Customer Reviews

Legacies: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack Novels)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The second novel in F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack series has a complex and occasionally violent storyline worthy as a sequel to the great 1984 novel "The Tomb." Unlike the former novel, however, this one does not take a supernatural turn. Instead it unfolds like a highly unconventional private detective tale, with plenty of twists and turns along the way. As a tarnished white knight operating on the wrong side of the law, Jack is similar to Andrew Vachss's classic character Burke. My only quibble with the novel is that the characters of Gia and Vicky, the mother and daughter Jack saved in "The Tomb" are held over here but add little if anything to the story. With all that he's been through, Jack ought to be far too emotionally shattered to ever form a stable relationship. This aspect of the novel goes nowhere, other than to provide Jack with some highly unlikely domestric tranquility.

Nevertheless, fans of "The Tomb" will find plenty to like, especially in the unique ways that Jack finds to defeat his adversaries. As such, it is another winner for Wilson.

F. Paul Wilson, Legacies (Tor, 1998)

Wilson brings back one of his hardcore fans' favorite characters, Repairman Jack, and weaves three of Jack's jobs into a tightly-wound tale of family manipulation and, as always, saving the world one step at a time.

This time, Jack is employed by longtime on-again-off-again girlfriend Gia to recover a roomful of toys stolen from a children's AIDS crisis center, which leads him into the employ of the head of the center. She just inherited a house, and she wants Jack to burn it down. Jack's curiosity gets the best of him, and he starts wondering why. There the fun begins.

If you're familiar with Wilson's work, you're getting what you've come to expect. Easy reading, a pace that wouldn't be out of place in a formula 1 racecar, likable characters (even the bad guys), and a dose of the supernatural, albeit a smaller one than in most of Wilson's work. If you haven't discovered the joys of F. Paul yet, start back at the beginning of our first encounter with Jack, the Nightworld books (The Keep, The Tomb, The Touch, Reborn, Reprisal, and Nightworld) to get up to speed. He's not as well known as some of the authors working in the supernatural-thriller field, but he's just as good. *** 1/2

LEGACIES brings back one of my favorite characters, Repairman Jack. Jack "fixes" problems for people. He does not exist. A vigillante for hire. In this novel, Jack runs up against an Arab Nation looking to get it's hands on something in Alicia's fathers' house. Trouble is, Alicia's father dies in a plane wreck and she has no intention of ever going back into the house due to some past torment...enter Repairman Jack. After he helps Alicia out on a smaller job, she confides in him that people all around her are dying. There are at least 3 subplots working at all times here and all 3, when connected, make for a supreme read. F. Paul Wilson has outdone himself with great characters, a moving action-filled plot and a few surprises on the way. High Recommendation

I saw this book and saw it was a sequel so decided to buy The Tomb to start the series out from the beginning (which you don't need to do).

I was disappointed that the supernatural element wasn't in this book -- I think when you start the series off with a supernature theme to it, the expectation is that it might remain there. However, this book stands on it's own even still.

I was also disappointed that the relationship between Jack and Gia wasn't explored as in the first book -- Jack is more of the "fix it" man in this book against nasty characters of the Arab world.

The book is good -- not just as good as the first one. I think the author spent too much time away from the characters and this book didn't come off as intimate with the characters as the first.

I plan to read the reveiws of the 3rd and see if it's more like the first and if so, will continue on in the series.

Repairman Jack is at it again in another tale of action, suspense, and a touch of the supernatural.

Jack's father believes his son 'repairs' appliances for a living, little does he know his son 'repairs' lives. People with problems the police can't solve come to Jack for an answer, and with his own odd set of work ethics, Jack delivers.

In this book, Jack is trying to repair the damage done to his relationship with his girlfriend Gia, who has recently discovered how Jack makes his living. She's not exactly receptive of his occupation. At the same time, he takes on a task to discover what is going on in a house left to a Dr. Alicia Clayton. After her step-fathers death, a man she loaths, Clayton discovers she has inherited his house and her step brother has been left out of the picture. Now people are trying to dismantle the house looking for the secret it holds. Claytons life is threatened if she doesn't sell the house to a man of middle-eastern decent, and
she wants to know why. What dark sinister secrets lie within the walls of that house. Why is Alicia petrified to even enter it's front door? Well, she's hired the right man to find all the answers, provided he's not killed first.

F.Paul Wilson does it again with his rich story telling ability. Unlike others, I don't read fast enough to finish a book in 'one night', but I certainly finished this book in record time. I can't wait to read the next installment, if Jack lives through this one that is.

Legacies marks the return of urban mercenary Repairman Jack, who first appeared in F. Paul Wilson's magnificent horror/action novel The Tomb. Got a problem you can't (Or won't...) go to the Police with? For a small fee, Jack could be the solution to all of your problems...

Alicia Clayton has just been hit with a bombshell: The Father she hasn't spoken to since she turned 18 has just died in a plane crash, and she's inherited the family home. Her step-brother, totally cut out of the will, is naturally a little ticked off. But could he possibly be responsible for the "Accidental" death of Alicia's Lawyer? Where is he getting the money for the Million-Dollar offers he's making for the house? Could the house hold a secret worth killing for...? And what went on there that made Alicia swear never to set foot in it again? With a little luck, Jack and Alicia may just get the answers...

Wilson does his usual excellent job, writing a briskly paced page-turner. I really hated to put the book down, and I finished it in record time. Jack is a GREAT hero, and he's got some amazing three-dimensional villains to contend with here. Unlike Jack's previous adventure in The Tomb, Legacies is straight crime-drama, so readers looking for the Horror elements present in The Tomb may be disappointed for a minute...At least until they get [drawn] into the mystery.

The Good Doctor, F. Paul Wilson has done what many others have done in film, books and television when their appeal seems to be waining...return to what they know best. Legacies marks the return of Repairman Jack, a vigilante with no last name who exacts swift justice on the criminal underworld. This novel starts off with a bang (literally) and moves along at breathtaking speed until the climactic ending. Wilson's style is hypnotizing and at times dizzying but never boring or listless.

Legacies pins Jack against a more volitile enemy than Rossalom or the Rakoshi. The enemy this time around is of the human species, but never-the-less maniacal, and they want something(not going to elaborate to prevent spoiling the plot)and heaven help the people they have to eliminate to get it. Legacies is a tour-de-force mind trip that will have you guessing with each turn of the page. Legacies mixes hi-tech heroism with classic film noir personalities. The Hero, the damsal in distress, the budding romance of the hero and his girlfriend, a child in peril, and the pursuit of answers and unrelenting justice...served cold with out a chaser. Legacies puts Jack back where he belongs. In hardcover.

The first Repairman Jack novel by F. Paul Wilson was written in 1984; the character would lie fallow for quite a while till the late 1990s, when Wilson started producing the Repairman Jack books on a more regular basis. That first book was called The Tomb, and while a good book, actually had nothing at all to do with a tomb. In contrast, the second book in the series, Legacies, has a lot to do with legacies.

In particular, the legacy in this story is a house belonging to the late Ronald Clayton - a brilliant scientist but generally unpleasant guy - and has been willed to his daughter Alicia. Alicia, a doctor at a children's AIDS clinic, despised her father and would normally want nothing to do with the house. When her brother Thomas, a loser who can hardly earn a living (and was cut out of the will), offers her a huge sum for the house, she resists, sensing something fishy. Her brother then contests the will, and the people she turns to for help wind up dead.

After Jack does her a favor by retrieving some toys stolen from the clinic, Alicia tries to get his assistance. Initially reluctant, he eventually decides to help. It is apparent that there is something in the house that someone wants, and Jack wants to find it first. He also needs to know who is backing Thomas with a lot of funds.

Unlike many other Wilson books, this is a nonsupernatural story, but there is still some out-of-the-ordinary stuff going on. In addition, we get a good amount of the suspense and action that Wilson does well. On the other hand, there are times in the book that rescues come from out of nowhere which cheapens some of the story. Generally, Wilson is a dependable writer of four star books, and I'll give this one such a rating, but it is a little weaker than his other works.

Do not miss any of the Repairman Jack books - every book will keep you turning the page to see how Repairman Jack wins each mission he take on. If you like Jack Bower in "24" you will love Repairman Jack.

This novel takes place a few months after the events in THE TOMB. Jack is hired by an AIDS centre to recover some stolen Christmas donations and picks up another client along the way who wants a house she inherited destroyed. It's a house which for the client contains nothing but bad memories but she refuses to give it up to the brother she despises. However, other people are prepared to kill for the secrets the house holds - and it may well be that if Jack doesn't find out what those secrets are he could be dead too.

This novel is more of a thriller than Sci-Fi or horror, and I found that rather refreshing as you don't have to have read THE TOMB to really enjoy this book and the plot isn't dependant on knowing the contents of the previous novel in the series.

This is a series that so far I'm really enjoying. Jack is a refreshing, complicated, but intelligent character whose stories combine the horror, thriller and slightly X-Files genres.