I must say I am surprised at the relatively negative to mediocre reviews this new RJ novel has received. For my money, this is a legit contender for the best book in the series.

I would say that it is not a good time to jump aboard the RJ train, this book is really a continuation of the last few, and as the author warns, it is really a link in the chain of what is basically an Uber-arch that will take readers to the end of the RJ universe and ultimately link with the original Adversary Cycle (that The Tomb was originally a part before Jack became so popular he spawned his own series).

However, for a fan who has read the other books (even the teenage Jack tale) By The Sword is very very satisfying.

I have been a big fan of this series since I was turned onto Urban Fantasy a couple years back. While I have read and enjoyed all the books in the series, F Paul Wilson has a real tendency to "gut-punch" the reader. So much so that previous Jack adventures I have absolutely LOVED for 300 pages, will sour towards the end with the (usually VERY BRUTAL) death of a character you had come to like.

To illustrate, I absolutely loved the first 2 hours and 10 minutes of The Departed. So much so that by the time the "shocking" finale happened, I genuinely felt betrayed and "gut-punched" by how it played out. While I still appreciate the movie as a whole and think it is very good, the ending soured me to the extent that I can never think of the movie without being slightly disappointed.

Many Repairman Jack novels have a similar feel, and while I would rate them all (with the exception of The Haunted Air, which I found mediocre) at 4 stars or above, it is that tendency that prevents the whole series from being a 5 star epic masterpiece.

In fact, I would say this is far and away my biggest complaint about the series as a whole, you can never really attach yourself to any character that was not established as a mainstay in The Tomb (the first book in the series). After being burned a few times liking what end up being one-book characters, it became harder to empathize with new characters, knowing they would meet some horrendous fate before the end.

Not so with By The Sword.

For one, there really are no new characters that you expect anything from. Most of the cast consists of carryovers and the new guys are all villains you will just be wondering "when will Jack take care of this/these fool/s"?

Additionally, this has one of the most satisfying conclusions (I wont say ending, since the book admittedly closes in mid-stream, as FPW warned would be the case of the remaining Jack books) of the series. It is what separates this book from its companion and predecessor, (even if you expect the gut-punch, it still stings) Bloodlines. While I liked that book a lot, the ending was very unsatisfying . I imagine part of that has to do with the fact that the one semi-new character is just so cool and ALIVE at the end of BtS!

Being a big Samurai fan, the plot of the book was very captivating and the execution flawless. Jack was at his usual brutal best manipulating his enemies into fighting each other while he watches and cleans up the mess, and the action really felt almost as good as in All The Rage (my favorite RJ book). Those reviews that claim the book was confusing are baffling to me, as I felt everything was well coordinated and all the pieces seemed to fit together nicely. I can only speak for myself, but at no point in the novel was I confused or wondering "what's happening" or "who is he again?".

While BtS has a LOT of players, Jack still has plenty of page time and I really did not notice him playing a "diminished role" as others have complained. After 11 books I am frankly very tired of Gia and Vicky both, so not having them in the book was a welcome surprise, I hope they continue to be relegated to secondary characters throughout the remainder of the series.

What I really liked as well was all the filling in of the overall universe. If you have not read the Adversary Cycle (which I have not as yet) this and Bloodlines really provided good exposition for what the hell is going on in the world and why Jack is so involved in it all.

Overall it was just a really enjoyable experience that left me eager for the next installment. And I would disagree with another reviewer who says that The Otherness is not what makes RJ good. While it is not the only aspect that makes the stories click, it certainly adds a layer of interest that would not exist were it just a series about an Urban Mercenary.

and without the Otherness there would be no Rasolom, no Glaeken and no Lady, and the RJ world would be a much less interesting place to visit without 'em.

One of the other reviewers said it and I agree: The Best Part of the Repairman Jack Books Is NOT the Otherness.

The best parts are when Jack actually gets to repair a problem for a normal client. I'm talking the theft of donated Xmas toys, dropping tires from a chopper, and even avenging the death of Jack's mother. The mundane problems and the inventive way Jack repairs them is what drew me to the series.

All the Otherness stuff is frustrating for both Jack and me as a reader. It seems like everyone and their brother knows more about what's going on than Jack and like to remind him of that fact (but never explain anything) whenever they can. I'm looking at you, Glaeken and Dog Lady. I don't care! I just want Jack to stick up for the little guy, you know?

The fact that BY THE SWORD starts with a note to 'hang in there' is not a good sign. An author should not have to beg the reader to stay with the story. I know things are on track for heading in to Nightworld and it really shows in Wilson's work. His characterization has dropped way, way down. Thugs are one note cardboard cut outs and villains are mustache-twirling black hats.

This book is not very good. It's not as bad as HARBINGERS, but it's pretty bad. After HARBINGERS, I downgraded my buying of RJ novels from Must Get ASAP (see my limited edition of GATEWAYS, for example) to 'pick up in paperback.' After being pleasantly surprised with BLOODLINES, I decided to go back to picking up the hardcovers. No more. Paperback or library for me from now on.

I think this is the best Repairman Jack Book yet. This book starts to tie in all the story lines of F.Paul Wilsons' previous RJ books. Fantastic job. If you live in NYC all the better.

Is there a reason some publishers think they can charge the same price for an electronic edition of a book as they can for a physical printed copy....and expect people to pay for it...The normal kindle editions of F. Paul Wilson's books, I have paid for. If they are a reasonable price. Bloodlines isn't even being offered in Kindle form.

Can't publishers realize that they will make the same profit if they just charge that amount, instead of adding non-existing hard costs? They might actually have more purchasers...

I guess I'll just wait and buy the paperbacks of both books next year.

I recently finished this novel and was very pleased with the way it answers some questions from the previous Repairman Jack Novels and how it begins to set up the remaining novels that are coming. For those of you who have never read a Repairman Jack novel before, please go back and start with THE TOMB and go from there. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

Now on to my assessment of other reviews of this novel. Mr. Wilson succinctly explains at the very beginning of this novel that this novel is not like the rest of his Repairman Jack novels because it is actually more like a serial leading up to the end of the series. I can see why a lot of people have an issue with this novel, because we've become so used to the cast of characters that we've come to know and love in the series. However, Mr. Wilson is using this series now to set up his reworked Nightworld novel.

This is a fun novel. It has action, Ninjas, the Yakuza, utter death and destruction and the usual Jack quips. It also answers who the woman with the dog is and begins to incorporate Glaeken's role leading up to Nightworld. If you've read all of the other Jack Novels you should be able to truly enjoy this one as well.

I can't remember when I've enjoyed a book more. Repairman Jack is not your ordinary fix-it man. He's a man that fixes things, but he won't clean the lint out of your dryer if that's what you're looking for. He's more of a man that fixes... situations.

I was sort of skeptical when this book was selected by Freedom Book Club, but this book did not disappoint. Up until this book was chosen all the selections of the FBC had been non-fiction titles. Boy was this book a change of pace. It holds up to the lessaiz-faire premise set for the club, and it is highly entertaining.

If you happen to be a Hawaiian plantation owner that has lost a sword (stolen by his father), and you can't have any police involvement, Jack's your man! After the stage is set, Wilson lets it rip. Hold on tight for the convergence of the mercenary fix-it man, immortal beings, Japanese hit men, and a clash of the wacked-out cults.

If violence hurts your sensibilities, this book may not be to your liking, as it has a high body count. Also there is a sexual situation.

can someone please tell me why the kindle price for this book is more than the physical hardcover?

Okay, I'm going to go against the grain here and give it 5 stars. Yeah, things have kind of drifted from the original novels, but to me, this was still a cool story and I had no problem reading it.

The difference between this one and the others is, to the best of my memory, the inclusion of three different factions (POV wise) besides Jack. That makes for three sets of bad guys which I'll admit, takes up a bit of real estate (pages). As much as I'd like to see Jack do more kicking butt, the extra viewpoints were written well enough that they didn't become Hitler Channel (History Channel) lessons, as some other novels I've read has done with the same type material. In past novels, I don't remember so many major groups taking up as much of the story.

Gia and Abe made appearances, but not as heavy as novels in the past, which I guess has disappointed some of the readers.

Overall, the plot complexities of the series have pushed Jack further and further away from the little fixes he was so loved for. I guess Mr. Wilson has to keep mixing things up to keep the publishers happy, maybe himself too. Since he always had a master plan in mind, we'll just have to deal with it and see where it goes. It has not veered far enough away from the original reasons I loved Jack to stop reading the series.

I loved this story and find it a good companion to the others. It is not like the first novels, but it is well written and kept my interest all the way to the not-quite-resolved conclusion. Still highly recommended.

Fifty years ago, a thief stole the legendary Gaijin Masaume Katana from the Hiroshima Peace Museum; the Katana supposedly has special supernatural powers. The thief's businessman son hires Repairman Jack to recover the Katana sword stolen from him.

Two groups willing to kill the innocent want the Katana besides Jack's client. First there is a deadly Yakuza gang who believe the fabled sword would make them top dog; even more lethal is the Kakureta Kao monks led by fanatic Toru who believe with their soul they need to possess the weapon and use its power to create a Black Wind to destroy New York City or die ignominiously. While in the middle of this dangerous retrieval mission, Jack also tries to prevent the psychotic Kicker cult from creating an evil Messiah BLOODLINE. Finally with all that going on in his life, his supernatural enemy Rasolom is lurking.

This is by far the most complicated Repairman Jack tale to date as so much is going on including the paranormal. The myriad of subplots work as Jack starting with mugging a mugger and never slows down on any front especially keeping Gia and Vicky safe. Although newcomers should read BLOODLINE first to better understand the Kicker Cult subplot, fans of the saga will salute F. Paul Wilson with one of the best entries to date; and the future looks better.

Harriet Klausner

Of all the Repairman Jack novels I've read--all of them--this was the least favorite and most disappointing. As often as I read, when I pick up the latest Repairman novel, I certainly can't be expected to remember everything that's happened in the previous novels and would appreciate a little bit of history to catch me up. The start of this novel was rather complex and disorientating but as I pushed on it did become engrossing. This series seems to get more and more complicated with each novel, with some entities and characters having 2 or 3 different names it's sometimes hard to keep track of the good or bad. Not a novel for first time readers of this series.
That being said, I still like to read these novels. I like the Repairman Jack character and what he stands for.

There is very little about Repairman Jack in this book. There are lots of Ninjas and other bad guys but Jack barely makes an appearance. Gia get about 1/2 page and Vicky gets nothing. This book just doesn' work.

I will echo what some previous reviewers have said. This is one confusing novel. There are so many parties searching for the katana sword and the young pregnant girl, you have to stop and back up sometimes to see who is doing what. This does seem to be a Repairman Jack story that is treading water until the final few books are written. Wilson said there are only a couple books left in the series. All said, I was hoping for much more, and this one left a bad taste.

Jack's Back!

How any fan of this awesome Repaiman Jack series can give this latest and 12th installment a 2-star review is beyond us. It may not be one of the best, but it certainly still is a fantastic and solid story.

F. Paul Wilson is just a solid yarn weaver when it comes to this series. None of them are stinkers. Just as in any series, some are better than others. But none of them suck.

And in this latest, By The Sword, Wilson answers more questions and mysteries that have resonated and given piecemeal with each novel. (How can THAT be 2 stars!?)

Jack takes on another job to retrieve a fabled katana sword that was made by a swordmaster of the distant past, but was given something akin to magical properties due to it being at ground zero during the bombing of Nagasake. But of course, this is Fate, and larger things develop for Jack's life of being - The One.

The colorful and cool immortal Glaeken is back, and teaming up with Repaiman Jack is a true treat to read. (Again, how can you give this a 2-star review?!) This is great interaction here.

Despite what a previous reviewer wrote, Jack is in this latest novel, through and through. Sure, just as every Repairman Jack novel there are new characters involved, as well as old characters, but all are seamlessly drawn out and interesting.

If you are looking for a superlative supernatural thriller, then look no further.

Jack is back in the latest Repairman Jack novel, By the Sword: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack), but I have to confess that I don't think this is the strongest book in the series. I have noticed that many mainstream authors have been releasing extremely sub-par novels recently. I'm not sure if it is something in the air or water, or just crass commericalism on the part of publishers and authors, but whatever the reason, a plague upon all their houses. This novel is not horrible, as have been some of the others released this year, but it does show weaknesses and is a wee bit disappointing compared to past adventures with Jack.

I'd say the biggest problem here is that in most Repairman Jack novels, in addition to having a main confrontation between Jack and the forces of Otherness, the books also had a side story or two wherein Jack turns the tables on ordinary criminals with fiendishly clever ploys. For me that was always the best part of the Repairman Jack novels and the most interesting. There isn't such a side story in this book and I really missed it. In fact, while many people may not agree, I feel the whole Otherness/Adversary element of these novels in some ways actually detracts from the books. In my opinion Jack is one of the coolest and most imaginative characters created since Sherlock Holmes and if he was just left free to play urban mercenary he might be my favorite character ever. Nevertheless, the Adversary/Otherness crowd are pushing the time-table and the whole end of the world thing is quite a downer, not just for me the reader, but also for Jack who, after losing friends, family and his unborn child, is not nearly as creative in his mayhem in this outing as he has been in past novels. In fact, all he does in this novel, after some judicious prodding, is get out of the way of three groups of bad guys and let them maul each other. An intelligent choice, but lacking in the finesse and craftiness that makes Jack so interesting in preceding novels. His talent for taking out the bad guys while also delivering unto them their just comeuppence is missing in this book. As the end of the world draws nigh, Jack's stress has mounted and his patience and creativity have waned, and therefore one of my prime elements of Repairman Jack glee is now missing. This book is still OK and I'd rather have read it than not read it, but it was something like an oatmeal raisin cookie that doesn't have any raisins. A plain oatmeal cookie is better than no cookie, but c'mon Mr. Wilson, please put the raisins back into our cookies.

In this novel we still have Dawn, the pregnant girl, and Hank Thompson, leader of the Kicker cult, left from the last book, but Mr. Wilson throws in a Japanese cult with a predilection for self-mutilation, and another Japanese group, The Kaze Group, a corporate organization whose ends are opaque, but whom employs Yakuza assassins to do their dirty work. The event that kickstarts this novel is the theft of an ancient Japanese katana from a farm in Hawaii which the thief transports to NYC. The sword is riddled with holes and apparently worthless but both Japanese groups are vying to get it and the Kickers decide they need it when Hank dreams about it repeatedly. Jack tracks it down, loses it to the cult, and then the novel goes into high gear as the groups battle for both possession of the sword and Dawn.

There were two things about the sword that bothered me that you may notice yourself while you read. The sword is supposedly created by the famous Japanese swordsmith Masamune, partially using metal given him by Glaeken, the champion for the Ally, and partially using more prosaic metal he had laying around. The two metals didn't mix well. The sword is at ground zero in Hiroshima when the atom bomb goes off and the more prosaic metal vaporizes leaving the sword with a swiss cheese look. The first thing that bothers me is how did Masamune, who couldn't create more than 2,000 degrees fahrenheit and one atmosphere of pressure, work the otherworldly metal into a katana if the 30,000 degrees fahrenheit and many atmospheres of pressure at groud-zero couldn't make the metal melt? The other problem is that all the characters who hold it talk about its fabulous balance, but if Masamune made it with two metals, it was then made to be fabulously balanced with both of them. With half the metal gone the sword should have then been unbalanced. These are minor points, but my suspension of disbelief got tangled up on them.

Overall I thought the book was OK, and as I said I'd rather have read it than not, but I hope Mr. Wilson will go back to basics and put the raisins back into his cookies in the future. Even if Jack has to spend all his time battling Otherness there is no reason he can't be gleefully sneaky and clever about it. That after all is what sets Jack apart from a 100 other action heroes. Anyone can shoot the bad guy, but how many action heroes can also think circles around them and trick them into into destroying themselves? I want my tricky Jack back. I want my raisins.

Jack is back in the latest Repairman Jack novel, By the Sword: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack), but I have to confess that I don't think this is the strongest book in the series. I have noticed that many mainstream authors have been releasing extremely sub-par novels recently. I'm not sure if it is something in the air or water, or just crass commericalism on the part of publishers and authors, but whatever the reason, a plague upon all their houses. This novel is not horrible, as have been some of the others released this year, but it does show weaknesses and is a wee bit disappointing compared to past adventures with Jack.

I'd say the biggest problem here is that in most Repairman Jack novels, in addition to having a main confrontation between Jack and the forces of Otherness, the books also had a side story or two wherein Jack turns the tables on ordinary criminals with fiendishly clever ploys. For me that was always the best part of the Repairman Jack novels and the most interesting. There isn't such a side story in this book and I really missed it. In fact, while many people may not agree, I feel the whole Otherness/Adversary element of these novels in some ways actually detracts from the books. In my opinion Jack is one of the coolest and most imaginative characters created since Sherlock Holmes and if he was just left free to play urban mercenary he might be my favorite character ever. Nevertheless, the Adversary/Otherness crowd are pushing the time-table and the whole end of the world thing is quite a downer, not just for me the reader, but also for Jack who, after losing friends, family and his unborn child, is not nearly as creative in his mayhem in this outing as he has been in past novels. In fact, all he does in this novel, after some judicious prodding, is get out of the way of three groups of bad guys and let them maul each other. An intelligent choice, but lacking in the finesse and craftiness that makes Jack so interesting in preceding novels. His talent for taking out the bad guys while also delivering unto them their just comeuppence is missing in this book. As the end of the world draws nigh, Jack's stress has mounted and his patience and creativity have waned, and therefore one of my prime elements of Repairman Jack glee is now missing. This book is still OK and I'd rather have read it than not read it, but it was something like an oatmeal raisin cookie that doesn't have any raisins. A plain oatmeal cookie is better than no cookie, but c'mon Mr. Wilson, please put the raisins back into our cookies.

In this novel we still have Dawn, the pregnant girl, and Hank Thompson, leader of the Kicker cult, left from the last book, but Mr. Wilson throws in a Japanese cult with a predilection for self-mutilation, and another Japanese group, The Kaze Group, a corporate organization whose ends are opaque, but whom employs Yakuza assassins to do their dirty work. The event that kickstarts this novel is the theft of an ancient Japanese katana from a farm in Hawaii which the thief transports to NYC. The sword is riddled with holes and apparently worthless but both Japanese groups are vying to get it and the Kickers decide they need it when Hank dreams about it repeatedly. Jack tracks it down, loses it to the cult, and then the novel goes into high gear as the groups battle for both possession of the sword and Dawn.

There were two things about the sword that bothered me that you may notice yourself while you read. The sword is supposedly created by the famous Japanese swordsmith Masamune, partially using metal given him by Glaeken, the champion for the Ally, and partially using more prosaic metal he had laying around. The two metals didn't mix well. The sword is at ground zero in Hiroshima when the atom bomb goes off and the more prosaic metal vaporizes leaving the sword with a swiss cheese look. The first thing that bothers me is how did Masamune, who couldn't create more than 2,000 degrees fahrenheit and one atmosphere of pressure, work the otherworldly metal into a katana if the 30,000 degrees fahrenheit and many atmospheres of pressure at groud-zero couldn't make the metal melt? The other problem is that all the chracters who hold it talk about its fabulous balance, but if Masamune made it, it was then made to be fabulously balanced with both metals. With half the metal gone the sword should have then been unbalanced. These are minor points, but my suspension of disbelief got tangled up on them.

Overall I thought the book was OK, and as I said I'd rather have read it than not, but I hope Mr. Wilson will go back to basics and put the raisins back into his cookies in the future. Even if Jack has to spend all his time battling Otherness there is no reason he can't be gleefully sneaky and clever about it. That after all is what sets Jack apart from a 100 other action heroes. Anyone can shoot the bad guy, but how many action heroes can also think circles around them and trick them into into destroying themselves? I want my tricky Jack back. I want my raisins.

Jack is back in the latest Repairman Jack novel, By the Sword: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack), but I have to confess that I don't think this is the strongest book in the series. I have noticed that many mainstream authors have been releasing extremely sub-par novels recently. I'm not sure if it is something in the air or water, or just crass commericalism on the part of publishers and authors, but whatever the reason, a plague upon all their houses. This novel is not nearly as horrible as some others released this year, but it does show weaknesses and is a bit disappointing in ways.

I'd say the biggest problem here is that in most Repairman Jack novels, in addition to having a main confrontation between Jack and the forces of Otherness, the books also had a side story or two wherein Jack turns the tables on ordinary criminals with fiendishly clever ploys. For me that was always the best part of the Repairman Jack novels and the most interesting. There isn't such a side story in this book and I really missed it. In fact, while many people may not agree, I feel the whole Otherness/Adversary element of these novels in some ways actually detracts from the books. In my opinion Jack is one of the coolest and most imaginative characters created since Sherlock Holmes and if he was just left free to play urban mercenary he might be my favorite character ever. Nevertheless, the Adversary/Otherness crowd are pushing the time-table and the whole end of the world thing is quite a downer, not just for me the reader, but also for Jack who is not nearly as creative in his mayhem in this outing as he has been in past novels. In fact, all he does in this novel is get out of the way of three groups of bad guys and let them maul each other. Kind of sneaky, but not nearly the uber-sneaky that makes Jack so interesting in preceding novels. His talent for taking out the bad guys and giving them their just comeuppence is missing in this book. As the end draws nigh, Jack's patience and creativity have waned, and therefore one of my prime elements of Repairman Jack glee is now missing. This book is still OK and I'd rather have read it than not read it, but it was something like an oatmeal raisin cookie that doesn't have any raisins. A plain oatmeal cookie is better than no cookie, but c'mon Mr. Wilson, please put the raisins back into our cookies.

In this novel we still have Dawn, the pregnant girl, and Hank Thompson, leader of the Kicker cult, left from the last book, but Mr. Wilson throws in a Japanese cult with a predilection for self-mutilation, and another Japanese group, The Kaze Group, a corporate organization whose ends are opaque, but whom employs Yakuza assassins to do their dirty work. The event that kickstarts this novel is the theft of an ancient Japanese katana from a farm in Hawaii which the thief transports to NYC. The sword is riddled with holes and apparently worthless but both Japanese groups are vying to get it and the Kickers decide they need it when Hank dreams about it repeatedly. Jack tracks it down, loses it to the cult, and then the novel goes into high gear as the groups battle for both possession of the sword and Dawn.

There were two things about the sword that bothered me that you may notice yourself while you read. The sword is supposedly created by the famous Japanese swordsmith Masamune, partially using metal given him by Glaeken, the champion for the Ally, and partially using more prosaic metal he had laying around. The two metals didn't mix well. The sword is at ground zero in Hiroshima when the atom bomb goes off and the more prosaic metal vaporizes leaving the sword with a swiss cheese look. The first thing that bothers me is how did Masamune, who couldn't create more than 2,000 degrees fahrenheit and one atmosphere of pressure, work the otherworldly metal into a katana if the 30,000 degrees fahrenheit and many atmospheres of pressure at groud-zero couldn't make the metal melt? The other problem is that all the chracters who hold it talk about its fabulous balance, but if Masamune made it, it was then made to be fabulously balanced with both metals. With half the metal gone the sword should have then been unbalanced. These are minor points, but my suspension of disbelief got tangled up on them.

Overall I thought the book was OK, and as I said I'd rather have read it than not, but I hope Mr. Wilson will go back to basics and put the raisins back into his cookies in the future. Even if Jack has to spend all his time battling Otherness there is no reason he can't be gleefully sneaky and clever about it. That after all is what sets Jack apart from a 100 other action heroes. Anyone can shoot the bad guy, but how many action heroes can also think circles around them and trick them into into destroying themselves? I want my tricky Jack back. I want my raisins.

Jack's back, and I'm all kinds of happy. For those new to this series, F. Paul Wilson has created one of the most fascinating protagonists in fictiondom. Repairman Jack is a paranoid urban mercenary, his distrust of the government having caused him to live off the grid. No tax records, no social security number, no lawful standing, none of that. When a wrong needs to be righted, you call the police or the fire department or your attorney. But if something really, really effed-up is going down and the devil is grinning at you, that's when you call Repairman Jack. Because he'll fix it, whatever it is. For a sizable fee.

It's not his fault that, more often than not, Jack gets plonked neck-deep in frightening paranormal adventures. But he's pretty good at pushing back at the darkness. Actually, he doesn't push back as much as belligerently shove at the darkness.

SPOILERS now (and also SPOILERS for those who haven't yet read Bloodline: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack)):

A month after the events in BLOODLINE, Jack is still reeling from his finding out that his genetic makeup, in part, originates back to the malevolent cosmic entity known as the Otherness. BY THE SWORD begins with a stroll in Central Park and with Jack finally getting a close face-to-face with the old man who had been stalking him in previous novels. The resulting chit-chat enables Jack to learn some invaluable things.

Not too long after, Jack is hired to recover a stolen ruined katana, a gig which seemed doable enough. Naturally, it quickly gets complicated. Several entities are also after this sword, including the Yakuza and a long-thought extinct cult called the Order of the Hidden Face. The fanatical Kickers movement is back (from BLOODLINE), with its leader Hank Thompson also interested in the katana, even as he continues to hunt down the vanished Dawn Pickering, a pregnant 18-year-old girl (also from BLOODLINE). Dawn's unborn child, we learn, will play a key role in determining the fate of the world. As BY THE SWORD unfolds, the search for Dawn gains equal fervency as with the race for the broken-down katana.

It culminates with a bloodbath and Jack desperately attempting to save New York from supernatural darkness. All in a night's work.

A bit of a segue now. Longtime fans of Repairman Jack know that he first appeared in The Tomb (Adversary Cycle/Repairman Jack), a 1984 occult thriller which falls into the six-book Adversary Cycle, which is set in the backdrop of an eons-long war between two cosmic forces, the indifferent Ally and the malignant Otherness. The Adversary Cycle, by the way, then falls into Wilson's even broader, more all-encompassing Secret History of the World saga. F. Paul Wilson had originally intended Jack to be featured only in THE TOMB, and in fact had left him near death at the end of that book. However, Jack proved to be so popular that he was brought back for a crucial role in Nightworld (1992), the culmination of the Adversary Cycle. Yet further clamoring and hankering by the fans finally earned the urban mercenary his own ongoing series, in 1998, with the second Repairman Jack novel Legacies: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack).

Here's the thing: all the Repairman Jack novels which follow THE TOMB are recountings of his adventures leading up to the apocalyptic events in NIGHTWORLD. We're up to the twelfth entry now, with BY THE SWORD, and, finally, finally, Jack's backstory (retro-continuity?) has caught up enough, chronologically, that certain early events from NIGHTWORLD are now being incorporated into this newest Repairman Jack novel. Readers of NIGHTWORLD will certainly be familiar with the opening Central Park sequence of BY THE SWORD.

As the author mentions in the foreword, Jack's story has advanced to the point now where the end of the overarcing story is in sight. I'm getting pretty dang psyched, especially since Wilson means to release a heavily tweaked version of NIGHTWORLD! But, now, more than ever, it's become more crucial to have read the prior novels. Wilson has stated that story arcs in one novel will now be bleeding into the next one. Case in point, BY THE SWORD features the Kickers and Dawn Pickering, whose story arcs began in BLOODLINE. There are also concrete tie-ins with Black Wind and LEGACIES, as well as fleeting nods to Jack: Secret Histories (Repairman Jack Novels) and to who knows what else I've missed. What's evident is that Wilson gets a kick in linking his novels.

BY THE SWORD is another fine entry in the series, with the terseness of the chapters lending an immediacy to things. And this novel boasts a pretty high body count, what with fanatical monks and relentless Yakuzas thrown into the mix, not to mention Jack himself. Jack does what he does best, as he in the end manipulates the situation so that all the bad guys get their well-deserved comeuppance. What makes Jack so engaging is that he comes off as such an unassuming, regular guy, given that he's existing outside legal boundaries. Until you cross him, of course, and then, well, he'll stomp on you. I really liked his interactions with the old man, Mr. Veilleur (ring any bells?), who by the way can also handle himself some.

Recurring elements of the Repairman Jack mythos are here: the woman with the dog, the "no more coincidences" theme, and Jack's fierce protectiveness of and love for Gia and Vicky, the street-savvy methods he uses to achieve his fix-its (as juxtaposed with the supernatural backdrop), and his massive distrust of the authorities. All the things that, without which, it simply wouldn't be a Repairman Jack adventure.

There are some flaws. Past Repairman Jack thrillers have had Jack engaged in two simultaneous fix-its, one seemingly innocuous, the other more serious and tinged with the supernatural. Here, Wilson veers away from the pattern as Jack gets involved with only one fix-it, the recovery of the katana. Instead, Wilson fills up the pages with respective chapters concerning Dawn Pickering, the Kicker Evolution, the corporate Japanese/Yakuza, and the crazed Kakureta Kao cult. Sucks to say, but not all these story arcs are that interesting. In fact, it was a struggle not to skim thru the chapters dedicated to Dawn Pickering and the Kickers. The other quibble is my usual one, that Jack's sensational lady love Gia and her daughter Vicky aren't featured more. But Wilson uses even the all-too-brief passages with Gia to set the stage for some disturbing foreshadowing. You see, ever since her near fatal accident, Gia has not been quite the same. Just another thing for Jack to feel guilty about.

A Japanese character in the book dubs him an "urban ronin," which certainly sounds more romantic than "urban mercenary." Whatever the case, Repairman Jack is an unforgettable character, and as his timeline careens ever closer to that of NIGHTWORLD, the anticipation in me begins to build and build. I won't begrudge Stephen King his role of President of the Repairman Jack Fan Club. But, man, can I be in the club? I'll even be the guy who just locks up after meetings.

Jack's back, and I'm all kinds of happy. For those new to this series, F. Paul Wilson has created one of the most fascinating protagonists in fictiondom. Repairman Jack is a paranoid urban mercenary, his distrust of the government having caused him to live off the grid. No tax records, no social security number, no lawful standing, none of that. When a wrong needs to be righted, you call the police or the fire department or your attorney. But if something really, really effed-up is going down and the devil is grinning at you, that's when you call Repairman Jack. Because he'll fix it, whatever it is. For a sizable fee.

It's not his fault that, more often than not, Jack gets plonked neck-deep in frightening paranormal adventures. But he's pretty good at pushing back at the darkness. Actually, he doesn't push back as much as belligerently shove at the darkness.

SPOILERS now (and also SPOILERS for those who haven't yet read Bloodline: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack)):

A month after the events in BLOODLINE, Jack is still reeling from his finding out that his genetic makeup, in part, originates back to the malevolent cosmic entity known as the Otherness. BY THE SWORD begins with a stroll in Central Park and with Jack finally getting a close face-to-face with the old man who had been stalking him in previous novels. The resulting chit-chat enables Jack to learn some invaluable things.

Not too long after, Jack is hired to recover a stolen ruined katana, a gig which seemed doable enough. Naturally, it quickly gets complicated. Several entities are also after this sword, including the Yakuza and a long-thought extinct cult called the Order of the Hidden Face. The fanatical Kickers movement is back (from BLOODLINE), with its leader Hank Thompson also interested in the katana, even as he continues to hunt down the vanished Dawn Pickering, a pregnant 18-year-old girl (also from BLOODLINE). As BY THE SWORD unfolds, the search for Dawn gains equal fervency as with the race for the broken-down katana.

It culminates with a bloodbath and Jack desperately attempting to save New York from supernatural darkness. All in a night's work.

A bit of a segue now. Longtime fans of Repairman Jack know that he first appeared in The Tomb (Adversary Cycle/Repairman Jack), a 1984 occult thriller which falls into the six-book Adversary Cycle, which in set in the backdrop of an eons-long war between two cosmic forces, the indifferent Ally and the malignant Otherness. The Adversary Cycle, by the way, then falls into Wilson's even broader, more all-encompassing Secret History of the World saga. F. Paul Wilson had originally intended Jack to be featured only in THE TOMB, and in fact had left him near death at the end of that book. However, Jack proved to be so popular that he was brought back for a crucial role in Nightworld (1992), the culmination of the Adversary Cycle. Yet further clamoring and hankering by the fans finally earned the urban mercenary his own ongoing series, in 1998, with the second Repairman Jack novel Legacies: A Repairman Jack Novel (Repairman Jack).

Here's the thing: all the Repairman Jack novels which follow THE TOMB are recountings of his adventures leading up to the apocalyptic events in NIGHTWORLD. We're up to the twelfth entry now, with BY THE SWORD, and, finally, finally, Jack's backstory (retro-continuity?) has now caught up enough, chronologically, that certain early events from NIGHTWORLD are now being incorporated into this newest Repairman Jack novel. Readers of NIGHTWORLD will certainly be familiar with the opening Central Park sequence of BY THE SWORD.

As the author mentions in the foreword, Jack's story has advanced to the point now where the end of the overarcing story is in sight. I'm getting pretty dang psyched, especially since Wilson means to release a heavily tweaked version of NIGHTWORLD! But, now, more than ever, it's become more crucial to have read the prior novels. Wilson has stated that story arcs in one novel will now be bleeding into the next one. Case in point, BY THE SWORD features the Kickers and Dawn Pickering, whose story arcs began in BLOODLINE. There are also concrete tie-ins with Black Wind and LEGACIES, as well as fleeting nods to Jack: Secret Histories (Repairman Jack Novels) and to who knows what else I've missed. What's evident is that Wilson gets a kick in linking his novels.

BY THE SWORD is another fine entry in the series, with the terseness of the chapters lending an immediacy to things. And this novel boasts a pretty high body count, what with fanatical monks and relentless Yakuzas thrown into the mix, not to mention Jack himself. Jack does what he does best, as he in the end manipulates the situation so that all the bad guys get their well-deserved comeuppance. What makes Jack so engaging is that he comes off as such an unassuming, regular guy, given that he's existing outside legal boundaries. Until you cross him, of course, and then, well, he'll stomp on you. I really liked his interactions with the old man, Mr. Veilleur (ring any bells?), who by the way can also handle himself some.

Recurring elements of the Repairman Jack mythos are here: the woman with the dog, the "no more coincidences" theme, and Jack's fierce protectiveness of and love for Gia and Vicky, the street-savvy methods he uses to achieve his fix-its (as juxtaposed with the supernatural backdrop), and his massive distrust of the authorities. All the things that, without which, it simply wouldn't be a Repairman Jack adventure.

There are some flaws. Past Repairman Jack thrillers have had Jack engaged in two simultaneous fix-its, one seemingly innocuous, the other more serious and tinged with the supernatural. Here, Wilson veers away from the pattern as Jack gets involved with only one fix-it, the recovery of the katana. Instead, Wilson fills up the pages with respective chapters concerning Dawn Pickering, the Kicker Evolution, the corporate Japanese/Yakuza, and the crazed Kakureta Kao cult. Sucks to say, but not all these story arcs are that interesting. In fact, it was a struggle not to skim thru the chapters dedicated to Dawn Pickering and the Kickers. The other quibble is my usual one, that Jack's sensational lady love Gia and her daughter Vicky aren't featured more. But Wilson uses even the all-too-brief passages with Gia to set the stage for some disturbing foreshadowing. You see, ever since her near fatal accident, Gia has not been quite the same. Just another thing for Jack to feel guilty about.

A Japanese character in the book dubs him an "urban ronin," which certainly sounds more romantic than "urban mercenary." Whatever the case, Repairman Jack is an unforgettable character, and as his timeline careens ever closer to that of NIGHTWORLD, the anticipation in me begins to build and build. I won't begrudge Stephen King his role of President of the Repairman Jack Fan Club. But, man, can I be in the club? I'll even be the guy who just locks up after meetings.

By The Sword is not one of F. Paul Wilson's better books. It seems to be a placeholder leading to the next Repairman Jack book. If you haven't read the previous Repairman Jack books, this book may be somewhat confusing to you. Unfortunately, even if you haven't read any of the previous books, this isn't an interesting story. This would not be a good introduction to the Repairman Jack series. I would recommend you start with the books in the Adversary Cycle (The Keep or The Tomb). If you have read any of the previous Repairman Jack or Adversary Cycle books, I think you will be as disappointed as I was.

I was so disappointed reading this book. When I get a Repairman Jack book, I expect it to be a story about Repairman Jack. Jack was hardly in the book at all. I read the books because I love the way Jack gets himself into sticky situations and comes up with inventive and exciting ways to get out of them. I love the interaction between Jack and the other characters. Sadly, the other beloved characters like Gia, Vicky, Abe and Julio are hardly in the book either. And neither are many of the other interesting characters Jack has met along the way.
Most of the book is from the point of view of very boring or annoying antagonists. There is a horde of uninteresting bad guys, including the Kickers, who get entirely too much attention in this book. I got tired of reading what the various Japanese guys were thinking, doing, saying... I don't want to read about them. I want Jack.
I know Wilson is trying to wrap up the story and weave the RJ books into the Adversay Cycle. But I don't read RJ because it's part of the Adversay Cycle. I read it because Jack is (WAS!) the most interesting character I've read.
It was very frustrating reading this book, scanning pages to see when Jack was going to pop up again. It's a shame that Jack became a secondary character for most of the book, and it's supposed to be his story.
The author promises a few more RJ books before the series ends. Hopefully, Jack will actually return for some of them.