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F. Paul Wilson
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Black Wind (The Secret History of the World) Kindle Edition

by F. Paul Wilson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 309 ratings
“Black Wind is a stunner. Ambitious, unusual, compelling.” - Dean Koontz

F. Paul Wilson’s powerful World War II novel is an unforgettable historical saga of passion and terror, the ravages of war, the pain of betrayal, and the glory of love.

At the heart of the story are four people torn between love and honor: Matsuo Okumo, born in Japan, raised in America, and hated in both lands; Hiroki Okumo, his brother, a modern samurai sworn to serve a secret cult and the almighty Emperor; Meiko Satsuma, the woman they both love; and Frank Slater, the American who turned away when Matsuo needed him, and who now struggles to repay his debt of honor.

“Of great and captivating sweep.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“The reader comes to care intensely about the fates of the characters...a sharp and intelligent entertainment, a genuine page-turner many notches above standard fare.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“A high-powered page turner, with writing as honed as a samurai sword.”
—Adam Hall, author of The Quiller Memorandum

“A superb feast of storytelling. Intricately plotted, compellingly told; suspenseful, moving, and at times intensely horrifying--F. Paul Wilson’s most ambitious novel so far, and surely his best.” - Ramsey Campbell
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  1. Print length
    484 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Accessibility
    Learn more
  4. Publication date
    June 24, 2010
  5. File size
    1.2 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review



Praise for Black Wind:

“F. Paul Wilson weaves spells with words, and Black Wind is a stunner. Ambitious, unusual, compelling.”
—Dean Koontz

“The reader comes to care intensely about the fates of the characters...a sharp and intelligent entertainment, a genuine page-turner many notches above standard fare.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“A high-powered page turner, with writing as honed as a samurai sword.”
—Adam Hall, author of The Quiller Memorandum

“A superb feast of storytelling. Intricately plotted, compellingly told; suspenseful, moving, and at times intensely horrifying--F. Paul Wilson’s most ambitious novel so far, and surely his best.”
—Ramsey Campbell, author of The Grin of the Dark

“Of great and captivating sweep.”
—Kirkus Reviews



About the Author


F. Paul Wilson is the New York Times bestselling author of horror, adventure, medical thrillers, science fiction, and virtually everything in between. His books include the Repairman Jack novels, including Ground Zero, The Tomb, and Fatal Error; the Adversary cycle, including The Keep; and a young adult series featuring the teenage Jack. Wilson has won the Prometheus Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the Inkpot Award from the San Diego ComiCon, and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers of America, among other honors. He lives in Wall, New Jersey.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003TXT63C
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wilsongs
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 24, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.2 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 484 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0765362926
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 309 ratings

About the author

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F. Paul Wilson

F. Paul Wilson

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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, young adult, 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 55 books and 100 or so short stories under my name in 24 languages.

I guess I'm best known for the Repairman Jack series which ran 23 novels. Jack is out to pasture now, but I may bring him back if the right story comes along.

THE KEEP, THE TOMB, HARBINGERS, BY THE SWORD, and NIGHTWORLD 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 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 20 years in development hell with half a dozen writers and at least a dozen scripts, Beacon Films has decided that "Repairman Jack" might be better suited for TV than theatrical films. (We'll see how that works out.)

I've done a few collaborations too: with Steve Spruill on NIGHTKILL, A NECESSARY END with Sarah Pinborough, THE PROTEUS CURE with Tracy Carbone, and the Nocturnia series with Thomas Moneleone. Back in the 1990s, Matthew J. Costello 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 did two novels together (MIRAGE and DNA WARS) and 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 novel and haunting eBay for strange clocks and Daddy Warbucks memorabilia. (No, we don't have a cat.)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
309 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this historical fiction book compelling, with well-developed characters and excellent writing that makes it a fantastic read. Moreover, the book provides interesting insights into Japanese culture, with one customer noting how it reveals both American and Japanese perspectives on WWII.

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Story qualityReadabilityHistorical accuracyCharacter developmentWriting quality
52 customers mention "Story quality"45 positive7 negative

Customers enjoy the story of this historical fiction book, describing it as compelling with an interesting premise and beyond belief plot.

"...has been treated in fact and fiction before, but this is as good a fictional treatment as I have read anywhere, and is used to great advantage by FPW..." Read more

"...The plot horrifying yet still believable to the point that you don't question its plausibility...." Read more

"...Unlike most of Wilson's other "Secret History" novels, this one is fairly epic and is quite heavy on long-term characterization...." Read more

"...relationship between the main characters, the broken love, it was very moving and the betrayals were shocking and actually hurt...." Read more

38 customers mention "Readability"38 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a fantastic and wonderful read, with one customer noting it gets better with each reading.

"...sword is an important player in the novel, but here is simply an excellent katana, albeit of somewhat ancient and unusual construction...." Read more

"...Not Wilson's best book, but possibly one of the finest books about the underlying personalities of the Pacific war I have ever read...." Read more

"...summaries of the historical events he weaved into the story is awesome in of itself...." Read more

"...(there are some small ties to RMJ) and to anyone who enjoys a great period-piece." Read more

15 customers mention "Historical accuracy"15 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the historical accuracy of the book, with multiple reviews noting it provides interesting insights into Japanese culture and uses real war history. One customer mentions it includes research summaries of historical events, while another highlights how it reveals perspectives from both American and Japanese viewpoints during WWII.

"...There are a number of historical figures depicted much as I know them to be from my reading of history, but the main characters are FPW's creations...." Read more

"...events leading up to the war maybe made up, but they interweave so much historical fact into them that the line between the two is non-existent...." Read more

"...The included research summaries of the historical events he weaved into the story is awesome in of itself...." Read more

"...Since then I have read it once a year. It gives a stunning depiction of cultures that were never discussed in history books...." Read more

14 customers mention "Character development"14 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, noting that the characters are well developed and the story is more in-depth. One customer mentions that the narrative follows the lives of three main characters.

"...The main characters are richly drawn and the interpersonal relations between Japanese brothers, Matsuo and Hiroki, the beautiful Meiko, and Matsuo..." Read more

"...It follows the lives of three main characters, one American and two Japanese, whose lives are intertwined...." Read more

"...The characters are fully developed - to the point that you can ALMOST predict their actions...." Read more

"...The relationship between the main characters, the broken love, it was very moving and the betrayals were shocking and actually hurt...." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as well-written and a page turner, with one customer noting it's the best example of pure mainstream fiction writing.

"...This might be the best example of pure mainstream fiction writing by FPW, especially if you are not particularly into SF and/or fantasy...." Read more

"...Black Wind actually felt like true higher literature...." Read more

"...she was right . this book was a real page turner. loved it...." Read more

"A very well written and interesting story. A easy 5 for this...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • James Tepper
    5.0 out of 5 stars At the top of the A list
    Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2011
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    "Black Wind" is one of only two novels that are part of the "Secret History of the World" but that are not part of either the Adversary Cycle or the Repairman Jack Series (the other is "Sibs"). Even though I have been an avid fan of all 21 novels comprising the two series just referred to, plus several other novels and anthologies and written by FP Wilson, somehow I never read Black Wind until this week, immediately after reading the last RJ entry, "The Dark at the End". I was immediately sucked into this rich tapestry of life in the early part of the 20th century in the US and Japan. While the novel does contain the FPW trademarks of horror/fantasy (the titular Black Wind), even discounting these, it is wonderfully complex with several unexpected plot twists and not one but two bona fide love stories. The main characters are richly drawn and the interpersonal relations between Japanese brothers, Matsuo and Hiroki, the beautiful Meiko, and Matsuo's American friend Frankie are deeply intertwined.

    This is historical fiction at its best. The setting flips back and forth between Japan and California from the 1920s through the end of WWII. FPW really did his homework on this one and it shows clearly. There is some really good authentic Japanese thrown in and used in a way so as to define it in context (a lá Shogun), and great examples, in deeds and discussion, of traditional Japanese cultural values of honor, obligation (several different kinds) and debt. The conspiracy theory concerning what we knew about the attack on Pearl Harbor, and when, has been treated in fact and fiction before, but this is as good a fictional treatment as I have read anywhere, and is used to great advantage by FPW. There are a number of historical figures depicted much as I know them to be from my reading of history, but the main characters are FPW's creations. The tie-in with the "Secret History of the World" is, as most FPW fans could have predicted, through an ancient katana sword that is bequeathed to Matsuo, the main character, early in the novel. The sword is an important player in the novel, but here is simply an excellent katana, albeit of somewhat ancient and unusual construction. For RJ fans, the 2008 novel, "By the Sword" is, in many respects, virtually a sequel to Black Wind, as well as an integral part of the beginning of the end-game of the Secret History of the World.

    This might be the best example of pure mainstream fiction writing by FPW, especially if you are not particularly into SF and/or fantasy. Make no mistake, there are some pretty horrific scenes in this one too, it's just that they are the icing rather than the cake itself, in contrast to much of the Adversary Cycle and Repairman Jack in which the fantasy and horror aspects tend to take center stage. I can't say enough good things about Black Wind. It has quickly jumped right to the A-list of my all-time FPW favorites. The novel is completely stand-alone - one doesn't have to have read anything else by FPW for full appreciation, but for fans of RJ and the Adversary Cycle, it does fill in a few blanks, and as I mentioned, fans of Black Wind will probably want to read the sequel, By the Sword.

    Very Highly Recommended.

    JM Tepper
    23 people found this helpful
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  • jhotterstrom
    5.0 out of 5 stars Why did I wait do long to read this?
    Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2011
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I've read most of F Paul Wilson's other works, but for some reason always stayed away from this one. Twenty plus years later, I happy to say that I wish I hadn't waited. Not Wilson's best book, but possibly one of the finest books about the underlying personalities of the Pacific war I have ever read. The political machinations behind events leading up to the war maybe made up, but they interweave so much historical fact into them that the line between the two is non-existent. The plot horrifying yet still believable to the point that you don't question its plausibility. I hate comparing books to other works, but on this one I think I have to. Fifteen years ago I read through Herman Wouk's WWII Saga, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. This book while not quiet as epic in scope of character's a places, is the Pacific version of that tale. It's also just as good.

    For fan's of Repairman Jack(like me) while this isn't a must read, it will provide background for a story in the later books in the series.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Chad Cloman
    4.0 out of 5 stars Historical fiction with a bit of the bizarre thrown in
    Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2020
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    For those familiar with F. Paul Wilson's works, this story is part of his "Secret History of the World" but is not part of the Adversary Cycle or the Repairman Jack series.

    The novel covers the period from about 1926 to 1945. It follows the lives of three main characters, one American and two Japanese, whose lives are intertwined. It ties in with the Repairman Jack novels by including additional information on the Gaijin Masamune katana and the order of the Kakureta Kao, both of which appear in that series.

    Unlike most of Wilson's other "Secret History" novels, this one is fairly epic and is quite heavy on long-term characterization. Also, there's not much horror involved like there is with, say, "The Keep". Overall I enjoyed it, and you don't have to be a "Secret History" fan to like it. It gives an involved peek into the history Japan and America during WWII and pre-WWII, which is probably its greatest strength. Think of it as historical fiction with a bit of the bizarre thrown in.

    Recommended if you are a fan of Wilson's or if you like historical fiction
    5 people found this helpful
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  • A Reviewer
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of F. Paul Wilson's finest!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2013
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This novel is one of my favorite stand-alone novels of all time. The included research summaries of the historical events he weaved into the story is awesome in of itself. The characters are fully developed - to the point that you can ALMOST predict their actions. So many other reviewers (look at the most helpful first) have really hit on story in a way I am incapable of describing. This is one of a very few novels that I have marked for rereading.

    If you read Repairman Jack already, you probably have a good idea on the basic premise of how the story ends. You probably have a good idea from the history books on how it is going to end when you get close, but that does not in any way take away from the magnificence of this novel - or the elements of surprise that remained. If you haven't read Repairman Jack/Secret History, I'd hit F. Paul Wilson's website and read them in the suggested order. There is no need to delay reading this one. Buy it now!
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • L. Evers
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wilson at his best.
    Reviewed in Canada on September 4, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Such a great great book. I tremendous piece of fiction intertwined with some great historical facts. Great stand alone book but also part of Wilson's Secret History of the World.
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  • JOY
    5.0 out of 5 stars fave book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2014
    Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase
    ive read this many times over the years, its my fave book, unputdownable, highly recommended to all as it includes something for everyone; sex, violence, intrigue, war, science fiction, horror, romance ...enjoy!
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  • One happy chappy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Finally on kindle. My paper copy is dropping to bits. Really enjoyable read. Great mingling of Japanese culture with the fiction bits.
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  • Zerfer
    1.0 out of 5 stars Superficial and Boring
    Reviewed in Canada on April 22, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Boringly pulpy historical fiction. Seriously lacking verisimilitude, and, despite various reviews I read praising the "research" it all smacked of a series of superficial visits to the Japan section of the public library. There is even a very tedious (and tacky) italicized pages-long excerpt from some book, including the copyright sign and publishing info! So he didn't even finish his research and expects us to pick it up ourselves right in the middle of a story/novel! That has to break some kind of golden writing rule. Skip this book. I only read it because it's listed as part of a chronology of books that includes the Adversary Cycle although I fail to perceive any possible connection at the moment.
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  • cartman
    4.0 out of 5 stars A must for all Wilson fans.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This is a long drawn out novel but it's theme is brilliant and well constructed. I'm glad I've already read all of Repairman Jack's novels before this, as it makes sense of this novel. I will now re-read all the Repairman Jack novels as the "secret history" becomes complete and will make the journey more enjoyable. I rate this theme of "secret history" alongside Stephen King's "Dark Tower" stories. (P.S. - This is NOT a Repairman Jack novel )
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