I just finished reading the entire series. My personal favorites are The Tomb for its suspense, history about the main villain and his sister, army of Rakosh, and most importantly, introducing the one and only Jack, and Nightworld, for giving us readers the climax we were all waiting for and having characters from the adversary novels play important roles. What is your favorite RJ story?
I agree with your choices - but let me add Legacies
I read the Tomb in the 80's - then after Nightworld it became hard to find FPW books in the UK (unless that was just me!)
Then in the 90's I discovered the internet, and better still Amazon. But mainly I discovered that FPW had loads of books beyond the Adversary Cycle and that he had just released a new Jack book (15 years after the Tomb)
It was great to rediscover FPW and to have a back catalogue to go at on e-bay
I'll always enjoy Legacies - because it lived up to all my expectations after so many years without an FPW book to read.
I read the Tomb in the 80's - then after Nightworld it became hard to find FPW books in the UK (unless that was just me!)
Then in the 90's I discovered the internet, and better still Amazon. But mainly I discovered that FPW had loads of books beyond the Adversary Cycle and that he had just released a new Jack book (15 years after the Tomb)
It was great to rediscover FPW and to have a back catalogue to go at on e-bay
I'll always enjoy Legacies - because it lived up to all my expectations after so many years without an FPW book to read.
The artist formally known as Britfan
I agree. To be honest, Legacies was very close to becoming one of my favorites. What I liked about Legacies, was that it relayed more on an espionage style which separated it from the other books since it is the only novel without supernatural elements. Never less, it is still an amazing story. 
Harbingers is by far the most effective RMJ novel. It was heartbreaking, emotionally effective. I read it so fast. I was just blown away. Legacies is great because it is such a narrative slight of hand. I don't know about the rest of you but I thought for sure in the first 100 pages it was a haunted house novel. considering the plot of the Tomb is was a great Red herring. Haunted air was my #3 in the series. IMHO.
I also liked the the holde spear with no branches storyline that was a brutal thing to put a Jo Campbell type hero through on their journey to being the hero. That is why I think Harbingers is no doubt the best RMJ so far. I still have Nightworld to read.
Another one I also liked a lot was Infernal. I thought it was really interesting how Tom was Jack's only family member left who also happened to be the one Jack did not like. I think the beauty of that story was how Tom started to develop as a better person which lead to a tragic ending.
I saw the ending of infernal differently. I don't think Tom was a better person at the end. Infact even after he agrees to sacrafice himself for Jack you realize he didn't think it would work. It was more like he did it to impress Gia.
Harbingers is a rough twist to the saga, after the end of Infernal and the death of Jack’s father and brother I thought to myself – Jack is losing everyone he loves and soon his closest loves are so going to be in danger. That meant Gia and Vicky. Since the first book he has managed for the most part to isolate his ladies from danger. Wilson was warning us as much as he was warning Jack. So in Crisscross (two books back) when Wilson devoted one of the last chapters to Gia almost being hit by a truck when she stepped off a curb I thought to myself – that is going to be important.
Wilson just clobbers the devoted readers by not only hitting Gia, but also Vicky with a truck. The death of the unborn baby that Jack was already falling in love with is heartbreaking, the power of this scene reminded me of dog death chapter in I Am Legend. The scenes in the hospital while Jack watches helplessly as Gia and Vicky fight for their lives is gut-wrenching.
If that was not powerful enough the next twist is perhaps my favorite plot twist I have read in a novel maybe ever. Jack discovers that the it was not his enemy, the otherness that is behind the attack on his loved ones but The ally and the Yinecari. The Ally needs Jacks full attention and is killing his loved ones to make sure that he can be a “Spear with no branches.” This is the darkest twist on the Joseph Cambell “hero with a thousand faces” type of heroes journey I have ever read in any medium.
Jack decides he won’t be that hero if Gia and Vicky die. It sets up a powerfully dramatic conflict where Jacks is not only willing to kill his allies but himself. It’s a powerful twist on the hero’s journey
Wilson just clobbers the devoted readers by not only hitting Gia, but also Vicky with a truck. The death of the unborn baby that Jack was already falling in love with is heartbreaking, the power of this scene reminded me of dog death chapter in I Am Legend. The scenes in the hospital while Jack watches helplessly as Gia and Vicky fight for their lives is gut-wrenching.
If that was not powerful enough the next twist is perhaps my favorite plot twist I have read in a novel maybe ever. Jack discovers that the it was not his enemy, the otherness that is behind the attack on his loved ones but The ally and the Yinecari. The Ally needs Jacks full attention and is killing his loved ones to make sure that he can be a “Spear with no branches.” This is the darkest twist on the Joseph Cambell “hero with a thousand faces” type of heroes journey I have ever read in any medium.
Jack decides he won’t be that hero if Gia and Vicky die. It sets up a powerfully dramatic conflict where Jacks is not only willing to kill his allies but himself. It’s a powerful twist on the hero’s journey
That is true. This is one of the most dramatic RJ stories. The situation Jack found himself in showed how far he would go to keep Gia and Vicky safe. It was also quite shocking that the order who fought for the alley were the actual murderers of Jack's father. In my opinion, it was the most depressing story of the series since Jack lost his daughter and the chance to live among society.
About Infernal, I do agree that Harbingers is a much better novel, I was just saying that I liked the story about Jack's frustrating relationship with his brother and the shocking opening scene. Now it is true that Tom sacrificed himself to impress Gia, but at least he cared about her enough to do a good deed. Now he might have also have put the mark on himself too because he had nothing to lose since he was a wanted man and had no one to accept him. But you have to admit, Tom was what made Infernal a great story plus the opening scene.
About Infernal, I do agree that Harbingers is a much better novel, I was just saying that I liked the story about Jack's frustrating relationship with his brother and the shocking opening scene. Now it is true that Tom sacrificed himself to impress Gia, but at least he cared about her enough to do a good deed. Now he might have also have put the mark on himself too because he had nothing to lose since he was a wanted man and had no one to accept him. But you have to admit, Tom was what made Infernal a great story plus the opening scene.