The Last Rakosh

Repairman Jack #novella

by F. Paul Wilson, Rick Sardinha (Illustrator)

ABOUT THIS Previously available in several different versions through the years (one of which is in the novel ALL THE RAGE) this release has been completely revised into novella length and incorporates all versions into one for this special publication. Previously available in hardcover, The Last Rakosh now available in this affordable trade paperback.
ABOUT THE Jack finds himself, and his friends, at a traveling carnival. During a look through the freak show, they come across what was believed to be a Rakosh. Or is it? Jack had made sure that the Rakoshi were dead –exterminated. Jack style. But now, somehow, there appears to be evidence of a Rakosh. The Last Rakosh puts Jack back on the trail of this new mystery that will thrill and entertain, in Repairman Jack style.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Supernatural, Thriller, Short Stories

94 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

About the author

Francis Paul Wilson is an author, born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He writes novels and short stories primarily in the science fiction and horror genres. His debut novel was Healer (1976). Wilson is also a part-time practicing family physician. He made his first sales in 1970 to Analog and continued to write science fiction throughout the seventies. In 1981 he ventured into the horror genre with the international bestseller, The Keep, and helped define the field throughout the rest of the decade. In the 1990s he became a true genre hopper, moving from science fiction to horror to medical thrillers and branching into interactive scripting for Disney Interactive and other multimedia companies. He, along with Matthew J. Costello, created and scripted FTL Newsfeed which ran daily on the Sci-Fi Channel from 1992-1996.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/fpaulw...

Reviews

[Jan Strnad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard about the Repairman Jack tales for several years and was eager to read this one as a sample. Enjoyed the character of Jack and the story in general and would be seeking out more of the same but for one annoying habit the author has.

Doesn't like pronouns for some reason. Writes a lot of sentences without them. Now and again, to lend immediacy or urgency, it's a good technique. Gets old, though. Developed a sensitivity to it.

Had to dock The Last Rakosh a star for it.

Otherwise, a rousing good read about a man who discovers an old foe, a sharkman (the Rakosh), in a cage at a traveling carnival. Obviously a lot has gone on in Repairman Jack's life prior to this episode, but Wilson fills in the blanks just enough to keep us in the loop without bogging us down with a lot of backstory.

[Lindsey Goddard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a lot of F. Paul Wilson's stand-alone work, but I still had not read any of the Repairman Jack series, so I thought this novella would be a quick read to familiarize myself with Jack. It was! In fact, it was too quick! This book is really short, even for a novella. Also, the author decided to use a lot of sentence fragments that are great for building action but went on long enough to become distracting. Not my favorite FPW book, but oh well. Nobody's perfect, I suppose!

[Carl Alves · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Rakosh was a fun pulp novella featuring Repairman Jack. I’m not overly familiar with the Repairman Jack character, having only read one of the books, but I found him to be a compelling and fun character to be around. In this novel, Jack goes to a carnival and encounters a creature he thought to be extinct. The Rakosh is a combination of a gorilla and a shark, and is absolutely fearsome. Jack had a run in with them previously and this one in particular, and thought he had killed the last of them. Fortunately, he hadn’t or we wouldn’t have had this novella.

This was a quick read—longer than a short story but shorter than a novel—that tells of Jack’s run in with the rakosh. Oddly enough, the humans in the carnival came off as more villainous than the rakosh. Still, to protect the ones he loves, Jack must hunt down and try to kill the creature in the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, a great location for a horror novel. Given Jack’s battle with this creature, it made me wonder how could he have possibly killed them to begin with. Nonetheless, this was a fun tale, not overly deep, but satisfying in a pulp fiction kind of way.

Carl Alves -author of Conjesero

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story/novella that first appeared, in F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack book: All the Rage. As such, it can be dissapointing for those that purchased this thinking it to be an original short story. I also do not recommend that anybody start with this as an appropriate introduction to the fantastic Repairman Jack series (even if you do encounter it as a free download). The characters aren't developed completely and it certainly doesn't give much of a clue as to what RJ is all about. It is much more a slice of a full novel than an actual complete, well-formulated short story.

For me, since I have now read 10 of the RJ novels, it was a very enjoyable flashback to a pretty cool encounter from the 4th book. Since I know the characters and their motivations and understand what a "Rakosh" is, it was a fine story.

[Shelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate F.Paul Wilson! All I want to know is what a rakosh is, but every time I put it in Google all that pops up it is this stupid book. I could not give a flying falala about repairman Jack I hope repairman Jack dies leave me the fuck alone with this repairman Jack shit, all I want to know is what is a rakosh? I can't get an answer, so you get my crazy rant. HA!l

[Nicholas Kaufmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella is a fun, fast-paced, horror-tinged adventure featuring author F. Paul Wilson's recurring character Repairman Jack. Fun as it is, though, it's very surface-level. There's not much in the way of characterization or emotion here, it doesn't go deep, so for this reader it didn't hit very hard or stick with me after I finished reading it. Recommended for Repairman Jack fans and completists, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as an introduction to the character or to Wilson's work overall.

[S. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Rakosh is effectively an epilogue to The Tomb, a short story/novella in which Repairman Jack runs across an old acquaintance at a travelling freak show a year after the events in The Tomb. F. Paul Wilson does a great job of tying up loose ends without actually tying up any loose ends, and manages to throw a nod to another Repairman Jack novel into the mix. A great little addition to an excellent series.

[Michael ~ Nevermoore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Repairman Jack is a straightforward thinking human being without any super(natural) abilities. (He does come across some extraordinary stuff sometimes.)

The Repairman Jack novels are well written and though the main story lines are sometimes predictable, the way the story develops is often surprising with creative (but realistic) twists.

This short story was a very nice follow-up to the first novel in the Repairman Jack series: The Tomb.

[Sandy Deem · Rating 5 out of 5]

In order to throughly enjoy The Last Rakosh, you need to take a deep dive into the Repairman Jack series written by F. Paul Wilson.

I’d recommend starting from the Jack, the younger years found in YA books, followed by the City books, and then the series itself. There is also The Adversary series which weaves together the darkness with the light.

Enjoy!

[Brett Grossmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just reprints material from an early repairman jack novel. The series is great right up to 13 or 14 and the trips on its own feet before the finish. I took one star off this cause it’s just an excerpt from a book. Someone is getting paid twice for the same work. Wink wink

[Wendy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually the short story version of All The Rage --just a small fragment of the book, but the exact same story. I recommend reading All The Rage instead of this one.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Tyrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story incorporated into All the Rage.

[Kurk Prater · Rating 5 out of 5]

while this story was covered in the Repairman Jack series books, it is still a good short read...

[Raymond Prager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa!!!

A real kick in the head....not what you come to expect from a Jack story. Left me feeling eerily spooked. A good read through and through.

[Mark Sutcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant author

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, think I should have been more familiar with the character this novella was focused on.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2006. Repairman Jack finds himself at a traveling carnival.

[James Widmark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

Can never go wrong with a read from F. Paul Wilson. Gothic terror at its best. Looking forward to the next book.

[John Michael Strubhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet and good at answering some important questions, but not all. It's good to have a bit of mystery at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this short!

[Robert Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Keep and the two books that followed it some years ago. When I saw this for free, I figured I'd give it a go.

For a story that takes place in the midst of a larger series, this was pleasantly accessible. I'm sure there are extra layers here for long-time fans, but it functions quite enjoyably as a stand-alone story.

Even more, it works to make me want to re-read those books again and check out the Repairman Jack series that this is a part of.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Think I had the short story version of this rather than the novella. It was free on Amazon. I've only read one other Repairman Jack novel, and as it turns out, it was the one where the Rakosh first appeared, so that worked out.

As a short story this one didn't really do much for me. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but Jack just wasn't Jack much. He's obviously tough, and willing to do what's necessary, but I if I hadn't read a Repairman Jack novel before this, I wouldn't really have gotten much of a feel for the character from this story.

[Deb Mulder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting from start to finish.

Repairman Jack is as real as any character has ever been, and larger than the pages he's written on. He takes us with him through every breath, living the story right along with him. We dread the inevitable encounters but can rest assured he will prevail - a true modern day hero.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novella in which Jack finds one of the Rakosh had survived his torching of the ship they'd hid in, most especially the old who had grabbed little Vicki, Gia's daughter. He ends up hunting the creature after it escapes in The barrens.

[Sunsette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beware the Sharkman. Eh, left a lot to be desired. There was no depth to the characters what-so-ever. I understand this is part of a series, but it can stand alone. It's a bit suspenseful, but nothing that held me on the edge of my seat. The ending was the best part for me.

[Melanti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

Maybe this looses something by being the first time I've encountered Repairman Jack, but it doesn't inspire me to continue on to any full length books. It really doesn't stand on its own very well.

[Eero · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was probably a mistake to read this story at this point, without knowing anything about this Repairman Jack character. It is obviously an epilogue to a novel featuring these Rakoshi creatures, and does not work as a standalone. And it might have spoiled the novel for me...

[John Weagly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but it's all integrated into ALL THE RAGE.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting short story. I enjoyed it.

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHA HAPPENED? That was short but very enjoyable, like a snack. Now I want a full course meal.