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mferrante83's review
3.0
This is, overall, an enjoyable book and Repairman Jack is an interesting character; one whom I intend to read more about. Published two decades ago the novel leans hard on issues stemming from Birtish colonialism so-much-so that I wish the Indian characters in the novel had been handled with a touch more subtlety; as-is that the Indian characters in the novel lean closer to charicature. It feels bad to knock a novel for the fact that the political issues it mires itself in are still prevelant today but here we are.
casavca's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.25
Good little adventure/thriller it was fun getting transported back to 1980's New York
usbsticky's review
4.0
Spoilers ahead.
Not bad for an "old" book written in 1984. The writing is easy to read and flows pretty well. The author knows how to write. There are a limited number of characters who don't jam up the narrative that flows quickly. Things are a little bit cliched (such as the gun dealer character) but I'm not here for classic literature, I'm here to be entertained, and I was.
Summary/Synopsis:
Jack is a repairman, basically a vigilante who deals out justice for those who can't get it. He is tasked with getting a necklace who was stolen from an (Indian) grandma in NY. By baiting the robber, he tracks him down and gets the necklace back. The grandson (an Indian diplomat with the UN) is appreciative.
Meanwhile another old lady disappears and he is tasked by his ex-girlfriend (the lady is her ex-husband's aunt) to find her. He eventually finds that both events are related. Long story short, the diplomat is the descendent of Indian priests that the old lady's ancestors killed during the British Raj and the diplomat made a vow to wipe out his descendents.
This is where the story goes from a general vigilante story to the supernatural. The diplomat has the power to control rakoshi (demon like creatures) and he uses these creatures to fulfil his vow. However his sister has fallen in love with Jack and does not want Jack to die. So she basically spills the beans to Jack and help him defeat the creatures and her brother.
I like the book enough to order the series and to wonder how it's going to go. Overall a quick read that was somewhat different than what I expected.
Not bad for an "old" book written in 1984. The writing is easy to read and flows pretty well. The author knows how to write. There are a limited number of characters who don't jam up the narrative that flows quickly. Things are a little bit cliched (such as the gun dealer character) but I'm not here for classic literature, I'm here to be entertained, and I was.
Summary/Synopsis:
Jack is a repairman, basically a vigilante who deals out justice for those who can't get it. He is tasked with getting a necklace who was stolen from an (Indian) grandma in NY. By baiting the robber, he tracks him down and gets the necklace back. The grandson (an Indian diplomat with the UN) is appreciative.
Meanwhile another old lady disappears and he is tasked by his ex-girlfriend (the lady is her ex-husband's aunt) to find her. He eventually finds that both events are related. Long story short, the diplomat is the descendent of Indian priests that the old lady's ancestors killed during the British Raj and the diplomat made a vow to wipe out his descendents.
This is where the story goes from a general vigilante story to the supernatural. The diplomat has the power to control rakoshi (demon like creatures) and he uses these creatures to fulfil his vow. However his sister has fallen in love with Jack and does not want Jack to die. So she basically spills the beans to Jack and help him defeat the creatures and her brother.
I like the book enough to order the series and to wonder how it's going to go. Overall a quick read that was somewhat different than what I expected.
david_agranoff's review
5.0
The Tomb By F.Paul Wilson (Repairman Jack book #1, Adversary cycle #3)
*****
448 pages
Tor books
So here is folks, were starting a journey here. Little personal background before I start this review. February 2010 I took a workshop for novelists called Borderlands. There was an author who taught apart of the workshop on “plotting” named F.Paul Wilson. I was already a fan thanks to Wilson’s classic horror novel “The Keep.” The reason he is teaching plotting is clear and this novel the Tomb is a good place to start to talk about it. You “The Tomb” is the first in a 15 Repairman Jack novels, (well 19 if you count the YA novels about Jack’s teenage years) but it is also the third novel in a different series of 6 novels called the Adversary Cycle. Both series end in the same novel called “Nightworld,” which is both Repairman Jack #15 and Adversary Cycle#6. At the same time there are other short stories and random novels that fit into the timeline of this mythos which Wilson calls the Secret History of the World.
Slightly influenced by Lovecraft but not quite Lovecraftian I would argue this mythos is deeper and more intensely plotted than even the Dark Tower series. It all starts in “The Keep,” but I had read that twice in the past and I had never read The Tomb, so when I saw it and the following two books in the series I decided I would read the first three Repairman Jack novels, and well I got hooked.
I decided that 2012 would be the year of F.Paul for me and set out of the goal of reading entire secret history of the world this year. So I’m reviewing the entire series over the next couple months and I intend to write detailed article at the end. I hope also to interview Wilson at the conclusion.
So Let’s start with the Tomb. Originally released in 1984, the novel has recently been updated to make it modern and fit the timeline. I read the updated book and certainly think that is where you’ll need to start there, I mean this version has cellphones and the internet. I generally am against these kinds of updates as I am a fan of out dated science fiction, however in this case it’s justified to update the books and link them together.
Repairman Jack is a great hero, in many ways the anti-hero, but the longer you get to know Jack you’ll see that whole Anti-thing wears off. Jack is a fix-it specialist. He is a repairman, but not for your fridge. Maybe you have a problem, one you can’t go to the police about. Need to find someone, get revenge. Jack is living outside the system, and he is really good at revenge, among other things.
The maguffin of the story is a necklace stolen off the neck of an old Indian woman who is dying in a Manhatten hospital room. Jack is hired for this impossible job, find a necklace randomly stolen on the streets of NYC. Once he starts to track it down, a conflict arises. His recently ex-girlfriend Gia’s family members have disappeared. So at the same time he decides he needs to help find them.
Along the way Jack learns not only the history of this necklace, which tracks back to a bloody conflict over colonial india but the connection to the family whose disappearance he is investigating.
The Tomb is a great action horror novel which combines monsters,suspense, mystery and interesting characters. It is an excellent introduction to the world of Repairman Jack. It’s important you read this one because it effects the events of novels far into the series.
*****
448 pages
Tor books
So here is folks, were starting a journey here. Little personal background before I start this review. February 2010 I took a workshop for novelists called Borderlands. There was an author who taught apart of the workshop on “plotting” named F.Paul Wilson. I was already a fan thanks to Wilson’s classic horror novel “The Keep.” The reason he is teaching plotting is clear and this novel the Tomb is a good place to start to talk about it. You “The Tomb” is the first in a 15 Repairman Jack novels, (well 19 if you count the YA novels about Jack’s teenage years) but it is also the third novel in a different series of 6 novels called the Adversary Cycle. Both series end in the same novel called “Nightworld,” which is both Repairman Jack #15 and Adversary Cycle#6. At the same time there are other short stories and random novels that fit into the timeline of this mythos which Wilson calls the Secret History of the World.
Slightly influenced by Lovecraft but not quite Lovecraftian I would argue this mythos is deeper and more intensely plotted than even the Dark Tower series. It all starts in “The Keep,” but I had read that twice in the past and I had never read The Tomb, so when I saw it and the following two books in the series I decided I would read the first three Repairman Jack novels, and well I got hooked.
I decided that 2012 would be the year of F.Paul for me and set out of the goal of reading entire secret history of the world this year. So I’m reviewing the entire series over the next couple months and I intend to write detailed article at the end. I hope also to interview Wilson at the conclusion.
So Let’s start with the Tomb. Originally released in 1984, the novel has recently been updated to make it modern and fit the timeline. I read the updated book and certainly think that is where you’ll need to start there, I mean this version has cellphones and the internet. I generally am against these kinds of updates as I am a fan of out dated science fiction, however in this case it’s justified to update the books and link them together.
Repairman Jack is a great hero, in many ways the anti-hero, but the longer you get to know Jack you’ll see that whole Anti-thing wears off. Jack is a fix-it specialist. He is a repairman, but not for your fridge. Maybe you have a problem, one you can’t go to the police about. Need to find someone, get revenge. Jack is living outside the system, and he is really good at revenge, among other things.
The maguffin of the story is a necklace stolen off the neck of an old Indian woman who is dying in a Manhatten hospital room. Jack is hired for this impossible job, find a necklace randomly stolen on the streets of NYC. Once he starts to track it down, a conflict arises. His recently ex-girlfriend Gia’s family members have disappeared. So at the same time he decides he needs to help find them.
Along the way Jack learns not only the history of this necklace, which tracks back to a bloody conflict over colonial india but the connection to the family whose disappearance he is investigating.
The Tomb is a great action horror novel which combines monsters,suspense, mystery and interesting characters. It is an excellent introduction to the world of Repairman Jack. It’s important you read this one because it effects the events of novels far into the series.
oceanwader's review against another edition
2.0
Good story, but I wish F. Paul Wilson's writing was better. So many tired cliches, so many outworn and ill-fitting metaphors. He writes whole sentences composed of them.
jellybean_gene's review
4.0
So, I felt conflicted on whether to give this book 4 or 5 stars.
On one hand, I couldn't put it down. I bought a low-level book light so I could read it in bed and not wake my wife. And several times throughout the book I could feel the tension and fear for the main character that reminded me of a kid reading their favorite serialized 'how will X character get out of this one?' type of story.
On the other hand, this book was written in the late 70's or early 80's and it shows. Not all of it bad, but there's a lot of racism (albeit not quite mailicious, moreso fetishizations of another culture) and a lot of descriptions of female character's breasts and hips. And every female character is absolutely helpless. Like, totally helpless. Each woman in this story is only capable of either begging for help, seducing the main character, or feeling scared and helpless.
That all being said, I was able to get past those unfortunate anachronisms and still be pulled in by this book. It was really well paced and it was exactly as advertised. I just ordered the second and third in the Repairman Jack series and look forward to reading them soon.
On one hand, I couldn't put it down. I bought a low-level book light so I could read it in bed and not wake my wife. And several times throughout the book I could feel the tension and fear for the main character that reminded me of a kid reading their favorite serialized 'how will X character get out of this one?' type of story.
On the other hand, this book was written in the late 70's or early 80's and it shows. Not all of it bad, but there's a lot of racism (albeit not quite mailicious, moreso fetishizations of another culture) and a lot of descriptions of female character's breasts and hips. And every female character is absolutely helpless. Like, totally helpless. Each woman in this story is only capable of either begging for help, seducing the main character, or feeling scared and helpless.
That all being said, I was able to get past those unfortunate anachronisms and still be pulled in by this book. It was really well paced and it was exactly as advertised. I just ordered the second and third in the Repairman Jack series and look forward to reading them soon.
ryanjamesburt's review
3.0
I was told this was a PI with a supernatural twist. It was that but I think I was expecting more of a Harry Dresden then this. It was interesting enough I might look back into the Repairman Jack series but not at this time.
rclz's review
If it was my kind of book and if I was going to like it, I wouldn't have to be working this hard to get through it. I'm perfectly happy to say that it just might not be my thing and be done with it.
stiricide's review
4.0
The twists and turns are fairly predictable, and there a more than a handful of typos in this edition, but Repairman Jack never fails to entertain. Guess I'm going to go reread the whole series, now.
wildflowerz76's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good fantasy book. It reminded me a little of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files without the humor. However, I didn't particularly care for any of the characters. Even Gia annoyed me. I get being horrified with what Jack says he does, however, you've been with the guy for a year. Don't you owe it to him to at least let him explain the full story? I didn't care for Jack much either. He complains that Gia wouldn't listen to his full explanation, but he also didn't seem to even try to tell her the full story...a story that he doesn't tell anyone...except for the hot Indian woman he just met. Um, yeah. Anyway, I liked this one, but I don't like it enough to read any more of the series.