david_agranoff's review against another edition
4.0
Wow is it Book twelve of Repairman Jack already? Where has the time
gone. This was the book in the series I was looking forward to because
in conversation with Wilson at the Borderlands writers boot camp he
referred to it as being his Yojimbo influenced novel. Being a fan of
series but also of Akria Kurasawa's classic Samurai movie(which was
also remade into the western fistful of dollars) I was excited to see
how Wilson wove the concept into the world of Jack.
It was done with his typical plotting genius, Yojimbo is a movie where
a hapless seeming Ronin walks into a village in conflict and works
both sides while coming out on top. As Jack works some of the various
cults to fight each other I was amused knowing this was Yojimbo
influence. Knowing he was influenced by that film only adds to the
plot weaving Wilson does when you consider that in many ways By the
Sword is a sequel to the events in Black Wind, while also using
events from several novels including The first Adversary novel The
Keep and of course the previous 11 novels in the Jack series.
I am not sure why but I held off reading Black Wind, Wilson's 1988
classic novel of the second world war in the pacific. Perfect timing
really as that novel informs this one. Indeed the Mcguffin comes
straight out of Black Wind when Jack is hired by the son of Frank
Slater (BM's narrator and main character) to find the family kantna(
Sword) which had been in his adopted Japanese father's hand when the
bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The sword some how survived the blast
and now it has been stolen from the family plantation in Hawaii, and
the thief has made it back to NYC.
Since Harbingers I have come to the conclusion that it is no longer
possible to just drop in on these repairman Jack novels. The events of
Bloodline built in minor ways on the events of Harbingers but By the
sword builds directly off of the last novel. Without knowing the depth
of of the events in the last novel and Black wind to a lesser extent
the full power of this novel might be lost.
By the Sword is a clear step up the ladder towards the end of this
exciting series. This is an important and exciting entry in the series
that is must read, but it helps to have read all the other books in
the secret history of the world as well.
gone. This was the book in the series I was looking forward to because
in conversation with Wilson at the Borderlands writers boot camp he
referred to it as being his Yojimbo influenced novel. Being a fan of
series but also of Akria Kurasawa's classic Samurai movie(which was
also remade into the western fistful of dollars) I was excited to see
how Wilson wove the concept into the world of Jack.
It was done with his typical plotting genius, Yojimbo is a movie where
a hapless seeming Ronin walks into a village in conflict and works
both sides while coming out on top. As Jack works some of the various
cults to fight each other I was amused knowing this was Yojimbo
influence. Knowing he was influenced by that film only adds to the
plot weaving Wilson does when you consider that in many ways By the
Sword is a sequel to the events in Black Wind, while also using
events from several novels including The first Adversary novel The
Keep and of course the previous 11 novels in the Jack series.
I am not sure why but I held off reading Black Wind, Wilson's 1988
classic novel of the second world war in the pacific. Perfect timing
really as that novel informs this one. Indeed the Mcguffin comes
straight out of Black Wind when Jack is hired by the son of Frank
Slater (BM's narrator and main character) to find the family kantna(
Sword) which had been in his adopted Japanese father's hand when the
bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The sword some how survived the blast
and now it has been stolen from the family plantation in Hawaii, and
the thief has made it back to NYC.
Since Harbingers I have come to the conclusion that it is no longer
possible to just drop in on these repairman Jack novels. The events of
Bloodline built in minor ways on the events of Harbingers but By the
sword builds directly off of the last novel. Without knowing the depth
of of the events in the last novel and Black wind to a lesser extent
the full power of this novel might be lost.
By the Sword is a clear step up the ladder towards the end of this
exciting series. This is an important and exciting entry in the series
that is must read, but it helps to have read all the other books in
the secret history of the world as well.
ceilmary's review
5.0
2022 audiobook re read of Repairman Jack series. Been a long time. Enjoying the re-read.
shelflife's review against another edition
3.0
I think this is my least favorite Repairment Jack book. It might be time to finish the series. I felt this book was a little forced and tieing in the Black Wind concept felt a little like a cop out. Like it was too easy. I also felt that Jack was a little too tongue-and-cheek for me and he wasn't as serious as he used to be. I want to see his dark side again. However, I have to give it 3 stars cuz it was totally entertaining.
acknud's review
4.0
Another good offering in the Repairman Jack saga. This is a search for the Matsumune Gaijin. A legendary katana that was physically and spiritually changed in the atomic fire of Hiroshima. The otherness wants this sword and Jack is caught up in the quest to prevent that from happening. The tale goes on.
scottk1222's review
4.0
I have a confession to make........initially I did not care for this installment much at the beginning. Too many new people being mushed in with old people and 2 different groups from Japan ( 3 if you count the oringinal owner of the Katana. F. Paul Wilson was considerate enough to put an Author's note in the begining of the book warning us the books from here on out are going to be different, since he is only doing 2/3 more to close the series. But once I was able to establish who was who and which group they were with it really got rolling. And with out spoiling anything can I just say that Jack is F'ing Brilliant when it comes to this fix it stuff!!!!! I LOVE the way he went about getting what he was after.
I don't like the fact that RJ will be gone soon. I hope the series can maintain the quality that it has put forth for these first 11 books, all the way to the bitter sad end. Hopefully the Movie will do it Justice. If they ever get around to filming it that is. : )
I don't like the fact that RJ will be gone soon. I hope the series can maintain the quality that it has put forth for these first 11 books, all the way to the bitter sad end. Hopefully the Movie will do it Justice. If they ever get around to filming it that is. : )
clgibbons's review against another edition
3.0
I really like Jack as a character. He's becoming one of my favorites of all time. But I'm feeling with every book, Wilson gives us fewer and fewer Jack chapters. I feel like he's just another character in an ensemble cast. I miss him. My other character problem is that we get more Dawn chapters. She bugs the crap out of me. It's getting hard to rate these books on their own since the series is coming to an end and the books all run into one another. But I hope I can get to know Jack again before everything wraps up.
patrick_'s review against another edition
2.0
Mindless plot driven story. Story doesn't stand on its own as it fits into larger world of stories.
mikekaz's review against another edition
4.0
The Repairman Jack stories are now getting to the interesting point where the plot lines from one novel are bleeding through to the next. This helps build the excitement for the forthcoming, new and revised edition of NIGHTWORLD. It also helps to break the pattern that the Repairman Jack novels have been taking. Now things are happening and continuing to happen across books.
BY THE SWORD continues Jack's interactions with the Kickers movement and with Dawn Pickering from BLOODLINE. Additionally he is hired by a Japanese man to find a sword that was stolen from the Hiroshima Museum. This brings its own mishaps as both Yakuza gangsters and a mystical order of monks called the Kakureta Kao are after the sword also. Mix in some significant interaction with the old man who has been following Jack and you have a strong story that should please all Repairman Jack fans.
New readers will most likely be lost if they start reading here and are highly recommended to go back to the beginning of the series and start there. I would have liked to see more of Gia and her daughter Vicky but at the same time, there is only so much that Wilson can squeeze into each book. And as the series comes down to its end, I imagine there will be enough threads being tied up to keep me very happy.
BY THE SWORD continues Jack's interactions with the Kickers movement and with Dawn Pickering from BLOODLINE. Additionally he is hired by a Japanese man to find a sword that was stolen from the Hiroshima Museum. This brings its own mishaps as both Yakuza gangsters and a mystical order of monks called the Kakureta Kao are after the sword also. Mix in some significant interaction with the old man who has been following Jack and you have a strong story that should please all Repairman Jack fans.
New readers will most likely be lost if they start reading here and are highly recommended to go back to the beginning of the series and start there. I would have liked to see more of Gia and her daughter Vicky but at the same time, there is only so much that Wilson can squeeze into each book. And as the series comes down to its end, I imagine there will be enough threads being tied up to keep me very happy.
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