Gauntlet Press (with and w/out Borderlands partnership)...

[sholloman81]

I didn't recall what this cover looked like, so I went to their site to check it out. Yeah, that's not my favorite cover.

I have also been meaning to give the Repairman Jack series another shot. I read Legacies without knowing anything about it and was very disappointed as I had expected it to be a horror novel since that was the genre Borders had it placed in. From my memory, it was decidedly not a horror novel, but rather an action/adventure novel. Had I known that to be the case, I might have enjoyed it more. I subsequently read The Keep and was rather underwhelmed after reading all the praise for it, so I figured that these books might not be my jam. Still I keep hearing praise and keep thinking that another shot might be warranted.

It's not that the cover art for "Quick Fixes: Tales of Repairman Jack" is good so much as it isn't as horrible as some of the stuff that I have seen from Gauntlet. The Wayward Pines trilogy cover art that they used was some of the worst I have ever seen.

In terms of the Repairman Jack series of books, you really should start with The Tomb and go from there. Generally speaking, Wilson (slightly) changed the genre from book to book with this series, some lean more horror, some more sci-fi, some more thriller, etc. Also, you should do your best to read the series in order if at all possible as the events and characters in the series are mentioned/move from book to book.

[RonClinton]

I have also been meaning to give the Repairman Jack series another shot. I read Legacies without knowing anything about it and was very disappointed as I had expected it to be a horror novel since that was the genre Borders had it placed in. From my memory, it was decidedly not a horror novel, but rather an action/adventure novel. Had I known that to be the case, I might have enjoyed it more. I subsequently read The Keep and was rather underwhelmed after reading all the praise for it, so I figured that these books might not be my jam. Still I keep hearing praise and keep thinking that another shot might be warranted.

The Repairman Jack series novels are what could be considered as Cosmic Horror thrillers, where Wilson's cosmic mythos is ever-present and influential but not really on center stage, save for a few of the novels. They are indeed closer to pulp-inspired action thrillers than horror novels, but the elements of horror are very much in play, just often in the background, influencing events and refrerenced as such. They're not scary works...think (a more readable and entertaining) Jack Reacher flighting invisible elder gods that are constantly pulling the puppet strings of troubling events that he finds himself embroiled in, even when they don't first appear as such. I really like the series, but if you're looking for a straight-forward horror novel (ala THE KEEP), then I can understand why you were disappointed.

[Sock Monkey]

The Repairman Jack series novels are what could be considered as Cosmic Horror thrillers, where Wilson's cosmic mythos is ever-present and influential but not really on center stage, save for a few of the novels. They are indeed closer to pulp-inspired action thrillers than horror novels, but the elements of horror are very much in play, just often in the background, influencing events and refrerenced as such. They're not scary works...think (a more readable and entertaining) Jack Reacher flighting invisible elder gods that are constantly pulling the puppet strings of troubling events that he finds himself embroiled in, even when they don't first appear as such. I really like the series, but if you're looking for a straight-forward horror novel (ala THE KEEP), then I can understand why you were disappointed.

Well, your description has motivated to give the series another shot. I'm hoping that with a better understanding of what I'll be getting into, I might enjoy it more. Clearly, a series doesn't last that long without a reason. I know that some of the prequel books were written after the main series, so is it better to read them in publication order or chronological order?

[RonClinton]

Well, your description has motivated to give the series another shot. I'm hoping that with a better understanding of what I'll be getting into, I might enjoy it more. Clearly, a series doesn't last that long without a reason. I know that some of the prequel books were written after the main series, so is it better to read them in publication order or chronological order?

There was an Early Repairman Jack series and a YA Repairman Jack series, and those do not need to be read at all...they only give the backstory of his origin, but you can easily start with THE TOMB (followed by LEGACIES) and go from there without concern about those prequels and missing information. As far as the series proper, I would recommend in chronological order, which is also publication order, other than THE LAST CHRISTMAS (which can be easily skipped) and NIGHTWORLD that must be read at the end. They all standalone relatively well, but there is a continual larger arc (that Cosmic backdrop I mentioned earlier) that compounds and becomes clearer as the series progresses that can only be appreciated by reading in order.

Hope you dig your second time around with this series!

[Sock Monkey]

There was an Early Repairman Jack series and a YA Repairman Jack series, and those do not need to be read at all...they only give the backstory of his origin, but you can easily start with THE TOMB (followed by LEGACIES) and go from there without concern about those prequels and missing information. As far as the series proper, I would recommend in chronological order, which is also publication order, other than THE LAST CHRISTMAS (which can be easily skipped) and NIGHTWORLD that must be read at the end. They all standalone relatively well, but there is a continual larger arc (that Cosmic backdrop I mentioned earlier) that compounds and becomes clearer as the series progresses that can only be appreciated by reading in order.

Hope you dig your second time around with this series!

Thanks for the clarification. I'll hold off on the Early Repairman and YA series, then. I'm going to start to work these into the reading queue. I'll let you know how it goes!