Book Review — The Tomb |Sinnful Books

Title: The Tomb
Author: F. Paul Wilson
Genre: Horror
Pages: Paperback, 404
Published: November 1984
Publisher: A Berkley Book
ISBN: 0-425-07295-9
Opening Lines: "Repairman Jack awoke with light in his eyes, white noise in his ears, and an ache in his back."

Rating

"Halfway around the world an evil is emerging from eons of darkness.

"Hungry for human flesh, released to hunt by a demonic power beyond time, beyond reason, beyond even memory.

"Sent to America to fulfill a curse that will seal the fate of a family, a man and the woman he loves, in an unsuspecting city."

~ Jacket copy

When my mother and I were visiting my aunt, we made our customary trip to the local used bookstore. My mother was talking about a series that my brother had gotten her reading. However, due to some of the subject matter later in the series, she decided to stop read it. This, of course, piqued my interested. Since we were in the used bookstore, I looked up the series and found the first book. Luckily, I was able to find The Tomb sitting on the shelf at the bookstore!

Even though the whole concept behind the Repairman Jack series was interesting and I love a good horror story, this book ended up sitting on my shelf for a year or so. Just recently, a lovely author friend of mine reminded me about it by mentioning the newest book in the series. After reading her e-mail, I jumped off of the couch, ran over to the bookshelf, dusted off the book, and started reading. However, the reading has been slow going because of life . . .

Repairman Jack is a "fix-it" man. When there is a problem you cannot fix, you call him. Getting his name from a contact in the UN, Kusum, an Indian delegate, calls Jack to help him retrieve his grandmother's stolen necklace. After being rolled by a guy in the alley, Kusum's grandmother is left on the edge of death. Before he death, he would like her to be reunited with the necklace, a family heirloom. At the same time, Jack's ex-girlfriend asks him to help find her missing aunt.

Taking on both jobs sends Jack on a weird adventure which spans time, continents, and myth. He must face internal and external demons in order to figure out these cases.

Unfortunately, it took me awhile to get through this book. That being said, it was fairly engaging and quite interesting. I found Jack to be an extremely interesting character, and I would love to know more about his back story. To keep off of the grid, he turns all of his money into gold and tapes it up in the wall. Further, even though he is extremely paranoid, he has funny and cute little quirks that make him three dimensional.

For the most part, I found the secondary characters felt a little one-sided. Gia felt like the typical jilted lover, Kolabati was pretty predictable, Vicky was a stereotype, and so on. However, even though she wasn't in the book for very long, Nellie was a neat character. Further, Abe was a little more fleshed out and added an interesting element.

I loved the nature of villain's motivation. The historical back story, the religious issues involved, and so on, were simply amazing and well done. The author also has a wonderful grasp of karma and the Vedic religion. The rakoshi were strange and disturbing monsters, and the twist was unexpected! However, I wish they were fleshed out a bit more. I assume that the author wanted them to stay somewhat vague and mysterious. Unfortunately, in some ways, it kind of worked against him.

This book was a good mystery and had elements of a classic boogeyman horror story. I think this was a good start to the Repairman Jack series, and it looks like it could turn into something brilliant! Even though it took be awhile to read it, the pacing was well done, the storyline had twists and turns, and Jack was a well written character. All in all, this was a fun and enjoyable read.