F. Paul Wilson

The Dark at the End By F. Paul Wilson technically ends the Repairman Jack Series…..but not quite. The actual last book is also the last book of the Adversary Cycle series, which is the novel after this…NIGHTWORLD. Two series which dovetail in a brilliant ending. The Dark at the End is an excellent novel. Jack is ready to literally annihilate his nemesis Rasalom…but Rasalom is not finished with him by a long shot. This book is fast and contains some surprises and what surprises they are. Well….we should not be surprised with any direction Wilson takes especially when it comes to closing out such a long and exciting series. Where most writers give you some sort of foreshadowing as to certain tragedies. Wilson travels another road in this book. He works his way into a ONE..TWO..THREE…smack you in the head sort of conclusion that might just leave the reader with their mouth agape and he does it seamlessly. The action between Rasalom and Jack seems almost comedic and will bring a “what is he going to do next?’ element and a “Three cheers for Jack” moment. But do not get comfortable. Wilson is not through dunking your head in some very cold water while planting a foot in your posterior as you struggle for air.… (more)

Fatal Error. Book 14 of F. Paul Wilson's Adversary Cycle/Repairman Jack/Secret History of the World series falls far from the others. This is probably my least favorite of the series so far. The beginning of the book was like a dyslexic ride in a pinball machine. The book bounced ALL OVER THE PLACE. But after a while it congealed and got the reader on the right path. I do, however understand the method behind the Wilson Madness. I think Wilson may be starting to write Jack into a corner. Do not fret. Jack and his allies have found an opportunity to get in on the action and Jack finally gets what he has been asking for.... To be turned loose on the otherness.… (more)

An official but yet unofficial and almost stand alone entry into the Repairman Jack series, The Last Christmas (Repairman Jack 13.5) is probably one of the best of the lot. New York, Winter, Science gone awry and of course the end of the world…..and almost the end of Jack. This is a great story. With the usual annoying wannabee villains and tough guys we are introduced to a new character that may or may not return….that is if he is able to leave his chair for long enough along with an old friend of Glaeken. The Last Christmas has some heart rending moments and is well written. The series is coming to a close though and that stinks.… (more)

Teases something interesting when it makes a rabbi a protagonist and starts raising questions about why it is vampires fear the cross and what it means for religion at large. Well, I hope you liked thinking about those questions because the book has nothing to say about it. In fact, despite "makeshift crosses" being as easy to put together as two wooden slats, apparently entire jewish communities were wiped out because they were too stubborn or stupid to figure that out. Yes, that's really the book's explanation and a plot point.

Something interesting about vampire lore then, different types of vampires? Not really, the standard vampire servants and degeneration of the curse with distance from the source, only minor twists. Characters? Despite having teased the religious angle nothing much happens with the faith of the protagonist priest, nor the atheism of the lesbian atheist. Despite being in mortal peril, half the time they act like they're on Buffy and need to have a little Joss Whedon quip to have a laugh, but the rest of the book isn't camp and seems to try to be serious horror so it's just off, tonally.

As the final cherry on the shit sundae we get the all too familiar "take out the mothership and all the other ships explode" trope to tie things off. This got made into a show, why?… (more)