| Date: 10 April 2011, 01:27
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Thirteen books in and Repairman Jack is still going strong. While this is probably the worst book possible for anyone new to RJ to read, it is a nice continuation for those of us in the loop! This time Jack deals with a mess of conspiracies surrounding 9/11, and discovers a whole lot more about the Secret History of the World.
This book draws heavily from the story and characters that FPW created for the Young Jack novels. Jack's "client" in Ground Zero, is none other than Weezy, his good friend from childhood. Turns out that Weezy has hit upon a small but critical part of The Otherness' minion's "Opus Omega". Rasalom and The Order of Septimus are attempting to expedite the descent into Nightworld with a new evil targeting The Lady. Weezy has stumbled upon a kernel of truth behind the 9/11 attacks, and her life is put in danger: Enter Jack.
I would have to say that of the last few books, Ground Zero suffers the most from Wilson's self-described "River novel" approach to the end of the Jack series. While I found myself enjoying the book very much, there was much less Jack action and adventure in this book. I believe that taken in full context, once the series is complete, this one will seem better, but as a stand alone it is definitely one of the weakest in the series. It is missing any real RJ "fix" moments, and is very light on the action, with only a couple scenes of butt-kicking. Jack also seems to spend way too much time just walking around in this one, even takes a trip out West and basically just walks around!
But do not get me wrong, I still very much enjoyed this book, and there was a TON of action in By The Sword, so really being only one chapter in a much larger novel, this one was bound to be more expository. That is the true strength of the book. By this time there are MANY unanswered questions and secrets about the True History of the World, and this book really delves into many of those. In a sense, much of the book is as if the reader is actually reading from the Compendium of Srem!
Jack has had that ancient tome for a while now, and it has kinda sat there just waiting to be explored. With Weezy's brains and perfect memory, we finally have a guide through the First Age. So much has transpired without taking a moment to catch the reader up on all the elements and concepts introduced into the series, so this book is essential in that regard. Many answers are finally given about The Lady, Glaeken and The Conflict.
It was inevitable to have a book that answered the questions and delved into the Compendium, so in that sense the book is great. It was also inevitable that the closer the end came and the more involved Jack became in The Conflict, that the less time there would be to dedicate to the minor "fixes" he used to do, which is somewhat disappointing. I was also somewhat disappointed that Jack was more like Jake Fix than Repairman Jack in this book. He was just like an ex-CIA badazz, instead of manipulating people into doing his work for him. That was one of the things I enjoyed about By The Sword, even though the conflict was huge he still utilized his Repairman Jack skills to have disparate problems resolve one another!
What makes this book is the character and the writer. Jack is a fun character to read about, even just walking around, and F Paul Wilson is never boring, whether writing exciting action or mundane exposition, it is still compelling reading. And, again, I have a feeling this one will age better in context. So I am willing to take Mr Wilson at his word in his introduction, that things may not be wrapping up as we would like, but it will all fall into place once the series is complete.
I eagerly anticipate the last 2!:( Repairman Jack novels, and the two remaining Young Jack novels as well. I have faith in FPW and RJ that they will not let me down! :)
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