The Adversary Cycle
Encyclopedia
The Adversary Cycle is a series of six novel
s written by American
author
F. Paul Wilson
. Originally known as "The Nightworld Cycle" (this name is even printed in the front of some early editions of Nightworld), John Clute
, in his section on F. Paul Wilson's work in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
, kept referring to "the Adversary." The author liked that better and so renamed the cycle.
Interestingly, The Tomb and The Touch were initially written as stand-alone novels; it is only in Nightworld that they were retroactively made part of the Cycle as their respective protagonists all come together to fight the final battle against the Otherness.
Although these six books make up the "core" of "The Adversary Cycle", many more novels and short stories tie into the series. For example The Tomb is also the start of the Repairman Jack
series of novels, which quickly became deeply entwined in the Adversary Cycle. They take place in the last three years before Nightworld and include some of the main characters from the original Adversary Cycle. This is all part of the "Grand Unification" theme of Wilson's work.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s written by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
F. Paul Wilson
F. Paul Wilson
Francis Paul Wilson is an American author, primarily in the science fiction and horror genres. His debut novel was Healer . Wilson is also a part-time practicing family physician. He made his first sales in 1970 to Analog while still in medical school , and continued to write science fiction...
. Originally known as "The Nightworld Cycle" (this name is even printed in the front of some early editions of Nightworld), John Clute
John Clute
John Frederick Clute is a Canadian born author and critic who has lived in Britain since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history."...
, in his section on F. Paul Wilson's work in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an English language reference work on science fiction.- Publication history :The first edition, edited by Peter Nicholls with John Clute and Brian Stableford appeared in 1979, published by Granada. It was retitled The Science Fiction Encyclopedia in the US...
, kept referring to "the Adversary." The author liked that better and so renamed the cycle.
Novels in the Cycle
The six novels that comprise The Adversary Cycle are (in chronological order):- The Keep, August 1981, ISBN 0688006264
- The TombThe Tomb (novel)The Tomb is the first volume in a series of Repairman Jack books written by American author F. Paul Wilson. It is also the second volume in a series of six novels known as The Adversary Cycle. It was recently updated for 2004, in order to tie in chronologically with the following Repairman Jack...
, November 1984, ISBN 0918372127 - The Touch, June 1986, ISBN 0-399-13144-2
- RebornReborn (novel)Reborn is the fourth volume in a series of six novels known as The Adversary Cycle written by American author F. Paul Wilson. First published in March 1990 by Dark Harvest.In 2009, a revised edition was published.-Plot summary:...
, March 1990, ISBN 0-913165-52-2 - ReprisalReprisal (novel)Reprisal is the fifth volume in a series of six novels known as The Adversary Cycle written by American author F. Paul Wilson. First published in July 1991 by Dark Harvest....
, July 1991, ISBN 0-913165-59-X - NightworldNightworld (novel)Nightworld is the sixth and final volume in a series of novels known as The Adversary Cycle written by American author F. Paul Wilson. First published in 1992 by New English Library in England and Dark Harvest in US...
, May 1992, ISBN 0-450-53665-3
Interestingly, The Tomb and The Touch were initially written as stand-alone novels; it is only in Nightworld that they were retroactively made part of the Cycle as their respective protagonists all come together to fight the final battle against the Otherness.
Although these six books make up the "core" of "The Adversary Cycle", many more novels and short stories tie into the series. For example The Tomb is also the start of the Repairman Jack
Repairman Jack
This series of novels uses realistic, thriller-like situations to tell a story with a broad supernatural theme. It is technically a spin-off branch of the aforementioned larger, overarching supernatural horror series, The Adversary Cycle.- Introduction :...
series of novels, which quickly became deeply entwined in the Adversary Cycle. They take place in the last three years before Nightworld and include some of the main characters from the original Adversary Cycle. This is all part of the "Grand Unification" theme of Wilson's work.