I have previously posted on F. Paul Wilson‘s works that make up his interlocking series of works called the Secret History of the World, which includes the Repairman Jack series as well as the Adversary series, the ICE trilogy, and more. I had thought he was more or less done with this, but found he had done further works.
This time I look at The Hidden, a two-novel series (duo? duology?), as well as a shorter work. I’ll be looking at other works in the future, including another two-novel series.
The Hidden duology is made up of The Upwelling and Lexie, and is set in “Year Zero Minus Two” in the overall Secret History sequence. Both came out in 2024 and are published by Macabre Ink, an imprint of Crossroad Press.
The Secret History has a lot of H.P. Lovecraft concepts. We learn that our world is a battleground between two rival forces in the cosmos, but a very insignificant world to these forces. One is the Ally, the nominal “good guys.” And the Otherness are the “bad guys,” who would “change” the world and destroy it in the process. The battle here on Earth is done through proxies. The Adversary represents the Otherness, opposed by the Sentinel. There is also a mysterious Lady who appears in most of the books, always in a different form and always with a dog. Who and what she is is a mystery you will discover. And as to this “history,” we learn of past people and civilizations, secret occult works, and more.
Things start off after the “Atlantic City Upwelling”, when a storm and upwelling of water wipes out Atlantic City — but in an unnatural way. Everything is destroyed, and all life is gone. No bodies left. We meet our three main characters, beginning with Pam Sirman who is having her late husband cremated. But his body won’t burn. Then it’s stolen. Two friends were visiting Atlantic City with two others, and someone survived, but they don’t know how. Chan Liao is a software developer, and Danni Boudreau is an FBI agent. She is pulled into the investigation of what happened in Atlantic City. As they go along, Chan discovers his involvement in what happened in A.C.
We learn of another player in this cosmic game, the Squatter. And we learn of a strange group of people called The Hidden, mainly made up of a group of women and children. They include a strange girl named Lexie.
Things move on with another horrifying event, the Catskills Cataclysm. And we meet another group, the Troika, a trio of NSA agents made up of a set of twins and a cousin. They are well aware of the Secret History and start working with Chan and Danni. We even find out there are parallel realities where things go in different ways. Then things go sideways in a big way. Can they save the world? At least for the moment?
As we aren’t yet at the end of things, I wonder if we will get further works that will include these people in the future.
Another work I read recently is Wardenclyffe, a novella that is available in a single volume. As the title implies, it involves Nikola Tesla‘s Wardenclyffe installation and its impact on the world. Most of the story is set in 1903 and ’06, with framing set in the 1930s and ’40s.
The story is told by electrical engineer Charles Atkinson, who joins Tesla in 1903. An English immigrant and recent graduate of M.I.T. with a secret of his own.
When Tesla struggles financially with his project after J.P. Morgan doesn’t come through with the rest of the promised funding, another group steps in to help. One that those familiar with the Secret History will be familiar with: The Septimus Order, led by a certain Rudolph Drexler. They have their own reasons for funding the effort. And we get a visit from a strange lady with a dog as well. What happens, and why does this lead Tesla to shut it all down?
As I don’t expect we’ll get more stories with Repairman Jack, these small additions to the overall Secret History are welcome. I’ll be posting on Wilson’s Duad pair of novels soon.
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