Harbingers – F. Paul Wilson

Although it may seem like a low-brow taste, I readily admit to a lifelong affection for well-written horror stories. For many years a fan of Stephen King’s work (although his last few outings have been somewhat disappointing), I also very much enjoy the novels of F. Paul Wilson, a New Jersey doctor who happens to write riveting tales that frequently venture into the other-worldly. Especially gripping is his ‘Repairman Jack” series, revolving as they do around a loner who exists, as he puts it, ‘off the grid,’ a fact that allows him a measure of freedom denied most people.

As his name suggests, Jack makes his living by taking care of other people’s intractable, seemingly irresolvable problems. Because he exists in a kind of netherworld of anonymity, he can eschew conventional approaches and draw upon his unique talents and resources in order to offer remediation to desperate clients. But an interesting evolution has taken place over the course of this series. The formerly solitary Jack has made an emotional connection with a woman and her daughter so deep that in the novel Harbingers, he is ready to ‘go legit’ by adopting an identity that will ultimately make him a citizen who can marry the woman he loves, adopt her child, and be a real father to their unborn child. However, fate has other plans for him.

Without going into too much revealing detail, one of the most compelling and interesting aspects of this series is the way Wilson has connected it to another, called the Adversary Cycle, which began with a novel called The Keep. The latter was an introduction to a cosmology in which two forces, The Ally and The Otherness, vie for control and possession of the earth. The Ally, not to be mistaken for God, has an almost capricious, dispassionate interest in our world while The Otherness, represented on earth by The Adversary, feeds upon human misery and hopelessness, doing everything possible to promote these negative emotions and thereby grow stronger.

It has become apparent in the past several Repairman novels that Jack is somehow a crucial player in this cosmic battle. Exactly what that role is, and the shocking measures used by The Ally to recruit Jack, are revealed in Harbingers. To say more would ruin the pleasure of discovery for the reader. Let’s just say that to cross Jack, even on a cosmic level, is not a wise thing to do.

If you have never read any of the Repairman Jack novels, I strongly suggest that you enjoy them in chronological order, as each novel is related. A complete bibliography can be found at www.repairmanjack.com. May you derive the same pleasure I have with this series.