By the Sword: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack)

I recently finished this novel and was very pleased with the way it answers some questions from the previous Repairman Jack Novels and how it begins to set up the remaining novels that are coming. For those of you who have never read a Repairman Jack novel before, please go back and start with THE TOMB and go from there. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

Now on to my assessment of other reviews of this novel. Mr. Wilson succinctly explains at the very beginning of this novel that this novel is not like the rest of his Repairman Jack novels because it is actually more like a serial leading up to the end of the series. I can see why a lot of people have an issue with this novel, because we've become so used to the cast of characters that we've come to know and love in the series. However, Mr. Wilson is using this series now to set up his reworked Nightworld novel.

This is a fun novel. It has action, Ninjas, the Yakuza, utter death and destruction and the usual Jack quips. It also answers who the woman with the dog is and begins to incorporate Glaeken's role leading up to Nightworld. If you've read all of the other Jack Novels you should be able to truly enjoy this one as well.

I can't remember when I've enjoyed a book more. Repairman Jack is not your ordinary fix-it man. He's a man that fixes things, but he won't clean the lint out of your dryer if that's what you're looking for. He's more of a man that fixes... situations.

I was sort of skeptical when this book was selected by Freedom Book Club, but this book did not disappoint. Up until this book was chosen all the selections of the FBC had been non-fiction titles. Boy was this book a change of pace. It holds up to the lessaiz-faire premise set for the club, and it is highly entertaining.

If you happen to be a Hawaiian plantation owner that has lost a sword (stolen by his father), and you can't have any police involvement, Jack's your man! After the stage is set, Wilson lets it rip. Hold on tight for the convergence of the mercenary fix-it man, immortal beings, Japanese hit men, and a clash of the wacked-out cults.

If violence hurts your sensibilities, this book may not be to your liking, as it has a high body count. Also there is a sexual situation.

can someone please tell me why the kindle price for this book is more than the physical hardcover?

Okay, I'm going to go against the grain here and give it 5 stars. Yeah, things have kind of drifted from the original novels, but to me, this was still a cool story and I had no problem reading it.

The difference between this one and the others is, to the best of my memory, the inclusion of three different factions (POV wise) besides Jack. That makes for three sets of bad guys which I'll admit, takes up a bit of real estate (pages). As much as I'd like to see Jack do more kicking butt, the extra viewpoints were written well enough that they didn't become Hitler Channel (History Channel) lessons, as some other novels I've read has done with the same type material. In past novels, I don't remember so many major groups taking up as much of the story.

Gia and Abe made appearances, but not as heavy as novels in the past, which I guess has disappointed some of the readers.

Overall, the plot complexities of the series have pushed Jack further and further away from the little fixes he was so loved for. I guess Mr. Wilson has to keep mixing things up to keep the publishers happy, maybe himself too. Since he always had a master plan in mind, we'll just have to deal with it and see where it goes. It has not veered far enough away from the original reasons I loved Jack to stop reading the series.

I loved this story and find it a good companion to the others. It is not like the first novels, but it is well written and kept my interest all the way to the not-quite-resolved conclusion. Still highly recommended.

Fifty years ago, a thief stole the legendary Gaijin Masaume Katana from the Hiroshima Peace Museum; the Katana supposedly has special supernatural powers. The thief's businessman son hires Repairman Jack to recover the Katana sword stolen from him.

Two groups willing to kill the innocent want the Katana besides Jack's client. First there is a deadly Yakuza gang who believe the fabled sword would make them top dog; even more lethal is the Kakureta Kao monks led by fanatic Toru who believe with their soul they need to possess the weapon and use its power to create a Black Wind to destroy New York City or die ignominiously. While in the middle of this dangerous retrieval mission, Jack also tries to prevent the psychotic Kicker cult from creating an evil Messiah BLOODLINE. Finally with all that going on in his life, his supernatural enemy Rasolom is lurking.

This is by far the most complicated Repairman Jack tale to date as so much is going on including the paranormal. The myriad of subplots work as Jack starting with mugging a mugger and never slows down on any front especially keeping Gia and Vicky safe. Although newcomers should read BLOODLINE first to better understand the Kicker Cult subplot, fans of the saga will salute F. Paul Wilson with one of the best entries to date; and the future looks better.

Harriet Klausner