29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Repairman Jack reconnects with his older brother, October 31, 2005
After publishing his outstanding horror debut, The Keep, in 1981, F. Paul Wilson subsequently added five more books to what came to be known as the "Adversary Cycle": The Tomb (1984), The Touch (1986), Reborn (1990), Reprisal (1991), and Nightworld (1992). Those books introduced several concepts that came to form the core of much of Wilson's fictional universe: the ancient, evil entity called Rasalom, his eternal opponent Glaeken, the town of Monroe, Long Island (Wilson's analog of Arkham, Oxrun Station, and Castle Rock), the wandering healing spirit known as the Dat-tay-vao (first seen in The Touch), and the modern pulp hero known as Repairman Jack.
Jack, who labors mightily to conceal his existence from the world, made his first appearance in The Tomb. Left near death at the end of that novel, Jack reappeared in Nightworld, playing a key role in frustrating Rasalom's bid to enslave humanity. Jack's fans proving persistent, Wilson responded with a new Repairman Jack novel, titled Legacies in 1998, following it with Conspiracies (1999), All the Rage (2000), Hosts (2001), The Haunted Air (2002), Gateways (2003) and CrissCross (2004). Set between the events in The Tomb and Nightworld, the books chronicle Jack's growing awareness of the battle between Rasalom and the entity he refers to as "the Otherness" or " the Ally." Similar to the late Isaac Asimov, Wilson is working to link the bulk of his fictional output, subtly revising the books in the Adversary Cycle to fit the new continuity he is creating through his Repairman Jack novels.
Infernal, the eighth installment in Jack's ongoing saga, opens innocently enough, with Jack arriving at the airport to pick up his father, whom readers got to know in Gateways. To avoid spoilers, no more will be said about the sobering events depicted in the book's first few pages--suffice it to say that those happenings will change Jack's outlook on life forever. They will also bring the Repairman's ne'er-do-well older brother Tom back into his life, resulting in an uneasy alliance between the siblings that places all Jack holds dear into jeopardy.
This book will be most appreciated by long standing fans of the series, as Wilson relies heavily on past events and relationships to power the novel, even as he maneuvers his character into position for the windup of the series. That's not to say that it doesn't work fine as a stand alone novel, only that the reading experience will be enhanced for those who are familiar with past events in the series (and, as an aside, for Charles Dickens fans!).
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Different, October 28, 2005
While I can understand the negative criticisms posted here the only thing I will agree with is that this book isn't one of the better RJ books. I think the main reason people are disappointed with INFERNAL is because it doesn't follow F. Paul Wilson's usual formula for the RJ series (i.e. several "fix-it" jobs while the main job involves The Otherness). While the book is very one-dimensional I have to give credit to Paul for changing the formula a bit to try and give the RJ series a bit of freshness.
While the change doesn't completely work it is one of the darker RJ books leading up to NIGHTWORLD, an extremely dark and disturbing novel.
So if you're new to Repairman Jack INFERNAL wouldn't be the first novel I'd recommend. You'd do yourself a favor to go with THE TOMB, ALL THE RAGE or CRISSCROSS first. Save INFERNAL for a day when you're ready for a change in RJ's style.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The next time you need something (or someone) fixed - call Repairman Jack!, September 18, 2006
This review is from: Infernal: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
I've always been a fan of F. Paul Wilson, but I really fell in love with his Repairman Jack Series ever since I read the first one. Like all series, some of the novels are better that others and some can skirt around the edge of almost being a little too metaphysical, but the action never disappoints. And after way too many 'goody two shoes' detectives, it's always refreshing to see a protagonist who will take satisfaction in blowing the bad guy's head off just because it feels good to even up the score. And with Infernal, Jack gets caught up in a very realistic cycle of revenge that serves to make his character only more believable.
As always Jack is tough and competent and willing to break lots of rules to get the job done.
And if that means putting a bad guy underground to save a good guy (or girl), he's not going to think twice. There is no second guessing for him. He sees the world of good and evil in pretty basic shades of black and white.
But once again there are the two loves of his life to keep him from teetering over the edge. First of course is his intended bride to be and her - and also by intention, his surrogate daughter Vicky. In addition to helping him show the one little chink in his armor towards his well hidden but faintly glimmering vulnerable side, are these two people that he would (and does) do literarily anything for... even more than the various family members who appear through-out this book and the series. The family members are also interesting but perhaps the brother is perhaps just a little too scummy to make the reader believe that they came from the same family. But outside of that minor point, Infernal is another great Repairman Jack novel that makes you wish that you had Jack's number the next time you need a 'special' little job done!
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