The Dark at the End: A Repairman Jack Novel

More than 30 years in the planning, Wilson’s 15th and final novel (after Fatal Error) of urban mercenary Repairman Jack and his role in the battle for Earth between two cosmic consciousnesses known as the Ally and the Otherness ends with a bang and a whimper that perfectly suits its apocalyptic designs. When Jack hunts down Otherness avatar Rasalom with enough firepower to take out the small Long Island town where his enemy has holed up, Rasalom proves to have the resilience of a comic book supervillain. Rasalom’s plans—to eliminate the Lady, an embodiment of Earth’s sentience, and to nurture an anti-Christ–like child who will fulfill his malignant plans for “the Change”—torque the plot into refreshingly unpredictable territory. The finale, which deftly ties together the series’ many subplots, plays out on a surprisingly human scale. Though Wilson promises several prequels, this thriller fittingly concludes one of the most consistently entertaining series in modern fantastic fiction. (Oct.)