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A review by songwind
Cold City by F. Paul Wilson
2.0
Cold City is a fun book that unfortunately fails to really tie anything up. It feels more like the first half of a novel than a book itself.
Jack is on the run from home. After his mother dies in a senseless act of random mayhem, he drops out of school and takes off without telling anyone where he'd gone. Taking advantage of his lack of Social Security number, he adopts a new name and tries to make a life in New York City.
Where the book shines is in its characters. Jack is an interesting puzzle, less conservative than many similar characters I've read, and strongly moral, but not averse to violence or breaking the rules. His mentor/father figure Abe is amusing and complex.
The book leans rather heavily on the "wicked Muslim jihadi" stereotype, which grew boring. There was not much effort to introduce any related characters who differed significantly, or who took different paths to the same goals.
But the biggest weakness was the lack of any kind of resolution. Individual events came to an end, but not the plots in which they occur. The book prompts a lot of questions without answering any of them. It made the ending of the story feel very abrupt.
I enjoyed the characters, and I see the potential for something interesting here. I'll probably end up reading or listening to another Repairman Jack story in the future. But Cold City wasn't compelling and I won't be rushing back to Jack Moore.
Jack is on the run from home. After his mother dies in a senseless act of random mayhem, he drops out of school and takes off without telling anyone where he'd gone. Taking advantage of his lack of Social Security number, he adopts a new name and tries to make a life in New York City.
Where the book shines is in its characters. Jack is an interesting puzzle, less conservative than many similar characters I've read, and strongly moral, but not averse to violence or breaking the rules. His mentor/father figure Abe is amusing and complex.
The book leans rather heavily on the "wicked Muslim jihadi" stereotype, which grew boring. There was not much effort to introduce any related characters who differed significantly, or who took different paths to the same goals.
But the biggest weakness was the lack of any kind of resolution. Individual events came to an end, but not the plots in which they occur. The book prompts a lot of questions without answering any of them. It made the ending of the story feel very abrupt.
I enjoyed the characters, and I see the potential for something interesting here. I'll probably end up reading or listening to another Repairman Jack story in the future. But Cold City wasn't compelling and I won't be rushing back to Jack Moore.