The Haunted Air (Repairman Jack Novels) (Hardcover)

by F. Paul Wilson (Author) "The bride wore white..." (more)
Key Phrases: channeling room, rabbit key ring, more coincidences, Madame Pomerol, Tara Portman, Eli Bellitto (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This sixth novel in Wilson's gutsy Repairman Jack series (after Hosts) teams the righteous urban mercenary with his strangest bedfellows yet: a pair of sham spirit mediums who openly operate their occult con game out of a brownstone in Queens. His hardboiled skepticism notwithstanding, Jack takes the case of brothers Lyle and Charlie Kenton, who've been threatened by other Big Apple pseudo-psychics for horning in on the lucrative seance scene. No sooner has Jack begun using the tricks of the spiritualist trade on the Kentons' persecutors than real ghosts begin popping up along with a secret cult of ritual child murderers. As though this weren't enough, Jack is also confronted with imminent and unexpected fatherhood, which may force him to forsake the anonymity crucial to his underground enterprises. Readers know they can count on Wilson to weave the most unruly narrative strands into a tight Gordian plot and he doesn't disappoint here. Though heavy with talk and weak attempts at hip-hop jargon, the tale still speeds briskly to its spooky climax, subtly referencing other books in Wilson's canon (notably The Keep) and developing Jack's role as a warrior against the malignant cosmic force he calls "the Otherness." Above all, the novel enhances the enigma of Jack, a hero who commands respect despite his curmudgeonly disdain for contemporary culture, his morally ambiguous work-for-hire ethic and his unsettling appeal to the vigilante in every reader.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"F. Paul Wilson is a hot writer, and his hottest, and my favorite, creation is Repairman Jack."-Joe R. Lansdale

"Jack is righteous!" -Andrew Vachss
-- Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Gauntlet (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887368574
• ISBN-13: 978-1887368575
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,196,670 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Repairing Queens, July 13, 2004

By	Kathleen C. Griffin (Bronx NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Haunted Air : Repairman Jack (Repairman Jack) (Mass Market Paperback)

Wilson's series is always engaging, with his New Jersey born Jack the rebel repairer. This one is outstanding, and moves from both his standard Manhattan and suburban settings to the borough of Queens. Lyle and Charlie Kenton are very attactive additions to the series; I hope to see more of them!

There are weaknesses. Wilson isn't entirely comfortable with the Kenton brothers, and his ghastly version of Detroit black street language is a distracting nuisance. Lyle, the very upwardly mobile, articulate, and sharply intelligent con artist, is more realistic. Gia from Iowa remains as boring as her unbearably cutesy daughter, but the reader can skip past her.

Otherwise it's a lively, exciting, well-developed novel, with flashes of acid humor. The settings are very well-handled, and the pacing is breathless. Grab a copy for the beach or subway!

Now when will Dr. Wilson set a story in the Bronx? We have Edgar Allan Poe's cottage and Woodlawn Cemetery, so well written of in Peter Beagle's _A Fine and Private Place_, to tempt him!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Contribution to a Marvelous Series!!!, October 17, 2002

By	Craig Larson (Maple Grove, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Haunted Air (Hardcover)

This is the latest Repairman Jack novel, a series which combines noir/mystery/crime novel with elements of horror and science fiction. Jack is one of the combatants in the battle between the Otherness and the Ally, a battle that's been raging throughout Wilson's novels and serves to tie most of them together into one continuum. In this book, Jack is faced with impending fatherhood and what that will mean to his shadowy, off-the-books existence. He also has to deal with the apparent ghost of a young girl who is haunting the house of a con-man/ psychic and his born-again brother, as well as a mysterious man who hires him to shadow his "brother" and prevent him from committing any crimes during the next full moon. All of this material comes together in a very satisfying way, leaving one wanting more. Wilson is one of those writers who just doesn't write fast enough.

Jack is a great creation, sort of the Equalizer crossed with the X-Files, and if you haven't experienced this series yet, you owe it to yourself to seek it out (other titles are _The Tomb_, _Legacies_, _Conspiracies_, _All the Rage_, and _Hosts_).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best in the series so far, May 6, 2004

By	Craig Clarke (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Haunted Air : Repairman Jack (Repairman Jack) (Mass Market Paperback)

F. Paul Wilson continues his popular (and constantly improving) Repairman Jack series while putting his own stamp on the familiar haunted house tale. 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.

The Haunted Air is by far the best novel in the series that I have read since the inaugural The Tomb. I thought Hosts was great until I read this one. Wilson has really caught his stride and is able to further develop the characters of Jack, his girlfriend Gia (and her daughter Vicky), and his friend and supplier Abe -- as well as their relationships to each other -- while continuing to invent plausible fantastic scenarios that put them deeper and deeper in peril. The Repairman Jack series can always be counted on for thought-provoking storylines as well as heart-pounding, pulse-racing, eye-widening climaxes.

Two brothers, Lyle and Charlie Kenton, run a sham psychic business out of their historic home, Menelaus Manor, under the names Ifasen and Kehinde, respectively. They have, over the years, quickly boosted their clientele by stealing them from competing psychics, and somebody has decided to get revenge. Drive-by shootings and mysterious door openings and closings are only the beginning. Once Jack gets involved, however, the intensity is turned way up as he decides to confront the suspects -- a competing psychic -- on her own turf; he gets to scam the scam artist.

Further investigation brings up secrets about the house, its previous owner, and a spirit out for revenge. On top of all this, Gia fears she may be pregnant. How can a child have a father with no identity? Would Jack be willing to give up his Repairman Jack lifestyle to become Citizen Jack?

It is this extra layer of emotion that raises The Haunted Air above the usual fare. Wilson gets into the minds of his characters, especially tricky with a man like Jack who is such a physical presence, and lets us know how they feel about the events, as well as taking us on a rollercoaster ride of fear, thrills, and suspense--all the while dropping clues to the upcoming confrontation with The Otherness--making sure to deliver a whiz-bang conclusion that tops anything else he has written.