So where does one turn if they've read every Repairman Jack novel and they want more stuff along that vein?


That is a very, very hard question to answer. There are a lot of detective procedural novels out there but there are very few that compare favorably with RJ (and even fewer authors who compare favorably with FPW).


I tried reading Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels but I hated them. For those who aren't familiar, Harry Dresden is a PI working in Chicago who is secretly a wizard. Except that it's not so secret since he actually puts "Wizard" on his business card and phone book listing! And this despite the fact that there is this "White Council" which is constantly thundering at Harry that he mustn't let the mundane world know that magic is real -- on pain of death, no less.


So here's someone who hangs out a *public* shingle as a wizard but who can't do any *public* magic or he'll be killed. Does that make *any* sense?


And he wonders why no one will hire him as a PI?


God, I hate characters that are stupid! If he just dropped the stupid -- and essentially illegal, considering the White Council's stance -- "Wizard" title from his business card, all his problems would be solved. By secretly using his magic to solve mundane cases he would become the most sought-after -- and wealthiest -- PI in Chicago.


Ok, so the author doesn't want him to be a rich, successful PI. He's going for the hardboiled PI thing. Fine. It's a cliche but whatever.


There are so many better ways of accomplishing that without making your main character a dumbass -- make him broke because of his pride by having him only take the cases that interest him -- he'd rather have an empty bank account than work on a divorce case. That's so much better than Dresden just sitting at home hoping the phone will ring and wondering why he doesn't have any clients.


I also hated the supporting characters, especially Karrin Murphy, his supposed best friend. Murphy is this female Chicago cop who is supposed to be tough as nails. The writer "proves" this by having Murphy punch Dresden whenever he says something she doesn't like -- and I'm not talking about a playful punch that makes a point, I'm talking about punches that knock you down and leave bruises. Uhm… someone should tell the author that a person who does that is not a "strong female character" a person who does that is basically just an asshole.


Ok, so the Harry Dresden novels didn't work out, what else is out there. Someone recommended the Sandman Slim novels so I gave the first one a try.


Oh… my… GOD!!!


This was even worse than Dresden!


I just can't enjoy a book if I have no respect for the main character and that's how I felt about Sandman Slim. The guy is an idiot -- even worse than Dresden, which is saying something.


He never thinks anything through or plans anything. Consequently he's always bringing a knife to a gunfight, a gun to a magical duel, and a magic weapon against a being invulnerable to magic. He confronts the guy who he knows wants to shoot him on sight... and gets shot, he infiltrates the lair of people he knows are magicians, but has prepared NO defenses against magic, nor brought any weapons that overcome their defenses. The only thing he's really good at is acting like a human punching bag. The longer it went on the less I cared about what happened to him.

So where do I turn? Is there anything else out there that's any good?

Fellow RJ fans, please help!!

At this point I have not found anything that fills the void.
I found jack through a series of desperate google searches. He was exactly what I was looking for, I have no delusions of ever being so lucky again. Fortunately for me I have three jack books left the read.
As far as other material that I like;
The Saint series - Leslie Charteris
The Fletch series - Gregory McDonald
The Travis McGee series - John D Macdonald (big influence of Stephen King and Lee Child)
David Morrells early stuff
The Spenser series - Robert B Parker

None of these are Jack, some share similarities, but they all have their own merits

you might like the Swagger series by Stephen Hunter: http://www.bookseriesinorder.com/bob-lee-swagger/

Patrick Lee has 2 series: THE BREACH trilogy and a new one he's 2 books into: http://www.bookseriesinorder.com/patrick-lee/

that's a start...

I always kind of tended toward the sci-fi and fantasy genres, though I also enjoyed the political thrillers (i.e., Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series) as well as horror...now that I think about it, it's easier to just exclude what I don't read - westerns, romances, political opinion (such as Mark Levin or Ann Coulter, or anything by ex-politicians) and thing of that nature. RJ was a nice mix of detective/horror/magic with a leavening of humor mixed in. He's an unusual and enjoyable mix.

Since my tastes are fairly eclectic (or generic, depending on how you look at it) not having new RJ novels isn't an undue burden, though I hope he occasionally makes an appearance now and again. I wouldn't mind seeing Glaeken either, now that he's feeling better. Chances are I'll eventually reread the series as well as the Adversary Cycle once I start forgetting parts of it - with my mind, that should be about 9AM tomorrow...:confused:

Seriously, I do like to reread a series after I've been away from it for a while, to keep it fresh in my mind. Along with sci-fi favorites like Asimov, Niven, Clarke and (Stephen) Baxter, I also plan to reread Roger Zelazny's Amber series soon, as well as Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant books. There's also George R. R. Martin's Game Of Thrones novels which I haven't read in about two decades (and yeah, I'm avoiding the TV series because of all the hype). Like I told my daughter, there's plenty of new (to us) material that was missed in the past, never minding the stuff being put out now. For that matter, I haven't read all of FPW's work, such as The Tery or Dydeetown Girl. So for me, there's plenty to read.

(Sorry about the longish post; you should never allow an idiot, a keyboard and free time to mix together without adult supervision - just look at Facebook...)

Guys,

Been a member for a while, rarely get a chance to contribute. Have you tried the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley? well worth a read.

I really enjoyed Elvis Cole/Joe Pike books by Robert Crais. Also the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child is good(books get a little long though), and anything by Marcus Sakey especially the Brilliance series

I agree the Reacher books run long. I love listening to interviews with Lee Child, he's a cool guy. The movie was really well done too. I think I like the idea of the character more than the stories themselves.

If you like the idea of reacher. Definitely check out Pike/Cole series by Crais. They are like Reacher split into two characters and much shorter/quicker reads. Pike is the muscle like reacher unstoppable, and Cole is the smartass no respect for authority. I actually like them better than Reacher books much more fast paced.

I have enjoyed the Stephen Leather Jack Nightingale series, that begin with Nightfall. The first few are based in London and around the UK. He isn't a muscle man but is smart with words.
Also good is Terry Hayes 'I Am Pilgrim', a big rollercoaster read with some horrific situations.

I recently read The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. It's the first in a dark fantasy series and there's a lot to like about it. It has first novel flaws (overwritten, uneven pacing) but they're overcome by his skill with characterization, world building, and plot. I'll definitely be picking up #2 with the hope that he's learned to pare his prose a bit.