No, I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy of that yet. But, I do remember a comment in All the Rage about Ozymandius's father having an "infernal machine", so I've been wondering about that. I didn't know it was prominent in Freak Show.

Get it and read it! Whoa, the way it's put togther is great!

I would also be interested to know if the "infernals" actually come from the Otherness, or if they have some other source. There seem to be many strange powers active on Earth, including the Ally and the Lady, so we may often be too quick to assume that anything odd has its origins in the Otherness. Some of the stuff in the Compendium may be Otherness related, while some may have other sources, even when it's of interest or use to the Otherness.

Wouldn't it be cool if FPW would publish the Compendium Of Srem? You're just interested in the Infernals chapter, but Jack and Gia both are reading some really out there stuff in that book that has nothing to do with their situation! What's in the rest of it? I think it would be a good side project for FPW. He has the imagination to make it work! I bet there would even be a chapter on how to do rituals with a Rakoski! Who knows, it might even be a big seller. The possabilities are limitless!


KRW

Get it and read it! Whoa, the way it's put togther is great!



Wouldn't it be cool if FPW would publish the Compendium Of Srem? You're just interested in the Infernals chapter, but Jack and Gia both are reading some really out there stuff in that book that has nothing to do with their situation! What's in the rest of it? I think it would be a good side project for FPW. He has the imagination to make it work! I bet there would even be a chapter on how to do rituals with a Rakoski! Who knows, it might even be a big seller. The possabilities are limitless!


KRW

What are you getting at?

What are you getting at?

Take your medication and read it again!


KRW-

SERIOUS SPOILER ALERTS FOR THE WHOLE FERSLUGGINER AC/RJ SERIES, ESPECIALLY HAUNTED AIR and REPRISAL.

I'll repeat this, SERIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!

Yes, that's true. So, why would stones carrying the imprint of the hilt be imbued with Otherness, rather than imbued with the power of the Ally? Those stones existed to help restrain Rasalom, acting against him! The Circle might have been attracted to them simply because of their aura of power, regardless of source. The Ally, as we know, can't be defined as "good". (I like to think of the Ally as The Great Indifference, but it is a known source of some pretty horrible things, like the death of poor Olive at the hands of the Twins in Conspiracies.) Even in Nightworld the Keep was a place of refuge against the Otherness, so the stones still retained some kind of anti-Otherness effect.

Take it one step further, if the blocks of stone where imbued with the Allies power, it would have kept the spirits there for the reason of trimming another branch, maybe even responsible for the blocks making it to this house just for this purpose? Jack and Gia threw a wrench in that plan. Gia by living long enough inside the house, and Jack by producing Eli to save Gia.

The job done on Danny was definitely Otherness, but I'm not ready to concede that Sara Lom selected the house because it had a history of Otherness. Rasalom feeds on human misery regardless of it's source, and he would have liked the aura created by the child killers in any case. The appeal of the mansion was in its history of pain and death to innocent lives. We can't even be sure that the Circle was truly working under the influence of ANY power, because the book left open the possibility that Eli Bellitto was a self-deluded nutburger born in 1940, and not a 206-year-old "adept".

I'll bet you Rasalom never even set foot in that celler. I wonder if it would have kept him like the Keep did? It's the same blocks. Probably the reason Danny was done on the second floor. But I also bet he had a feast on the residue of those murders!

I think most people saw it that way. In fact, that was my reaction as well, until other possibilities started occuring to me. There is an ambiguity here that isn't present in other events that are clearly Otherness related.

[QUOTE=BrettM]In Conspiracies we have the presence of Rasalom, the actions of the Monroe Cluster created by his rebirth, and a Chaos Hole. Clearly Otherness.

We also are introduced to the twins, and the reason for Jacks involvement in this war. He killed a whole nest of Rakosh, and was marked by the very beasts he killed. In fact, It was because of this reason his immune system could fight off the virus in "Hosts". The Allie didn't care who won that night, he just needed a champion to imerge. One did. He was also saved from Maurcio in the basement, kinda like the Allie wanted a tete' a tete' with his champions.

In All the Rage we have a Rakosh (created from a piece of Rasalom's own flesh, by his own admission) as the source of the drug, and the hand of Rasalom is evident in the way in which Prather and Monnet learned of the creature. Clearly Otherness. .

Not just the drug, but it was also Jack's first meeting with Ba and Dr. Bulmer. They probably don't realize, but their lives started to become intwined in this book, because of that drug. He also discovered Scarlip again because of the drug. I smell Allie again. As far as Otherness, you also had the freak show, the pine barrens light, and a fight with scarlip, (The Jersey Devil) at least now he his.

In Hosts we have evidence that Rasalom himself infected the viral cultures with the mutant strain. Clearly Otherness. (But, Rasalom could not possibly have forseen that Jack's sister would become involved through such an odd chain of "coincidences". Could some other power have been responsible for this aspect, forcing Jack's involvement?).

Only because Ms. Arola had a hand in this mutation, I think it was Otherness. The Allie could have gained as much by doing the same. But because of Jack's prior exposure to the Otherness, he was able to fight this virus and win. I don't think anyone but Glaken could do that. This could have even been forseen by the Allie, therefor the reason for Kate to be involved. Was it really The Otherness that made the propane tank explode when it did?

In Gateways we have a Chaos Hole at a Nexus, a Florida clan similar to the Monroe Cluster, and another personal appearance by Rasalom. Clearly Otherness. (But, what actually DID bring Tom Sr. to Florida? Is there evidence that this was an Otherness-influnced decison? Or, again, some other power at work, trying to draw Jack into the situation there?).

This book was great! This was the first book to make the third party truelly a player in this cosmic game. They've showed themselves before, but on a very small scale. Anya herself said she volunteered time to send flyers of Gateways through the mail. I'll bet you a dozen doughnuts she sent the flyer to Tom! He doesen't even have a good reason that he can understand why he moved to Florida. Anya and Oyv, I don't think it was Otherness, I also don't think it was the Allie. The third party has made their presonce known to Jack through this story.

In Crisscross we have evidence that the founder of the Dormentalists got the idea from the Otherness, and Rasalom arranged to have Brady receive the Compendium, all as part of a millenia-long plan to kill the Lady. Clearly Otherness..

No, Cooper Blascoe just wanted to have fun, Luther Brady was contacted by the Ohterness. He made it the monster it became. I found it interesting that he discovered he was not the only one in history to make these coulmns. Some of the work had already been done for him. But don't forget how Jack became involved in this, the third party again! Another major book for them!

But, things are much more ambiguous in The Haunted Air and Infernal. They seem to suggest that other forces with other agendas are at work, but not leaving a clear trail.

I felt the third party played a small part in Infernal. I thought it was all The Allies work. From the point Tom died, to the point Tom Jr. dissappeared.
The third party was, once again, just warning them with no real involvment. If Anya hadn't protected Tom in Florida like she did, I would say they want a spear also. But they always give warnings.

The provenance of Tom's map to the Lilitongue is very strange. But, unlike similar events in the series (such as the way in which Brady got the Compendium), there isn't any hint of Rasalom's hand at work. The Lady warns of danger again, but does not mention the Otherness, and does not contact Jack. (Strange. Given her history with Jack, she knew he would understand and believe anything she told him, so why was she avoiding him? Why give the warning only to someone who would ignore her? Unless she felt morally obligated to give a warning, but did not actually want it heeded. Maybe the Lady actually wanted events to proceed as they did, wiping out another branch of the spear!)

The Otherness has a great hatred for Jack, but it doesn't strike me as being a very subtle power. After its first try for his life in Conspiracies, would it really settle for torturing him by bumping off his relatives? Would it really indulge itself in complicated plans like filling a plane full of Hassidic Jews to attract terrorists who would kill Jack's father? Or is some other power really responsible for the "coincidences" that bring Jack where he's needed to fight the Otherness?

(Wow, when did this turn into an essay? Sorry for the length! :o)

Maybe we read to much in this series, then again...........


KRW

SPOILER WARNING for The Keep, Reprisal, and maybe other stuff.

I'll bet you Rasalom never even set foot in that celler. I wonder if it would have kept him like the Keep did? It's the same blocks.

It wouldn't have held Rasalom. The hilt was gone, and that was required to contain him in the keep. You might be right that he avoided the cellar, though.


REPRISAL SPOILER FOLLOWS!

Holy CRAP!! That was the same house?!? How did I miss that?!? Now I have to get out The Haunted Air again! That puts that book in a very different light for me. I feel like such a moron. I remember the house having a "history", but I just never put two and two together.

Okay, I was being stupid here. I must've just forgotten this significant detail, though I can't imagine why. I just went back and checked, and it's clearly stated in the brochure for the house that Gia reads to Jack: The previous owners were Herbert and Sara Lom. Even little Danny's mutilation is mentioned. I guess I just forgot! It's not like it was subtle!

Blake

UHH, Keith. You all right buddy? You sound like someone else. :confused: :p


KRW

Errr. I just reread that post. Friday was particularly stressful and I was operating on coffee, espresso beans and Jolly Ranchers. Guess I just got carried away.

Holy S*it. I think I stumbled on the formula for Berserk.

Note to self: check this post after next full moon.

CRISSCROSS SPOILERS AHEAD

No, Cooper Blascoe just wanted to have fun, Luther Brady was contacted by the Ohterness. He made it the monster it became.

Darn, I don't have my copy of Crisscross handy right now. But, I'm pretty sure the description of how Blascoe came up with his ideas had a scent of Otherness about it. Something about odd dreams. Brady had to take it over later, when it became clear that Blascoe wasn't going to take the movement in the desired direction.

It would be boring if all RJ stories looked and felt the same. I enjoy the "fix it" jobs, but INFERNAL added depth to Jack's character that you don't always see when he's on the job. I think Paul mentioned that the next novel has a lot more action.

You're right. He mentioned about next RJ novel in another thread.

I just read about this and it me creeped out. I've been writing about this very sort of thing in NYC -- bombing busses and subways and bridges and tunnels -- in the next Jack novel.

Oh, I can't wait!

Thanks, Lisa! Now if only Gia would fart in public, then we'd all be happy.

Oh, well....but Gia is FPW's dream woman. He'll never write Gia's fart.

I suspect the fabulous Lilitongue will come back somehow, some way. I don't think we've seen the last of that mysterious....thing.

I hope so. And I hope someday Tom will return to our world......impossible?

Last night, I finished reading INFERNAL.

1, The Haunted Air
2, The Tomb
3, All the Rage
4, Gateways
5, Conspiracies
6, The Hosts
7, Crisscross
8, INFERNAL
9, Legacies

.......................SPOILER...........................

I have a lot of thoughts. In this INFERNAL, he hadn't exciting fix-it job. Well, Jack and Joey did assault Arab's hiding place. That was only one fix-it job in INFERNAL. I was a little disappointed about it. I wanted to see his fix-it jobs more. But when I finished reading, I don't care much about it now. I thought the main theme is "Brothers". Until I read this INFERNAL, I knew already he is Judge, so I thought Tom is solemn man. But he was....Shmegege. But at the last, Tom saved Jack's life. What a terrific ending! But I hope someday he come back to our world.

At the last, I couldn't read it without tears. Especially, Vicky said to Jack, "Please don't leave!". That made me cry.

I was most disappointed about death of Jack's father. I like his character. I wished he got injury only, not dead. If he was alive, he's lying on hospital's bed and he will claim "I want to get out from here!"

On the other hand, I did enjoy Charlie's appearance again in this book. "Yo Jack". I could imagine Charlie's grin. Because I grinned too.