The Last Christmas
We catch up with our favourite anti-hero, Jack, about a year after his last fix during Ground Zero in New York City. Not only did the last job leave the usual wake of collateral damage and suffering to the bad guys, but this time it left Jack with a couple less family members. Jack is all but ready to throw in the towel on a career of fixing other people’s problems. People getting hurt was always his trademark, but usually they deserved it and he always got the job done. Now in a major slump, self doubt has taken over any wisps of motivation for Jack to get back in the game and do what he does best. That is, until his old contact, Burkes, puts him in touch with a couple of scientists who need help locating and capturing a strange hybrid creature they claim had escaped during transport to the zoo. Jack is counting on a simple fix to ease his mind back into the game.
Of course, nothing is ever simple in Jack’s world and he’s soon hunting down a mutated beast that shouldn’t exist while being chased by a couple of hired guns sent to fetch some ancient artifact he’d agreed to protect for a mysterious woman. And, if that’s not enough to contend with, there’s also an end of the world element at the center of it all.
With surgeon-level precision, F. Paul Wilson fuses realism, suspense and dialogue worth eavesdropping on with a boundless palette of plot twists and thrilling adventure. Despite the sense of finality in its title, readers of The Last Christmas will likely keep hoping Jack goes on fixing what’s wrong with the world well into twilight, and the darkness to follow.
You can also click HERE to catch a conversation with F. Paul Wilson in which we discuss the makings of this latest installment of his beloved Repairman Jack series and so much more.
You can – and should – purchase the signed hardcover edition HERE!
Or, you can – and should – purchase the paper back, digital and other editions by going HERE!
**This review first appeared in Rue Morgue Magazine’s special Halloween issue #190 Sep/Nov 2019 which you can purchase HERE! **
.jpg)