The Tomb

Note: This review is as much about the book as it relates to the Adversary Cycle series as about the book itself. Spoilers may occur.

Ah, the first book in the rather long Repairman Jack series. As for the Adversary Cycle, you’d only know it was the second book because it’s in the advertising. Yes, it is important to read it as its plot pertains to events in Nightworld, but it’s primarily designed to get you reading more Repairman Jack books. From that perspective… well, it failed for me.

On its own, it’s a tale about a man with a certain set of skills that makes him a nightmare for… oh, right, different story. Yet you’ve probably seen this kind of setup before. Jack is your typical in-the-shadows hero type with a few quirks, and he usually deals with normal-people problems until he ultimately gets sucked into a situation involving some nasty creatures and a “Secret World.” Jack as a character is okay, but otherwise doesn’t really stand out as a character I wanted to commit another sixteen-odd books getting to know better. I was willing to try the first book, and the story is decent enough that I was willing to continue the primary Adversary Cycle series, but Jack I could take or leave.

Obviously, Repairman Jack is a popular series, and other people will be more intrigued than I was. And as a warning, there are plot points at the end of the Adversary Cycle series that will only be meaningful if you’ve been a Repairman Jack fan (something I found out the hard way). If you can enjoy Repairman Jack, you’ll probably get more out the rest of the series.

5+ Stars Excellent

F. Paul Wilson’s “Repairman Jack” is one of my favorite series. There is violence. No drag-you-down drama.
This compelling stand-alone has a cliffhanger ending but all is well.

Interesting storyline with descriptive writing that pulls the reader in both the scene and thoughts of the characters.

Believable characters with distinct personalities. Thought-provoking and memorable dialogue.

I will re-read this book as I do all the Repairman Jack stories.
I was disappointed the series ended but look forward to other works by this author

A decent book with more then a few issues. This is less urban-fantasy and more thriller/action with horror elements.

Positive:
+ Characters. Jack is unique and fun to follow- i especially liked his first ‘fix-it’ job.
+ Plot. While no surprises, i loved the tie-ins throughout.

Neutral:
+/-

Negative:
– Writing. The suspense level that the book required never really existed.
– Early portions. Way to much is spent on the MC’s failed relationship with his ex-GF. Get on with the story already!

Reasonably well-written, in the technical sense, but entirely predictable for anyone who has read a lot. The protagonist is interesting, but the effort to bring romantic tension is labored (in my opinion) and requires both the male and female (but especially the female) to be pretty dense considering how intelligent they are otherwise. I felt as if the author could have presented them much better with a little effort. Not sure if I will buy any of the others. This was recommended by a friend, but she probably didn’t think of this book (at least) as more of a late-juvenile read. I’ll bet a lot of teens maybe 14 and up who haven’t read much such ‘fantasy-horror’ will love it. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just that I’m way past that stage.

I’ve read the entire series and I love this book. It launched the Repairman Jack series, and it’s my favorite series along with the Wheel of Time. I enjoy how the story begins as a normal “fix”, and ends up more paranormal. Little does Jack know that it only gets worse from here…

I ordered a used copy from the additional offers, and I ended up getting a first edition copy from 1984 that was apparently from a library. Even though the newer release has updates to remove the dated aspects, I really like that I got a first edition hardback that’s still in decent shape.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member