A review by professorfate
The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson

5.0

This is a re-read. To give you an idea of my opinion of the book, I have read this book a few times already. As I was going through it again this time, the last ninety pages of the book came out of the binding as a chunk and landed on the table. So I downloaded the book for my eReader and finished it that way (I couldn’t wait for it to be delivered to me and Barnes & Noble, while sort of close, isn’t really convenient).

This is the first book of the “Repairman Jack” series and the second book in the “Adversary Cycle”—both of which I recommend.

Repairman Jack is a repairman (duh! I know), but he doesn’t repair appliances or anything like that. In a way, he is a sort of one-man “A-Team,” an off-the-grid mercenary who helps to fix situations that the legal system cannot or will not.

In this book, he takes on two repairs simultaneously (a situation he is not fond of): the aunt of a woman that he loves and who had recently broken off a relationship with him goes missing from her house in Sutton Square in New York; and, the mother of a member of the Indian delegation to the U.N. is mugged and beaten severely. The mugger takes a necklace from her, and the man hires Jack to not only recover the necklace (which is vital to his mother) but also to kill the mugger. Jack tells him that he will try to get the item but, while he will punish the mugger, he will not kill him (he doesn’t do that kinda thing).

Of course, the two repairs become entwined, but in a supernatural way which you’ll have to read to find out. Dr. Wilson is an excellent author and this book crackles with energy and compels you to keep reading. Jack is a very engaging character and I’m sure that once you read this book, you will want to read the rest of the series (book fifteen—I think—recently came out, so get reading!).

Pick up a newer edition if you can. Dr. Wilson re-worked it to fit in better with the Adversary Cycle in 2004 (the character was just supposed to be a one-shot and, indeed, wasn’t even supposed to figure into the Cycle at first).