Reborn

This entry in [[[The Secret History of the World]]] series is by far the quietest and slowest-burning so far. It's downright quotidian for easily three quarters of the reading. And then.....when Wilson unleashes the horror..... it's arresting beyond words.

Jimmy and Carol can't have a baby; Jimmy can't get anything published; Jimmy gets an unexpected bounty in the form of a gaudy inheritance. That Carol is having downright blood-thirsty nightmares and urges, though some of the urges tend toward the basely sexual, too, is the only clue that we're not in Kansas any more, Toto.

The book calls back to the epic ending of [The Keep], where the malevolent presence is supposed to be vanquished - but we should all know better than that. This show more time, instead of a magic sword-wielding hero, we've got a weird Catholic Pentecostal sect of true believers who want to conduct a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, back-room (or in this case, kitchen) abortion. Honestly, I'm not sure how this book got published since the Satanic Panic hadn't completely died down when it was written. But I'm glad it did - it's a corker, in the end.

4 bones!!!! mainly because it was quotidian for too long.
Highly Recommended!!!! show less

I have been doing a deep dive into F. Paul Wilson’s Secret Histories and even though I am only five books in I have to say they are a lot of fun. Reborn is the best of the Adversary Cycle so far and what a ride. For those who are not familiar with Wilson’s Books, The Adversary Cycle, Repairman Jack and a smattering of other books and short stories all coalesce into The Secret History of the World. The two series focus on happenings in our world which we might not be aware of. Primarily supernatural in scope but focusing on two entities who have been chasing each other, mostly since the beginning of time. Good and Evil. In the midst of all the excitement mere mortals with more than mere mortal talents and ambitions find themselves in show more the mix. This leads to some very interesting story telling.
The Reborn is dark and disturbing but fun. Wilson has no qualms about getting lost in his writing and fewer qualms about dragging the reader into the deep end of the pool.
The Plot. A young couple inherits an estate from a reclusive family member and while happiness and security may seem like it is around the corner, heartbreak could easily be waiting for them. Throw in some religious fanatics, well placed and ill timed accidents, along with some visuals that will burn through the retina straight into the brain and there you have it.
There are moments in Reborn that will cause the reader to calmly set the book down, look in the mirror and ask themselves….WTF. There are moments in Reborn that will cause the reader to drop the book and question why the writer is torturing you. Wilson has said himself that at times he has found himself walking away from his writing. He insists that it is not gratuitous and is needed for the plot. I one hundred percent agree with these statements. It makes for effective writing. The author is going to give you your due and put you through your paces as he drags you along. He is going to make you believe that what he is writing can and will happen…… “Wait…you mean it can’t?” show less

Set in 1968 in New York City, the novel starts with Dr. Roderick Hanley, a Nobel Prize winning geneticist, dying in a plane crash. This sets in motion a chain of events that will facilitate the rebirth of an ancient evil entity. With Hanley’s death, Jim Stevens, a struggling writer and proud atheist, inherits Hanley’s vast fortune. In the process, he finds out about his own history and the strange way he came into the world. Meanwhile a group of Christians have been brought together to combat this ancient entity. They believe that they are trying to stop the anti-Christ, but the being is actually far worse than Satan. Mr. Veilleur is the only one who seems to know what is actually going on and he is very reluctant to join in the show more fight.

I found this novel to be layered and enjoyable. The writing is strong and there is a good deal of dramatic tension. The novel took a surprising twist a little past the half way mark, which seemed to confuse myself as well as the characters in the novel. The book had a number of interesting characters. I liked the dynamic between Jim Stevens and his childhood friend who became a priest. To complicate matters, there is a love triangle between them and Jim’s wife. There were a couple of things I didn’t like. One was the connection between a person being a clone and not having a soul, and how that can lead to this evil entity occupying them. That part wasn’t particularly explained well. I also thought there were some story lines that didn’t go anywhere, such as the priest’s fascination with the politics of the day, and an orphan boy who couldn’t get adopted. Despite this, I enjoyed reading this novel and would recommend it.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street show less

Jim Stevens is the central character of this story, set in 1968. He was adopted as a child and has never known his birth parents. Now a world-famous scientist, Roderick Hanley, has died and left the bulk of his estate to Jim, who concludes that Hanley must have been his father. Poring over Hanley's papers for some confirmation of this, and any clue about the identity of his mother, Stevens learns that he is actually the product of a secret WWII cloning experiment. He undergoes a bit of an identity crisis, but that's only the beginning--the worst is yet to come.

Predictable at times, but still a good story. I might have enjoyed it more if I didn't know how it was going to end, but that's my own damn fault for reading the Repairman Jack books before the Adversary Cycle. The next time I read this glorious mess of a series, I'm doing it in chronological order.

Well, this one was just okay. It didn't seem to have the same punch as either the Tomb or The Keep but it was still okay, and kind of takes the reader the direction in which the series is going to go. Would I recommend it? Yes, but, you would be very strongly advised to read beforehand Wilson's books (in this order): The Keep, The Tomb, The Touch. Otherwise, (especially read The Keep) you're going to be a little mystified if you start with this book, because you won't know the backstory. So, if you're following the series, and you're an F.Paul Wilson junkie like myself, then I would recommend it.

Here's the basic story (hopefully w/o spoilers):
Jim Stevens is a young writer who is married to Carol. Jim receives a letter from an attorney show more telling them that his presence is requested at the reading of the will of Roderick Hanley, who had recently died in a plane crash. Jim wonders why he needs to be there, then puts two and two together and decides that it must have been Roderick Hanley who was his natural father; Jim had been put into an orphanage from which he was adopted as a baby. So to make a long story short, Jim inherits Hanley's mansion and his fortune, which is huge. But as Jim is going through the things left behind by Hanley, he finds a bizarre journal leading to a fateful discovery about himself. It is not long until this journal is made public, and not long until an odd group of religious believers come together for a common purpose. If their work is not successful, the world as humankind knows it will change forever.

It was suspenseful and I didn't stop reading until I put the book down. However the plot mechanism outside of Jim's story is somewhat worn so it lost its edge. I did like it, though, & look forward to the next in the series. show less

It is 1968, and the ancient evil that was killed in The Keep is struggling to be reborn, in the small Long Island town of Monroe.

Part of the Adversary Cycle, which feeds into the Repairman Jack books.