Conspiracies (Repairman Jack Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

F. Paul Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Repairman Jack Novels | Publication Date: September 30, 2008

Repairman Jack, F. Paul Wilson's vigilante hero from the New York Times bestseller The Tomb, returns in a thriller that thrusts him back into the weird, supernatural world that he thrives in.

Looking for clues to the mysterious disappearance of leading conspiracy theorist Melanie Ehler, Jack attends a convention of bizarre and avid conspiracy theorists. It's a place where aliens are real, the government is out to get you, and the world is hurtling toward an inevitable war of good versus evil incarnate.

Jack finds that nobody can be trusted--and that few people are what they seem. Worse yet, Jack's been having vivid dreams that make him wonder whether he's headed for a clash with his own past--maybe The Tomb's evil rakoshi beasts aren't through with him quite yet.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Don't bother calling Repairman Jack if your washing machine is busted. Jack is a fixer of a different nature: he investigates crimes that go beyond the norms of traditional law. In 1984's The Tomb, Jack tracked down a prized (and cursed) family heirloom; in 1998's Legacies, he sniffed out the sinister secret behind a man's last will and testament. The enigmatic sleuth makes his third appearance in Conspiracies. "I don't do missing wives," Jack protests at first, but the bizarre circumstances surrounding Melanie Ehler's disappearance convince him to help out the woman's distraught husband.

Melanie is a leading voice in the conspiracy-theory movement, a true believer that crop circles, UFOs, and even El Niño are all part of the same vast plot against humankind. She dubs this her "Grand Unification Theory," or GUT. One week before announcing the GUT theory to the world, Melanie vanishes and Jack is plunged deep into her weird world as he attends the conference where Melanie was due to speak. Jack is initially amused by the eccentricities of the alien abductees and Satanic cult survivors Melanie counted among her colleagues; but an apparently supernatural force, a murder, a disappearing corpse, and a creature straight from the bowels of hell put his skepticism to the test.

Conspiracies is another tightly plotted thriller from F. Paul Wilson, tinged with enough horror and supernatural suspense to please both mystery lovers and horror hounds. Repairman Jack reigns as one of the most alluring and mysterious private investigators in the business. --Naomi Gesinger --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The third Repairman Jack novel (after The Tomb in 1984 and Legacies in 1998) is by far the best. Jack, a fix-it man who specializes in problems that frequently require him to face powerful foes and slip into the world of the supernatural, is hired to locate the missing wife of a businessman. This time he must find a missing woman who happens to be one of the world's leading conspiracy theorists (she was preparing to reveal her Grand Unification Theory, which would explain the truth behind all manner of strange goings-on). To find her, Jack must attend a convention of conspiracy buffs, most of whom seem more than a little strange. This is a funnier novel than the first two Repairman Jacks; those who look at conspiracy theories with a skeptical eye will have a great time, as will anyone who likes a well-plotted, spooky thriller. Wilson tells a great story. David Pitt --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076536137X
• ISBN-13: 978-0765361370
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Occult
  • #40 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Hard-Boiled

More About the Author

I was born toward the end of the Jurassic Period and raised in New Jersey where I misspent my youth playing with matches, poring over Uncle Scrooge and E.C. comics, reading Lovecraft, Matheson, Bradbury, and Heinlein, listening to Chuck Berry and Alan Freed, and watching Soupy Sales and horror movies. I sold my first story in the Cretaceous Period and have been writing ever since. (Even that dinosaur-killer asteroid couldn't stop me.)

I've written in just about every genre - science fiction, fantasy, horror, a children's Christmas book (with a monster, of course), medical thrillers, political thrillers, even a religious thriller (long before that DaVinci thing). So far I've got about 33 books and 100 or so short stories under my name in 24 languages.

THE KEEP, THE TOMB, HARBINGERS, and BY THE SWORD all appeared on the New York Times Bestsellers List. WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS won the first Prometheus Award in 1979; THE TOMB received the Porgie Award from The West Coast Review of Books. My novelette "Aftershock" received the 1999 Bram Stoker Award for short fiction. DYDEETOWN WORLD was on the young adult recommended reading lists of the American Library Association and the New York Public Library, among others (God knows why). I received the prestigious Inkpot Award from San Diego ComiCon and the Pioneer Award from the RT Booklovers Convention. I'm listed in the 50th anniversary edition of Who's Who in America. (That plus $3 will buy you a girly coffee at Starbuck's.)

My novel THE KEEP was made into a visually striking but otherwise incomprehensible movie (screenplay and direction by Michael Mann) from Paramount in 1983. My original teleplay "Glim-Glim" first aired on Monsters. An adaptation of my short story "Menage a Trois" was part of the pilot for The Hunger series that debuted on Showtime in July 1997.

And then there's the epic saga of the Repairman Jack film. After 14 years in development hell with half a dozen writers and at least a dozen scripts, THE TOMB is finally moving toward production as "Repairman Jack" from Beacon Films and Touchstone. The plan is to make Jack a franchise character. (Gotta tell you: all the years of this has worn me out.)

I've done a few collaborations too. One with Steve Spruill on NIGHTKILL, and a bunch with Matthew J. Costello. Matt and I did world design, characters, and story arcs for Sci-Fi Channel's FTL NewsFeed, a daily newscast set 150 years in the future. An FTL NewsFeed was the first program broadcast by the new channel when it launched in September 1992. We took over scripting the Newsfeeds (the equivalent of a 4-1/2 hour movie per year) in 1994 and continued until its cancellation in December 1996.

We did script and design for MATHQUEST WITH ALADDIN (Disney Interactive - 1997) with voices by Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters, and the same for The Interactive DARK HALF for Orion Pictures, based on the Stephen King novel, but this project was orphaned when MGM bought Orion. (It's officially vaporware now.) We even wrote a stageplay, "Syzygy," which opened in St. Augustine, Florida, in March, 2000.

I'm tired of talking about myself, so I'll close by saying that I live and work at the Jersey Shore where I'm usually pounding away on a new Repairman Jack novel and haunting eBay for strange clocks and Daddy Warbucks memorabilia. (No, we don't have a cat.)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Wilson's Best, August 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Conspiracies (Hardcover)

"Conspiracies" freaked me out; I loved it. And Repairman Jack certainly needs no introduction for this one, a book sinking deep into all conspiracies and beginning to weave together F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack Novels and The Adversary Cycle.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Kind of Hero, March 1, 2000

By 

Tony - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conspiracies: A Repairman Jack Novel (Hardcover)

I continue to be amazed by the Repairman Jack novels. "Legacies" was nothing like "The Tomb", and "Conspiracies" is nothing like the other two. Each one is a new experience with a different rhythm. I especially love the weird paranormal ingredients in "Conspiracies" that were missing in "Legacies."

What I don't get, though, is why a reader (see one of the other reviews) would want Wilson to remake Repairman Jack (whom Dean Koonts says is "one of the most original and intriguing characters to arise out of contemporary fiction") into a Remo Williams retread. Some people just don't get it.

Don't listen, Mr. Wilson. Keep Repairman Jack just as he is: an original.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Repairman Jack is back and he is better than ever, January 21, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conspiracies: A Repairman Jack Novel (Hardcover)

No database contains information on Repairman Jack, who applies unorthodox methods to fix problems for people. Jack blends so well into the scenery, no one notices him, let alone remembers seeing him. Though a pragmatic person anchored into the material plane, Jack has battled some supernatural creatures in his time.

Jack's latest case comes to him via his home page on the Internet, which allows the Repairman to advertise, but remain invisible. Lewis Ehlers desperately wants to find his missing spouse Melanie. She appeared on his TV screen while he watched the Weather Channel and appealed to him to obtain the services of Jack. The Repairman accepts the case and soon attends a conspiracy buff conference where Melanie is scheduled to make an appearance. Jack meets the usual crazies, but also senses a malignant supernatural essence trying to crash the barrier into this world. Only Jack can hope to stop the creature from succeeding, but his odds of surviving the counter is slim.

Anyone who has ever read a Repairman Jack tale wonders what makes the man tick? He appears to be a normal person just by the nature of his conversations with his friends, but the average individual does not spend an inordinate amount of time making sure no trace exists of his ever being anywhere. Thus, Jack remains one of the most enigmatic characters around as readers realize they don't know Jack. Placing this puzzling protagonist inside a non-stop, action-packed thriller like CONSPIRACIES leave the audience wanting more novels starring Jack. As with his TOMB AND LEGACIES, F. Paul Wilson provides the audience with a triumphant tale starring a quirky hero who deserves wide fan attention.

Harriet Klausner