F. Paul Wilson Infernal

Infernal

F. Paul Wilson

Forge, Nov 2005, $25.95

ISBN: 0765312751

At La Guardia, a terrorist kills the father of Repairman Jack. That would be enough to cause most souls woes, but the murder of his father causes the non-existent Jack worse troubles as his estranged brother Tom, a corrupt Philadelphia judge on the lam and disparately needing money, persuades Jack that they should go on a trip together. Though he knows better after spending his salad years with his odious sibling, Jack agrees. Tom could not care less if he ever sees Jack again once their trek is over; in fact he plans to insure that he never sees Jack again.

Tom has an oceanic map that shows the location of a Spanish treasure ship that sunk off of Bermuda in 1598; he expects Jack to retrieve it. However, instead of booty, Jack and Tom haul up a weird skin covered object, the Lilitongue of Gefreda that the ancients claim enables a person to evade their enemies, but leaves the "user" inside of the "Otherness". Not trusting his sibling, Jack believes this object was what Tom sought, but why eludes the Repairman who plans to find out one way or another.

Repairman Jack is at his refreshing best in his ninth adventure as fans receive a close look at family members, somewhat less his dad as compared with his loathsome brother. The story line is action packed from the opening scene at the airport to the high seas and to the activation of the device. Readers will appreciate F. Paul Wilson's latest caper starring one of the great literary legends of the past decade or so.

Harriet Klausner