It isn’t a tragedy that F. Paul Wilson is no longer writing. He left us an unparalleled legacy of remarkable fiction that defies easy categorization. Paul always delivered the goods with intelligent stories, solid medical or scientific reasoning, believable characters, and excellent pacing.
Not only that, F. Paul Wilson is one of the founding fathers of modern horror fiction. If he had merely written The Keep, published in 1981, he should be listed among the genre’s greatest writers. Wilson followed up The Keep with dozens of excellent novels and short stories.
The truly sad thing is how so few seem to talk about F. Paul Wilson these days. I rarely see him brought up by the social media peanut gallery. His books don’t sell well at my dealer tables. Oh, let me put a William Johnson or J.N. Williamson book up there. It’s like the old movie: gone in sixty seconds. A genuine master like F. Paul Wilson languishes in obscurity.
F. Paul Wilson told me he was cancelled by Tor. He didn’t go into detail, but I’m pretty sure it was due to his signature character Repairman Jack’s stance on the Second Amendment. Guns are a crucial part of the Repairman Jack books.
I’m a guy who thinks there are way, way too many guns in society. I don’t have a problem with responsible gun owners, even though I’ve never and never will own one. The last thing the world needs is another anxiety-ridden numbnuts running around carrying a deadly weapon. Sadly, there are a hell of a lot of irresponsible gun carriers walking around. It’s scary out there.
F. Paul Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke a few years ago. He more or less recovered, but he lost the ability to write. I hate that, but the wonders he left us are plentiful. Whether he wrote horror, science fiction, medical thrillers, adventure, or conglomerates of them all, his books are uniformly brilliant.
I thought I’d read them all. I never missed a new Wilson when one was published. I’ve been re-reading the books here and there. Rediscovering the wonders within.
There was a transitory period where Paul was moving away from the Repairman Jack character and into new directions for his fiction. He did a few collaborations along the way. There were a couple with Matthew J. Costello and one with Sarah Pinborough. I liked it all, but these books didn't rank among my favorite Wilson works.
2013 was a rough year for yours truly. I was struggling with a lot of things, and my reading suffered during the period. F. Paul Wilson collaborated with Tracy L. Carbone on a novel called The Proteus Cure. I dutifully bought it, listlessly read a few pages, then put it down. I figured I’d get to it soon.
Which I did. It only took thirteen years.
I honestly forgot about The Proteus Cure. It was hiding in one of the shelves I rarely look at. I was glancing over them, deciding what to keep, what to sell, and what to donate. I saw The Proteus Cure and a light went off in my head. Eureka! An unread F. Paul Wilson!
As for Tracy L. Carbone, I remember her well. She was a member of the Shocklines message board and an important figure in the horror fiction community. Carbone formed Shadowridge Press, which was one of the better small publishers of the day. Shadowridge did some damned nice books by writers like Dennis Etchison, Manly Wade Wellman, George Clayton Johnson, and Peter Adkins. Shadowridge also published The Proteus Cure.
I’m not sure how the writing was split between Paul and Tracy, but The Proteus Cure reads exactly like a great F. Paul Wilson medical thriller. Many elements of his work are in the story: A smart, capable woman lead, an enigmatic everyman counterpart with hidden depths and secrets, a conspiracy within the world of medical research, and a deadly threat to people's health and lives.
Sheila works at a cancer facility called Tethys, helping patients who are administered a radical new cure. She loves her job, her bosses, and what she does to help desperate people. Until some disturbing things begin to occur. Patients who received the cure are coming forth with most unusual symptoms. Perhaps it’s merely a coincidence? But people begin to disappear or even die under mysterious circumstances. Something fishy is going on.
Sheila enlists the help of a man whose son received the cure. He’s terrified because the boy is undergoing serious molecular changes that may have come from stem cell treatments he received at Tethys.
The chase is on. The more Sheila learns, the more terrified she becomes. She gradually realizes she may be fighting for more than her patients. Her own life is on the line.
An intriguing concept, breakneck pacing, characters to both love and hate, and a dose of moral ambiguity. What more could you ask from a thriller?
If you’re a fan and missed The Proteus Cure, make an appointment to dig up a copy. If you have not read F. Paul Wilson, do not fret. His many books are easily obtainable. Libraries used to be stocked with his titles, and there may still be a few at your local branch. If not, buy a copy of The Keep. Or maybe get on board with one of my favorite characters of all time, Repairman Jack, and read The Tomb. Any one of his medical thrillers will do. The Proteus Cure may not quite hit the top of my F. Paul Wilson list, but it wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
Now I suppose I really am finished. Unless Paul becomes well enough to write again, or in the unlikely event a trunk novel is unearthed, I’ve read them all. If fiction were realiy I’d like to see him get the proteus cure, risks and all, if that would get him writing again.
Written by Mark Sieber
Not only that, F. Paul Wilson is one of the founding fathers of modern horror fiction. If he had merely written The Keep, published in 1981, he should be listed among the genre’s greatest writers. Wilson followed up The Keep with dozens of excellent novels and short stories.
The truly sad thing is how so few seem to talk about F. Paul Wilson these days. I rarely see him brought up by the social media peanut gallery. His books don’t sell well at my dealer tables. Oh, let me put a William Johnson or J.N. Williamson book up there. It’s like the old movie: gone in sixty seconds. A genuine master like F. Paul Wilson languishes in obscurity.
F. Paul Wilson told me he was cancelled by Tor. He didn’t go into detail, but I’m pretty sure it was due to his signature character Repairman Jack’s stance on the Second Amendment. Guns are a crucial part of the Repairman Jack books.
I’m a guy who thinks there are way, way too many guns in society. I don’t have a problem with responsible gun owners, even though I’ve never and never will own one. The last thing the world needs is another anxiety-ridden numbnuts running around carrying a deadly weapon. Sadly, there are a hell of a lot of irresponsible gun carriers walking around. It’s scary out there.
F. Paul Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke a few years ago. He more or less recovered, but he lost the ability to write. I hate that, but the wonders he left us are plentiful. Whether he wrote horror, science fiction, medical thrillers, adventure, or conglomerates of them all, his books are uniformly brilliant.
I thought I’d read them all. I never missed a new Wilson when one was published. I’ve been re-reading the books here and there. Rediscovering the wonders within.
There was a transitory period where Paul was moving away from the Repairman Jack character and into new directions for his fiction. He did a few collaborations along the way. There were a couple with Matthew J. Costello and one with Sarah Pinborough. I liked it all, but these books didn't rank among my favorite Wilson works.
2013 was a rough year for yours truly. I was struggling with a lot of things, and my reading suffered during the period. F. Paul Wilson collaborated with Tracy L. Carbone on a novel called The Proteus Cure. I dutifully bought it, listlessly read a few pages, then put it down. I figured I’d get to it soon.
Which I did. It only took thirteen years.
I honestly forgot about The Proteus Cure. It was hiding in one of the shelves I rarely look at. I was glancing over them, deciding what to keep, what to sell, and what to donate. I saw The Proteus Cure and a light went off in my head. Eureka! An unread F. Paul Wilson!
As for Tracy L. Carbone, I remember her well. She was a member of the Shocklines message board and an important figure in the horror fiction community. Carbone formed Shadowridge Press, which was one of the better small publishers of the day. Shadowridge did some damned nice books by writers like Dennis Etchison, Manly Wade Wellman, George Clayton Johnson, and Peter Adkins. Shadowridge also published The Proteus Cure.
I’m not sure how the writing was split between Paul and Tracy, but The Proteus Cure reads exactly like a great F. Paul Wilson medical thriller. Many elements of his work are in the story: A smart, capable woman lead, an enigmatic everyman counterpart with hidden depths and secrets, a conspiracy within the world of medical research, and a deadly threat to people's health and lives.
Sheila works at a cancer facility called Tethys, helping patients who are administered a radical new cure. She loves her job, her bosses, and what she does to help desperate people. Until some disturbing things begin to occur. Patients who received the cure are coming forth with most unusual symptoms. Perhaps it’s merely a coincidence? But people begin to disappear or even die under mysterious circumstances. Something fishy is going on.
Sheila enlists the help of a man whose son received the cure. He’s terrified because the boy is undergoing serious molecular changes that may have come from stem cell treatments he received at Tethys.
The chase is on. The more Sheila learns, the more terrified she becomes. She gradually realizes she may be fighting for more than her patients. Her own life is on the line.
An intriguing concept, breakneck pacing, characters to both love and hate, and a dose of moral ambiguity. What more could you ask from a thriller?
If you’re a fan and missed The Proteus Cure, make an appointment to dig up a copy. If you have not read F. Paul Wilson, do not fret. His many books are easily obtainable. Libraries used to be stocked with his titles, and there may still be a few at your local branch. If not, buy a copy of The Keep. Or maybe get on board with one of my favorite characters of all time, Repairman Jack, and read The Tomb. Any one of his medical thrillers will do. The Proteus Cure may not quite hit the top of my F. Paul Wilson list, but it wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
Now I suppose I really am finished. Unless Paul becomes well enough to write again, or in the unlikely event a trunk novel is unearthed, I’ve read them all. If fiction were realiy I’d like to see him get the proteus cure, risks and all, if that would get him writing again.
Written by Mark Sieber
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