Product Description

Repairman Jack returns in a sequel to the New York Times bestseller, The Tomb!

Repairman Jack has been tearing up the urban adventure scene ever since he was introduced in the New York Times bestseller The Tomb. As his fans know, Repairman Jack doesn’t deal with electronic appliances; he’s a situation fixer, no matter how weird or deadly a situation may be. Repairman Jack has no last name, no Social Security number, and no qualms when it comes to getting the job done—even if it means putting himself in serious danger.

After fifteen years of separation, Jack is contacted by his long-lost sister, Kate, to help her track down the source of her girlfriend Jeanette’s sudden trance-like behavior. Referred by a mysterious stranger who gives only Jack’s name and phone number, Kate is shocked to find out that the “repairman” she seeks is none other than her little brother—and not altogether happy to find out what little “Jackie” has been doing with himself for all these years. With Jack leading the way, Kate finds out that Jeannette’s behavior can be traced back to the experimental therapy she underwent for a brain tumor: now Jeannette’s brain and those of several other subjects are infected by a mutated virus. Like any good virus, it wants to multiply—and if Jack can’t stop the virus in its path, there will be deadly results.

Meanwhile, Jack is traveling on the 9 train when suddenly a passenger goes berserk and starts shooting at random—leaving Jack no choice but to throw himself into the spotlight by putting the shooter down. Worse for Jack, one of his fellow passengers is a reporter for the local tabloid, The Light, who sees Jack’s heroism as his ticket to journalistic stardom. The reporter promises to make Jack a celebrity hero, a household name—which could mean the end of Repairman Jack as we know him.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #130163 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 512 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780812561661
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Wilson's latest Repairman Jack thriller (after All the Rage) shows the long-running series still creatively malleable and full of surprises. Each begins with the identity of the latest person to seek the urban mercenary's unorthodox skills: his beloved sister Kate, who's unaware at first it's her younger brother's job to "fix" problems and injustices that fall outside the usual legal boundaries. Kate asks Jack to investigate an apparent cult that her lover, Jeannette, has fallen in with while recovering from experimental viral treatment for a brain tumor, and Jack finds that the virus, tainted with a contaminant that has made it sentient, is organizing infected human hosts into "the Unity," a hive consciousness single-mindedly devoted to spreading itself throughout the world. Though the Unity's insidious ramblings about the joys of collectivism recall classic SF parables of communist mind control, Wilson swathes Unity's rhetoric around several interlocking subplots Kate's coming out as a lesbian, Jack's avoidance of a crusading reporter whose efforts to lionize him in print would destroy his anonymity to leaven the fantastical intrigue with provocative observations on the roles that individuality, privacy, self-interest and self-sacrifice play in our society. Wilson's fans, who know to expect nonstop action and a hero who can seem a "cryptofascist comic book character," will no doubt be pleased by the more humanized Jack on display here, as well as an ending that packs an emotional wallop even as it sets the stage for his next eagerly anticipated adventure.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Repairman Jack is a wonderful character, ultra-competent but still vulnerable . . . . Wilson strolls into X-Files territory and makes it his own, keeping the action brisk and the level of suspense steadily rising."-San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle
-- Review

Review

Customer Reviews

Hosts: Repairman Jack Lives On!
If you haven't read any of the Repairman Jack books, you don't know what you're missing. Buy them at Amazon today! Start with The Tomb and work your way up Hosts, the latest installment in the Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson. It proves that you can't keep a good man down!

Of all the trains in the city, the gunman just had to pick the one that Jack was riding. Jack saves a trainload of passengers in the first few pages of the book, almost has his identity blown by an overzealous reporter and then has to help his long lost sister get her friend out of what appears to be a weird cult. Jack is back and at his best. Get ready for a wild ride that only Repairman Jack can provide. I couldn't put this one down! This has something for everyone. Die-hard Jack fans will learn more about his past and be delighted to know that he's got some adventures ahead! Looks like the Otherness has a thing for him and it's not letting go. I can't wait for the next book!

The most frustrating RJ book
I'm a Repairman Jack fan. So I enjoyed this book. If you're also a fan, you'll probably enjoy it, too. But many times I wanted to grab author Wilson by the lapels and say, "What the beejeebers are you doing?" Because the subtitle of this book should be, "Repairman Jack gets stupid."

Jack does have several wonderful moments -- with the subplots, especially. But he spends most of this book being uncharacteristically and inexplicably (not to mention unforgiveably) dense. The only rationaliziation for his obtuseness is to stretch the book out, and Wilson is usually above such sloppy plotting.

For any less enjoyable character and writing, this would rate only two stars. Since Jack remains so much fun, this squeaks by with three.

Awesome read!
This was my First F. Paul Wilson novel, and my first introduction to Repairman Jack - and I'm hooked! I thoroughly enjoyed this novel even with no prior knowledge of Repairman Jack - the situation fixer.

Repariman Jack is called in to action when a hitman starts taking out innocent passengers on a subway. Gunning down the shooter - Repairman Jack is dubbed 'The Savior' - a title which although flattering threatens to wreck havoc on the lifestyle he has built for himself...out of the eye of authorities. Witnessed by an ambitious reporter with dreams to make it big, Repairman Jack struggles to stay out of the limelight.

Meanwhile, a call from a new client to help with a bad situation leads to an out of the blue meeting with his long lost sister, Kate. Kate's girlfriend Jeanette has become involved in something sinister following a brain tumour operation (which Kate suspects is a cult), and Kate wants to get to the bottom of the situation fast. Who better to solve a bad situation than Repairman Jack.

Hosts is a fast paced, sci-fi thriller which will leave you craving more of the incredible Repairman Jack - I can't wait to read the next book in the series!