The Dark at the End

Amazing End to Amazing Series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

First of all, this should be the last book of the Repairman Jack series that you listen to, and the penultimate listen before the final book in the whole Adversary/Repairman Jack cycle, Nightworld. There are many books before this and you'll like them better in order. This review serves as a review of the entire series.

F. Paul Wilson has built an incredibly believable world, a quite compelling mix of real life scenarios with end-of-the-world, supernatural elements. The main characters are interesting, complex and develop over their arcs within the series. The plots are not completely predictable, contrary to what so frequently happens within a long series, and Wilson can throw a mean monkey wrench into the expected story line, creating refreshing surprises and a level of suspense that keeps you downloading the next book as soon as you finish the last, just to see what happens next.

Wilson has a gift for sardonic, crusty vernacular and comic relief within deadly serious situations. I'm pretty sad to be at the end of the line.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Wilson's main character, Repairman Jack, is Uber Everyman, a normal-seeming guy with a dark underbelly of seething violent rage overlaid with a strict moral code that makes him incredibly effective but keeps him on the side of the angels, and you will grow to love him. (I also think the author identifies with this guy a lot.)

Wilson pulls no punches with regard to character collateral damage throughout the story line and Jack is a prime example of this. He endures incredible loss over the course of the series (a spear has no branches) but he remains unbroken and heroic to the last.

What does Christopher Price bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Over the course of the series, I've had a love/hate relationship with Christopher Price. I didn't really like him at first and kept checking to see who the narrator was with each subsequent download. Funny thing was, when they changed to a different narrator for a few books later on in the series, I found myself desperately wishing to get Christopher Price back again. Over time, his deep, sonorous, somewhat monotone delivery had "become" Jack's voice in my head and no one else would do it as well. He does sound kind of silly when he tries to do female voices, but given that he's a baritone, I forgive him.

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Jack Vs. Rasalom

If you could sum up The Dark at the End in three words, what would they be?

Gut-Wrenching
Heart-Breaking
Exhausting

What did you like best about this story?

Jacks assault on Rasalom.

What does Christopher Price bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

As I have mentioned previously, he does a fine job with Jacks voice - it sounds generic - which is exactly as it should. But with any accent - well, they all sound the same. Which is not so good.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, I actually cheered a bit when Jack's attack took place.
And felt gutted when the climax came.

Any additional comments?

Note that this leads immediately into NIGHTWORLD. Which, as you can take as a spoiler of sorts, but you KNEW things would never go exactly as planned right?

Filler?

felt like filler but F. Paul Wilson is still a great writer and this was enjoyable if not completely unnecessary

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