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The Repairman Jack novels are a series spun off from the ''Nightworld'' novels (AKA the Adversary Cycle) by F. Paul Wilson.
The '''''Repairman Jack''''' novels are a series spun off from the ''Nightworld'' novels (AKA the Adversary Cycle) by F. Paul Wilson.


From [[The Other Wiki]]:
From [[The Other Wiki]]:
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All of Jack's fix-its are immediately relevant problems in today's world, covering topics such as conspiracy groups, grassroots movements, designer drugs, public shootings, terrorists, legal dealings and scientific & biological experiments. Jack relies on his brain, wits, experience and real-life weapons and techniques to do battle, and though he makes increasing use of supernatural sources of information (a spiritual medium, an indestructible tome of unknown age), he has so far not used supernatural weapons or abilities in battle.
All of Jack's fix-its are immediately relevant problems in today's world, covering topics such as conspiracy groups, grassroots movements, designer drugs, public shootings, terrorists, legal dealings and scientific & biological experiments. Jack relies on his brain, wits, experience and real-life weapons and techniques to do battle, and though he makes increasing use of supernatural sources of information (a spiritual medium, an indestructible tome of unknown age), he has so far not used supernatural weapons or abilities in battle.


Jack hides his identity from the government by not voting, paying taxes, opening bank accounts, registering guns or cars, or doing anything else that will leave a paper or electronic trail. He uses a TracFone to leave untraceable calls, demands cash only for payment, and stashes his savings in gold coins in his apartment. He consistently wears gloves or wipes surfaces in order not to [[Locards Theory|leave behind traces]] of his identity. He advertises his services strictly by word of mouth and via an anonymous website.
Jack hides his identity from the government by not voting, paying taxes, opening bank accounts, registering guns or cars, or doing anything else that will leave a paper or electronic trail. He uses a TracFone to leave untraceable calls, demands cash only for payment, and stashes his savings in gold coins in his apartment. He consistently wears gloves or wipes surfaces in order not to [[Locard's Theory|leave behind traces]] of his identity. He advertises his services strictly by word of mouth and via an anonymous website.


Repairman Jack has appeared in the following novels:
Repairman Jack has appeared in the following novels:
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* ''Jack: Secret Circles''
* ''Jack: Secret Circles''
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=== The ''Repairman Jack'' series contains examples of: ===
{{tropelist|The ''Repairman Jack'' series contains examples of:}}
* [[Air Vent Passageway]]: Used in ''Legacies''.
* [[Air Vent Passageway]]: Used in ''Legacies''.
* [[Anthropomorphic Personification]]: the Ladies
* [[Anthropomorphic Personification]]: the Ladies
* [[Anti Hero]]: Jack
* [[Anti-Hero]]: Jack
* [[The Antichrist]]: {{spoiler|Rasalom, and possibly the unborn child from ''Bloodline.''}}
* [[The Antichrist]]: {{spoiler|Rasalom, and possibly the unborn child from ''Bloodline.''}}
* [[Anyone Can Die]]
* [[Anyone Can Die]]
* [[Author Avatar]]: Parodied.
* [[Author Avatar]]: Parodied.
** And then some!
** And then some!
{{quote| Jack: ''"Your books are super." He saw Winslow swell with delight. Authors were so needy.''}}
{{quote|Jack: ''"Your books are super." He saw Winslow swell with delight. Authors were so needy.''}}
* [[Badass Normal]]: Jack
* [[Badass Normal]]: Jack
* [[The Bartender]]: Julio
* [[The Bartender]]: Julio
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* [[Body Horror]]: People conceived or growing up too close to certain nexus points get "touched" by the Otherness and end up mutated to varying degrees.
* [[Body Horror]]: People conceived or growing up too close to certain nexus points get "touched" by the Otherness and end up mutated to varying degrees.
** Ah, yes. The "Monroe Cluster"... Picture if you will: A man with tentacles for legs. A woman with a single fused finger on her left hand - and one fused nail. Which later turned into a claw.
** Ah, yes. The "Monroe Cluster"... Picture if you will: A man with tentacles for legs. A woman with a single fused finger on her left hand - and one fused nail. Which later turned into a claw.
*** ''Fatal Error'' reveals that these are not mutations but {{spoiler|''reactivated genes''. In ancient times, the Otherness made war on humanity by altering humans into "q'qrs" - six-limbed living weapons that later ages would remember as "demons". The Ally retaliated by releasing a biological weapon that [[Gendercide|killed all the females of the species]]. In desperation, the males went on a rape spree, hoping to restore their ranks with [[Half Human Hybrids]]. They were unsuccessful in producing further q'qrs, but a lot of that genetic material remains in the human genome as recessive genes. Dawn Pickering's baby, the result of both [[Brother Sister Incest|sibling]] '''and''' [[Parental Incest]] to reinforce those genes to dominance - '''''is a freaking demon!'''''}}
*** ''Fatal Error'' reveals that these are not mutations but {{spoiler|''reactivated genes''. In ancient times, the Otherness made war on humanity by altering humans into "q'qrs" - six-limbed living weapons that later ages would remember as "demons". The Ally retaliated by releasing a biological weapon that [[Gendercide|killed all the females of the species]]. In desperation, the males went on a rape spree, hoping to restore their ranks with [[Half Human Hybrids]]. They were unsuccessful in producing further q'qrs, but a lot of that genetic material remains in the human genome as recessive genes. Dawn Pickering's baby, the result of both [[Brother-Sister Incest|sibling]] '''and''' [[Parental Incest]] to reinforce those genes to dominance - '''''is a freaking demon!'''''}}
* [[Buried Alive]]
* [[Buried Alive]]
* [[Bury Your Gays]]: {{spoiler|Jeannette and Kate}}
* [[Bury Your Gays]]: {{spoiler|Jeannette and Kate}}
* [[The Call Knows Where You Live]]: Does it ever. {{spoiler|At least it can be bargained with...}}
* [[The Call Knows Where You Live]]: Does it ever. {{spoiler|At least it can be bargained with...}}
* ~Chekhov's Gunman~
* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]
* [[The Chosen One]]: It's revealed that {{spoiler|Jack is actually the ''backup'' chosen one, should the current chosen one die. [[Refused the Call|He doesn't want to be]]. It's unknown just how much the Ally has been influencing his life before.}}
* [[The Chosen One]]: It's revealed that {{spoiler|Jack is actually the ''backup'' chosen one, should the current chosen one die. [[Refusal of the Call|He doesn't want to be]]. It's unknown just how much the Ally has been influencing his life before.}}
* [[Church of Happyology]]
* [[Church of Happyology]]
* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Jack goes out of his way to point out that he isn't particularly good at fighting and that real fights are nothing like what is seen in the movies. As such he is quite possibly the most creative fighter this side of [[Watchmen|Rorschach]] in terms of improvising to get an advantage over his opponents.
* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Jack goes out of his way to point out that he isn't particularly good at fighting and that real fights are nothing like what is seen in the movies. As such he is quite possibly the most creative fighter this side of [[Watchmen (comics)|Rorschach]] in terms of improvising to get an advantage over his opponents.
** Arguably more so, simply due to sheer creativity. Jack once drove off an entire gang in just minutes thus; he squirted stage blood mixed with pepper spray in an attacker's eye, then stuck a rubber eye in his mouth - result: eight no-longer-tough guys screaming OH MY GOD THIS PSYCHO JUST RIPPED OUT MY BUDDY'S EYE AND ATE IT!
** Arguably more so, simply due to sheer creativity. Jack once drove off an entire gang in just minutes thus; he squirted stage blood mixed with pepper spray in an attacker's eye, then stuck a rubber eye in his mouth - result: eight no-longer-tough guys screaming OH MY GOD THIS PSYCHO JUST RIPPED OUT MY BUDDY'S EYE AND ATE IT!
* [[Con Man]]: Some of Jack's targets and several of his friends are this.
* [[Con Man]]: Some of Jack's targets and several of his friends are this.
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* [[Death By Pragmatism]]: Subverted
* [[Death By Pragmatism]]: Subverted
* [[Distress Call]]: ''Conspiracies'' begins with one of these asking for Jack.
* [[Distress Call]]: ''Conspiracies'' begins with one of these asking for Jack.
* [[Distressed Damsel]]: Vicki, a few times.
* [[Damsel in Distress]]: Vicki, a few times.
** Hey! [[Justified Trope|She's not even ten!]]
** Hey! [[Justified Trope|She's not even ten!]]
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: the Rakoshi
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: the Rakoshi
* [[Evil Detecting Dog]]: every dog a Lady has
* [[Evil-Detecting Dog]]: every dog a Lady has
* [[Executive Meddling]]: there is no tomb in ''The Tomb''. The publisher insisted on the title.
* [[Executive Meddling]]: there is no tomb in ''The Tomb''. The publisher insisted on the title.
* [[Eye Scream]]: Jack keeps his thumbnails long just for this advantage in a fight. He also stabs a fork through a man's eye.
* [[Eye Scream]]: Jack keeps his thumbnails long just for this advantage in a fight. He also stabs a fork through a man's eye.
** You mean through his eye ''socket''. Fork lobotomy!
** You mean through his eye ''socket''. Fork lobotomy!
* [[Cold Sniper]]: {{spoiler|Jack's father}}
* [[Cold Sniper]]: {{spoiler|Jack's father}}
* [[The End of the World As We Know It]]: Nightfall.
* [[The End of the World as We Know It]]: Nightfall.
* [[Framing the Guilty Party]]: Several times.
* [[Framing the Guilty Party]]: Several times.
* [[Gangsta Style]]: Subverted. A thug tries aiming this way at Jack, who points out what's wrong with that grip. In a painful object lesson.
* [[Gangsta Style]]: Subverted. A thug tries aiming this way at Jack, who points out what's wrong with that grip. In a painful object lesson.
* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: In Wilson's 'verse there's a specific gene set which [[Hot Blooded|increases violent impulses]] - Jack is the most potent carrier on record; IE, he once tied a man {{spoiler|who seduced and impregnated his own unknowing daughter}} under a truck. At the moment he justified the modernized "draw and quartering" as a kill method which left no trace evidence, but after what was left of the body was identified by DNA testing just a day later, he realized he was just ''[[Unstoppable Rage|that violently angry]]''. Even '''he''' asks himself [[What the Hell Hero]].
* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: In Wilson's 'verse there's a specific gene set which [[Hot-Blooded|increases violent impulses]] - Jack is the most potent carrier on record; IE, he once tied a man {{spoiler|who seduced and impregnated his own unknowing daughter}} under a truck. At the moment he justified the modernized "draw and quartering" as a kill method which left no trace evidence, but after what was left of the body was identified by DNA testing just a day later, he realized he was just ''[[Unstoppable Rage|that violently angry]]''. Even '''he''' asks himself [[What the Hell, Hero?]].
* {{spoiler|[[Half Human Hybrid]]}}: In ''The Tomb''.
* {{spoiler|[[Half-Human Hybrid]]}}: In ''The Tomb''.
* [[Human Resources]]
* [[Human Resources]]
* [[Hive Mind]]: The Unity
* [[Hive Mind]]: The Unity
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** Jack sometimes wanders at night, dressed like a tourist, waiting for someone evil and stupid enough to attempt to mug him. Then Jack beats the would-be mugger up, takes his money and jewelery, fences the jewelery, and donates the money to a kids' baseball league.
** Jack sometimes wanders at night, dressed like a tourist, waiting for someone evil and stupid enough to attempt to mug him. Then Jack beats the would-be mugger up, takes his money and jewelery, fences the jewelery, and donates the money to a kids' baseball league.
** Two bandits and later a mugger try to attack Glaeken. The mugger (probably) survives. The bandits are not so lucky.
** Two bandits and later a mugger try to attack Glaeken. The mugger (probably) survives. The bandits are not so lucky.
* [[Multi Armed and Dangerous]]: The q'qrs, Otherness's living weapons, were four-armed - and, presumably, very dangerous.
* [[Multi-Armed and Dangerous]]: The q'qrs, Otherness's living weapons, were four-armed - and, presumably, very dangerous.
* [[Never Found the Body]]
* [[Never Found the Body]]
* [[Nikola Tesla]]: Some of his inventions are central to ''Conspiracies''.
* [[Nikola Tesla]]: Some of his inventions are central to ''Conspiracies''.
* [[The Nondescript]]: Jack ''works'' at being this, and also deliberately subverts it when he's undercover so his fake personas will be markedly unlike his real appearance.
* [[The Nondescript]]: Jack ''works'' at being this, and also deliberately subverts it when he's undercover so his fake personas will be markedly unlike his real appearance.
* [[No Name Given]]: Jack is just Jack, which makes people uncomfortable addressing him so familiarly.
* [[No Name Given]]: Jack is just Jack, which makes people uncomfortable addressing him so familiarly.
* [[Non Indicative Name]]: There is no tomb in ''The Tomb''.
* [[Non-Indicative Name]]: There is no tomb in ''The Tomb''.
* [[Phony Psychic]]: The Kenton brothers and the Fosters from ''The Haunted Air''.
* [[Phony Psychic]]: The Kenton brothers and the Fosters from ''The Haunted Air''.
* [[Protectorate]]: Don't mess with Gia or Vicky.
* [[Protectorate]]: Don't mess with Gia or Vicky.
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* [[The Virus]]: The Unity.
* [[The Virus]]: The Unity.
* [[We Help the Helpless]]
* [[We Help the Helpless]]
* [[White Haired Pretty Girl]]: Semelee.
* [[White-Haired Pretty Girl]]: Semelee.
* [[Who Wants to Live Forever]]: Glaeken doesn't at all. He is overjoyed for a chance to live a human life and to get old together with his beloved.
* [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]: Glaeken doesn't at all. He is overjoyed for a chance to live a human life and to get old together with his beloved.
* [[Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him]]: Jack receives an explanation as to why the Otherness doesn't kill him off:
* [[Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him]]: Jack receives an explanation as to why the Otherness doesn't kill him off:
{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Rasalom'''}}: Physical pain is mere sustenance. But, [[To the Pain|a strong man slowly battered into despair and hopelessness]]...that is a delicacy. In your case, it might even approach ecstasy. I don't want to deprive myself of that.}}
{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Rasalom'''}}: Physical pain is mere sustenance. But, [[To the Pain|a strong man slowly battered into despair and hopelessness]]...that is a delicacy. In your case, it might even approach ecstasy. I don't want to deprive myself of that.}}
** On the other hand if you happen to find yourself on the business end of Jack's gun and he has a quarrel with you... yeah.
** On the other hand if you happen to find yourself on the business end of Jack's gun and he has a quarrel with you... yeah.
* [[You Kill It You Bought It]]: Jack becomes {{spoiler|the Heir of the Sentinel after he accidentally kills the Twins.}}
* [[You Kill It, You Bought It]]: Jack becomes {{spoiler|the Heir of the Sentinel after he accidentally kills the Twins.}}


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Thriller Literature]]
[[Category:Thriller Literature]]
[[Category:Repairman Jack]]
[[Category:Repairman Jack]]
[[Category:Trope]]

Latest revision as of 19:07, 16 July 2021

The Repairman Jack novels are a series spun off from the Nightworld novels (AKA the Adversary Cycle) by F. Paul Wilson.

From The Other Wiki:

Repairman Jack is a self-titled "fix-it" man, but not in the common workshop sense. He is something of an underground mercenary, hired by everyday people to fix situations that cannot be dealt with through legal means (e.g.: blackmail). He is careful about whom he agrees to do fix-its for, preferring innocent, desperate citizens being victimized with no one else to turn to. These fix-its usually begin simply, but grow into complex problems that begin to involve more and more sci-fi & supernatural elements as the novels continue. The second novel, Legacies, is the only one that is completely free of any overtly supernatural elements.

All of Jack's fix-its are immediately relevant problems in today's world, covering topics such as conspiracy groups, grassroots movements, designer drugs, public shootings, terrorists, legal dealings and scientific & biological experiments. Jack relies on his brain, wits, experience and real-life weapons and techniques to do battle, and though he makes increasing use of supernatural sources of information (a spiritual medium, an indestructible tome of unknown age), he has so far not used supernatural weapons or abilities in battle.

Jack hides his identity from the government by not voting, paying taxes, opening bank accounts, registering guns or cars, or doing anything else that will leave a paper or electronic trail. He uses a TracFone to leave untraceable calls, demands cash only for payment, and stashes his savings in gold coins in his apartment. He consistently wears gloves or wipes surfaces in order not to leave behind traces of his identity. He advertises his services strictly by word of mouth and via an anonymous website.

Repairman Jack has appeared in the following novels:

  • The Tomb
  • Legacies
  • Conspiracies
  • All the Rage
  • Hosts
  • The Haunted Air
  • Gateways
  • Crisscross
  • Infernal
  • Harbingers
  • Bloodline
  • By the Sword
  • Ground Zero
  • Fatal Error
  • The Dark At The End
  • Nightworld

Three Young Adult novels also star Jack as well... a Young Adult.

  • Jack: Secret Histories
  • Jack: Secret Vengeance
  • Jack: Secret Circles
The Repairman Jack series contains examples of:

Jack: "Your books are super." He saw Winslow swell with delight. Authors were so needy.

Rasalom: Physical pain is mere sustenance. But, a strong man slowly battered into despair and hopelessness...that is a delicacy. In your case, it might even approach ecstasy. I don't want to deprive myself of that.

    • On the other hand if you happen to find yourself on the business end of Jack's gun and he has a quarrel with you... yeah.
  • You Kill It, You Bought It: Jack becomes the Heir of the Sentinel after he accidentally kills the Twins.
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