Reviews

Legacies by F. Paul Wilson

michael9's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

posies23's review

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4.0

This is the BCOD book for Jan 2013. I'll post more thoughts after the meeting. (Maybe.)

yourfriendryanj's review against another edition

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Liked this one a lot. I'm a little disappointed that it's the only one in the series without any supernatural elements. I don't think the series needs to go strange to be interesting. Probably gonna barrel through this like I do Dresden

git_r_read's review against another edition

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5.0

I know, I know...not your typical Christmas holiday read, but I like to opt of 'typical'. (C'mon, you knew that)


Jack is such an intriguingly diverse character to read. He's one of the best protagonists in the thriller world. He knows he should keep to himself, but loves the two women in his life, Gia and her daughter Vicky. He'd do anything for them and when Gia asks for Jack's help with what's going on at the Center for Children with AIDS where she volunteers, Jack doesn't hesitate.


Someone has stolen the toys that were donated for the children so that they might have a semblance of a normal Christmas. Jack does his magic and the toys are returned and crapweasel Grinch is definitely taught a valuable lesson the Repairman Jack way and put behind bars.


The rest of the book is repairing the issue of who's killing everyone involved in the house that Dr Alicia Clayton, a pediatrician who works at the Center, has inherited from her father. She doesn't want the house, but she wants help finding out what's going on and why her half-brother wants it so badly. What's in the house that someone is willing to kill?


Seriously awesome scenes abound throughout the book that has Jack defying the odds and fighting the good fight to make things better for good guy and doing what it takes to put away the bad crapweasels out there. I luh-huv this series!!


Five thriller holiday beans.....

cdeane61's review against another edition

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3.0

Probably should have started with the first one, too many questions about Jacks background and how he acquired the skills he uses in this installment.

The writing is actually pretty smooth, and the plotting moves along at a sustained pace. Jack is a champion for the little man, but has no qualms about using force, even deadly force to right the wrongs of society.

May be worth pursuing the rest of the series, for a quick entertaining read.

casavca's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Started off quick slowed down and finished fast. 

Check content warning before reading 

david_agranoff's review against another edition

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5.0


I really enjoyed The Tomb, but it was this book the second in the series that sold completely on reading the entire saga. As strong as the Tomb was Legacies is a much stronger book and really defines Jack as a character in deeper way. There is good reason for that, it was the first novel that was intended to be a repairman Jack novel, and it was a good decade and half since Wilson created the character.

If you trust my opinion consider that I am finding it hard to review this book without a wee bit of spoilers. You have been warned, because twists in the plot were a huge part of why I found this book to be one of the best in the series.

The novel starts when Jack is hired by a doctor working in a clinic for children with AIDS. He is hired because the Christmas toys were stolen and the police basically said there was nothing they could do. Jack has an idea of how to track down the toys and Fixes the problem. His ability to solve this problem shows his customer Doctor Alicia Clayton that she can trust Jack with a family secret.

She has inherited her father’s house and large sum of money. She doesn’t want the house, but everyone she hires to look at the house or take care of it dies. Most authors writing a series develop a series around a set of characters through into stories and settings that only change slightly.

After the monster story of The Tomb (and fans of the novel waiting 15 years for a sequel) Legacies looks another supernatural novel. The first 100 pages seem like Wilson was setting up a haunted house novel. Wilson has done this before, in his classic horror novel The Keep (Adversary series book one) The Keep appears for more than a good chuck of the novel to be a traditional vampire novel complete with a Transylvanian castle. It also has Nazis and World War II back drop, but in many ways it is more of a Lovecraftian tale that sets off the events that lead to five more Adversary novels and fifteen Repairman Jack novels.

Legacies starts strong and moves through plot twists and suspense in a different and stronger way than the first book. This is the most stand-alone of all the Repairman Jack novels, so I think it is a great introduction, plus if you are only going to read one, this is the one to read. After this one the books start to build on each other.


majkia's review against another edition

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4.0

Pretty good second book of the series. Although I confess to being unhappy with some aspects of how the author presented the main female protag. It gets better later on, but I was almost ready to stop reading at one point.

I've read other books by Wilson and never before felt that way about his writing. Hopefully, this will be the last time I have that issue with Wilson.

readinggrrl's review against another edition

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4.0

This is the 2nd repairman Jack novel I've listened to with a different narrator. At first I wasn't sure I liked this narrator but he soon grew on me and I really started to like his interpretation of the characters.

In this book Jack's humanity shines through. His girlfriend Gia introduces him to a house that helps children with AIDS and he finds his aversion to AIDS and those with it dwindling as he gets to know the children. He also meets Dr. Alicia Clayton and winds up helping her with a problem she seems to be having.

With themes of drug addicted and abandoned children, children whose parents don't care or want them and those adults whose parents had once used and abused them this book had the feel of an Andrew Vachss novel. Jack becomes the savior of many and his disgust of child abuse and his love of Vicki, Gia's daughter, shine throughout the book.

There is another character that plays in this book a mysterious Japanese man who is tailing some principle players in the book, his take on Jack and Jack's character were very intriguing to me as he called him a Ronin and a warrior. The definition really seems to fit Jack and I'm starting to enjoy this series more and more.

bookworm311's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0