2015 Bookroll

I took most of the year and read a single series by genre-jumper F. Paul Wilson. I ran across his Repairman Jack series near the end of 2014 (around the time Agnes was born) and was enthralled. Wilson wrote 20+ books around this central character and an epic adventure spanning millennia. He refers to it as The Secret History of the World. The idea intrigued me. His core material was the five-volume Adversary Cycle, one of which introduced Jack as a character. He then began filling in the gaps and writing more Jack books and other short stories that touched on the events of and themes of the core conflict between Rasalom and Glaeken. To that end, I spent much of the year engrossed in that long narrative. It was a lot of fun. If you enjoy mystery books with a central character (think Jack Ryan or Jack Reacher), you might want to try these out. I recommend reading the order from the Secret History of the World, linked above. 

Cold City - Jacks's first adventure begins

The Keep - set in WW2, this spin on the vampire will surprise you

Dark City - continuing Jack's progression to Repairman extraordinaire

Fear City - the conclusion of the early Jack years, finishes with a bang

The Tomb - the first Jack novel from the Adversary Cycle and the appearance of the Rakoshi

Legacies - Jack helps out an estate conflict and learns about free power

Reborn - The third Adversary cycle book chronicles the rebirth of Rasalom, thought to have been killed at the end of the Keep. 

Aftershock and Others - has a few stories that relate to the Secret History

Conspiracies - UFO hunters, Nichola Tesla, and a hole that leads to nowhere

All the Rage - a new drug made from Rakosh blood wreaks havoc in New York and Jack's own life

Hosts - When Jack's sister shows up in New York needing help, the reunion gets tricky when she calls on Jack accidentally. 

The Haunted Air - a house with a supernatural past is now the home of two "mediums." How will their little scheme play out when a real ghost shows up?

Gateways - When Jack's dad is the victim of a hit and run, he rushes to South Florida to help. Trouble follows him, or is it already there. 

Crisscross - The main story advances as a missing persons case for Jack. All the while a global conspiracy is hiding inside a Scientology-like church organization. 

Infernal - When Jack's brother needs help, Jacks ends up taking a trip to Puerto Rico. What he finds puts all he loves in danger. 

Harbingers - After rescuing a friends niece from some ritualistic weirdos, Jack runs afoul of a group of highly trained vigilantes, related to the twins he saw go down the hole in Monroe a few years ago. 

Bloodline - Jack's special talents may be more than coincidence. It might be in his blood to feel the Otherness. 

By the Sword - the appearance of mythical samurai sword keeps the events of the Secret History rushing toward their conclusion, especially when Glaeken shows up. 

Ground Zero - What if the terror attacks of 9/11 were orchestrated to bring about Rasalom's return?

The Touch - the third Adversary book follows a doctor who can heal with a touch. But it costs him too. 

Reprisal - The fourth Adversary book takes place in North Carolina and follows disgraced priest Bill Ryan as he is hounded by Rasalom, who will stop at nothing to even the score.

Fatal Error - Why would you want to crash the internet? To eliminate the noosphere, of course. 

The Dark at the End - While Jack can't engage Rasalom directly, his continued friendships with Weezy and Eddie reveal some interesting discoveries back in their childhood home. 

Nightworld - When holes begin to appear and things from the other side begin to emerge, you know the time has come to finish the Adversary Cycle and end the Jack storyline too. 

I also read most of The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. 

I attended a lecture series by Brian Godawa with my fifteen-year old and read through some of his book, Hollywood Worldviews. 

I managed a read through Kevin DeYoung's book, What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? 

As the year draws to a close, I am reading a few items. I'm re-reading Donald Kagan's The Peloponnesian War. I'm about halfway through One Shot, by Lee Child (the Jack Reacher book that formed the backbone of the Jack Reacher movie starring Tom Cruise).