Mirage [Import] [Paperback]

F. Paul Wilson & Matthew J. Costello (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Headline; New Edition edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747253145
• ISBN-13: 978-0747253143
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,127,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born toward the end of the Jurassic Period and raised in New Jersey where I misspent my youth playing with matches, poring over Uncle Scrooge and E.C. comics, reading Lovecraft, Matheson, Bradbury, and Heinlein, listening to Chuck Berry and Alan Freed, and watching Soupy Sales and horror movies. I sold my first story in the Cretaceous Period and have been writing ever since. (Even that dinosaur-killer asteroid couldn't stop me.)

I've written in just about every genre - science fiction, fantasy, horror, a children's Christmas book (with a monster, of course), medical thrillers, political thrillers, even a religious thriller (long before that DaVinci thing). So far I've got about 33 books and 100 or so short stories under my name in 24 languages.

THE KEEP, THE TOMB, HARBINGERS, and BY THE SWORD all appeared on the New York Times Bestsellers List. WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS won the first Prometheus Award in 1979; THE TOMB received the Porgie Award from The West Coast Review of Books. My novelette "Aftershock" received the 1999 Bram Stoker Award for short fiction. DYDEETOWN WORLD was on the young adult recommended reading lists of the American Library Association and the New York Public Library, among others (God knows why). I received the prestigious Inkpot Award from San Diego ComiCon and the Pioneer Award from the RT Booklovers Convention. I'm listed in the 50th anniversary edition of Who's Who in America. (That plus $3 will buy you a girly coffee at Starbuck's.)

My novel THE KEEP was made into a visually striking but otherwise incomprehensible movie (screenplay and direction by Michael Mann) from Paramount in 1983. My original teleplay "Glim-Glim" first aired on Monsters. An adaptation of my short story "Menage a Trois" was part of the pilot for The Hunger series that debuted on Showtime in July 1997.

And then there's the epic saga of the Repairman Jack film. After 14 years in development hell with half a dozen writers and at least a dozen scripts, THE TOMB is finally moving toward production as "Repairman Jack" from Beacon Films and Touchstone. The plan is to make Jack a franchise character. (Gotta tell you: all the years of this has worn me out.)

I've done a few collaborations too. One with Steve Spruill on NIGHTKILL, and a bunch with Matthew J. Costello. Matt and I did world design, characters, and story arcs for Sci-Fi Channel's FTL NewsFeed, a daily newscast set 150 years in the future. An FTL NewsFeed was the first program broadcast by the new channel when it launched in September 1992. We took over scripting the Newsfeeds (the equivalent of a 4-1/2 hour movie per year) in 1994 and continued until its cancellation in December 1996.

We did script and design for MATHQUEST WITH ALADDIN (Disney Interactive - 1997) with voices by Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters, and the same for The Interactive DARK HALF for Orion Pictures, based on the Stephen King novel, but this project was orphaned when MGM bought Orion. (It's officially vaporware now.) We even wrote a stageplay, "Syzygy," which opened in St. Augustine, Florida, in March, 2000.

I'm tired of talking about myself, so I'll close by saying that I live and work at the Jersey Shore where I'm usually pounding away on a new Repairman Jack novel and haunting eBay for strange clocks and Daddy Warbucks memorabilia. (No, we don't have a cat.)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for any sci-fi, mystery, or horror fan., January 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mirage (Hardcover)

F. Paul Wilson and Matthew Costello take you on an unbelievable journey through the human psyche. When nuerophysiologist Julie Gordon learns that her estranged twin sister has fallen into a coma Julie travels albeit unwillingly to her side. Once Julie is there she realizes her chance to try an experimental virtual reality scanner she devoloped. Against the wishes of her partner in the development of the machine Julie travels on a risky journey through her sister's subconscious mind. What truths come to Julie through these episodes bring a frightening revelation to Julie and a truth about the lives of her entire family. Mystery, horror, and mix of sci-fi will keep you reading through the twists and turns of this well written, emotionally draining tale of family secrets. An excellent read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Weird!, April 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Mirage (Mass Market Paperback)

This book wasn't too bad, but it was strange. The descriptions of Sam's memoryscape were a little too wordy at times, but I did enjoy this book. I do recommend it but, if you want to read a real page-turner by F. Paul Wilson then get The Select.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Bit too long, November 18, 2001

By 

Mandy O'Neill (Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mirage (Mass Market Paperback)

Excellent idea but stretched a little too far. The basic premise, simulation of a person's psyche on computer, is tantalising. I felt the characterisations were believable but the various twists and turns were too predictable and seemed to be deliberately laboured. I reckon the book is 2 chapters too long and would have benefited from a hard-nosed editor demanding more pace, less self-indulgent self-analysis.