Scenes from the Secret History (The Secret History of the World) by F. Paul Wilson Page B
Authors: F. Paul Wilson
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the trouble to drag these things here and set them up like this?”
Weezy shook her head. “ Stonehenge was set up as a sort of solar calendar. Maybe this is something like that. Maybe the sun shines through one of these cracks and – ohmygod!”
“What?”
“Our pyramid. I’ll bet they placed it right here in the center so that at certain times of the year a shaft of sunlight hit it and…”
“And what?”
She looked at him with a lost expression. “I don’t know. But I’ve got to know. And I will know.”
But Jack was thinking about something else. He did a slow turn, taking in the placement of the megaliths, the spaces between, the way they were tilted inward, making them virtually impossible to climb…
He felt a little squeeze in his chest as it all came together.
“I don’t know about sunbeams and that sort of stuff, but look around. Imagine you’re a tiger or a lion… those openings are wide enough to toss food inside but too narrow for something big to squeeze through. I think this is some sort of cage.”
The story continues here… Jack: Secret Circles
1984
JACK: SECRET VENGEANCE
The concluding volume of the Teen Trilogy. Jack meets Glaeken for the first time, but thinks he’s just a strange old dude who happens to know Mrs. Clevenger.
This is where you see Jack developing his knack for solving problems from the shadows. All sorts of bad stuff befalls the folks who deserve it, but it seems like bad luck. Or if it looks like they’ve been set up, they have no idea who was behind it.
Readers want to know more about Jack than I’m willing to tell. His last name, for instance. Truth is, even I don’t know his last name because I’ve never given him one. They also ask about his childhood – what sort of upbringing did he have? (The child being father to the man, and all that.) That was another reason I started the trilogy.
What surprised me most was how much fun I was having with these books. I delighted in peeking into Jack's past and populating it with people who would play parts in his later life, or arranging cameos of characters from other novels. (Longtime readers of the series were delighted with a cameo by one of their fave characters.) I also made sure that the teen books fed into the larger story being played out in the adult series.
The books practically wrote themselves. Like taking dictation.
At its heart the trilogy is all about friendship and self-discovery and the secrets that hide behind the façade of everyday life.
Book three starts on an ominous note…
JACK: SECRET VENGEANCE
(sample )
SUNDAY
Weezy was attacked on a Saturday night
1
“Jack,” his mother called from down the hall. “Weezy’s on the phone.”
Jack poked his head out from under the covers, forced his eyes open, and checked the clock on the table next to his bed. He saw 8:13 in glowing red numbers. He squinted at his window. A cloudy morning sky peeked around the edge of the drawn shade.
“I’ll call her back.”
“She says it’s important.”
What could be important at eight thirty on a Sunday morning?
Groaning, he slid out of bed, pulled on his jeans, and padded barefoot down the hall past his brother’s and sister’s empty bedrooms. Tom was finishing law school in Jersey City and Kate had started med school in Stratford. He veered right, into the kitchen where his mother was cracking eggs, and picked up the receiver lying on the counter.
“Hey.”
“Jack, I need to talk to you. Real bad.”
“Well, hello, stranger.”
Except for brief conversations at the school bus stop, they hadn’t seen too much of each other lately.
“I’m serious, Jack. I really need to talk.”
Something in her voice… he couldn't put his finger on it, but he sensed she was upset. She didn't get along too well with her folks, especially her dad. Weezy was a little too
Weezy shook her head. “ Stonehenge was set up as a sort of solar calendar. Maybe this is something like that. Maybe the sun shines through one of these cracks and – ohmygod!”
“What?”
“Our pyramid. I’ll bet they placed it right here in the center so that at certain times of the year a shaft of sunlight hit it and…”
“And what?”
She looked at him with a lost expression. “I don’t know. But I’ve got to know. And I will know.”
But Jack was thinking about something else. He did a slow turn, taking in the placement of the megaliths, the spaces between, the way they were tilted inward, making them virtually impossible to climb…
He felt a little squeeze in his chest as it all came together.
“I don’t know about sunbeams and that sort of stuff, but look around. Imagine you’re a tiger or a lion… those openings are wide enough to toss food inside but too narrow for something big to squeeze through. I think this is some sort of cage.”
The story continues here… Jack: Secret Circles
1984
JACK: SECRET VENGEANCE
The concluding volume of the Teen Trilogy. Jack meets Glaeken for the first time, but thinks he’s just a strange old dude who happens to know Mrs. Clevenger.
This is where you see Jack developing his knack for solving problems from the shadows. All sorts of bad stuff befalls the folks who deserve it, but it seems like bad luck. Or if it looks like they’ve been set up, they have no idea who was behind it.
Readers want to know more about Jack than I’m willing to tell. His last name, for instance. Truth is, even I don’t know his last name because I’ve never given him one. They also ask about his childhood – what sort of upbringing did he have? (The child being father to the man, and all that.) That was another reason I started the trilogy.
What surprised me most was how much fun I was having with these books. I delighted in peeking into Jack's past and populating it with people who would play parts in his later life, or arranging cameos of characters from other novels. (Longtime readers of the series were delighted with a cameo by one of their fave characters.) I also made sure that the teen books fed into the larger story being played out in the adult series.
The books practically wrote themselves. Like taking dictation.
At its heart the trilogy is all about friendship and self-discovery and the secrets that hide behind the façade of everyday life.
Book three starts on an ominous note…
JACK: SECRET VENGEANCE
(sample )
SUNDAY
Weezy was attacked on a Saturday night
1
“Jack,” his mother called from down the hall. “Weezy’s on the phone.”
Jack poked his head out from under the covers, forced his eyes open, and checked the clock on the table next to his bed. He saw 8:13 in glowing red numbers. He squinted at his window. A cloudy morning sky peeked around the edge of the drawn shade.
“I’ll call her back.”
“She says it’s important.”
What could be important at eight thirty on a Sunday morning?
Groaning, he slid out of bed, pulled on his jeans, and padded barefoot down the hall past his brother’s and sister’s empty bedrooms. Tom was finishing law school in Jersey City and Kate had started med school in Stratford. He veered right, into the kitchen where his mother was cracking eggs, and picked up the receiver lying on the counter.
“Hey.”
“Jack, I need to talk to you. Real bad.”
“Well, hello, stranger.”
Except for brief conversations at the school bus stop, they hadn’t seen too much of each other lately.
“I’m serious, Jack. I really need to talk.”
Something in her voice… he couldn't put his finger on it, but he sensed she was upset. She didn't get along too well with her folks, especially her dad. Weezy was a little too
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