Wilson, F. Paul 1946–

(Colin Andrews, Mary Elizabeth Murphy, a joint pseudonym, Francis Paul Wilson)

PERSONAL:

Born May 17, 1946, in Jersey City, NJ; son of Francis Paul (a business executive) and Mary (a homemaker) Wilson; married Mary Murphy (an educator), August 23, 1969; children: Jennifer K., Meggan C. Education: Georgetown University, B.S., 1968. Politics: Independent. Hobbies and other interests: Tennis, book collecting, travel, playing drums, guitar, and piano.

ADDRESSES:

Home—NJ. Agent—Albert Zuckerman, Writers House, 21 W. 26th St., New York, NY 10010-1003.

CAREER:

Physician, associated with Cedar Bridge Medical Group, Bricktown, NJ, 1974—.

MEMBER:

Science Fiction Writers of America, Horror Writers of America.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Prometheus Award, Libertarian Futurist Society, 1978, for Wheels within Wheels; Porgie Award for best original paperback, West Coast Review of Books, 1985, for The Tomb; Nebula Award finalist, 1987, for novella Dydeetown World; Bram Stoker Award finalist, 1988, for stories "Dat-Tay-Vao" and "Traps," 1989, for Black Wind, 1990, for Soft, and Others, and 1991, for story "Pelts"; Dydeetown World was named an American Library Association best book for young adults, 1990, and one of New York Public Library's "books for the teen age," 1990; Bram Stoker Award for best short story, Horror Writers of America, 2000, for "Aftershock."

WRITINGS:

SCIENCE FICTION, HORROR, AND SUSPENSE

Healer (also see below), Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1976, 2nd edition, 1992.

Wheels within Wheels: A Novel of the LaNague Federation (also see below), Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1978, 2nd edition, 1992.

An Enemy of the State (also see below), Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1980, 2nd edition, 1992.

The Keep (also see below), Morrow (New York, NY), 1981, 2nd edition, 1982.

Black Wind, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Soft and Others: 16 Stories of Wonder and Dread, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Dydeetown World, Baen (New York, NY), 1989.

The Tery, Baen (New York, NY), 1989.

Midnight Mass, Pulphouse/Axolotl (Eugene, OR), 1990.

Pelts, Footsteps (Round Top, NY), 1990.

Reborn (sequel to The Keep; also see below), Dark Harvest (Arlington Heights, IL), 1990.

Buckets, Pulphouse, 1991.

Sibs, Dark Harvest (Arlington Heights, IL), 1991.

Reprisal (sequel to Reborn), Dark Harvest (Arlington Heights, IL), 1991.

Nightworld (sequel to Reprisal), Dark Harvest (Arlington Heights, IL), 1992.

The Barrens, Wildside Press (Newark, NJ), 1992.

The LaNague Chronicles (includes Healer, Wheels within Wheels, and An Enemy of the State), Baen (New York, NY), 1992.

(Editor and contributor) Freak Show (short stories), Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1992.

(Under pseudonym Colin Andrews) Foundation, Headline (London, England), 1993, published under name F. Paul Wilson as The Select, Morrow (New York, NY), 1994.

(Under pseudonym Colin Andrews) Implant, Headline (London, England), 1995, published under name F. Paul Wilson, Forge (New York, NY), 1995.

(With wife, Mary Murphy; under joint pseudonym Mary Elizabeth Murphy) Virgin, 1995.

(With Matthew J. Costello) Mirage, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1996.

(Editor and contributor) Diagnosis Terminal: An Anthology of Medical Terror, Forge (New York, NY), 1996.

(Under pseudonym Colin Andrews) Deep as the Marrow, Headline (London, England), 1996, published under name F. Paul Wilson, Forge (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Steve Lyon) Nightkill, Forge (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Matthew J. Costello) Masque, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1998.

The Barrens and Others, Forge (New York, NY), 1998.

The Christmas Thingy (e-book), 2000.

The Beast and Me (chapbook), 2001.

The Fifth Harmonic, Hampton Roads (Charlottesville, VA), 2003.

(With Kevin J. Anderson, Janet Berline, and Matthew J. Costello) Artifact: A Daredevils Club Adventure, Forge (New York, NY), 2003.

Midnight Mass, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Robert Bloch, et al.) Completely Doomed, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2007.

"SIMS" SERIES

SIMS (previously published in part as the novellas SIMS: Book One: La Causa, SIMS: Book Two: The Portero Method, and SIMS: Book Three: Meerm, by Cemetery Dance Press), Tom Doherty Associates (New York, NY), 2003.

SIMS: Book 4, Zero, Cemetery Dance Press, Tom Doherty Associates (New York, NY), 2005.

SIMS: Book 5: Thy Brother's Keeper, Cemetery Dance Press, Tom Doherty Associates (New York, NY), 2008.

"REPAIRMAN JACK" SERIES

The Tomb, Whispers Press (Binghamton, NY), 1984.

The Touch, Putnam (New York, NY), 1986.

(Under pseudonym Colin Andrews) Legacies, Headline (London, England), 1998, published under name F. Paul Wilson, Forge (New York, NY), 1998.

All the Rage, Forge (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Ed Gorman) Conspiracies, Forge (New York, NY), 2000.

Hosts, Forge (New York, NY), 2001.

The Haunted Air, Forge (New York, NY), 2002.

Gateways, Forge (New York, NY), 2003.

Crisscross, Forge (New York, NY), 2004.

Infernal, Forge (New York, NY), 2005.

The Last Rakosh, Overlook Collection Press/Tor Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Harbingers, Forge (New York, NY), 2006.

Bloodline, Forge (New York, NY), 2007.

Jack: Secret Histories, Tor Teen (New York, NY), 2008.

By the Sword, Tor Teen (New York, NY), 2008.

Also contributor of teleplay "Glim-Glim" to Monsters, Laurel-TV, 1989. Work has appeared in several collections, including Binary Star, Number 2 (omnibus), 1979; Soft and Others, 1984; and Ad Statum Perspicuum. Work also represented in anthologies, including Asimov's Choice: Dark Stars and Dragon, edited by George H. Scithers, Davis, 1978; Perpetual Light, edited by Alan Ryan, Warner, 1982; Masques, edited by J.N. Williams, Maclay, 1984; Stalkers, edited by Martin Greenberg and Edward Gorman, Dark Harvest, 1989; Between Time and Terror, 1990; Lovecraft's Legacy, 1990; The Mammoth Book of Terror, 1990; Best New Horror 2, 1991; The Mammoth Book of Vampires, 1992; Predators, 1993; The Best of Weird Tales, 1995; Chthulhu 2000: A Lovecraftian Anthology, 1995; David Copperfield's Tales of the Impossible, 1995; Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories, 1995; Night Screams, 1995; 100 Tiny Tales of Terror, 1996; Rivals of Dracula, 1996; Dancing with the Dark, 1997; A Magic-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic, 1997; The Mammoth Book of Dracula, 1997; Millennium, 1997; 999, 1999; Vampire Slayers: Stories of Those Who Dare to Take Back the Night, 1999; and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume Eleven, 2000.

Contributor to periodicals, including Analog, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Night Cry, Startling Mystery Stories, Twilight Zone, and Weird Tales.

NONFICTION

Contributor to Horror: The 100 Best Books, Xanadu (London, England), 1988. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Patchin Review, Reason, Science Fiction Review, Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review, and Social Education.

ADAPTATIONS:

The Keep was adapted for film and released by Paramount, 1983, and was adapted as an audiocassette, Books on Tape, 1983. The Touch was adapted as an audiocassette, Books on Tape, 1987. The Tomb is being adapted for film by Beacon Films.

SIDELIGHTS:

F. Paul Wilson is a prolific and prominent author of works incorporating elements of both the science fiction and horror genres; he is also known for writing medical thrillers. "Wilson has stated in print that he doesn't wish to be labeled as a writer in any particular genre, that he wishes to be free to use styles, themes, and subject matter that appeal to him, rather than those that fit a particular market," noted a contributor to the St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers. "Certainly he has proven to be capable of wide-ranging styles; Dydeetown World, Black Wind, and The Keep read like the works of three entirely different writers. The one thing they all have in common is strong narrative technique and a sense that the author genuinely admires his protagonists."

Wilson began his literary career as a contributor to various periodicals, including Analog, while attending medical school. After graduating, he concurrently pursued writing and medical careers. When asked by Bill Munster in Footsteps about how he juggles two demanding occupations, Wilson replied: "Very carefully. Actually, one keeps me fresh for the other. They're symbiotic. I have the advantage of being in a five-man family practice group which allows me enough free time to write…. Medicine enlarges my human contact—I get to know all sorts of people in the course of the day."

Wilson once told CA: "I misspent my youth playing with matches, poring over E.C. and Uncle Scrooge Comics, listening to [musician] Chuck Berry and [disc jockey] Alan Freed, and watching [TV comic] Soupy Sales and horror movies. I would sneak off on Saturday afternoon to catch science fiction/horror double features, stay up late watching Shock Theatre, and once managed to see King Kong eleven times in one week."

Later in life, Wilson's interest in science fiction and horror became evident through his writing. In 1976 he published his first novel, Healer, which features a hero whose extraordinary powers—derived from the penetration of his brain by an alien parasite—enable him to cure others of a gruesome mental state imposed on them by an evil being in a faraway galaxy. Although uneasy with his great power, the healer nonetheless opposes the cruel originator of the psychotic malady. The result is a confrontation that leads to restoration of interworld harmony as practiced by various members of the goodly LaNague Federation. The St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers essayist described the protagonist as "larger than life," making it difficult for readers to relate to him, but added that "Wilson keeps the plot moving so quickly, the flaw is largely invisible."

Once again Wilson focuses on the LaNague Federation in his second book, Wheels within Wheels: A Novel of the LaNague Federation. In this novel, two prominent business leaders—an old man and a young woman—team up to track the murderer of the woman's father. Their investigation leads them to a sinister organization determined to undermine the intergalactic harmony enjoyed by various worlds belonging to the federation. An Enemy of the State, Wilson's next novel, reveals the origins of the LaNague Federation. Here the heroic Peter LaNague, a libertarian, leads the overthrow of statist forces by undermining their rule through manipulation of economic inflation.

In 1981 Wilson published The Keep. This novel, which reached the New York Times best-seller list, is a tale of unworldly mayhem. The time is 1941, and the place is an obscure fortress in the Transylvanian mountains. German soldiers have occupied the bleak keep, but they soon realize that they are being preyed upon by a mysterious, unseen force that kills them one by one. A squadron of Nazi troops is dispatched to the keep, but they prove unable to mount opposition to the killing entity. A Jewish professor—somewhat of an authority in vampiric evil—is eventually brought to the keep in a further attempt to uncover the source of the evil. Then a strange man arrives from Portugal. It is this stranger, a supernatural being, who eventually fathoms the origin of the keep's destructive force. The result is a confrontation between the forces of good and evil. "Marketed as a horror novel," the St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers contributor remarked, The Keep "is all of that and arguably SF as well; certainly it is not easily classifiable." The Keep was later released as a film by Paramount in 1983. Wilson once told CA that he found the movie "visually striking but perfectly incomprehensible"; critics also generally found the production to be second-rate.

The Tomb, Wilson's next novel, concerns an underground figure, Repairman Jack, whose freelance investigative practices regularly take him outside the law. In The Tomb Jack tracks his former lover's missing aunts while simultaneously searching for another client's lost jewelry. Jack soon enough learns that the cases are related, for both of them involve a band of ferocious demons dominated by a tortured, vindictive Hindu man exacting revenge for an ancient injustice. The Tomb received a Porgie Award.

Wilson has followed The Tomb with many other Repairman Jack books. The Touch, published in 1986, involves a young physician who suddenly finds himself capable of healing people simply by touching them. His power, however, comes at the expense of his own physical well being, and he must race against time to save himself even as he is pursued by a deranged political figure bent on using the healing touch to cure his own considerable illness. According to the St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers contributor, the horror elements are far less pronounced in The Touch than in Wilson's earlier works and are "almost nonexistent in traditional terms in the thoughtful Black Wind."

Black Wind, which is not part of the Repairman Jack series, is the story of a friendship and rivalry between Frank Slater, son of a once-wealthy industrialist, and Matsuo, the nephew of the Slater family's Japanese gardener. The friendship between Frank and Matsuo is tested when America and Japan become enemies during World War II. Furthermore, the two men vie for the affections of Meiko, who is pledged to marry Matsuo's brother Hiriko, a member of a bloodthirsty religious order. Complicating matters even more is the existence of the overpowering Black Wind, which Hiriko and his fellow monks hope to harness for the Japanese war effort.

Dydeetown World, a quintessential futuristic science fiction novel, provides a bleak depiction of a vast, computerized New York City replete with slavish clones and hordes of subway denizens. The novel's hero, Sigmund Dreyer, is a seedy detective hired by a voluptuous clone—derived from Hollywood actress Jean Harlow—to track her lover, a crime boss. Dreyer's investigation leads him into a subterranean culture of murderers, prostitutes (clones, like Dreyer's client, who are developed for sexual purposes), and legions of illegitimate children. These children, Dreyer learns, are being preyed upon for neurological experimentation by the city's ostensibly honorable medical community. The St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers contributor noted that Wilson's exploration of this bizarre milieu allows the writer one of his "rare forays into humor, although the whimsy is always subservient to the plot."

Another science fiction novel, The Tery, concerns the bond between the title character—a strange creature that is part monkey, part bear—and an outcast teenager who, unlike her peers, lacks telepathic powers. They are, in turn, befriended by Tlad, a galaxy-roaming potter who has arrived from Earth to gauge human progress. Through Tlad, the male tery learns that he is actually a human being, one victimized in a scientific experiment. The story plays out with "predictable but very engaging results," the St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers contributor observed.

Reborn, something of a sequel to The Keep, tells the story of an orphan, Jim Hanley, who searches for his biological parents only to discover that he is actually the result of a cloning experiment conducted during World War II. After his death, his pregnant wife is persecuted by religious zealots who claim that her offspring is the infamous Anti-Christ. She eventually comes to suspect that the fanatics may be right.

In 1991 Wilson produced Sibs, a tale of madness and murder. In the novel, a woman arrives in New York City to discover why her twin sister leaped to her death after having sex with two men. The surviving twin, Kara, eventually learns that her sister suffered from childhood trauma that, in turn, led to the development of multiple personalities. When an unwelcome presence seems to threaten her own mental stability, Kara begins to fear that she too may be suffering from the same disorder that led to her sister's death.

Reprisal, Wilson's other 1991 novel, resumes the narrative of Reborn. In Reprisal, Jim Hanley's son shows remarkable intelligence even as a child. By his teens, the boy is managing the family finances and amassing millions of dollars. Posing as an adult named Rafe Losmara, he enters a university and pursues an evil agenda, exacting gruesome revenge against Father Ryan, a character from Reborn. Critics considered Reprisal a compelling novel with especially strong characterizations.

Nightworld, a sequel to Reborn and Reprisal, ends the series Wilson began with The Keep. The events and characters from The Tomb and The Touch are tied in as well. In the apocalyptic Nightworld, the evil entity released in The Keep has grown to power; it assaults all of humanity by wreaking havoc upon the laws of nature and plunging the world into darkness. As human civilization teeters on the brink of collapse, the forces of good and evil clash in a final confrontation.

Wilson, as quoted by the St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers contributor, stated in 1993: "I spent the 1970s writing science fiction, spent the 1980s writing horror of a cosmic sort (with occasional side trips back into SF). I am not sure what the 1990s will bring, but I feel I've said most of what I have to say in the field of supernatural horror. Maybe it's time to move closer to home, come down to street level, to the here-and-now." Wilson did just that with his 1994 political thriller, The Select. He draws from his own personal knowledge of the medical field in this novel in which sweeping reform of the U.S. health care system—something backed, unsuccessfully, by President Bill Clinton—has become a reality, but with disastrous consequences. An elite medical school, financed by a huge pharmaceutical company, practices mind control on its students, whose apparently humanitarian work with the poor is a front for unethical drug experiments. A student who has proven immune to brainwashing sets out to investigate the school's secrets. A Publishers Weekly contributor stated that although an "occasional gratuitous event" jarred its flow, the story is "well and believably told, with the suspense mounting relentlessly until the satisfying conclusion."

Wilson continued writing medical suspense novels throughout the 1990s, following The Select with his 1995 murder mystery, Implant. The novel centers on socially prominent plastic surgeon Duncan Latheram. As members of Congress begin dying mysteriously, Latheram's colleague Gina Panzella makes a connection. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called the novel "a smart, exciting tale that's given added dimension by Wilson's investing the villain with a righteous cause for his maniacal behavior."

In Mirage, written with Matthew J. Costello, technology enables a neurophysiologist to tap into the memory of her twin sister, who is in a coma, unraveling secrets of their past involvement in brain experiments. A Publishers Weekly contributor commented: "The virtual reality sequences … provide stunningly surreal images, compensating for a plot steeped in melodrama." The critic added: "Although the revelatory conclusion may disappoint some readers as too contrived, others may see it as shocking, and most will be entertained by the med-tech details along the way." Deep as the Marrow is another medical thriller, in which the U.S. president is marked for death by a Colombian drug trafficker who fears the president's drug legalization program means the end of his business. A Publishers Weekly critic praised Wilson's realistic portrayal of the president's personal physician, John Van Duyne. Written with Steve Lyon, Nightkill continues this tradition, merging the Mafia, medicine, and politics. A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented that although the novel suffers from "some melodramatic and improbable plot turns," it is "refreshingly offbeat."

Although Wilson's work has been well received by reviewers, he contends that the science fiction and horror genres are not fully appreciated by literary critics, who often reserve their highest praise for books that are based in reality. "If I want to experience ordinary people experiencing ordinary things, I can look at my own life or walk down my block," Wilson observed to Munster. "I don't need to buy a book for that…. Fiction should loose the bonds of everyday life and set you free to go someplace, to meet or be someone that you can't in real life." He continued: "Critics praise examples of the glorified, extended essay as ‘true to life’; and ‘on the mark’; and ‘a great ear for conversation’; and so on. The closer to reality the better. How can science fiction/horror/fantasy get a fair shake from that mind-set? They can't. Our genres deal with extraordinary circumstances involving ordinary—and sometimes extraordinary—people, therefore they are not ‘real writing.’ … We speak a different language, hold different sets of values. It's like a vegetarian trying to trade recipes with a dedicated carnivore."

In Legacies, the author brings back the character of the mercenary outlaw Repairman Jack. The Repairman teams up with Alicia Clayton, the head of a pediatric AIDS clinic in New York, to solve a mystery from Alicia's past dealing with her experiences of sexual child abuse. Repairman Jack helps her as she tries to sell a house of old memories, even while knowing that all the previous sellers that helped Alicia were killed. "Jack still thrills with cliffhanger escapes and ingenious snares for the blundering bad guys," asserted a Publishers Weekly contributor. David Pitt, writing in Booklist, called the book "a clever thriller."

Wilson has continued the "Repairman Jack" books with such novels as Conspiracies, All the Rage, and Hosts. In the first of these, Repairman Jack is trying to hunt down the missing wife of a businessman. The disappearance has extra significance because she was leading conspiracy theorist and was going to announce her unification theory. "This is a funnier novel than the first two," noted David Pitt in Booklist, who also called the book "a well-plotted, spooky thriller." A PublishersWeekly contributor wrote that the "paranormal thriller gains speed and tension with every page." In All the Rage, Repairman Jack helps research chemist Nadia Razminsky look into Dr. Luc Monnet, whose relationship with a Serbian gangster involves drug trafficking in steroids that adversely affects users' behavior so that they act like beasts. A Publishers Weekly contributor called the book "spellbinding." The reviewer went on to note the author "juggles subplots whose unpredictable collisions and complications further accelerate the relentless momentum of Jack's Labors." Bryan Baldus, writing in Booklist, attested that the novel "will satisfy the fans and probably spur newcomers to pick up on what they have been missing." Wilson sets Repairman Jack on the case of cancer patients becoming part of a collective consciousness through a new viral treatment in Hosts. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the this installment "tops for Wilson."

Repairman Jack makes more appearances in The Haunted Air, this time on the case of a child murdering association called the Circle in a world under the spell of the Otherness, and in Gateways, in which his girlfriend persuades him to turn his back on his libertarian beliefs and become a normal member of society with social security and all. But in the process, the Repairman must battle the Otherness, which wants his and Gia's baby. Jackie Cassada, writing in the Library Journal, described Gateways as being "taut and well paced." In a review in Booklist, David Pitt wrote: "Wilson continues to mix the traditional thriller with elements of the supernatural in ways … that appeal to both sides of the genre fence." More "Repairman Jack" novels have followed, including Crisscross, in which Repairman Jack infiltrates the Dormentalists, a pseudoreligious organization with a maniacal leader. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that Repairman Jack is "a hero who achieves both greater humanity and epic stature with each new adventure." Another reviewer for Kirkus Reviews concluded that readers "will … find delight here."

Critical praise for the series continued with publication of Infernal, which finds Jack reconnecting with his estranged brother, Tom, after their father is killed in a terrorist attack at La Guardia Airport. On the run from the law and short on cash, the disreputable Tom persuades Jack to help him conduct a deep sea salvage operation to find buried Spanish gold off the coast of Bermuda. Instead, though, the brothers find the creepy Lilitongue of Gefreda, an object said to transport anyone who touches it into the "Otherness." Deeming the novel "well-wrought," a writer for Publishers Weekly enjoyed its brisk plot, witty dialogue, and believable characters.

In Harbingers Jack agrees to investigate the case of a missing teenage girl. Her rescuers find him and persuade him to help them fight the nefarious otherworldly force called the Adversary. The ensuing danger threatens the lives of Jack's pregnant girlfriend. Though Booklist contributor David Pitt found Wilson's writing rather stale in this novel, a reviewer for Publishers Weekly observed that Harbingers delivers "everything that fans of this excellent and frequently horrific series have come to expect."

After the violent events of Harbingers leave his unborn daughter dead and his girlfriend Gia seriously injured, Jack retreats from the world in Bloodline to nurse Gia back to health and to protect her and her daughter from any further assaults. But he is persuaded, against his better judgment, to help a single mother who asks him to prevent her teenage daughter, Dawn, from continuing her intimate involvement with the much older, and untrustworthy, Jeremy Bolton. As Jack finds out, Jeremy possesses a type of DNA that makes him prone to murderous violence—but his criminal record has been erased by the federal government, which is using Jeremy as a guinea pig for a drug that could be used to control his outbursts. Jeremy's half brother, it turns out, is also carrying this DNA, and the brothers are honoring the wishes of their evil late father to pass it on to the next generation. A writer for Kirkus Reviews described the novel as "fast-moving nonsense that leaves things hanging for the next episode."

Jack: Secret Histories, Wilson's first novel for young adults, is a prequel to the "Repairman Jack" novels. Here the protagonist is a young teenager in New Jersey who, with his two buddies, discovers a corpse and strange stone pyramid box in the woods near town. Curious, the kids begin exploring and uncover evidence of a local cult whose members are dying off. Connie Fletcher, writing in Booklist, was disappointed that this novel provides "only a slim indication of the future Jack," but added that the story is not without excitement. A writer for Kirkus Reviews gave the novel a more positive assessment, praising its interesting characterizations and suspenseful plot.

Wilson collaborated with Matthew J. Costello for the cyber-thriller Masque, which tells the story of a clone who can easily change identities and goes on a mission for his evil employers to steal secrets for them. Along the way, he becomes involved with a widow of someone whose face he has assumed as a "Masque" and with an underground revolutionary army. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that readers "will find pleasures aplenty in this hot fusion of their talents." In another collaborative effort, Artifact: A Daredevils Club Adventure, Wilson teamed up with three other writers to create a story about club of professional thrill-seekers. At their annual New Years Eve meeting, one of their members gets the other members to help him recover an artifact but fails to tell them that it has tremendous power to harness energy.

Wilson's novel SIMS was initially released as the novellas SIMS: Book One: La Causa, SIMS: Book Two: The Portero Method, and SIMS: Book Three: Meerm. In the expanded edition, Wilson presents a medical thriller about half-human, half-simian creatures who have no libido and are used as cheap labor. The novel follows labor relations lawyer Patrick Sullivan as he helps the Sims unionize and watches his life fall apart in the process. In a review in Publishers Weekly, a contributor noted how "each section adds intrigue, portents of doom and layers to the character." Writing in Booklist, Gavin Quinn commented that "Wilson's novel is full of rewarding surprises."

Returning to one of his favorite genres with Midnight Mass, Wilson tells the story of a vampire army that has taken over the world and is being fought by a human insurgency. When Father Joe Cahill joins the fight, he is ultimately bitten and left with two weeks of normal life. A Publishers Weekly contributor felt that the author "works crafty new angles on his theme." Kristine Huntley, writing in Booklist, called the book a "gripping read."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1998.

St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers, 4th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

PERIODICALS

Analog Science Fiction & Fact, January 5, 1981, Tom Easton, review of An Enemy of the State, p. 167; November, 1998, Tom Easton, review of Masque, p. 135.

Armchair Detective, fall, 1996, review of Diagnosis: Terminal: An Anthology of Medical Terror, p. 476.

Best Sellers, October, 19981, review of The Keep, p. 251.

Booklist, January 1, 1979, review of Wheels within Wheels: A Novel of the LaNague Federation, p. 738; July 1, 1981, review of The Keep, p. 1370; September 15, 1984, review of The Tomb, p. 90; May 15, 1986, review of The Touch, p. 1338; June 1, 1988, review of Black Wind, p. 1626; April 15, 1989, review of Soft and Others, p. 1431; July, 1989, review of Dydeetown World, p. 1873; November, 1, 1989, review of The Tery, p. 528; October 15, 1991, review of Sibs, p. 416; January 1, 1994, William Beatty, review of The Select, p. 808; November 1, 1994, Sue-Ellen Beauregard, review of The Select, p. 530; September 1, 1995, William Beatty, review of Implant, p. 43; July, 1996, William Beatty, review of Diagnosis: Terminal, p. 1801; October 1, 1996, review of Mirage, p. 324; February 1, 1997, William Beatty, review of Deep as the Marrow, p. 927; September 15, 1997, William Beatty, review of Nightkill, p. 212; July, 1998, David Pitt, review of Legacies, p. 1867; December 1, 1998, Roland Green, review of The Barrens and Others, p. 655; January 1, 2000, David Pitt, review of Conspiracies, p. 886; October 15, 2000, Bryan Baldus, review of All the Rage, p. 425; April 1, 2003, Gavin Quinn, review of Sims, p. 1381; October 15, 2003, David Pitt, review of Gateways, p. 395; April 15, 2004, Kristine Huntley, review of Midnight Mass, p. 1435; August 1, 2006, David Pitt, review of Harbingers, p. 47; September 15, 2007, David Pitt, review of Bloodline, p. 37; May 1, 2008, Connie Fletcher, review of Jack: Secret Histories, p. 48.

Bookwatch, October, 1991, review of Reprisal, p. 3; February, 1992, reviews of Buckets and Sibs, p. 12; November, 1992, review of Nightworld, p. 10; March, 1993, review of Freak Show, p. 8; February, 1997, review of Diagnosis: Terminal, p. 4.

Chronicle, August, 1987, review of The Touch, p. 54; August, 1989, review of Dydeetown World, p. 40; July, 1990, review of Reborn, p. 32; November, 1990, review of Reborn, p. 40; March, 1991, review of Midnight Mass, p. 34; April, 1991, review of Pelts, p. 29; December, 1991, review of Sibs, p. 14; October, 1992, review of Reprisal, p. 35; November, 1993, review of Night World, p. 45; May, 1998, review of Masque, p. 39; February, 2001, review of All the Rage, p. 41; June, 2001, review of Healer, p. 38; August, 2001, review of An Enemy of the State, p. 34; November, 2001, review of An Enemy of the State, p. 40; December, 2002, review of SIMS: Book Two: The Portero Method, p. 45; August, 2002, review of The Haunted Air, p. 37; October, 2002, review of Conspiracies, p. 36; October, 2003, review of Gateways, p. 40; December, 2003, review of Gateways, p. 36; October, 2004, Don D'Ammassa, review of Crisscross, p. 24.

Drood Review of Mystery, July, 2000, review of All the Rage, p. 22, review of Conspiracies, p. 22; September, 2000, review of All the Rage, p. 12.

Entertainment Weekly, October 19, 2007, Bob Cannon, review of Bloodline, p. 133.

Footsteps, November, 1987, Bill Munster, interview with Wilson, pp. 6-14.

Inside Books, August, 1989, review of Dydeetown World, p. 45.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 1978, review of Wheels within Wheels, p. 977; May 1, 1980, review of An Enemy of the State, p. 611; June 1, 1981, review of The Keep, p. 702; October 1, 1984, review of The Tomb, p. 931; June 15, 1988, review of Black Wind, p. 857; March 15, 1989, review of Soft and Others, p. 417; March 15, 1990, review of Reborn, p. 380; July, 1991, review of Reprisal, p. 891; September 15, 1991, review of Sibs, p. 1180; August 15, 1992, review of Nightworld, p. 1016; December 15, 1993, review of The Select, p. 1551; June 15, 1995, review of Implant, p. 983; May 1, 1996, review of Diagnosis: Terminal, p. 637; January 15, 1997, review of Deep as the Marrow, p. 95; March 15, 1998, review of Masque, p. 374; June 15, 1998, review of Legacies, p. 843; September 15, 1998, review of The Barrens and Others, p. 1323; August 15, 2001, review of Hosts, p. 1163; October 1, 2002, review of The Haunted Air, p. 1425; March 1, 2003, review of Sims, p. 347; September 15, 2003, review of Gateways, p. 1154; February 15, 2004, review of Midnight Mass, p. 154; September 6, 2004, review of Crisscross, p. 50; September 1, 2005, review of Infernal, p. 942; August 1, 2007, review of Bloodline; April 15, 2008, review of Jack.

Kliatt, winter, 1983, review of The Keep, p. 24.

Library Journal, November 1, 1978, review of Wheels within Wheels, p. 2265; November 15, 1991, Marylaine Block, review of Sibs, p. 108; September 15, 1992, Eric W. Johnson, review of Nightworld, p. 96; February 1, 1994, Dan Bogey, review of The Select, p. 114; July, 1995, Ann Donovan, review of Implant, p. 125; September, 1996, Jodi L. Israel, review of Mirage, p. 212; December, 1996, Michele Leber, review of Deep as the Marrow, p. 148; October 1, 1997 Molly Gorman, review of Nightkill, p. 127; May 15, 2002, Michael Rogers, review of Healer, p. 131; October 15, 2003, Jackie Cassada, review of Gateways, p. 102; March 15, 2004, Patricia Altner, review of Midnight Mass, p. 111.

Locus, February, 1989, review of The Tomb, p. 51; August, 1989, review of Dydeetown World, p. 21; November, 1989, review of The Tery, p. 21; February, 1990, review of The Tery, p. 54; July, 1990, review of Reborn, p. 32; August, 1990 review of Soft and Others, p. 50; January, 1991, review of Midnight Mass, p. 21; February, 1991, review of Pelts, p. 60; October, 1991, review of Reprisal, pp. 23, 54; January, 1992, review of Sibs, p. 60; April, 1992, review of Reprisal, p. 49; October, 1992, review of Nightworld, p. 55, review of Freak Show, p. 55; November, 1992, review of LaNague Chronicles, p. 58; June, 1993, review of Freak Show, p. 56; May, 1994, review of The Select, p. 52; June, 1994, review of Sibs, p. 60; August, 1999, review of Conspiracies, p. 27; September, 2000, review of All the Rage, p. 29.

Los Angeles Times, August 14, 1988, review of Black Wind, p. 8.

Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August, 1990, Orson Scott Card, review of The Tery, p. 32; January, 1998, review of Mirage, p. 37; January, 1999, Charles De Lint, review of Legacies, p. 42; July, 1999, Charles De Lint, review of The Barrens and Others, p. 33; October, 2000, Charles De Lint, review of Conspiracies, p. 39; March, 2001, Charles De Lint, review of All the Rage, p. 105.

Mystery Reader, August 19, 2001, review of Hosts.

Necrofile, winter, 1991, review of The Barrens and Others, p. 21; summer, 1992, review of Sibs, p. 26; winter, 1995, review of The Select, p. 27; winter, 1997, review of Diagnosis: Terminal, p. 21.

New Scientist, November 25, 1995, Kate North, review of Implant, p. 55.

Orlando Sentinel, January 28, 2004, Ann Hellmuth, review of Gateways.

PrimeZone Media Network, July 16, 2001, "Stealth Press Offers Sample F. Paul Wilson E-book."

Publishers Weekly, May 16, 1980, review of An Enemy of the State, p. 202; June 5, 1981, review of The Keep, p. 78; September 3, 1982, review of The Keep, p. 58; September 28, 1984, review of The Tomb, p. 100; May 16, 1986, review of The Touch, p. 69; April 7, 1989, review of Soft and Others, p. 125; June 16, 1989, review of Dydeetown World, p. 66; March 20, 1990, review of Reborn, p. 52; July 12, 1991, review of Reprisal, p. 54; September 20, 1991, review of Sibs, p. 121; September 7, 1992, review of Nightworld, p. 80; December 13, 1993, review of The Select, p. 64; August 14, 1995, review of Implant, p. 69; March 25, 1996, Paul Natham, "They Like Him," discussion of Wilson's work, p. 24; June 3, 1996, review of Diagnosis: Terminal, p. 62; June 10, 1996, Paul Nathan, "Better Luck Next Time," discussion of film adaptation of Wilson's novel, p. 47; October 7, 1996, review of Mirage, p. 60; February 17, 1997, review of Deep as the Marrow, p. 210; September 8, 1997, review of Nightkill, p. 57; March 9, 1998, review of Masque, p. 53; June 22, 1998, review of Legacies, p. 82; November 9, 1998, review of The Barrens and Others, p. 61; January 24, 2000, review of Conspiracies, p. 297; August 7, 2000, review of SIMS: Book One: La Causa, p. 297; September 25, 2000, review of All the Rage, p. 93; December 4, 2000, review of The Christmas Thingy, p. 57; November 5, 2001, review of SIMS: Book Two, p. 47; August 19, 2002, review of SIMS: Book Three: Meerm, p. 71; November 4, 2002, review of The Haunted Air, p. 67; March 10, 2003, review of Sims, p. 58; May 26, 2003, review of Artifact: A Daredevils Club Adventure, p. 54; September 15, 2003, review of Gateways, p. 49; March 8, 2004, review of Midnight Mass, p. 55; September 6, 2004, review of Crisscross, p. 50; August 29, 2005, review of Infernal, p. 37; July 31, 2006, review of Harbingers, p. 58; August 13, 2007, review of Bloodline, p. 41.

Rapport: The Modern Guide to Books, Music and More, annual, 1999, review of Masque, p. 30.

School Library Journal, June, 1994, Katherine Fitch, review of The Select, p. 160; July, 1997, review of Diagnosis: Terminal, p. 119.

Science Fiction Review, November, 1981, review of The Keep, p. 54.

Small Press, December, 1990, review of Midnight Mass, p. 46.

Spectator, November 12, 1977, review of Healer, p. 24.

Tribune Books (Chicago, IL), review of Deep as the Marrow, p. 6.

Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 1989, review of Soft and Others, p. 293; February, 1990, review of Dydeetown World, p. 377; April, 1990, review of Dydeetown World, p. 20; June, 1990, review of The Tery, p. 121; February, 1991, review of Reborn, p. 368; April, 1991, review of Reborn, p. 12; December, 1997, review of The Select, p. 297; August, 1998, review of Masque, p. 215; April, 1999, review of Masque, p. 16.

Washington Post Book World, May 29, 1994, Dwight Garner, review of The Select, p. 4.

West Coast Review of Books, February, 1982, review of The Keep, p. 35; May, 1985, review of The Tomb, p. 48; September, 1985, review of The Tomb, p. 48; September, 1986, review of The Touch, p. 33; annual, 1988, review of Black Wind, p. 30.

Wilson Library Bulletin, December, 1989, Gene La-Faille, review of Dydeetown World, p. 121.

ONLINE

AllReaders.com,http://www.allreaders.com/ (October 12, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of All the Rage.

Allscifi.com,http://www.allscifi.com/ (September 12, 2005), Harriet Klausner, reviews of Midnight Mass, Gateways, The Haunted Air, and Hosts.

Books ‘n’ Bytes,http://www.booksnbytes.com/ (March 21, 2003), Harriet Klausner, reviews of The Haunted Air, All the Rage, and Conspiracies.

Dark Echo Review,http://www.darkecho.com/ (March 21, 2003), review of The Haunted Air.

F. Paul Wilson Home Page,http://www.repairmanjack.com (July 2, 2008).

Greenman Review,http://www.greenmanreview.com/ (March 21, 2003), Cat Eldridge, review of The Haunted Air; reviews of The Tom, Legacies, Conspiracies, All the Rage, and Hosts.

Mystery Ink,http://www.mysteryinkonline.com/ (October 23, 2001), interview with Wilson.

SF Site,http://www.sfsite.com/ (March 21, 2003), Lisa DuMond, review of The Haunted Air.

Trashotron,http://trashotron.com/ Rick Leffel (October 24, 2002), review of The Haunted Air.