how old does a book have to be to be in the public domain Quick Fixes: Tales of Repairman Jack
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Different but still very goodBy airdawgThe anti hero is a basic staple in fiction. It is difficult to reveal the motivation of the protagonist without making the character smaller over the range of the series. This writer has successfully pulled it off.17 of 18 people found the following review helpful. A must buy, whether you're a longtime fan or a newcomer to the seriesBy Josh MautheIf you're a fan of the Repairman Jack series and you don't pick this up, you're a crazy person. And if you're not a fan, I have to say, this is a fantastic way to get into what is easily one of the best thriller series being written today. Quick Fixes is a collection of short stories about Repairman Jack, ranging from some that have been worked into the novels of the series to pieces published in compilations and long out of print anthologies. I've always thought that Wilson underrated his abilities as a short story author, and the Jack stories really bear that out; these works really strip Jack down to his core, reminding us that the series originated with a man whose intellect and knack for subterfuge made his mind just as big of a threat as his physical prowess. Stripped of the complex mythology of the series, Quick Fixes is Jack at his purest, telling tales that are as much about the cleverness of the plans as their success or failure. Really, there's not a truly weak story in the batch to me, but even if there were, stories like "The Long Way Home" (in which one of Jack's deepest fears comes true) and "Interlude at Duane's" (which finds Jack squaring off against a crew of robbers with only the contents of a drugstore at his disposal) would make this worth every single penny. Wilson says this was largely compiled for the completist, and as a longtime Jack fan, this collection is an absolute treat that really reminded me how much fun Jack stories can be. But even if you're a newcomer to the series, this is a great starting point - the short pieces and sharp writing are a great sample of the fantastic series to come. Whichever you are, you absolute can't miss this one - the cheap price and high quality make this a must buy for whatever e-book system you've got.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Just JackBy James TepperA short (9 stories), chronological anthology featuring fan fave Repairman Jack. Although all have been previously published, some were in some fairly obscure places. Except for (sort of) "The Last Rakosh", all the stories are just Jack taking care of things as he does best, devoid of any cosmic battle background. This is in large part because as it happens, the first 5 shorts in the anthology were all written long before 1998 when FPW brought Jack back and gave him his own series fighting against the otherness, 14 years years after his first appearance in the 1984 novel, "The Tomb" (which, incidentally, is technically a part of the Adversary Cycle/Secret History of the World, but really had very little to do with the cosmic battle that is at the heart of the Secret History, Adversary Cycle, and RJ series). So if you're looking for some hidden bits of the cosmic epic, you'll not find them here. But no worries, there's more than enough of just Jack to keep you entertained, and FP Wilson's trademark crisp writing and dry humor is much in evidence. My two favorites were "Interlude at Duane's" (as in Duane Reade) and "Piney Power", which features the young teenaged Jack of the three YA Jack novels.Recommended for all, a must for true RJ fans.J.M. Tepper