wards that imprison an evil entity. The incidents
that follow suggest that the creature is a vampire,
but it is actually a very different entity, one shrewd
enough to make use of the Germans to further its
own plans. Although the link is at times tenuous,
Reborn(1990) is a sequel that borrows from sci-
ence fiction. The protagonist is the clone of a dead
scientist, and that makes him the target of a group
of religious fanatics who believe that he is the An-
tichrist. The creature from the keep returns late in
the book, and an equally strong but virtuous
enemy renews the battle. Two more installments
followed, Reprisal(1991), set decades later after
the creature has established himself, and Night-
world(1992), which is so filled with apocalyptic
battles that the reader becomes rather jaded.
Wilson’s second supernatural series has a
much smaller scope but is far more interesting and
consistently entertaining. Repairman Jack is a man
who has managed to remove all records of his exis-
tence from the system, living by performing odd
jobs, usually bending if not breaking the law, some-
times using violence, and concealing his existence
by means of several false identities. Although Jack
does not shrink from breaking the law when he
thinks it justified, he has ethical standards and
only accepts job when he feels the issues are, if not
morally defensible, at least neutral. He first appears
in The Tomb (1984), which started a separate
strain of linked stories that also culminate in Night-
world.In this case Jack is hired for two separate
jobs that seem unrelated but that will eventually
merge, a formula that repeats itself throughout the
series. The supernatural threat this time is a ship
full of Indian demons who are suitably dispatched,
although some of their number escape.
Jack’s second adventure, Legacies (1998), is
only marginally fantastic, but in Conspiracies(2000)
he discovers that the demonic creatures he de-
feated once before are after him again. Blood from
those creatures can be used to concoct a new drug
that turns ordinary people into homicidal killers in
All the Rage(2000), and yet another drug causes
users to share a dangerous group persona in Hosts
(2001). In The Haunted Air(2002) Jack investi-
gates a building haunted by the spirits of murdered
children, sacrificed by a cult that sought immortal-
ity through human sacrifice. Gateways(2003), the
weakest of the series, involves a woman who can
magically summon a mysterious swamp creature.
The most recent installment is Crisscross(2004).
The Repairman Jack series is currently being devel-
oped for the movies.
Wilson has also written several nonseries nov-
els, many of them medical thrillers. The Touch
(1986) is in that mode but has some fantastic con-
tent as well. Midnight Mass(1990), a short novel set
in a world dominated by vampires, was expanded
dramatically in 2004 and released as a disappoint-
ing film that same year. Most of Wilson’s short fic-
tion has also been supernatural horror, much of
which was assembled as The Barrens and Others
(1992). Among his better short works are “Buck-
ets” (1989), “Pelts” (1990), and “Good Friday”
(1999). He is a skilled, reliable writer who is at his
best when his supernatural menaces are compara-
tively low-key, allowing him to concentrate on his
well-drawn and usually likeable protagonists.The Wind in the WillowsKenneth Grahame
(1908)
Kenneth Grahame’s only full-length novel for chil-
dren is the most important, and probably best writ-
ten, talking animal fantasy ever written, although
some critics suggest it may have been intended for
adults, since it is quite complex and at times di-
gresses into philosophical discussions deemed to be
over the heads of children. In fact, two chapters
have been dropped from some editions to stream-
line the story. Although Grahame’s protagonists
are animals, they behave and live in a society that
is essentially a mirror of our own. Toad, the most
interesting of the characters, is obsessed with auto-
mobiles, particularly fast and flashy ones, a failing
that eventually gets him arrested.
Toad’s companions and rescuers, Badger, Rat,
and Mole, were all brought to life on the screen in
the 1949 Disney animated version and two more
recent films, and unlike many children’s fantasies,
the images from the novel seem to have remained
vivid with most adults. Their antics are comic, but
the story demonstrates the values of friendship and
loyalty and the pitfalls of acting impulsively and
unwisely. Even the villainous weasels are appealing
characters.The Wind in the Willows 385