Same here. Jack and his father teaming up -- that's what made the book for me.

Ken V.

Ditto! Jack's dad turned out to be so cool. One of my all-time favorite RJ series characters, without a doubt.

To be honest, this turned out to be my favourite of the series thus far, and for very personal reasons.

I don't really mind sharing, but my pop left when I was 3 years old. As far as I know, he's alive and I have a half brother and sister I have never met. I've considered trying to track him down to ask him this very simple question - where have you been the past 35 years?

Anyhow, the reason I loved this book so much was the fact that Jack and his father had a great chance to get to know about one another, and repair the hurt that time and tides have caused, and Jack's secret life. It's something I would love to be able to do with my own father.

Loved it, big time.

Just my personal view.

Chris

You're entitled to your two lincolns, but it seems to me your torturing yourself with the RJ books and then complaining on a site full of ardent fans of the books.

That's interesting, even though I don't see how you think I am "torturing" myself. I still love to read the RJ stories and am glad I found this site (I didn't know there was more then the first 3 books in the series till I found this site)

I'm just saying that the thing with Jack's dad seemed...forced to me. Ok, I get he's a war vet and I can totally relate to that and not wanting to talk about the experience one goes through during wartime. I've just always seen Jack as a loner, but also very strong, dominant, and stubborn. The fact that he constantly gave in to his father when Tom insisted he join Jack didn't seem very "Jackish" to me.

I enjoyed the rest of the book...alot. I really liked Carl in this one. And The Haunted Air is probably my favorite so far that I have read. (I just don't like Gia)

I'm not going to stop reading RJ or coming to this site. I was just giving my opinion on the book to see if anyone else had any thoughts on the topic.

Besides your statements seem to put me in a category separate then the rest of you "ardent" fans. So what are you saying? If you don't like it then leave? Sounds like something for the political threads...

That's interesting, even though I don't see how you think I am "torturing" myself. I still love to read the RJ stories and am glad I found this site (I didn't know there was more then the first 3 books in the series till I found this site)

I'm just saying that the thing with Jack's dad seemed...forced to me. Ok, I get he's a war vet and I can totally relate to that and not wanting to talk about the experience one goes through during wartime. I've just always seen Jack as a loner, but also very strong, dominant, and stubborn. The fact that he constantly gave in to his father when Tom insisted he join Jack didn't seem very "Jackish" to me.

I enjoyed the rest of the book...alot. I really liked Carl in this one. And The Haunted Air is probably my favorite so far that I have read. (I just don't like Gia)

I'm not going to stop reading RJ or coming to this site. I was just giving my opinion on the book to see if anyone else had any thoughts on the topic.

Besides your statements seem to put me in a category separate then the rest of you "ardent" fans. So what are you saying? If you don't like it then leave? Sounds like something for the political threads...

That is not what I was saying at all; I just don't remember you saying anything complimentary about the RJ books-not to say that you haven't. But you are blatantly anti-Gia(as are several others) and now you didn't enjoy Jack's relationship with his father, which was the primary focus of Gateways. It just seems to me that you are quick to mention the negative aspects as you see them and fail to mention why you like and read the books in the first place. Compare the post you just made with the one that started this thread and see if you don't see a difference. In this one I can actually tell that there are elements to the book you liked; not so in the first one.

And whether you stay or not is up to you; I certainly won't ask you to leave and I'll continue to read your posts and respond as I see fit.

That's interesting, even though I don't see how you think I am "torturing" myself. I still love to read the RJ stories and am glad I found this site (I didn't know there was more then the first 3 books in the series till I found this site)

I'm just saying that the thing with Jack's dad seemed...forced to me. Ok, I get he's a war vet and I can totally relate to that and not wanting to talk about the experience one goes through during wartime. I've just always seen Jack as a loner, but also very strong, dominant, and stubborn. The fact that he constantly gave in to his father when Tom insisted he join Jack didn't seem very "Jackish" to me.

I enjoyed the rest of the book...alot. I really liked Carl in this one. And The Haunted Air is probably my favorite so far that I have read. (I just don't like Gia)

I'm not going to stop reading RJ or coming to this site. I was just giving my opinion on the book to see if anyone else had any thoughts on the topic.

Besides your statements seem to put me in a category separate then the rest of you "ardent" fans. So what are you saying? If you don't like it then leave? Sounds like something for the political threads...

Now, now, let's not go there.

To tell the truth, I disliked
"The Haunted Air" at first. I had a problem with Charlie's death, and it tainted the book for me. I talked it over with the pro and then reread it and had a very different take on it the second time. I can't say by any means it's one of my favorites, but if I hadn't given it a second chance, I wouldn't appreciate it like I do now.


Ravings from a madman, take them for what there worth.

That is not what I was saying at all; I just don't remember you saying anything complimentary about the RJ books-not to say that you haven't. But you are blatantly anti-Gia(as are several others) and now you didn't enjoy Jack's relationship with his father, which was the primary focus of Gateways. It just seems to me that you are quick to mention the negative aspects as you see them and fail to mention why you like and read the books in the first place. Compare the post you just made with the one that started this thread and see if you don't see a difference. In this one I can actually tell that there are elements to the book you liked; not so in the first one.

And whether you stay or not is up to you; I certainly won't ask you to leave and I'll continue to read your posts and respond as I see fit.

See, I meant the last line of my last post to be lighthearted, but I forgot to put the little smiley face after it, so that was my fault.

I was just pointing out the one aspect of the book I didn't really like. Like I said before, there were many things that I did enjoy in the book, and I know the relationship between Jack and his father was the main focal point, but like I said it seemed forced to me. However, isn't that why we read books? Why different people like different things? Not everyone will like the same things, so in the ends its all cool with me.

Yes The Haunted Air was probably my favorite so far, but its been so long since I read The Tomb, Legacies, and Conspiracies that I can't really compare those anymore. Legacies was the first RJ I ever read and it hooked me, so obviously I like the overall ideas.

Like I said before, I always saw Jack as a loner, but I understand fpw's reasoning for making him "more human" to contrast some of the bad and criminal things he has to do.

So when I read Crisscross I'll try and comment on the positives I saw in it before the negatives...how's that? (See I remembered it this time)

I've just always seen Jack as a loner, but also very strong, dominant, and stubborn. The fact that he constantly gave in to his father when Tom insisted he join Jack didn't seem very "Jackish" to me.

This is where it makes Jack more real to me, I know that I'm a different person around family (parents and siblings) than I am at work or with other friends. Which is the real me? Both, just different facets of my personality.

So this shows another facet of Jack, the one that isn't so stubborn and strong when it comes to big brother and pops.

Dave

See, I meant the last line of my last post to be lighthearted, but I forgot to put the little smiley face after it, so that was my fault.

I was just pointing out the one aspect of the book I didn't really like. Like I said before, there were many things that I did enjoy in the book, and I know the relationship between Jack and his father was the main focal point, but like I said it seemed forced to me. However, isn't that why we read books? Why different people like different things? Not everyone will like the same things, so in the ends its all cool with me.

Yes The Haunted Air was probably my favorite so far, but its been so long since I read The Tomb, Legacies, and Conspiracies that I can't really compare those anymore. Legacies was the first RJ I ever read and it hooked me, so obviously I like the overall ideas.

Like I said before, I always saw Jack as a loner, but I understand fpw's reasoning for making him "more human" to contrast some of the bad and criminal things he has to do.

So when I read Crisscross I'll try and comment on the positives I saw in it before the negatives...how's that? (See I remembered it this time)

Cool.

This is where it makes Jack more real to me, I know that I'm a different person around family (parents and siblings) than I am at work or with other friends. Which is the real me? Both, just different facets of my personality.

So this shows another facet of Jack, the one that isn't so stubborn and strong when it comes to big brother and pops.

Dave

The official diagnosis is multiple personalities. At least you're not alone, you still have yourself!

Well I finished Gateways the other day (I was actually in Florida at the time) and it was good, mainly because there was very little Gia (but what Gia there was she was annoying).

Anyways, I really didn't care for the Jack and Jack's dad teaming together stuff. I don't know, but it just seemed a bit too cheesy and sappy for me. Hope it doesn't continue in future books.

Just my two Lincolns.

I felt the same way when I read it. For me, it kind of took some of the magic away from Jack. The idea of Jack being a normal kid who made a gigantic decison and assumed a huge responsiblity and ended up with a very unique and dangerous lifestyle was kind of belittled by the idea that he comes from a family of tough guys.

The thrill of keeping a huge secret like that from your own family is alwasys more exciting than having them know. It's a little like Superman telling Lois Lane that he's Clark Kent -- it should never really happen, becasue once it happens the magic is never quite the same.