cover image Dark City: A Repairman Jack Novel: The Early Years Trilogy: Book Two

Dark City: A Repairman Jack Novel: The Early Years Trilogy: Book Two

F. Paul Wilson. Tor, $25.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-7653-3015-4

This second chronicle (after Cold City) of the formative years of Wilson’s long-running series character Repairman Jack begins with an adrenaline-pumped chase across the top of a moving subway train, and the thrills don’t stop until the final page. It’s 1991, and 22-year-old Jack is getting the hang of life in New York City—as well as having experiences that are training for his future as an anonymous urban mercenary and “fix-it” guy. He has brushes with machete-wielding Dominicans, extortionist mafiosa, a scam artist who preys on elderly ladies, and Arab jihadists planning the first assault on the World Trade Center. An associate also perfectly pinpoints him as someone with “an outlook that mixed outlaw mentality with a moral code.” A series of seeming coincidences proves to be the first hints of the supernatural destiny that Jack will embrace in his later adventures. Any reader who has followed Jack’s exploits over the decades will find this book an entertaining addition to the series. Agent, Al Zuckerman, Writers House. (Oct.)