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Post by Tim on Oct 17, 2020 17:30:17 GMT -5
BOOK: The Keep
AUTHOR: F. Paul Wilson
Year of publication: 1981
The books is part of the the F, Paul Wilson's universe of the Adversary Cycle/Repairman Jack, However, I am going to do this as a lone novel.
In 1941, just before Operation Barbarossa, a platoon of German soldiers is sent to occupy the keep, a mysterious mini-castle in a Romanian pass. The first night there, one of the soldiers, accidentally releases something that kills him and escapes into the keep. On subsequent nights, one solider is killed, his throat ripped open. Soon there is talk that a vampire is on the loose (remember, this is happening in Romania, in fact, Vlad the Impaler, which inspired the legend of Count Dracula, is mentioned ).
Soon a group of SS soldiers arrive to deal with the problem. However, this is not going to be as easy as they thought it would be. This will not be a cringing, unarmed civilian that they are used to dealing with.
Soon the help of a local Professor is needed and he is sent for. Ironically, this Professor is Jewish.
During this time, a man with a mysterious past is also making his way to the keep.
While this appears to be just another vampire yarn at the start, it is much more than than, In fact, the fate of the whole world depends on what happened at this remote keep in the Romanian mountains.
When this book was originally published, in 1981, it was meant as a stand alone. It was only later that it was folded into the larger story of the Adversary Cycle and Repairman Jack.
There was a 1983 movie, also called The Keep, made, but that is not worth mentioning. F. Paul Wilson himself hates that movie with a passion (and one cannot blame him, as the movie is an incomprehensible mess). The only good thing about that movie, IMO, is the soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.
In short, read the book and forget the movie.
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Post by Tim on Jun 21, 2022 18:02:18 GMT -5
BOOK: The Tomb
AUTHOR: F. Paul Wilson
Year of publication: 1984
Well, this is the book that started the saga of Repairman Jack. Jack is a guy who has opted out of regular society. He has no identity of any kind and lives between the cracks of society. Of course, this isn't easy, but Jack manages. To get by, Jack engages in helping people "fix" things that conventional means, like law enforcement, can't or won't.
Of course, there are some lines that Jack will not cross. For example, he will not kill anyone, he make that clear. Sometimes, people do die, as a result of a fix, but Jack will not take jobs if the person hiring hi m requests that he kill someone.
In this book, we are introduced to the supporting characters of the Repairman Jack saga as well. We have Jack's girlfriend, Gia DeLario, and her daughter, Victoria Westphalen. We have Abe, the guy that supplies Jack with weapons, when needed.
This novel is set in the same reality as The Keep, at least it is now. However, when this novel originally came out in 1984, that was not the case. It would not be until the 1990's, when Mr. Wilson began tying his storylines (Repairman Jack and the Adversary Cycle) together that the connection would be made.
In this novel, Jack finds himself dealing with Rakoshi, a group of Indian demons, which have been brought to New York City to fulfill an old vow of vengeance. More than a century before, in India, the cult that had the Rakoshi had been slaughtered by troops, led by a rogue British captain, named Westphalen. Now the Rakoshi have been sent to eliminate all descendants of Captain Westphalen, including the aforementioned Victoria, the daughter of Jack's girlfriend. Jack must stop them.
And, after this, Jack's adventures are just beginning.
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Post by nimue on Jul 30, 2022 3:14:16 GMT -5
The Keep sounds like something I would enjoy, thanks for the recommendation, Tim!
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Post by Tim on Jul 30, 2022 11:23:05 GMT -5
You're welcome.
Enjoy the book.
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Post by nimue on Jul 30, 2022 14:06:02 GMT -5
You're welcome.
Enjoy the book.
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Post by Tim on Jul 30, 2022 17:33:42 GMT -5
Got it.
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