This character by F. Paul Wilson is one of my favorite literary heroes. Wilson, as some of you may remember, wrote The Keep which spawned a movie of the same name.
Jack’s character was developed in a sequel called The Tomb and I became hooked on Wilson from that time on.
Jack is a “non-person”. He has managed to not have a SSN, pays no taxes, has no fingerprints on file and yet manages just fine, thank you. He takes on cases no one else will handle and he has scruples (remember those?). Sometimes Wilson writes Jack as a private eye/good-guy/mercenary, but there is also a bit of the supernatural involved. (The rakoschi from “The Otherness” are fierce man eating creatures whose only weaknesses are fire and iron).
So I’d like to start a discussion thread on the Repairman Jack novels if y’all are interested. Rather than picking a specific novel, I would like to discuss the “logistics” of a person like Jack; i.e., is it possible to remain completely invisible with today’s technology?
If you’re not interested in a discussion thread, then let me recommend Wilson to you. He’ll give you a nice read.
I always thought it was a bit too contrived, presenting Repairman Jack without a last name. In THE TOMB, we are introduced to his father, so clearly Jack has a family name and a birth certificate, no matter how much he has avoided other forms of identification like SSN.
The “man with no name” ruse worked okay for the Continental Op in Dashiel Hammett’s stories because the detective went into a situation under an alias, solved it, and left, without becoming personally involved. Jack, on the other hand, has a former girlfriend with whom he reunited in THE TOMB. What does he tell her his name is? Or does she just accept him as “Jack,” with no questions asked about his last name?
Anyway, despite this nitpicking, I did like the essential idea of a private eye type character who comes in and “repairs” difficult situations, outside the law.
I find it interesting that ScriptAnalyst assumes a birth entails a birth certificate, and a father entails a surname. Births without official recognition are quite possible, perhaps even today. Similarly, fathers, especially those absent in early childhood, do not grant their surname to children.
I have read the The Keep, and I thought it was rather less than it had been built up to be. The back story made the villain much less frightening than the simple vampire, and I can’t say I thought much of the main character, either. After all that, I couldn’t bring myself to try the Repairman Jack novels.
In the novel, we’re led to believe that Jack opted for his anonymous existence when he hit on the idea of making a living as a “repairman.” In the scene with his father in THE TOMB, the father gives Jack advice on investments to make – investments that Jack in fact cannot make (although his father doesn’t know it) because Jack has no SSN and no bank accounts – in short, none of the stuff you would need to do business with banking and investment institutions. But Jack’s father is completely unaware of this. Clearly, Jack was not born anonymously, and although he doesn’t use his last name, his father did give him one.
I’m a huge Repairman Jack fan. I’ve always been under the impression that, although Jack does, of course, have a family name, birth certificate, etc., he has simply stopped using them. I would assume that his best friend Abe and his girlfriend, know his real name, as he has admitted his past to them.
Think about it. What if you simply started using a new name?
Moved to a new place where nobody knew you? Stopped using a SSN?
The real question is, at what point would it become impossible.
Employment? Jack doesn’t exactly need a 9-5 gig.
Bank accounts? Jack handles all business in cash.
Driver’s license? Jack has fakes.
Credit cards? A few fakes in fake names. Tricky to maintain, but I’ve heard of people doing it.
Health insurance? Kind of tricky. Medical care can be expensive. Underground docs and do-it-yourself medicine.
Investments? Jack’s business is spread through word of mouth, he gets paid exceedingly well and he lives a very modest lifestyle.
It could be done provided you were constantly aware, could be content with doing everything in a roundabout way, and didn’t want to live with all of the “expected” conveniences.
I love Repairman Jack with one caveat: All of Jack’s newer solo novels and stories have been after The Tomb but before Nightworld.
I’m annoyed, because I know nothing serious can happen to Jack (the loss of a limb, a major lifestyle change) or to his supporting characters. If they do, Wilson will screw up the continuity of his masterpiece (I loved the 6 book “Nightworld” cycle, of which The Tomb was one part).
Either way, I’d like to see the next Repairman Jack novel set after Nightworld, touching briefly on the aftermath and then moving forward, rather than stalling in the limbo between the two books.
Besides, I gotta know if…whatshisname…Jack’s pal…survived.
Good point. What I was trying to say was that I found it contrived for F. Paul Wilson to withhold Jack’s family name from his readers when he so obviously had one (whether or not he used it).
Of course, this didn’t ruin the character for me. It’s just a little blip that made me go, “Now wait a minute here…”
Another RJ fan checking in. And am I the only one who really dislikes Gia? I mean, this guy adores her and her daughter, can defend them against all kinds of horrible, violent things, and his unique abilities saved Vicky’s life, fer cryin’ out loud, but all Gia wants is for him to change!
After I read “The Tomb”, all I kept thinking was why the hell couldn’t I find a Repairman Jack?
Of course, Gia backed off a little in “Legacies” (btw, I love his decoy house) when he could do something for her, but still.