I found out information about Japanese edition HOSTS.

Release date: January 28, 2005.

Publisher: Fusosha.(Always this publisher)

Style: Vol.1 & Vol.2. (Again!?)

Now I got only three info.....Ahhhh, I can't wait!!!

Stumbled on Repairman Jack last summer during one of my periodic used bookstore rambles. I'd remembered reading THE KEEP way back in the 80s, but had lost touch with FPW's work when the titles I usually saw seemed to be medical-type thrillers. Suffice it to say, I didn't keep up; sorry about that.

So, wandering the stacks, I came across THE TOMB. Having loved THE KEEP and with the similarity in titles, I assumed it was a sequel I'd somehow overlooked in the 80s.

Thus, my introduction to Repairman Jack, and I must say, I was hooked. This was gritty urban men's adventure with a horror twist; an immediately identifiable hero with an interesting past and more than the cardboard `superhero' personality. Over the next few months, I picked up HOSTS, CONSPIRACIES, and LEGACIES...

Got sidetracked, found HOSTS in the pile of books waiting to be arranged (okay, I have a lot of books...but that's not a crime! And when I say a lot, I don't mean 2 or 3 hundred lot, but 4500+ at last count, which was 2 years ago) and decided to read it again.

And on to research Amazon to fill out the RPJ collection because he's definitely one of the top five, if not top three, heroes out there right now.

Now, on to my questions from more experienced readers of RPJ, and who knows...maybe some words from FPW himself (he seems to post a lot, which is always a good thing!)

As I understand the series timeline, the order of RPJ books is as follows:

1) THE TOMB
2) LEGACIES
3) CONSPIRACIES
4) ALL THE RAGE
5) HOSTS
6) HAUNTED AIR
7) GATEWAYS

With hopefully many more to come. (Yes, there is the `books' section on site, but with publishing dates and reprints and what-not, I just want to make sure it's accurate)

Secondly...I haven't read The Adversary Cycle. I loved THE KEEP, but, all apologies to the author, REBORN seemed...extremely derivative, shall we say? This led me to abandoning that series line.

Now, with some thought and a few bricks dropping on my head, it seems obvious that RPJ's nemesis, Sal Roma, is in actuality Rasalom, from THE KEEP, etc. (One of the bricks being in HOSTS, the originator of the viral contamination was a `Ms Alara'...)

So obviously, the two series tie together. Meaning I'll probably have to pick up NIGHTWORLD in order to get the full scope. Apparently, The Adversary Cycle is FPW's main world plot-view...everything else taking place within the context of The A. Cycle.

However, from what I've seen hinted...NIGHTWORLD isn't going to be a typical RPJ sort of novel, where the good guy wins, really. Browsing the website, it seems the world will be very much changed and post-NIGHTWORLD won't have room for anything new from RPJ.

Now, the question I have...and it's a bad one coming from the new guy on site...should I waste my time growing attached to RPJ? If he and his adventures end at NIGHTWORLD...why bother?

See, the allure of RPJ, for me, is his seeming averageness. He's not the swaggering tough guy, he's a `normal' guy like you or me (unless you happen to be female, which is another story entirely) who made a decision to try to `fix' things. He has serious Issues, some believable human quirks, and in general is the sort of guy everyone should want to be. I would personally love to see RPJ novels coming out until I'm too old to read even the Large Print editions with a magnifying glass. I'm talking Doc Savage, The Shadow, and the more contemporary Dirk Pitt.

I don't like thinking his adventures arbitrarily end at a specific date and time.

I'm going to pick up NIGHTWORLD so I can be more informed, but...I'm a bit worried. Reading posts, online research, etc...makes me wonder if NIGHTWORLD is going to put an end to RPJ's adventures.

If that happens...I'm going to be quite disappointed. RPJ is one of the few heroes in contemporary fiction that has the appeal...the `legs'...to guarantee sales and fan enjoyment for years and years. Sure, I suppose any number of books can be written detailing Jack's adventures in the three years of the timeline before NIGHTWORLD, but...after a couple, it's gonna get pretty crowded. He's gonna be running out of time, attention, focus, and healing ability. It will be a case of adjacent timeline...Book X taking place at the same span of time as HOSTS, Book Y crammed in between HOSTS and HAUNTED AIR, with maybe a few mentions of those storylines tossed in to `explain' it. Book X having a mention of him being pressed for time as he had to get back to Kate, he was worried about her...

To me, Jack exists in the contemporary world. Our world, if you will. We could all have seen him and paid no attention. We all know things are going on we're completely clueless about...there are cults, cultures, wars, rebellions, domestic disputes, whatever, that we know absolutely nothing about. So to me, Jack is a contemporary guy `fixing' things that could actually be happening and I'm clueless about.

That's his allure.

Looking around, I don't see a NIGHTWORLD type landscape, so...Jack can and should still be out there, `fixing' things.

Beyond The Adversary Cycle being a shockingly good storyline, magnificent in breadth, depth, and scope...sorry, it lost me at REBORN. RPJ is my focus and my interest. I'll probably wind up picking up the Cycle just because I'm a bit obsessive that way about books, but I sincerely doubt it will allow me to relegate Jack to a supporting character in the epic storyline.

My question is...should I bother? Should I go trolling the terminal ward at the biblio-hospital, settle down with a really cool guy named Repairman Jack, knowing he's not going to be there for the future?

http://store.yahoo.com/shocklines/inrejanobfpa.html

Steve D
Firstily, let me wish FPW et al a very Merry Christmas. I'll be checking in after the holiday. Yep, back to Canada to spend time with my late Uncle's family (our family too, but you know what I mean).

Secondily, I find some non-Christmas movies better than some Christmas movies. I mean, I love Christmas Story, but has anyone seen Gracie's Choice? It's an edgy family drama based on a true story, a movie I highily recommend for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day/Night. Come on now: Post those non-Christmas movies that would be great viewing for the coming holiday.

Lastily, catch you on the flip side of Christmas; I'll have some back-bacon for you-all.

(To Lisa: I agree with you 100% about the word "funnily." How do you feel about the word "nowadays?" It drives me just as crazy.)

anybody have any idea when this is going to paperback? i don't have a big house, and space is at a premium; i try to avoid buying hardcovers at all cost, as i'm more interested in reading the book than the collectibility.....

Finished the first on saturday, already halfway through the second. Wow. you can tell how good a writer is by his short stories; some of King's best work were his shorts, and FPW is right up there with him...the story "buckets" is one of the most frightening and nauseating stories i have ever read. admittedly, i didn't get to the last story in "soft" (apparently my dog was displeased with my choice of reading material and let his opinion known by eating said book), but the rest were all top notch. i especially liked "menage a trois", as "sibs" was the last FPW book i read prior to this.

freak show i think is fantastic...each author has a different way of telling a story, but they all run together and work really well together. i wanted to finish it last night but my eyes wouldn't agree with me...hopefully tonight.

FPW, any chance you'd combine "barrens" and "soft" into one big short story book? just a thought....

Late in October I ordered a hardcover version of ENEMY OF THE STATE, along with several other FPW books, from amazon.com. The rest arrived, and I was told that EOTS would be shipped at a later date. Yesterday I received an email from amazon.com saying that they couldn't obtain the book and they canceled my order.

Any other way to get it? Without paying a fortune?

One item from the newsletter stood out; a graphic adaptation of The Keep. Very exciting, especially with you handling the script. And see if you can't get Todd Klein to do the lettering; the man is brilliant.

If you should ever consider doing a regularly scheduled picture book, I always thought that Jack's 'mundane' repairs would make great comic fodder.

I'm reading "The Soft and Others," and, naturally, it's great and I'm loving it.

I have a question. I've read "To Fill the Sea and Air" somewhere else. Where? I can't figure it out. Anybody have a clue? :confused:

I loved it! Those stories were so awesome. Some of them gave me the creeps! Great!