Lexie by F. Paul Wilson
Crossroad Press (September 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms
Recommending an F. Paul Wilson novel is akin to saying oxygen might be good for you. Over the course of his career, there hasn’t been a bad book in his vast catalog. Lexie is no different — it’s the stunning second book of his duology that began last spring with The Upwelling and a fitting conclusion to a tale that holds all the tenets of a classic Wilson story. The characters are intriguing and fully fleshed out, the plot twists and turns yet plays fair with the reader, and the mythos he’s created is on full display.
In the first entry, The Upwelling, Dani and Chan tackle the mystery of the sudden disappearance of Atlantic City. In the blink of an eye, the town disappears, along with all the people — everything, gone. They discover a cult-like group in upstate New York whose members are considered “enhanced” humans. Things only become stranger as readers are introduced to characters who appear in Lexie, including the titular character, a 7 year old girl who is brilliant beyond her years, but is not typical at all.
Wilson picks up the story after the cataclysm in the Catskill Mountains. Chan finds himself embroiled with the survivors, growing closer to Lexie, but finds her strangeness only increasing. Her newfound skill of walking through dimensions opens up wrinkles in the plot that begin innocently enough but soon harbors shadows that only hint at the secrets of the enhanced. Dani and the Troika (a threesome of agents who investigate strange phenomena) discover a Nazi submarine frozen into an iceberg in Antarctica, one that appears to have occurred days ago, not 80 years prior. Their mission to discover why it’s there, what it was orignally there, and if what they discovered is still a threat.
What’s fascinating is that Wilson pulls together so much of his past into this story, from the secret history of the world, the Otherness, Ally, and the Squatter (a new player that tosses a giant wrench into the mix and might end up destroying everything), and characters readers should be familiar with — think baddies from the past. He’s created a universe that while immense, still can feel personal and accessible, thanks to his no nonsense prose. Each character, as usual, speak through their unique voice, setting the table for a thrilling conclusion.
Erring on the side of caution, details are kept to a minimum for this review for those who haven’t read The Upwelling yet — but should.
As mentioned above, this duology is the strongest storytelling F. Paul Wilson in years.
Highly recommended reading.
