Admittedly, I have not read any of the other books of the series, but I had head a lot of good things about it and thought this was a good opportunity to give it a try. Apparently, it was not. Though I surely missed some of the background explained in the previous books, it was possible to get the gist of what was going on, however I wished there was some more introduction for naive readers like me starting in the middle (or end) of a series.
Apart from that, I had a hard time to connect to any of the characters, as the plot seemed rushed and somewhat unpolished - even the writing was not as top-notch as I would have expected, at best I thought it was practiced, but not outstanding or remarkable. In the end, this was just an OK read for me - I wonder if this umpteenth sequel shares the fate of so many series which have just been going on for too long and are long dead and done before the author seemed to have recognized it. I do have a copy of The Keep which I will definitely dig out of my stack and get into sooner or later and of which I still have the highest expectations, but I'm not sure I will follow the series to the very end from there.

There’s really not a whole lot to this book. It’s a novelette prequel to the full length novel, Nightworld, by the same author., which is awesome by the way. This chronicles the handful of days or weeks leading up to the events in the novel, and it’s mildly interesting if you’ve read that, or are going to read it. If you have no intention of reading the novel than it’s interesting for the characters, and a few moments of horror, but it’s not actually a story. It very much feels like something that was excised from the original novel, like a scene that was cut from a movie. Nevertheless I did get caught up in the characters, and there are a few moments of real suspense. There’s not enough here to say it was great. It doesn’t even count as a short story as there’s no real plot, but I liked it because it fits well with the full novel which I really enjoyed.
This is a book only for completists, perhaps. It won’t disappoint, but it’s not wholly necessary.

This was good, not great. SIGNALZ leads right up to the events in NIGHTWORLD and does a brilliant job of keeping your interest in its own story. For those that are new to F. Paul Wilson, this is not the book to start with. It is another in a long series of books in his Adversary Cycle. Fast-paced, well-written and downright original.

This was a good book but I don't think I was the target audience. I didn't know going into this that it was set in the world of prior novels by this author so I don't think I had the connection other readers probably would to this author's work. I'm giving it a 3/5, not because of the story, but just because it wasn't for me personally. I think it would be more enjoyable to someone who knows more what they are going into, or if they are a fan of this author's work, etc.

I love the Repairman Jack series and the Adversary Cycle - but I haven't read either in quite some time. I was delighted when I saw that there were new stories in this universe, with this and The Last Christmas. I think this book was every bit as marvelous as the earlier books in the series. I do think it helps to have some familiarity with the series, conceptually, but as I didn't remember very many details beyond the fleeting sense that several of the names were familiar and an understanding about Nightworld as a concept, I had no difficulty following the story or enjoying it on its own merits.

I thought the characters were marvelous and liked the way their stories were interwoven. I've seen a number of other reviewers comment on Wilson inserting himself into the story. This didn't bother me at all - I actually liked it. But then again, I tend to like when actors or authors break the fourth wall. I thought it gave a nice surreal feel to the story as a whole, which reinforced its underlying nature in a way that I felt enriched the tale rather than detracted from it. Is it arrogant to put yourself in your books, maybe. But it didn't bother me here...

I how Wilson keeps finding ways to reinvigorate this universe of characters - I'll read 'em all, and likely reread the older books while I'm at it!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. Another great book by this author. He never lets his readers down. Suspenseful and hard to put down.

Once again, F. Paul Wilson has pulled me (quite willingly) into his "Secret History of The World". I've been a Repairman Jack fan for near 20 years, and I've read ALMOST all of the other SHOTW books.
This book was written in his unique and brilliant style. Moving seamlessly between viewpoints and locales, it runs at a breakneck pace.

A note to new readers: Although Signalz CAN be read as a stand-alone, a lot of the characters and events occurred in other Wilson books. (Most notably Repairman Jack: The Last Christmas and Wardenclyffe). Reading these would help in understanding this wonderful piece of "Secret History".
What an amazing way to fold Tier Hill, Ernst Drexler and others into a book that...

SPOILER ALERT!





Led right up to NIGHTWORLD!

Well done, sir. Well done.

Sorry- if you're hoping for a Repairman Jack book, this isn't it. But, it's still really good! This story by F. Paul Wilson is about the beginning of the end of the world. Everything is going along swimmingly and then wham! A truck disappears into a mountainside, a writer disappears through a hole in the floor, and a girl sprouts spider legs. There are several stories happening concurrently but they all come together in the end. This book leaves you on a cliffhanger- will the world end? I certainly will be reading the next one to find out.
Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read an ARC of this book.

For a while there, I was a huge F. Paul Wilson fan, reading everything that he wrote and finding his older books in used bookstores. I completely enjoyed Repairman Jack (and highly recommend the series to everyone), although towards the end the meshing with the Adversary Cycle took Jack far from his origins. But still I enjoyed the overarching meta-story and world that Mr. Wilson created.

So I was looking forward to returning to that world with “Signalz: An Adversary Cycle Novel”. The first thing that hit me was that I remembered very little of the side characters and of the story in general, it was only towards the very end that I (kind of) remembered the “Nightworld” beginning and premise. This novel captures 3-4 stories that immediately precede “Nightworld”: A girl from Missouri who’s visiting NYC awakens from a coma with certain peculiarities, A forensic accountant tracks down an organization who seems to be preparing for a global catastrophe, An author hits a little too close to a secret order’s purpose, and the leaders of the secret order learn some information that questions the whole purpose of the order.

Mr. Wilson writes with his usual style and flair, doing a great job at putting these people into unexpected situations and drawing the different story threads together into one big finale – this man is great at plot and character building, dialogue could be a bit better. But in the end, I felt unsatisfied, I could not understand what the purpose of this story was – did it add anything to the meta-story? I guess we find out some more about some side characters, and how the Nightworld affected others, but after finishing this book there was no sense of satisfaction, just frustration that this was just part of a build-up to something else. And I also have to admit that I dislike when an author inserts a version of himself into the story – it takes away from the suspension of belief and seems to be a smug self-congratulations.

Although this can be read as a stand-alone novel, I would highly recommend reading most of the Adversary Cycle before this, otherwise this will make no sense whatsoever – you need the overall context. I read most of those books 15+ years ago and I was completely lost for most of the story, I cannot see how a newcomer to the series would get anything out of this at all.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Crossroad Press / Macabre Ink via NetGalley. Thank you!

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

As a fan of Repairman Jack I was not missing this book. It is a novella from before Nightworld. The story is typical of Wilson with an eeriness not many could match.

Since it is a novella not much could be said without giving much away. But know that this is typical Wilson and a part of the Repairman Jack series you should not miss.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Let me begin by saying I have been a reader of F. Paul Wilson since I first bought “The Keep”--100 years ago or something like that...And Repairman Jack is the best mild-mannered superhero ever put to print.

Now comes this prequel to The Adversary Cycle books. Now honestly it’s been years since I read that set and my mind is a little fuzzy on the details of that world or where Repairman Jack did or didn’t fit. This should have been a fun ride, that even if I didn’t know the Adversary Cycle series I would want to run out and buy it. Instead, I just wanted to run.
Too many plots going at once as Wilson seemed to try to force them into the world of The Adversary. I for one did not like the addition of P. Frank Winslow. Regardless of how clever it may seem for the writer to add a version of themselves into the story, it isn’t.
I hated it when Stephen King added himself to the Dark Tower series and it works just as bad here. Way too much “Look at me, I’m a great, clever, prolific writer, who has taken you all on a silly ride just to pay my rent.
I’m very disappointed and wish I had decided not to read this.

I received this book free from Crossroad Press, Macabre Ink, and Netgalley for my honest, unbiased review.

I love Wilson's series so consider me biased. Signalz works as a standalone novel, but it will, probably, bring most entertainment to readers passionate about Repairman Jack series.

Always A Creepy Good Adventure!
If you have read any of the Adversary Cycle or Repairman Jack books this is a must read. Even though I have already read Nightworld it didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed this book it just made it better. Every chapter switches between three main characters. Love the play on the writers name. Not going into detail about the story but it’s classic F. Paul Wilson and I loved it.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

There was a point where F. Paul Wilson’s Repairman Jack series was one of the few “day one purchase” kind of books that came out. The saga of a New York City “repairman” who fixes situations, not appliances, the Jack saga was clever and fun, giving you a sort of modern take on the Yojimbo/Man with No Name/Sam Spade type, who can investigate a situation and get to the heart of what’s going on, but whose solutions are more about outthinking everyone than violence.

As the Jack series neared its end, it linked back up with Wilson’s Adversary Cycle, a horror sestet that culminated in Nightworld, a truly apocalyptic novel in which every thread from the Jack books and the Adversary Cycle came together to create something genuinely nightmarish and unforgettable. It was a great capper to both series, bringing the story of Jack to a close, and wrapping up Wilson’s “Secret History of the World.”

Or, seeming to. Because in the past year, Wilson has revisited this world twice. First came The Last Christmas, a standalone Jack book set months before the apocalypse. And now comes Signalz, which takes place immediately before Nightworld, serving as a direct prequel to that story’s horrors.

This is a lot of background, I know, but all of it is kind of necessary, because let me be honest: I’m not sure Signalz will mean anything to anyone not already invested in these series. But even for those who are, Signalz may leave you wondering exactly what about this story needed to be told, because there’s little here that adds anything necessary or even that interesting to the already existing story.

Signalz is, more or less, a triptych of a novel, following three plot threads that intertwine on the eve of the apocalypse. In one, a young girl from a small town becomes affected in nightmarish ways by a signal of unknown origin; in the second, an author whose stories keep coming very close to reality finds himself in the crosshairs of the powerful Septimus Guild; and in the last one, an effort to investigate the actions of that same guild leads to a discovery of something truly unexpected.

All of these stories are fine enough on their own. The last one is probably the slightest, but it features at least one great sequence set in a car under a starless sky which almost makes it worth reading on its own. The author’s story gets very, very meta - if you’ve read the Jack books, this is a continuation of the P. Frank Winslow storyline that showed up briefly and then disappeared just as quickly - and while that’s a little fun, there’s little sense that we needed this story other than that readers kept asking Wilson “what ever happened with that Winslow guy?” As for the  girl’s story, it’s the highlight of the book, but feels more like a short story that was grafted into the novel awkwardly; the way in which her story intersects with the others is probably the single most jarring moment of the book, and feels very tacked on.

There are some other tidbits here - efforts to connect another Wilson book into the mythology here, as well as some followup on a character introduced in The Last Christmas - but in the end, nothing in Signalz feels all that essential. More than anything, Signalz feels like a collection of loose ends and story pieces that Wilson had lying around, and just kind of tossed into one book together. It’s readable as Wilson always is, and there are some fun sequences, as well as some great horrors. But none of it feels important, or particularly worth coming back to this world to explore. And by the time I finished the book, my main thought was not “man, that was a wild ride,” but “why did he write this book?” Which, you know, isn’t a reaction you really want.

Look: if you’re a diehard fan, you’ll read Signalz. And you won’t hate it - it’s got some great moments, and Wilson still knows his way around a scare. But this feels like a collection of deleted scenes and postscripts tossed into a novel, not something that we really needed. It’s not bad…but that doesn’t make it good.

This is the first book I've ever read by this author and it stands alone very well. Creepy and fresh. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

Signalz is the newest addition to the Adversary cycle. It can be read as a stand-alone novel but is a prequel to Nightworld, the sixth book of the series. I really enjoyed this book, which falls into the horror and dark fantasy genre. Its a fun read with a good bit a substance. It starts off with a situation that grabs you and pulls you right into its gaping maw with no looking back. Signalz follows the actions of a girl that falls into a coma after hearing a strange noise in Central Park, NYC. There is an evil cult that has foretold the end of the world, and people wittingly and unwittingly falling into a web of intrigue trying to find out what is going on. There are three different story lines woven throughout the book that are parallel but connected. As I was reading, I was curious as to how they would come together. I won’t give more away than that!

I have only read the first book in this series so I was not familiar with many of the characters, which I assume will be familiar to those who have read the full cycle. I liked the P. Frank Winslow character which added a “At the Mouth of Madness” kind of feel to the tale. There are some nods to Lovecraft in the book while Wilson mostly stays focused in his own complex world. My only complaint is that there was a few bits of clunky dialogue here and there, but I am really picky about dialogue. Readers who want more from the Adversary Cycle will be happy for this addition to the lore and readers (like me) are going to want to read the full cycle after this. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

F. Paul Wilson has added another tasty morsel leading up the last installment of his Adversary Cycle Nightworld novel with Signalz. A novella length work where the Signalz and new characters were first introduced in Wilson’s last novel The Last Christmas continues – where we get to know what the Signalz means; a countdown to Nightworld. This was a fast entertaining read and an interesting addition to Wilson's Adversary Cycle and Secret History of the World canon. You expect nothing less from F. Paul Wilson.

I'm a loyal fan of the Repairman Jack series, and even though Jack doesn't make an appearance in this book, I jumped at the chance to be in his world again.

It's been years since I read Nightworld, but I went back and scanned the last couple chapters to reacquaint myself with what was happening - and that made me miss Jack, Abe, and Gia even more.  Still, I enjoyed meeting these new characters, joining them on their dangerous, unpredictable journeys, and seeing how their stories intertwined.  This is a short novel, but the length didn't hinder character development - they're all well-drawn.  And I adored the play on Wilson's name with one of the characters.  

This is a fast-paced, action-filled read with some horrific moments, but I wouldn't recommend diving into this book if you haven't read the series.  If Wilson turns this into a series, I'm fully on board and will read every book - but I'd sure love if Jack made an appearance!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the first book I've read by this author, and likely won't be the last. This is obviously a prequel and indeed sets up a very interesting "history" to other stories. There were many characters so I initially thought it would get confusing, but the author does a fine job of keeping everything clear and moving forward until ultimately the characters converge, as you know they ultimately will. Nice blend of the fantasy and modern day reality with a cast of interesting characters in a very imaginative and surreal reality that is thrown their way.

A new novel in Wilson's End of the World series, this feels like the first of a mini-series. I suppose one could read the book as a standalone, but it certainly helps to have the backdrop of the overall saga, and the ending is open-ended enough to leave room to revisit some of the characters,.

Wilson is an entertaining writer, and this is no exception. The story moves quickly, the dialogue is crisp, the characters are well drawn, the plot threads are nicely woven together, and the action/horror sequences are thrilling.