Ground Zero

by F. Paul Wilson
2009

In this, the thirteenth and “pen-penultimate” Repairman Jack novel, Jack takes on the cause of Weezy, a childhood friend (a character introduced in one of Wilson’s teen Jack books for young adults) and an eccentric genius with a photographic memory, who has pieced together the brief hints about the true forces behind the 9/11 terrorists (the Adversary needed the towers to fall so one of their pillars of power could be planted).  This disturbs the powers forking for the One, who move to silence her.  Meanwhile, they also make plans to call up the  “Fhinntmanchca,” an anti-matter monster who can destroy the Lady for them.  With Weezy’s help, Jack manages to discern some of the One’s plans, though as usual he is more or less powerless against them, serving only to subdue or kill his minor earthly agents.

This is a typically exciting entry in the series, though I did feel a bit lost when it came to plot minutiae.  Since this is a quintessential roman fleuve, with almost zero explanatory material of past events and characters, a gap of three years between books means there will be some confusion.  Wilson is a master of pacing and suspense, though, so even a weak Jack book, in which the “hero” or more or less buffeted around by inevitable forces he has no hope of combatting, is a fun read.

four stars