Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe [Paperback]

Win Scott Eckert (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2005

In his classic "biographies" of fictional characters (Tarzan Alive and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life), Hugo- and Nebula-award winning author Philip José Farmer introduced the Wold Newton family, a collection of heroes and villains whose family-tree includes Sherlock Holmes, Fu Manchu, Philip Marlowe, and James Bond. In books, stories, and essays he expanded the concept even further, adding more branches to the Wold Newton family-tree. MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER’S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE collects for the first time those rarely-seen essays. Expanding the family even farther are contributions from Farmer’s successors—scholars, writers, and pop-culture historians—who bring even more fictional characters into the fold. In addition to Win Scott Eckert and Philip Jose Farmer, contributors to this volume include Matthew Baugh, Christopher Paul Carey, Peter M. Coogan, Rick Lai, Chuck Loridans, Jess Nevins, Dennis E. Power, and John A. Small.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

On December 13, 1795, a small meteorite plunged to the ground near the Yorkshire village of Wold Newton. According to veteran sf author Philip Jose Farmer, the crash produced a radiation shower that blanketed two horsedrawn carriages carrying some extraordinary witnesses. The meteorite was very real (a memorial marks where it struck); the witnesses were entirely fictional. As delineated in a series of papers spanning several decades of his career, Farmer's "researches" identified among the witnesses an impressive roster of celebrities, including everyone from Captain Blood, Sherlock Holmes, and Allan Quatermain to Tarzan, Doc Savage, and James Bond--often along with their offspring--just to name a few. Editor Eckert collects all of Farmer's so-called essays as well as others by several fans to fill out Farmer's fanciful scholarship. Although the volume appeals primarily to Farmer fans, anyone interested in "secret" biographical tidbits on Holmes and his popular-literary ilk may enjoy at least taking a peek. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Editor Win Scott Eckert holds a B.A. in Anthropology and a Juris Doctorate. In 1997, he posted the first site on the Internet devoted to expanding Philip José Farmer’s concept of the Wold Newton Family. He has recently served as an expert consultant on crossovers involving characters from pulp fiction and Victorian literature for a lawsuit concerning a major motion picture. Win lives with his family near Denver, Colorado.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Monkeybrain (October 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932265147
• ISBN-13: 978-1932265149
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,251,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chris Davies is WRONG!, May 18, 2006

By 

Joshua Small "Josh" (Tishomingo, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (Paperback)

Having read both this book from cover to cover and the reviews that are posted on this sight, I can only conclude that one of the reviewers has an axe to grind with one or more of the writers responsible. Don't let that sway you; this is an excellent book that, yes, occasionally offers up contradictory information - if you take the time to read the introductory portion CAREFULLY, you will note that not only does Mr. Eckert acknowledge as much, but goes on to state that this is part of the fun in the game these writers are playing. Some people should lighten up and learn how to have fun already!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Opened up the Farmer World to Me, May 8, 2006

By 

Heidi Ruby Miller (PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (Paperback)

The contributors for this book provide a wonderful look into the world of Philip Jose Farmer. I had only read one Farmer book (The Tongues of the Moon) before delving into Myths. The excitement and intelligent discussion of Farmer's works in this volume prompted me to order several other titles. I am now on my third.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Game is Afoot!, November 1, 2005

By 

Kevin T. Heim - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (Paperback)

In the world of genre fiction, there are groups that dedicate themselves a little too much to particular franchises. Sherlockians and Trekkies, for example, often explore the nuances of their chosen obsessions with extreme approaches to explain away inconsistencies, or to justify how the fictional events could have happened (or will have happened) in the real world. Professional scifi author Philip Jose Farmer took the concept of the Game much farther with his biograghical works TARZAN ALIVE! and DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE. In these inspired tomes Farmer not only took great steps to reconcile the lives of these pulp legends against history and their own vast bodies of works, but also utilized the marvelous literary conceit of the crossover. According to the genealogies Farmer created, Doc Savage and Tarzan are related to each other, as well as Sherlock Holmes, Raffles, Captain Nemo, and dozens of others. What's more, thanks to a real meteorite that struck Wold Newton, England in 1795, Farmer was able to show how all these men and their extended families were affected by a space-borne beneficial mutation, which goes a long way towards explaining their larger-than-life exploits. More books followed, as well as outright fiction stories based in this interwoven 'Wold Newton Universe' (as Win Eckert termed it). With the consideration of crossovers from other authors, the Wold Newton Universe can be expanded to include a great many works from a wide variety of sources.

This is where Win Eckert comes in. He was the first person online to promote Farmer's unified fiction theories and expand them well beyond their pulp orgins with his website AN EXPANSION OF PHILIP JOSE' FARMER'S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE in 1997. His groundbreaking work on crossovers and fictional genealogies has inspired many other fans to participate in the Game, each new author bringing his own field of expertise to the forefront, building on Farmer, Eckert and each other. The book you are about
to buy is the culmination of eight years of research into the art of 'literary archeology'. Win Eckert is still at the helm, though he has already been elevated from a fan to a professionally published author. His essays, along with those of many others, have been edited by Mr. Eckert and collected into Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe.

Is it the definitive look at the Wold newton Universe? Certainly not, and that's the point. The 'WNU' is still expanding, and always open to interpretation. Farmer is still the founder of this feast of the unknown exactly which entres make up the main course is for each reader to decide, for this feast is a buffet, with choices ranging from Lovecraftian horror and Howard's barbarian literature to Roddenberry's Star Trek and Universal Studios' movie monsters, there is something for everyone on the menu. And now, thanks to Eckert's book, we have a baker's dozen more chefs stirring their pots. What a feast it is!