorite character. Highly recommended, it's a must read.