RATING: 3.0PROTAGONIST: Repairman JackSETTING: New York City; BermudaSERIES: #9 of 9We’ve probably all experienced times when we’ve had conflict with a family member. Sometimes, that can go so far as complete estrangement. Jack and his father, Tom, had been at odds for a long time; however, in the past year, they went through some heavy stuff together and have reconciled. Now Tom is coming to New York from Miami to visit his son. There’s a palpable feeling of love and caring when they meet at the airport. Jack leaves his father at the baggage claim while he goes to pick up the car; it’s then that a deadly massacre occurs, with 2 gunman killing everyone at the baggage carousel for Flight 715. To ensure that there are no survivors, the assassins have used cyanide-filled hollow point bullets, so that what would ordinarily be a bullet wound becomes a fatal injury. The targets for the massacre appear to have been a large contingent of Hasidic Jews that were on the flight. And thus Jack’s reunion with his father is over before it really begins.Given the fact that Jack (aka "Repairman Jack") no longer operates under his real name, he calls on his brother, Tom, to come to New York to claim their father’s remains. Tom is a judge in Philadelphia; he and Jack have not been close for many years. Almost from the moment they meet, things don't go well. As it turns out, Tom is a selfish and unlikeable man; in addition, he's turned to some illegal activities. When he finds that he is being hunted by the law, he begs Jack to help him disappear. In order to do so, he needs to collect the funds from his secret bank account in Bermuda. What he doesn't tell Jack is that he also has a treasure map of a ship from centuries ago, and that he hopes to find an object known as the "Lilitongue of Gefreda". Jack absolutely does not want to help his brother and would much prefer to stay with his girlfriend, Gia, her daughter, Vicky, and await the birth of their first child. Feeling that he is the only one that can help Tom, he reluctantly agrees to the trip.When they arrive in Bermuda, Tom is unable to obtain his money and talks Jack into finding the Lilitongue, which they do. Having expected a vast cache of jewels, he is disappointed to find a strange object that looks like a skin-covered basketball. They bring it with them back to New York and only then discover its lethal properties.I know there is a cult-like following of the "Repairman Jack" books, of which this is the ninth. I fail to see what the appeal is. The writing is absolutely ordinary. The protagonist and other characters in the book didn't have any depth, and it was impossible to connect with them. The plot was very strange. I believed that the book would be about finding the terrorists who massacred the travelers on Flight 715. Instead, that turned into a very secondary part of the plot. The whole thread about the Lilitongue and its paranormal properties seemed silly to me at best. I didn't dislike the book, but I didn't find anything about it that really made it stand out in any way for me.
After a devastating event at the airport, Jack needs his brother's help to claim a body. The brotherly reunion doesn't go well as Jack gets suckered into going on an overseas trip to Bermuda where he learns his judicial brother has gotten himself into more than a lot of trouble. Trying to find a solution to his predicament, Tom encourages Jack to help look for buried treasure which leads them to the discovery of a rather unusual artifact that opens up a Pandora's Box of trouble.I did blow through this book because it's Repairman Jack! ... and I enjoy F. Paul Wilson's writing style and the supernatural elements. But, I didn't like this particular book with respect to the rest of the series. It was too predictable. And I really was annoyed with Jack's brother Tom. Grrrr!Usually these books have a couple different plot lines that converge, but the sub-plot in this book was more divergent and I had to ask myself "why was this even in here?"... the answer to which I filled in with "maybe it sets things up for the following book?"While I didn't really care for the book, there were a few things I did enjoy-- the nod to a couple of the previous books "The Haunted Air" and "Crisscross" and "Gateways". So... if you haven't read other books in this series you might not know what's going on if you just jump into this book. I would almost say you could skip it, except for a few main things that happened-- Jack retrieves a particular book we read about in "Crisscross" and we learn about seven artifacts that will potentially have future roles in the Repairman Jack books.So, while this wasn't up to par with the rest of the series, I believe that it had some events which will contribute to the saga in other Repairman Jack novels.
What do You think about Infernal (2006)?
Spoilers within:I don't fancy the racist language, though I understand it's necessary to the attitudes of some of the characters, but I wish Jack had countered it in his inner monologue or something because he knows it's not just "Arabs" behind the evil at work in the book. Plus I think too many readers could be incited to further hatred after reading certain passages. I'm also unsure about some of the unbelievable plot points: namely, I'm not convinced that, even in the fantastic world which is enmeshed in our own reality, a scumbag can turn into anything other than a scumbag. I know Jack has to return for a few more books, and so nothing can happen to him per se; but I will buy into a weird organic object created by a wizard to transport its user to some unknown dimension before I will believe that a crooked lawyer who is also a terrible father, husband, son, and brother could make a complete change in 5 years let alone 5 minutes, and sacrifice himself to save a brother he barely knows -- even though he himself has nothing left to lose. That said, this was an awesome novel and an emotionally exhausting read. Gia and Vicky are, as they should be, becoming more inextricable from the novels' plots, and so when something happens to them I'm on edge till the end of the book. Plus, Jack and Gia have a pretty perfect love, and I'm in love with their story.
—Brittany
Boy, this series just keeps on rolling along, maintaining consistently high writing, excellent supernatural/mystery plot, and great characters. Jack's brother Tom is the central supporting character this time around and the interaction between the two is very interesting.Each of these Repairman Jack novels seems to be split between 1) a "fix-it" job which is much like a private eye/crime novel plot and 2) an going supernatural plot that moves slowly along as we learn more and more about what is happening in the background. This time around, the supernatural part takes on a bigger role with the "infernal" and its effect on the story. An intriguing premise that really brings out the character traits of those it impacts. Sorry if that sounds like a vague description of this novel, but I don't want to spoil anything.Highly recommended, as all of the RJ books, but definitely read them in order.
—Benjamin Thomas
Not my favorite of the Jack books, but a solid enough offering. Tough to talk much about the plot with out spoilers as some major things happen almost immediately.The bulk of the book follows Jack and his long estranged brother who has some problems of his own. In trying to resolve some of these problems, they end up digging up a lost treasure that could have ties to the Otherness.Two things brought down the rating a bit for me. First, Jack's brother is an unmitigated ass for nearly off the book. I can understand why Wilson chooses to go this route, but having him feature so prominently in the book makes for some unpleasant reading.Secondly, the ending was a bit clichéd and seen coming from a mile away. It is partially redeemed by some unresolved issues that I assume will lead in to the next book.
—Brian Maicke
