Scan barcode
topdragon's review against another edition
5.0
I always know I'm in for a good read when I pick up a "Repairman Jack" novel. "The Haunted Air" by F. Paul Wilson is the 6th in the series about a guy who lives in present day New York City and specializes in fixing things for people. Just about any job is doable if approached the right way. Jack lives off the grid: no Social Security Number, no bank accounts, no tax returns, numerous aliases and a great sense of handing out his own brand of justice.
One of the things I love about this series is that it combines several of my favorite genres. These novels are sort of mystery/thriller novels with a good dose of detective sleuthing thrown in and as we go along, more and more horror as well. Each book in the series has a stand-alone situation (or situations) for Jack to help with but there is also an overall arc that ties them all together. The author combines these Repairman Jack novels (of which he has stated there will be 15 in all) with his other works in the "Adversary Cycle" to form an overall "hidden history of the world." Readers certainly need not read all of his works to appreciate each individual novel and, in fact, according to the author's website, even if you did read every word of his numerous works, they have just barely scratched the surface of this hidden history.
This novel continues that bigger story arc in fine style as we really start getting into the back story of "The Otherness". This is the science-fiction/horror aspect of what is happening in the background and is just absolutely fascinating to me. Jack has been told that nothing in his life is coincidence and we really see that played out in this novel. Seemingly unrelated jobs of helping a couple of brothers who run a fake psychic/spiritualist operation to watching another client's brother for three evenings in a row to keep him from harm are, in fact, intimately connected. This novel has everything packed in, from fake spiritualists to real ghosts, from fisticuffs to gunplay, from ritual sacrifices to Jack's girlfriend really getting into the action. And oh yes, she may be pregnant which plays with Jack's conscience...will he be able to continue living off the grid if he is to become a father?
Great characters, great plotting, great mysteries and intrigue, and a killer "universe" make Repairman Jack one of the greatest series I've ever read, especially the further along I travel on this road.
One of the things I love about this series is that it combines several of my favorite genres. These novels are sort of mystery/thriller novels with a good dose of detective sleuthing thrown in and as we go along, more and more horror as well. Each book in the series has a stand-alone situation (or situations) for Jack to help with but there is also an overall arc that ties them all together. The author combines these Repairman Jack novels (of which he has stated there will be 15 in all) with his other works in the "Adversary Cycle" to form an overall "hidden history of the world." Readers certainly need not read all of his works to appreciate each individual novel and, in fact, according to the author's website, even if you did read every word of his numerous works, they have just barely scratched the surface of this hidden history.
This novel continues that bigger story arc in fine style as we really start getting into the back story of "The Otherness". This is the science-fiction/horror aspect of what is happening in the background and is just absolutely fascinating to me. Jack has been told that nothing in his life is coincidence and we really see that played out in this novel. Seemingly unrelated jobs of helping a couple of brothers who run a fake psychic/spiritualist operation to watching another client's brother for three evenings in a row to keep him from harm are, in fact, intimately connected. This novel has everything packed in, from fake spiritualists to real ghosts, from fisticuffs to gunplay, from ritual sacrifices to Jack's girlfriend really getting into the action. And oh yes, she may be pregnant which plays with Jack's conscience...will he be able to continue living off the grid if he is to become a father?
Great characters, great plotting, great mysteries and intrigue, and a killer "universe" make Repairman Jack one of the greatest series I've ever read, especially the further along I travel on this road.
posies23's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this one better than the previous novel, HOSTS, so that's something. This time, Jack's recovering from the events of the previous novel when he winds up in another situation that demands his attention. As usual, Jack's unique skills -- and the fact that he's now apparently a nexus for coincidences -- lead to his involvement in a haunting, serial murder, immortality, and some psychic charlatans.
As usual, Wilson's writing is compelling, and there are some great action sequences. This novel also advances several plot lines from previous books, and has a nice nod to Wilson's breakout novel, THE KEEP.
Enjoyable, and worth reading.
As usual, Wilson's writing is compelling, and there are some great action sequences. This novel also advances several plot lines from previous books, and has a nice nod to Wilson's breakout novel, THE KEEP.
Enjoyable, and worth reading.
gordcampbell's review against another edition
4.0
#6 in the series. Having read these in two months, I think I'll go read something else now. :-)
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
This might be the best of the Repairman Jack series so far. Legacies (#2) was the best plotted, Conspiracies (#3) is probably the most fun, and Hosts (#5) was the most heart-breaking. The Haunted Air is the most perfect blend so far. It has all the elements that make a great Repairman Jack novel and it is a quick fun read.
It is fitting that Wilson does a slight of hand plot wise, he has done that before with Legacies and The Keep. Those novels will dupe you with misdirection. Well F.Paul Wilson you fool me once shame on you fool me twice double good on you. I was convinced 100 pages into the novel that Legacies was a haunted house novel. It was in no way a haunted house novel. This Repairman Jack novel is very much a haunted house novel. Of course I assumed it was another trick. Damn you Wilson!
It is indeed a haunted house novel, and due to the house’s unique residents the novel becomes a refreshing take on the classic tale. It is a Repairman Jack novel after all. Jack is hired by two so-called psychics who run a bait and switch scam out of the haunted house. (The hardest trick of the haunted house novel is why would the victims stay? Solved here by the scammers needing the house for their scam)
At first the haunted aspects of the house are considered the acts of jealous competing psychics. Jack helps fix the problem by running a scam on the psychics. At the same time the greater web of horror involving the background of Jack’s life begins to unravel. His girlfriend Gia is pulled into the horror hidden below the house. Jack already knows there are no coincidences in his life anymore.
This near perfect Repairman Jack novel weaves small touches from the Adversary novels (The Keep and Reborn) while moving the greater story of Jack forward. I loved this novel, as I have the others. The only tiny nitpick I would have would be the dialogue of Lyle and Charles, the scammers were born and lived most of their lives in the Detroit ghetto. Some of it didn’t ring true; I had this same problem with Dan Simmons Carrion Comfort. Tiny thing in a novel that is so solid.
Haunted Air is a great stand alone Repairman Jack novel, but it also weaves into the greater story of the Secret history of the World. If you only read one I would read Legacies or this one. You can’t go wrong.
It is fitting that Wilson does a slight of hand plot wise, he has done that before with Legacies and The Keep. Those novels will dupe you with misdirection. Well F.Paul Wilson you fool me once shame on you fool me twice double good on you. I was convinced 100 pages into the novel that Legacies was a haunted house novel. It was in no way a haunted house novel. This Repairman Jack novel is very much a haunted house novel. Of course I assumed it was another trick. Damn you Wilson!
It is indeed a haunted house novel, and due to the house’s unique residents the novel becomes a refreshing take on the classic tale. It is a Repairman Jack novel after all. Jack is hired by two so-called psychics who run a bait and switch scam out of the haunted house. (The hardest trick of the haunted house novel is why would the victims stay? Solved here by the scammers needing the house for their scam)
At first the haunted aspects of the house are considered the acts of jealous competing psychics. Jack helps fix the problem by running a scam on the psychics. At the same time the greater web of horror involving the background of Jack’s life begins to unravel. His girlfriend Gia is pulled into the horror hidden below the house. Jack already knows there are no coincidences in his life anymore.
This near perfect Repairman Jack novel weaves small touches from the Adversary novels (The Keep and Reborn) while moving the greater story of Jack forward. I loved this novel, as I have the others. The only tiny nitpick I would have would be the dialogue of Lyle and Charles, the scammers were born and lived most of their lives in the Detroit ghetto. Some of it didn’t ring true; I had this same problem with Dan Simmons Carrion Comfort. Tiny thing in a novel that is so solid.
Haunted Air is a great stand alone Repairman Jack novel, but it also weaves into the greater story of the Secret history of the World. If you only read one I would read Legacies or this one. You can’t go wrong.
op_ivey's review against another edition
4.0
Love the Repairman Jack series. This is one of the better ones so far.
neilsb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
acknud's review
3.0
This would have been a good story except the author's attempt to speak like a city/urban black man was distracting. The story was decent and brought us a little closer to the Otherness.