The Tomb (Adversary Cycle/Repairman Jack) by F. Paul Wilson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Tomb (Adversary Cycle/Repairman Jack)
Book Review: Repairman Jack - An Icon in the Making!
Summary: 5 Stars
For the life of me, I can't understand the folks who haven't been captured by the spell of Repairman Jack, especially in this first appearance. The Tomb is a classic peice of "Pulp" fiction, and Jack is an Icon for our times! Wilson has created a character that is unlike any other, and at the same time has spun a tale that is captivating and compelling. The pages flew by! I've read "The Tomb" 5 times, and each time it's been time well spent. The only thing you need to enjoy this is an imagination!Book Review: The Tomb - The Debut of Repairman Jack!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I hope you enjoy this review of 'The Tomb', one of my all time favorite horror books. This is the first 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!
Jack has a girlfriend named Gia (they are currently estranged) who has a daughter named Vickey. Jack loves Gia deeply and adores Vickey and would lay down his life for either and in this story he almost does. Now Vickey's father's surname is Wesphalen. None believe it but the Wesphalen family is living under a curse, precipitated by the murderous acts committed by a greedy ancestor over a hundred years ago in India.
Kusum Bhakti, an East Indian priest of a tiny sect that worships the bloodthirsty deity Kali and his sister Kolobati are descendants of the victims of the atrocities perpetrated by this elder Wesphalen. They have come to New York City to carry out their vendetta and wipe out the rest of the Westphalen line. Kusum has brought with him the Rakoshi, vicious, flesh eating monsters, to accomplish this horrible undertaking.
Rakoshi are huge (over eight feet tall) hideous, malodorous, perversions of the humanity created eons ago by the Otherness. The "Otherness" or "The Other" as it is named in other books is discussed at length in my recently completed review on "Nightworld"
Coincidently, Kusum hires Jack to locate the thief that mugged his aged grandmother and stole a necklace which is a family heirloom. Jacks thinks lightning just might strike twice so he dresses up like an old lady and sure enough our perp. attacks him. Jack quickly turns the tables and after a couple broken bones convinces the perp. to relinquish his ill gotten gains. Funny thing, the perp. claims the victim was young.
In fact, the aged grandmother is Kolobati, Kusum's younger sister and both of them are almost 150 years old. They maintain their young appearance because of the necklaces they wear (the family heirlooms) and of course when the mugger took the necklace, Kolobati began to age immediately.
When Jack returns with the necklace, Kusum is ecstatic and Jack walks away a few thousand richer and now has to visit Gia and Vickey. Gia called while Jack was on the Mugger case and needed to see him.
Gia Westphalen had broken off her relationship with Jack but called when one of Vickey's two aunts disappeared. She's decided Jacks line of work, which she abhors and is the reason she broke with Jack, might be helpful to locate the Aunt. Unfortunately the aunt is long gone and the other aunt is next and Jack and Gia get dragged into a battle with Kusum and supernatural creatures, the Rakoshi to save the last remaining Wesphalen - Vickey
Conclusion
Not for the faint of heart this story gets quite scary as our hero Jack must confront a nest of monsters but an excellent fast paced read that I personally have read four times. For horror fans this is essential reading!!!!
This novel has ultimately been listed as one of six books that form the Adversary Cycle. I don't think it started out that way but it ended up that way. It and "The Touch" are self contained reads that can be taken that way with no further reading, however they must be read sometime before reading the final book of the series "Nightworld".
Book Review: Good, but not great
Summary: 3 Stars
On the one hand, the book moved right along and kept me interested. It was well-constructed and had some appealing characters and situations. On the other hand, I never really fell under its spell. I never lost the feeling that the story was reading was artificially contrived by a writer of popular fiction. While I did enjoy the book, if I hadn't read it, I wouldn't really have been missing anything.And I still don't know what the title had to do with anything.
Book Review: REPAIRMAN JACK IS GREAT
Summary: 4 Stars
F. Paul Wilson is one of the easiest and most fun horror writers out there, he is much easier to read than Stephen King and Dean Koontz. His words flow easily and with much excitment. I love his title character Repairman Jack.
R.J. is this individual who will fix any dirty job you need fixing, with few questions asked. What makes him alot of fun is he a kick-... kind of guy, and is hilariouly funny. In this story R.J. must find a rare necklace that was stolen from a wealthy woman from India, why the necklace is important will come out, but as you read on R.J. is eventually pulled into a plot that concerns, magic, monsters and mayhem, and must rely on all his skills as well as a few he makes up along the way. I will not reveal much but I will say it is fun, lite and loaded with action and comedy.
Book Review: The Start of Something REALLY Good
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first in F. Paul Wilson's books concerning Repairman Jack, a character that has become one of the most interesting literary creations since James Bond.Repairman Jack is a fixer of situations -- situations wherein someone has gotten a raw deal and wants to set things right. He has no social security number, no credit cards, pays no taxes, and makes every attempt to avoid the spotlight whenever possible.
The Wesphalen family is living under a curse; a death curse placed a century ago in retaliation for the murderous acts committed by a greedy ancestor.
Kusim Bhakti and his sister have come to New York City to carry out the curse and wipe out the rest of the Westphalen line. To assist with this task, Kusim has brought with him the Rakoshi, perversions of the human species brought about eons ago from the Otherness. You'll discover more about the Otherness in the books that follow.
As it turns out, Kusim hires Jack to track down the thief that mugged his mother and return the necklace that was stolen. Kusim tells Jack its return is a matter of lie and death. Jack succeeds and returns the heirloom to Kusim's bedridden mother. Jack is paid the rest of his price and assumes the job is done. Little does he know he'll meet with Kusim (plus some really mean Rakoshi) again on different terms.
Gia Westphalen has broken off her relationship with Jack, yet her daughter Vicky (the last of the Westphalen line) loves him like a father. Jack still loves Gia and can't bear the thought of never seeing Vicky again. As it turns out, Jack becomes intimately involved with the Westphalens again, protecting Vicky from Kusim and his Rakoshi.
This is an excellent read, and the series only gets better. You don't necessarily have to start here, the other books can be read separately, but this probably the best place to start to fully enjoy the rest of the books.
You'll find once you finish the book, you'll be asking yourself, Tomb? What's this have to do with a tomb? Wilson had inteneded to call the book "Rakoshi," but his editor requested that he change the name to "The Tomb," thinking it'd sell better. Whatever the case, it's a great beginning to a series that gets better with each book. Enjoy!