Ground Zero

By: F. Paul Wilson

Narrated by: Christopher Price

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

On September 11, 2001, a man drifts in a boat off lower Manhattan as the twin towers burn. He removes a small box from his pocket and presses a button. As he waits for the south tower to collapse, he thinks: The vast majority will blame the collapse on the crazy Arabs who hijacked the planes and the Islamic extremists who funded them - the obvious choice. A few will notice inconsistencies and point fingers elsewhere, blaming the government or Big Oil or some other powerful but faceless entity. No one - absolutely no one - will guess the truth behind the who and why of this day. Years later, someone does. Repairman Jack's childhood friend Weezy Connell (the genius girl from Jack: Secret Histories) has started fitting together the pieces of the puzzle and anonymously posting her conclusions on the Web. But she can't stay anonymous forever. Someone is after her. Jack becomes involved in her troubles and in the paranoid mazes of the 9/11 Truth Movement, where conspiracy theories point in every direction. They're all wrong. The truth is stranger, darker, and more evil than anyone can imagine. It involves the cosmic shadow war into which Jack has been drafted. And if the plot behind it - millennia in the planning - succeeds, it will forever change life on this Earth.

©2013 F. Paul Wilson (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Totally forgettable.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This is part of The Adversary/Repairman Jack/Secret History sequence. And that is the problem. It feels like a "check back later/buy my next book" filler. There's too many plot lines leftover from previous books and this story does absolutely nothing to advance the series; totally forgettable.

The story has too many new characters, all introduced to little effect. All the characters, including Jack, are pure cardboard. There's way too much chatter and exposition. (This Secret History stuff takes ALOT of telling, not showing). There's way too little of Jack "fixing" stuff. We get a few teases of thrills or horror. But it never really delivers. Although that Fhinntmanchca stuff certainly had some serious horror potential.

In my opinion, there's too much effort put into one of the author's main conceits of this series: There are no coincidences. So the author struggles to link every single person and every single momentous world event to Jack and the ancient struggle between the adversaries. Only it all really feels lazy here. Each new coincidence/linkage brought on a shrug of "so what" rather than feelings of wonder. So why keep this theme running so relentlessly?

This summer, I read some of the earlier novels in this sequence: The Tomb, The Keep, The Black Wind, etc., and it seems to me those earlier novels were never conceived as a series. And those stories are so much more satisfying than this later stuff. Wilson is a good writer, so I'd still rather slog through one of his weaker efforts than most of the stuff that's out on the market. Even so, this isn't something I'd recommend to anyone.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Christopher price returns!

awesome as usual. so thankful Christopher price returned to narrate this one. he just adds another dimension to the stories.

Repairman Jack versus the 911 Conspiracy

What made the experience of listening to Ground Zero the most enjoyable?

The writing . The story was very engaging.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. As I stated - very engaging story without going way out there conspiracy-wise.

What about Christopher Price’s performance did you like?

Initially I thought that the voice used to characterize the main character Jack was too bland and average. Then, upon thinking about it, that is precisely what the character would sound like - intentionally.

Who was the most memorable character of Ground Zero and why?

Jack of course. He is our POV character and our protagonist. His moral code make him the unconventional but enviable hero.

Any additional comments?

A good series entry as it comes to the head.

Keeps getting better

The story keeps getting better. The pace increases towards its amazing end.
Binge listening is a great way to enjoy it

The origional narrator is back.

Love the repairman jack series. bummed when they switched narrator for last 2 books so happy to hear his voice again. to me he is the voice of jack

Amazing as Usual!!!

Great story but can feel it wrapping up and I don't want it to end!

Good to have Mr. price back!

I spent the whole listen enjoying having Mr. price back reading. The story continues, develops, and surely does not disappoint. This series, though it started almost like individual books, has turned episodic. Each book is merely an installment. This book seems to have definitively turned that corner.

RJ

Narration is fantastic and I felt like I was watching the story from the character's perspective. This is my second favorite book on the series. Can't wait to read the next one.

The real Jack is back

The real voice of Jack is back. I didn't like the other reader. I think the last two books should be done over with this persons.

Ahhhhhhhh - he's back

If you could sum up Ground Zero in three words, what would they be?

It is great to have Christopher price back. Jack now sounds normal and my overall enjoyment level is back. Great yarn, great narration.