Tag: Books

Repairman Jack : Hosts

Hosts is the fifth book in the Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson.

Jack is reunited with his sister, just as a new virus threatens to link all human brains into a single collective hive mind, turning the human race into a docile petri dish living for the greater good of the virus.

Perhaps it’s my mood, but this story is just a little too depressing for my tastes. I’m hoping the rest of the series won’t degenerate into this type of doom and gloom. It needs a little more wit and humor to lift it.

Cheers

Tim…

Repairman Jack: Conspiracies…

Conspiracies is the third book in the Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson.

Jack is hired to look for a missing woman who happens to be part of a very exclusive conspiracy theory group. What’s more she went missing just before presenting her Grand Unification Theory, that supposedly explains the true root of all conspiracies through all the ages. Coincidence?

I really liked this story. I’m not into conspiracy theories myself, but I can see why they are fascinating to people. That constant spiral of the lack of evidence because the evidence is being withheld. It kinda draws you in.

I find people’s reaction to conspiracy theories rather intriguing. Doubters will turn their nose up at the thought of aliens because of the lack of proof, then go to church to worship to a God that requires no proof, just faith. Interesting. 🙂

I have a couple of acquaintances who are into the whole conspiracy thing. The thing that is rather disturbing about that is once you go down that path everything you ever see, do or experience seems to some how relate to it. Everything is a cover-up by [ the government | the Illuminati | Aliens | Satan | some other dark forces ].

My brain is a bit to basic for all of that. If I see it, it’s real. If I don’t it’s mumbo jumbo. Life’s a lot easier to cope with that way. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Repairman Jack: Legacies…

Legacies is the second book in the Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson.

This book was more like a straight detective story based around a new scientific discovery. There was no supernatural aspect to the case, which was a bit disappointing. The story itself was fine, but the supernatural thing peaks my interest that bit more. I’m still happy to keep reading the books in the series, especially since they are only £1.97 on Kindle. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Repairman Jack: The Tomb…

The Tomb is the first book in the Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson.

Jack fixes things. Not washing machines and stuff like that. He fixes situations for people. It’s a job that takes him outside the law and means he has to separate himself from most of the things society think of as normal. It also recently separated him from his girlfriend when she found out his job doesn’t involve fixing household appliances. Now he’s got to fix a situation for his ex girlfriend involving a family curse that started generations ago in India.

Followers of the blog know I love The Dresden Files and the Felix Castor series. Repairman Jack hooks into exactly the same groove for me. Harry Dresden, Felix Castor and Jack are the same type of men. Strong, self-reliant and they get the job done in an action-packed way. Very appealing for a cowardly computer geek like myself… 🙂 I’m looking forward to the next 14 books in the series.

Cheers

Tim…

Terry Pratchett: Snuff…

Snuff is book 39 in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. In this one Sam Vimes is forced by his wife to go on holiday to his country estate. Being a copper he’s on the lookout for anything amiss and ends up getting involved in more than he bargained for. It’s typical Vimes, typical Discworld and typical Pratchett.

I love how Terry Pratchett manages to state the obvious in a way that makes it sound novel. It’s not just what he says, but when he says it. For example, in one part of the book a rather nasty incident occurs, then he hits you with the line,

“I tell you commander, it’s true that some of the most terrible things in the world are done by people who think, genuinely think, that they are doing it for best, especially if there is some god involved.”

You’ve heard this sort of line a million times, but it is set up so well in the book it feels like an epiphany.

Please Sir, can I have some more?

Cheers

Tim…

PS. I need some fresh inspiration. I’ve finished all the Terry Pratchett,  Jim Butcher and Mike Carey stuff and I’ve got some Waterstones vouchers that need spending. 🙂 Anyone got any ideas what I should try next?

Mike Carey: The Naming of the Beasts…

“The Naming of the Beasts” is book 5 in the Felix Castor series by Mike Carey. Juliet, the succubus, has gone all wild, beaten up her human wife and is on the verge of feasting on aroused men’s souls again. Felix’s friend Rafi, still possessed by the demon Asmodeus, has gone AWOL and started a killing spree. Life’s never easy when you’re a freelance exorcist… 🙂

This is the last in the series so far and it maintains the pace of the other books, while tying up a lot of loose ends. According to Wikipedia the next book is out late 2001 (imminently). It will be interesting to see what Felix does next, since the main thrust of the story of the first 5 books is now concluded.

Cheers

Tim…

Mike Carey: Thicker Than Water…

“Thicker Than Water” is book 4 in the Felix Castor series by Mike Carey.

I’m not even going to try and summarize this bad-boy. It’s just a crazy-paced page turner. We find out more about Felix’s life before he became a freelance exorcist. More about his brother, the Catholic Priest. More about the Anathemata, the excommunicated millitant arm of the Catholic Church. Juliet, the succubus, gets involved in the action again. It’s just bam, bam, bam. Love it. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Mike Carey: Dead Men’s Boots…

Number 3 in the Felix Castor series from Mike Carey, Dead Men’s Boots is about ghosts of criminals possessing humans to effectively allow them to live forever. I got about 2/3 the way through this book then left it on a plane and was stuck for a couple of weeks. As soon as I got home I bought another copy and continued.

I am now totally invested in Felix Castor. I’ve got two more books to read (and another due out at the end of the year) and I’m already starting to get separation anxiety at the thought of finishing the series. This is exactly how I felt about Harry Dresden when I was reading The Dresden Files.

Cheers

Tim…

Mike Carey: Vicious Circle…

The second in the Felix Castor series by Mike Carey. In Vicious Circle, Felix has to save the ghost of a girl from getting killed (sort of). File under supernatural detective with similarities to The Dresden Files. Pretty cool if you are into this sort of thing, like I am, but not for everyone.

My favorite character has to be Juliette, the succubus. To paraphrase one of her comments regarding attempting to use her abilities on some people suffering from demonic possession, “They should have only been capable of spontaneous orgasm.” It seems demonic possession gets in the way of your average succubus innocently going about their business… 🙂

Second favorite character has got to be Nikki, a zombie conspiracy theorist. It’s good to know that Zombies care about their appearance too. Nikki tries to prevent his corpse decaying by using industrial air conditioning and avoiding bacterial contamination as much as possible. Nikki is rather surprised by his physical reaction to Juliette, which should be impossible for a zombie as their congealed blood does not flow. I’ll leave it up to you to guess what happened to him. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Mike Carey: The Devil You Know…

I’ve just finished reading “The Devil You Know”, by Mike Carey. It’s the first in a series of books about an exorcist called Felix Castor, who lives and works in London. It’s not all spinning heads and green vomit. Like The Dresden Files, it’s more of a detective story that includes supernatural stuff.

If, like me, you are a fan of Harry Dresden and can’t wait for the next book, then this might quell your appetite.

Cheers

Tim…