Secret Histories

This book left me mixed on multiple fronts. I'm not exactly sure why because any explanation I provide is thwarted by my own actions.

JACK: SECRET HISTORIES, also called simply SECRET HISTORIES, is about Repairman Jack, the younger years. As in his teen years. Before we ever see him in THE TOMB. The story follows Jack, Weezy, and Eddie as they discover in the New Jersey Pine Barrens a strange stone pyramid box. While they try to unlock the mysteries of the box, they discover in their town a cult, a cult whose members are strangely dying off. As with all Repairman Jack books, there is more happening around the mystery than the obvious. And there is a mystical connection throughout all the events.

The book was entertaining and good; so why show more am I mixed on it? First off, it is a young adult book. Nothing wrong with that by itself but it does tend to mean that the action and violence is muted. On the other hand, I've already purchased (not yet read) DEFINITELY NOT KANSAS and FAMILY SECRETS, the Nocturnia young adult series that Wilson co-wrote with Thomas Monteleone. However, I have not purchased SECRET CIRCLES and SECRET VENGEANCE, the final two parts of this trilogy. Also, SECRET HISTORIES does have lots of events and Easter eggs tying in to Jack's future, more events and tie-ins than I could pick out. Some of those things I knew I should know "why it was important" but I just couldn't remember. So maybe I was feeling left out a little bit? Part of my mixed feelings might also have been that I was happy with the Repairman Jack series and didn't need more. Did I really need to see his life as a teenager? And yet, I've already purchased COLD CITY, DARK CITY, and FEAR CITY (when Jack first arrives in NYC). I want more but I don't. When it comes right down to it, SECRET HISTORIES is a fun, exciting, quick story that ties very nicely into the Repairman Jack mythos and should be enjoyed by most sane people. If you are a big Repairman Jack fan, read it. But who am I kidding; you've probably done so already. show less

Reading this as I continue a [[[Secret History of the World]]] through read - so, it was wonderful to get to Repairman Jack, though he's just Jack in this one, his first of three in an origin story set FPW wrote later in his career. He's made it pretty clear that his goal was to target the YA market with these books. That's perhaps the largest complaint with this particular book, is that he seems to be trying too hard with all the cultural references and some of the narrative. It's wonderful to see Jack up close to The Order so early in life, and so straightforwardly. It's nice to have a well-written female character in Weezy. And it's great to see a young Jack glimmer what the mature Jack will be. But this one is just a little too show more trite with all the YA stuff. Still, a good book.

3 1/2 bones!!!!
Recommended for completists, but probably not if you are starting here for the first time. show less

I have been a fan of Wilson’s since 1983 (the year in which this is set) & I can’t tell you how much fun it was to learn all this back ground about one of my favorite characters in popular literature. Reading this was like meeting an old friend and reminiscing about jr. high. I kept stealing minutes throughout my day to crack it and read a few more pages (I was never so happy that my computer told me it needed updating). You can just see the man Jack will become in the character Wilson creates here. AND you get to meet and spend a little more time with his family members. Jack does his first fixes. There’s a gross and creepy mystery. And an old lady with a dog (Jack fans know what I’m talking about). If you are a fan, this is a show more must read. If you like conspiracies and slightly supernatural mysteries/thrillers, you’ll like the whole series & this is a fine place to start. If you know a YA who likes those kind of books, here’s a chance to set them up with a whole series of books they won’t want to put down—unfortunately they (and ME, more importantly!) have to wait for the next two books in the young Jack trilogy—they aren’t out yet. (and yes, I am cognizant of the horrible grammar I just perpetrated :-) show less

Excellent prequel to the superlative Repairman Jack/Secret History of the World/Adversary Cycle (yes, there's that much to it!) series. This one is aimed mainly at teens/pre-teens, but don't let that dissuade you; like the Harry Potter books it's still very enjoyable for all ages, just creepy enough to be entertaining but not so much as to be disturbing. Gives background a completist will want before tackling the last two books of the Repairman Jack saga. A bit simplistic compared to the other two Jack titles, but still essential.

This was fun! I have read the first three of Repairman Jack and had no idea there was a young Jack series. The narrator is a personal favorite of mine with Perry Mason books, although I don't like the other stuff in audio form he generally reads otherwise (romance), so I was happy to see he narrates these. It's definitely YA and a different feel than the adult books but there's recognition there and love the areas called "The Barrons" and his friends.

A YA prequel to Wilson's Repairman Jack novels (which I've never read). Jack is a young teen in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. He and his friends find a mysterious object--and a dead body--in/near an ancient mound out in the woods. The body is tied to the mysterious and influential Lodge, and now more members are dying. Heart failure or supernatural intervention? And just what is that pyramid they found?

My biggest complaint is all the name-dropping of brands, music, TV shows, and technology. Okay, okay, this is 1983; I get it already. Other than that, it's an enjoyable book. I'll have to look for more Repairman Jack novels.

Warning: Spoilers included.
I haven't read any of the adult Repairman Jack novels, so I don't know how this early version of Jack relates to his older character, but Jack Secret Histories was certainly interesting. Jack and his two best friends Weezy and Eddie find a corpse, hidden in a forest on land that is supposed to be private, but also find an unusual object - a box that no one but Jack can open, which encases a pyramid. Both the box and the pyramid have carvings on it, but when the kids attempt to get some more information on the object, all kinds of misfortunes befall them. When the book ends, there are a whole bunch of unanswered questions, but there is a second book coming called Jack: Secret Circles. I really liked how Jack show more managed to reveal his friend's drinking problem while at the same time exposing the father as a murderer. show less