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Repairman Jack #12

By the Sword

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By the Sword takes up the adventures of Repairman Jack directly after Bloodline. Jack is hired to find a legendary Japanese sword, a katana stolen from the Hiroshima Peace Museum and brought to New York City. Central characters include the members of a weird Japanese cult, a young Japanese businessman and his three Yakuza bodyguards, plus Hank Thompson, the Kicker cult leader from Bloodline. The cult, the businessman, the Yakuza, and the Kickers are looking for the sword as well.

Also in the mix is the pregnant teenager carrying a child, loaded with abnormal DNA, who will be a decisive force in the cosmic shadow war raging behind the scenes. She becomes a pawn in the game, hunted by both sides. Following his usual m.o., Jack maneuvers all sides into a bloody melee from which he plans to waltz away with the fabled katana. Of course, when things donâ t go as planned, Jack must improvise (and he hates to improvise). By the Sword takes F. Paul Wilsonâ s trademark breakneck pacing and interweaving storylines to a new level.

360 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2008

61 people are currently reading
946 people want to read

About the author

F. Paul Wilson

421 books1,990 followers
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...

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5 stars
1,082 (38%)
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3 stars
506 (17%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
Profile Image for Phil.
2,434 reviews236 followers
January 4, 2021
Despite all of the books in this series featuring Jack of course, each one manages not to fall into the trap of some series-- becoming formulaic. BTS is really an outlier even given that! BTS revolves around an ancient katana, a Samurai sword, that Jack is asked to find. It seems it was stolen in 1955 from a museum in Japan and since then has been in private hands so to speak. The current owner had it stolen from his house in Hawaii, but managed to track it to NYC. He cannot go to the cops to get back the stolen sword, because, well, it was stolen from the museum, so it becomes a perfect type of job for Jack to fix.

This story has several layers that I will not get into here, as discovering them is like peeling an onion and half the fun. I will say, however, that several parties are interesting in the sword, including a crazy cult from Japan, some corporate hit man types and our 'kickers' from the last installment.

BTW has a wonderful pace, constantly building up pressure as the story unfolds. We still have our pregnant Dawn in the mix, but she takes back seat to the quest for the sword. The body count in this one is relatively high, and some great action scenes as almost a trademark in this series. We also get some more reveals regarding the story arc, and Jack finally meets 'Veilleur' AKA Glaeken from the first novel in the series. Fun read!! 4.5 stars.
Profile Image for Mike (the Paladin).
3,148 reviews2,162 followers
April 24, 2013
Well Jack finally . I guess we've been waiting for that for a while. We're sort of starting to tie things together.

Maybe.

This book builds on another book by Wilson titled Black Wind. Personally I didn't care for that book much but the story in it does fill in some details and answer some questions you may have as you read this book. It will also add some more details about the ally's champion. I suspect this book is one big case of foreshadowing also.

If you've followed the Repairman Jack books and seen the story sort of move around the thriller/horror/urban fantasy paradigms then you'll (I believe) really like this one as it does seem to be coming together here...and coming together well.

I've read several of the Adversary cycle of books by Mr. Wilson which ties in to this series. I have never cared for those as much as I do the Repairman Jack cycle, but they do (again) answer some of the questions that will arise about the "back story". This is a very complex fantasy universe/plot in it's own way. maybe it's not quite as far reaching as say Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion cycle but it's still got a lot of meat on the bone and if you want to immerse yourself in it you can. I like this book, I recommend this book, but I also recommend you start this series at it's beginning. Maybe even go all the way back to The Keep and start there before Jack is born but where Mr. Wilson began his story.
Profile Image for Fran.
1,191 reviews2 followers
November 27, 2022
I had a hard time trying to figure out how to rate this. I really loved the main character, Jack. Like Lee Child's character with the same name, this repairman, had a "take no prisoners" attitude, a clear sense of right and wrong, and had the physical build and prowess to back up his attitude. I enjoyed the Japanese mythology involved throughout however didn't care for the storyline and plot.
Profile Image for Skip.
3,845 reviews583 followers
March 4, 2012
Might be time to take a break from Repairman Jack. Like the previous book, I found this one tedious as I really do not care about the Kickers or Dawn Pickering, who seem to have become the primary focal points of the story, rather than Gia, Vicky and Jack. In this story, everyone is still trying to grab Dawn because of her unborn child and a katana, forged by a famous Japanese artist which supposedly survived the nuclear blast in Hiroshima is also sought by the Kickers, a Japanese corporation, and a Japanese religious cult. Too much mayhem and slaughter. One bright spot is some clarity around the woman with the dog and Glaeken, Rasalom's archenemy.
Profile Image for Jud.
25 reviews3 followers
February 2, 2009
Do you really need to review a Repairman Jack book?

A fast-paced, entertaining read, as always. The loose ends are starting to come together. Wilson is preparing us for the end.
147 reviews1 follower
listened
January 12, 2025
For me one of the biggest letdowns of the series as a whole is the author's constant ADHD. Every book introduces completely new characters and concepts and then most of them are abandoned. It is very hit and miss whether someone/something will be brought back in a future book or not. I'm not a professional author or critic but this does seem to demonstrate the importance of Chekhov's Gun because as a reader, constantly guessing whether something that's happening now will be important later or literally doesn't matter gets exhausting.
Profile Image for David Agranoff.
Author 31 books208 followers
October 16, 2012
Wow is it Book twelve of Repairman Jack already? Where has the time
gone. This was the book in the series I was looking forward to because
in conversation with Wilson at the Borderlands writers boot camp he
referred to it as being his Yojimbo influenced novel. Being a fan of
series but also of Akria Kurasawa's classic Samurai movie(which was
also remade into the western fistful of dollars) I was excited to see
how Wilson wove the concept into the world of Jack.

It was done with his typical plotting genius, Yojimbo is a movie where
a hapless seeming Ronin walks into a village in conflict and works
both sides while coming out on top. As Jack works some of the various
cults to fight each other I was amused knowing this was Yojimbo
influence. Knowing he was influenced by that film only adds to the
plot weaving Wilson does when you consider that in many ways By the
Sword is a sequel to the events in Black Wind, while also using
events from several novels including The first Adversary novel The
Keep and of course the previous 11 novels in the Jack series.

I am not sure why but I held off reading Black Wind, Wilson's 1988
classic novel of the second world war in the pacific. Perfect timing
really as that novel informs this one. Indeed the Mcguffin comes
straight out of Black Wind when Jack is hired by the son of Frank
Slater (BM's narrator and main character) to find the family kantna(
Sword) which had been in his adopted Japanese father's hand when the
bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The sword some how survived the blast
and now it has been stolen from the family plantation in Hawaii, and
the thief has made it back to NYC.

Since Harbingers I have come to the conclusion that it is no longer
possible to just drop in on these repairman Jack novels. The events of
Bloodline built in minor ways on the events of Harbingers but By the
sword builds directly off of the last novel. Without knowing the depth
of of the events in the last novel and Black wind to a lesser extent
the full power of this novel might be lost.

By the Sword is a clear step up the ladder towards the end of this
exciting series. This is an important and exciting entry in the series
that is must read, but it helps to have read all the other books in
the secret history of the world as well.
Profile Image for Debi.
77 reviews2 followers
January 14, 2009
I'm having an affair with Jack. Even though we havn't formally been introduced he's got my mind occupied with his antics. F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack is one bad boy in his lasting outing By The Sword.

Jack lives off the grid and has no identity. He's an anarchist, an urban mercenary. Jack fixes those problems the establishment can't. I love a character who walks the edge of the envelope between good and evil and battles back when I would under the same circumstances turn into a ball of goop.

In By The Sword Jack must find a legendary sword stolen (kanta) from the Hiroshima Peace Museum. Unfortunately a cabal of Yakuza ganesters, an order of mystical monks, the Kickers from previous novels, and let's not forget his supernatural nemesis Rasolom are all also trying to retrieve the sword. Talk about your bad day at the office. The bodies do pile up in this one. Jack uses his brain more than brawn. A nice cross between the original Bond and MacGiver. I'm amazed at how Jack extricates himself from his latest assignment.

Then there is the whole "otherness" and "ally" tug of war going on to boot. Unfortunately you can't really jump into the middle of this series, although F.Paul believes it can. I think they need to be read in order.
13 reviews3 followers
November 11, 2008
I can't remember when I've enjoyed a book more. Repairman Jack is not your ordinary fix-it man. He's a man that fixes things, but he won't clean the lint out of your dryer if that's what you're looking for. He's more of a man that fixes... situations.

I was sort of skeptical when this book was selected by Freedom Book Club, but this book did not disappoint. Up until this book was chosen all the selections of the FBC had been non-fiction titles. Boy was this book a change of pace. It holds up to the lessaiz-faire premise set for the club, and it is highly entertaining.

If you happen to be a Hawaiian plantation owner that has lost a sword (stolen by his father), and you can't have any police involvement, Jack's your man! After the stage is set, Wilson lets it rip. Hold on tight for the convergence of the mercenary fix-it man, immortal beings, Japanese hit men, and a clash of the wacked-out cults.

If violence hurts your sensibilities, this book may not be to your liking, as it has a high body count. Also there is a sexual situation.
Profile Image for Steven.
115 reviews16 followers
August 18, 2009
This novel picks up right where Bloodline leaves off and features some of the same characters. Central to this story is the Matsumune Gaijin, the name given to a rare Japanese sword (Katana). This particular sword was forged from a meteorite in the 14th century by Matsumune for a "foreigner" (Gaijin). Jack is hired to locate and obtain the sword which was recently stolen on Maui and taken to New York City. Jack's not the only one after the sword--the others are Hank Thompson, the leader of the "Kicker" cult; a mysterious Japanese cult, the "Kakureta Kao", and the Chairman of a large Japanese holding company, the Kaze Group. Pretty interesting storyline with Jack meeting Glaecken, a nearly-immortal combatant in the fight against the "Otherness".
Profile Image for Kellie.
50 reviews
November 5, 2008
This review contains SPOILERS. Please do not read it if you're spoiler-sensitive.

By the Sword is my favorite F. Paul Wilson book since The Keep. It's rich in Otherness plot development, including cameos by both Rasalom and Glaeken. There's even a hint or two about who/what the Lady(ies) with the Dogs who/are.

There is a strong sense of forward momentum toward a narrowing plotline, which I am very glad for. I love the RMJ books, but I want to experience closure with the overall story arc.

I can't wait for the next installment, 5 of 5 stars for this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Michael.
168 reviews1 follower
December 17, 2008
If you like Repairman Jack you will like this book. Jack is your everyday man of average height, build, and looks who hires out to fix peoples problems vigilante style. If you haven't read any of the series you want to start toward the beginning. There are many story lines that are drawn together through the books and it is becoming more and more important that you have read previous books. None of the books will change your life but they are always a rip roaring fun read if you just want to be entertained.
Profile Image for Nick.
209 reviews29 followers
September 11, 2016
So this was basically the Repairman Jack version of Yojimbo/A Fistful of Dollars but way way way bloodier. The final action sequence was absolutely insane. A pure adrenaline rush. A sect of self mutilating monks (reprising their role from Black Wind), a corporation in cahoots with the yakuza, a modern day cult influenced by the otherness and Jack all compete for control of a mysterious sword.
Profile Image for Rob.
119 reviews5 followers
March 3, 2009
Convoluted plot. The earlier Repairman Jack novels are much, much better than this. I'm just waiting for the end of series, as promised, to see how the author will tie this into the last book of the Adversary series, or maybe I'll skip it altogether.
Profile Image for Grant Howard.
78 reviews5 followers
December 5, 2015
Take something already pretty awesome and add ninjas! Gold.
This is a very action packed violent entry in the series which also sees Jack (finally!) meeting up with the other major player we've all been waiting for.
Profile Image for Jason.
1,179 reviews288 followers
June 27, 2017
3 Stars


By the Sword, Repairman Jack #12 was to me the weakest story in this amazing series and guilty pleasure of mine. F. Paul Wilson has created a special series led by a main character in Jack that always walks the line between good and bad. The Repairman Jack series has developed into one of my very favorite series out there and I can never seem to get enough. Wilson does an amazing job at making each book work as a standalone while at the same time never neglecting the overall story arc. We the reader now not only know that each book and story will have a deeper connection, we expect it. Wilson goes out of his way to tell us the readers and fans that like the last book, this one and the next one will carry into one another, one long story arc. These books will have less of conclusions as they are the last steps leading to the final story.

Jack is one of my favorite heroes/anti-hero of all time.

The blending of a blistering fast paced action thriller with a tiny, albeit meaningful supernatural twist, this series is my cup of tea.

The writing is superb.

The novel's are true page turners.

By the Sword is a story about a legendary Katana that is connected to Jack, the Adversary, and the Otherness. There are some great new characters. My biggest gripe is there was so very little Jack in this story. This whole story was very different and less connected than all of the last 11 books. By the Sword has the most supernatural Otherness going on in it that should have made this one a favorite of mine. Unfortunately, without Jack it is all just meh.

I absolutely love this series, Wilson's writing, and Repairman Jack.

12 books down and now, the end is in sight. I still cannot get enough of Jack and his story. Like the last book Harbingers, this one is one of the darker and scariest Repairman Jack novels of the series. Things have not gone well for our hero. So many bad things have happened. Too many people killed, some were family. The weight of the world rides on our invisible hero.


This series as a whole is guilty pleasure of mine often making me give it even higher marks. I love the writing, the characters, the action, and the tiny bit of supernatural. I cannot wait until my wife finally listens to me and she also jumps in to the world of Repairman Jack.

One of my all time favorite series...
Profile Image for Wendy O'connell.
234 reviews4 followers
January 9, 2025
It's been a while since I read a Repairman Jack novel. I'd say too long because I'd forgotten how much I liked these books. By the Sword, by F. Paul Wilson delivers. It's action-packed with a creative, intricate plot about a possible end of times. Book 11 started this move towards Jack possibly having to save the world, but 12 certainly expanded upon it by utilizing careful research of our evolutionary world spinning towards possible extinction. Book 12 truly takes facts and turns them into fiction. Writer, Isaac Asimov says, "Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not." Jack the Repairman is a solution, a human one, and a funny one. Jack's sense of humor is part of the reason I keep reading...

Bad guy: "Early bird catches the worm."
Jack: "Consider yourself a nightcrawler." - this is after Jack Robin Hoods the bad guy.

As soon as I get my hands on the next book, I shall read with much pleasure.

Profile Image for Cathy Savage.
548 reviews1 follower
August 10, 2020
This is one of a series about a "repairman" called Jack. He is someone you can call to handle things that may not standup to scrutiny in the light of day. This is part of a series and although it would have helped to have read the precursor books, enough detail and explanation was given for this to stand on its own. There were multiple threads to follow which was initially a little confusing but all the ends were tied together nicely by the end of the book. I am not sure if I will go back and read the beginning of the story at this time, but I might in the future. It had plenty (!) of action and was easy to read. Anyone liking action adventure or thrillers might like this.
Profile Image for Dale Rosso.
824 reviews
November 10, 2023
Another great entry in Wilson's Repairman Jack series. Ever since I watched "The Keep", I have found myself drawn to Wilson's novels. Repairman Jack being my favorite series of his, I love the way he blends the Ancient history of the world into and through modern times and events. Jack becoming involved with a search for a Japanese Katana that is both wanted by the kicker cult and a Japanese ancient cult is only icing on Jacks over all story arc in the series.
Profile Image for Michael Norwitz.
Author 16 books12 followers
March 27, 2022
Close to the end of the Repairman Jack series, this one has the character hired to track down a missing samurai sword, leading a an inevitably catastrophic conclusion. I prefer the earlier, less metaphysical stories in the series, and am not much interested in the cosmic battle. Admittedly however Wilson is a superb writer and it's difficult to put this down.
4 reviews
August 16, 2023
AWESOME

Spectacular, as are all Repairman Jack books are. I’ve read and listened to them all, at 10-15 times. It got me through the COVID. LOVE LOVE these books. F. Paul Wilson is a GENIUS!!!
Profile Image for Brett Grossmann.
544 reviews
April 2, 2019
Good not great. Closer to 3 1/2 stars. Book felt like a jumble of characters just being tossed st one another without finesse. Book ends but doesn’t which is a drag as well.
Profile Image for Spurnlad.
479 reviews2 followers
June 13, 2019
Another good episode; building towards the climax in book 15...

Page-turners galore in this series.
126 reviews2 followers
October 18, 2020
It was really enjoyable and engaging except for the action scenes. Action puts me to sleep, that's just me. Love Repairman Jack.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews

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