Customer Reviews

Gateways (Repairman Jack Novels)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

F. Paul Wilson's iconic hero-without-a-history, Repairman Jack, is back for his seventh, and possibly finest, adventure.

News of an accident involving his estranged father sends the self-styled Mr. Fix-it to a creepy retirement community in Florida, where longevity is a theory, not a practice.

If the culture shock isn't hard enough for NY's native son, a string of unsolved murders and some very creepy locals alert Jack to the fact that the supernatural Otherness, which has been plaguing him since Wilson's THE TOMB, is back for another helping.

With enough action, firepower, one-liners, and wicked monsters for a a dozen novels, GATEWAYS showcases F. Paul Wilson and Jack in top form-- kicking bum and taking names.

See for yourself why Repairman Jack is the greatest series hero in modern genre fiction!

I once read a series of six books by Wilson, called the Adversary Series. It started out with The Keep and ended with an out of print, rare book called Nightworld. Nightworld was an extraordinary book wherein the evil, reborn Rasalom, after a titanic seemingly unwinable battle and against all odds, was vanquished for once and for all, or was he?

With Gateways, it seems our illustrious author is leading us back to another cataclysmic clash with this maleficent character, a reprise of sorts or maybe even a reissue of Nightworld, in which Repairman Jack played a significant part. That would explain why Jack seems to have no recollection of major events that happened in a novel written ten years ago. I suppose we will have to wait and see what Wilson has in mind, so let's get to the story at hand.

Background on Repairman Jack

This is the seventh 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 as he fights for his and his father's life

Plot

Jack's seventy year old father, was involved in a hit and run accident and is comatose in the hospital. Jack flies down to be with him and as well as to nose around to see if he can find out what happened.

Well the more he finds out, the stranger things get, as Jack seems to have gotten himself involved in yet another supernatural incident involving a young woman who can control animals and older woman with somewhat magical powers.

When Jack finally gets to his fathers hospital room he runs into his father's neighbor, the enigmatic Anya, a mysterious seventy-something lady of surprises. She insists that Jack stay in his dad's house so they in effect are neighbors as well. While there Jack discovers that Anya is indeed more than meets the eye.

As Jack tries to investigate, his fathers accident many things don't add up, such as the anonymous call about the accident preceding the accident by twenty minutes. He also discovers there have been three unnatural deaths among Gateways residents about three months apart and Jacks dad may fit that pattern.

Eventually Jack runs into a white haired girl named Semelee, the defacto leader of a strange group of misshapen young adults called the Clan, that live in the Everglades. Semelee seems to have some advanced knowledge of Jack and also seems to be smitten with Jack, much to the chagrin of Luke, Semelee's wannabe boyfriend.

The next day Jack runs into a gardener named Carl who has a lazy eye and apparently no left arm. He later discovers that Carl used to be a member of the deformed group and gets him to lead Jack to the clan's secret lagoon.

After a couple days in Florida, with the ostensible help of Anya, Jack's father comes out of the coma and that's when things get really interesting.

Conclusion

This is a fun read. A fast moving story of about 370 pages, it may be the most interesting of the Repairman Jack novels since he debuted with the Tomb. The writing is fluid and compelling and we finally get to meet Tom, Repairman Jack's father who is quite a guy himself. You remember him, he's the guy in previous novels that thought Jack repaired appliances.

And don't go away folks. The way the book ends is definitely setting up at least one sequel and when it comes to Repairman Jack, that's good news!

Final rating 4.6 stars

I have to agree with Kathleen Griffin's note that you should first read "The Barrens." It lends appreciation to this Repairman Jack piece.

Jack heads down to Florida after his father is involved in an auto-accident. There are no more coincidences for Jack, of course, and he finds more going on with his dad than he would ever have expected.

The repairs in Gateways are personal and not as layered as those in The Haunted Air or Hosts (for example), but the personal information on Jack's life and the much-needed reconnection with his father make this a more-than-worthwhile read. And, afterall, it is Repairman Jack, and F. Paul Wilson doesn't disappoint here. It'll keep you going from start to finish.

Repairman Jack is not an appliance repairman as his father has been led to believe. He fixes things that no one else can fix--things that might involve--well--going outside the law. Things that might involve going up against ultimate Evil. In this book, ultimate Evil resides in a sinkhole in the Florida Everglades, right behind the retirement village where his father was living just prior to his near-fatal accident. And of course, Repairman Jack is quickly drawn into the scene and its ever-widening net of sinister complications.

Jack is one of the most intriguing characters in current literature and author F. Paul Wilson's signature character. A man with no legal identity, no social security number, he operates in a shadow-land outside the law, yet always fighting for justice. And while Jack is very good at his peculiar line of work, he also yearns for a normal life, with a normal family.

So, will Evil be defeated? Will Jack figure out how to emerge from the shadows and marry his long-time girlfriend? Will he even survive? Will existence as we know it survive? You will just have to read the book to find out. Author Wilson is a great story-teller who will keep you turning the pages. I recommend this one. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Gateways is the 7th entry in the "Repairman Jack" series, and in many ways, is the strongest one yet. For those who do not know, Repairman Jack is not a handyman but he is a fixer - of the sorts of problems that people have that for one reason or another preclude involving the authorities. Jack is smart, resourceful, trustworthy and completely moral in his own way. But his fixes frequently involve mayhem or even murder (although he tries to avoid killing people unless it's absolutely necessary), and he has a kind of a dark side that asserts itself when something or someone threatens him or one of his loved ones.

From the very first Repairman Jack novel, written in 1984 (The Tomb), there has been a strong supernatural element in all the Jack adventures involving a sort of cosmic conflict between two super-uber entities of unimaginable power that are battling for control of all the universes. Somehow Jack has become a major player in this conflict that is an interesting twist on good versus evil; in Jack's universe (which is the same as that depicted in Wilson's "Adversary Cycle" that starts with "The Keep" and ends with "Nightworld") it is the Ally (that exhibits benign indifference to humanity) versus the Otherness (that wants chaos and the destruction of all life). Jack has been drafted by the Ally.

Although all the previous entries in the series are set in New York CIty, in Gateways, Jack flies down to Florida to see his estranged father who is in a coma after a near-fatal hit-and run traffic accident. His father lives in a sort of retirement community called Gateways. In the hospital Jack meets his father's neighbor and friend, a spunky elderly widow named Anya who seems to know an awful lot about his father and Jack himself, and who has been watching out for Jack's dad after the accident. Jack's father mysteriously comes out of his coma, Jack finds strange little voodoo like totems around the bed and the room and we're off.

Gateways reveals a lot more of the backstory of Jack's father, and his relationship with his son than we have seen before. There are also very interesting and explicit tie-ins with the Adversary Cycle and villains old and new, and many plot twists and turns. I'll say no more about the plot because I don't want to include any spoilers, but from the blurb on the back of the book I thought this was going to be on the boring side. Rather, it turned out to be one of the most revealing, interesting and exciting Repairman Jack entries yet.

All the Repairman Jack books stand on their own. but they are so much richer than simple novels if read sequentially. Either way Repairman Jack and Gateways are great and highly recommended.

Gateways (repairman Jack series).....This book totally blew me away!! I am an avid reader and unfortunately many books leave me wanting, authors like Dan Brown, who is a talented writer but his plots are just downright silly and absurd! This book however, is one of the best combinations or real world with 'other' world throw in to satisfy those who like to be challenged to think and get lost in another universe and entertained at the same time. It reminds me a little bit of Roger Zelany's Amber series, just more involved and grittier. The characters grab you from the first page and you can't put it down!!

I went on-line and bought the first in the series before I was even finished with this book and now can't wait to dig into it and see how it started and I look forward to exploring more of this series. In short it's A GREAT READ !!!!!!

Now this is the way to write terrific and superior action/adventure!

F. Paul Wilson's 7th Repairman Jack novel is much better than the last one - The Haunted Air - with Jack finally getting away from New York and going into the wilds of Florida's Everglades. A fantastic setting for a fantastic romp full of misfits and witches hiding out in a secret locale in the Glades, coming out every three months to prey on senior citizens in a nearby old folks home called - Gateways.

Here is probably the best all around adventure since the 1st novel - The Tomb. Jack helps his dad who is the next victim for the magical misfits of the hidden Glades, thus giving the readers an inside look at Jack's dad, Tom. And he is so much more than he seems! And eventually, he and Jack team up to battle the forces of evil during a hurricane.

Gateways never lets up, never gets dull. And F. Paul Wilson never gives his fans rehash from previous novels. (Something another writer who pens the Outlanders series must learn.)

But like literary giants of this genre such as James Rollins and Laurence James and Brian Lumley, just to name a few, F. Paul Wilson always seems to deliver all-new material with each and every new novel. Never rehash!

There is much mystery and suspence here to balance the action and adventure, with rich characterizations of both Good AND Evil. Something you don't often find.

The plot and pace reach and peak finale here, with Jack finally cementing his estranged relationship with his colorful dad, revealing his identity and the truth of his revenge upon his murdered mother. Great stuff, this!

If you love top-notch storytelling, along with ever-growing characterizations, as well as hair-raising action and adventure with touches of sci-fi-horror-fantasy, then this series is for you.

But according to the sales rankings, the high-mark reviews, it seems that the vast majority of people already know. And that my wife and I are the late-comers. But better late than never, eh?

Hollywood and/or cable TV conglomerates really outta take a look at this awesome series, and think about making it a major motion picture movie event. It would make a mint!

We can't wait to read the next installment of Repairman Jack.

F. Paul Wilson continues his enormously popular Repairman Jack series and tells his readers more about Jack's family history in the seventh exciting volume, Gateways. Repairman Jack is absolutely the most intriguing series character running today -- a mercenary with no official identity but a solid moral foundation, he "fixes" situations that are outside the realm of normal legal channels and that generally involve some supernatural elements. And I wait eagerly for the release of each succeeding entry.

When a hit-and-run puts his father Tom in a coma, Jack is the only family member available to go to the Florida Everglades-area retirement village where Tom lives (also called Gateways) and find out what happened. There he discovers odd animal behaviors, and learns more about his father than he ever expected. He also learns even more about his role in the plan to defeat the Otherness, and how he has increasingly less control over the events that surround him. And he finally meets the Adversary (the enigmatic "Sal Roma") face to face.

He also meets two women who have major influences on what happens: Tom's friend and neighbor Anya, who knows more than she lets on (and has an even more important role as the story progresses); and Semmelee, a young, white-haired zoomancer with ambitions that can only get her into real trouble. These two will help and hinder Jack in their own particular ways as he faces his biggest and most important repair job yet.

Kudos to F. Paul Wilson for crafting a nearly perfect thriller that can stand on its own, and also manages to continue a larger story within its pages. Also for threading environmental concerns within Gateways in a way that is only noticeable if you are looking for it. Some authors would make their agenda too heavy for the story to handle, but Wilson's subtlety lends a lightness to those sections, so you can see the mutant creatures as something that humans have caused, or simply as horrific obstacles that Jack must overcome -- much like in Hugh B. Cave's The Dawning. Meanwhile, more people die and Jack really learns what it means to have coincidence removed from his life. (Lesser kudos to Wilson for also managing to write, so far, two novels involving various of Jack's family members without once mentioning their last name. That must have required a lot of work in itself, especially since I didn't realize it until I was finished with this one.)

Gateways felt a little long in spots (though The Haunted Air is one hundred pages longer), but there is that extra layer of emotion present (as Jack's relationship with his father takes center stage) that makes it into more than just a pure thriller. Abe, Gia, and Vicky hardly appear at all, which makes me believe that a lot of cutting was required to even get it down to this manageable length. Seven novels in, however (with heavy revisions on at least two Repairman Jack-related books), Wilson has not lost any steam. In fact, I would say that, with the larger story working toward its conclusion, the books from this point on can only get even more exciting.

This entry in the Repairman Jack series doesn't feature quite as many of the usual set piece where Jack helps people get even, but it doesn't need them either. The strength of this book comes in the exploration of Jack's relationship with his father, which is brought about when Jack's elderly dad is injured in a car accident in Florida. The Everglades makes for a great setting in this latest battle with The Otherness, while the colorful cast of characters and action-packed adventure make this book well worth reading.

Warning: You should first read Wilson's brilliant short story "The Barrens." The novel will impress without that background, but with it there are greater depths and the mention of nexus points are more ominous.

Jack reluctantly encounters his family when his father, recently relocated to a Florida retirement community, is in a terrible car accident. After supercilious years of looking down on his father as an innocent unacquainted with "real" life, Jack discovers a ruthless, extremely self-disciplined, and honorable man. This Korean War veteran and Marine sniper is his father -- and unrealized role model.

The Everglades are wonderfully evoked here, with touches of Zora Neale Hurston's lush description. The novel picks up the pathos of the "clan" of nexus-deformed persons trapped by their "home." Carl, the only one to escape to near-normal life, is touching and charming.

Anya is a great creation, and her dog Oyv is perfect. Apparently she'll turn up in the future -- but could Wilson bring back Oyv too?