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

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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!

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.

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!

I really can't say enough good things about this book, or about Win Eckert's incredible Wold Newton web site. For those new to it, the Wold Newton universe grew out of Science Fiction legend Philip Jose Farmer's imaginative take on a world where almost every major event and adventure of nineteenth and early twentieth century fantastic fiction had some basis in reality. It was a world where Doc Savage and Tarzan brushed shoulders and/or shared bloodlines with Phileas Fogg and Sherlock Holmes, a world where Bruce Wayne did fight crime, if not quite in the way portrayed by his more imaginative biographers. The Wold Newton Universe as Farmer created it was the mindscape of every voracious young reader of a certain generation. The essays collected here by Win Eckert expand and enlarge on that world, adding a depth and level of detail worthy of both the original source material and Farmer's own creations.

If you are a fan of early twentieth century speculative and fantastic fiction, the pulps, or Philip Jose Farmer, this book is a must read. It is also of special interest to fan fiction writers and role playing gamers, presenting a first rate re-imagining of established fictional characters.

I strongly recommend it.

The groundbreaking, iconoclastic science fiction author Philip Jose Farmer introduced us to the Wold Newton Family concept back in 1972 with Tarzan Alive, a biography of the man Edgar Rice Burroughs variously called John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, and Tarzan of the Apes. In Tarzan Alive, Farmer asserts that Greystoke was a real person, and that Burroughs greatly exaggerated Greystoke's exploits for his pulp adventure audience.

In Tarzan Alive, Farmer did several things that set the tone for all Wold Newton works to follow. First, as noted, he followed the lead of Baring-Gould's 'biography' Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street and claimed that many fictional characters were in fact real people. Second, he analyzed the 'fictionalized' texts and attempted to reconcile any conflicting information, much as the Holmesian canon has been scrutinized for lapses in continuity by Baring-Gould, the Baker Street Irregulars, and others. Lastly, Farmer created the concept of the Wold Newton Family - a grouping of fictional characters that Farmer claims are blood related, including Tarzan, Holmes, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Raffles, Professor Challenger, the Shadow, and many others. He also accounts for the prodigious talents of Holmes, Tarzan, etc. by revealing that they are descended from a group of people traveling by coach in Wold Newton, Yorkshire, England in 1795 when a meteor struck a nearby cottage. The passengers of those coaches were exposed to radiation from the meteor, and this accounts for the benevolent mutations of their offspring (the Wold Newton meteor strike actually did occur on that date). Of course, their offspring all intermarried, and things became very complex.

Farmer continued to explore these ideas in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, a 'biography' of the classic pulp hero. Not only does Farmer further the conceit of the hero being a real person, but he adds many branches to his Wold Newton family tree. By the end of DS:HAL, we see a huge family of extraordinary folk emerging, from the Spider, James Bond, and Fu Manchu, to Leopold Bloom from Ulysses, Vonnegut's Kilgore Trout, and Farmer's own hero Kickaha from his World of Tiers series - among many others. Farmer adds more outre texts (from Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos to Harlan Ellison's talking dog Ralph von Wau Wau) than in his previous work and doesn't claim they are fictionalized to the degree asserted in TA.

Now, many years later, comes this superb volume edited and including work by Win Eckert, who has maintained the premiere site for Wold Newton speculation on the Web. Eckert has coined the term 'Wold Newton Universe' to denote that many more fictional characters than dreamed of by Farmer inhabit the same shared universe. Eckert has added many characters by documenting crossovers between fictitious characters from all media, in all genres, though the pulp theme remains strong. Eckert explains how the WNU 'works' and his own methodology in Myths for the Modern Age. Dr. Peter Coogan contributes an amazing essay, 'Woldnewtonry', which describes the way various writers 'wold', that is bring in more characters and reconcile more contradictory texts. There are many essays here by 'post-Farmerian' writers, such as Chuck Loridans, who reveals which female adventure characters are the 'Daughters of Greystoke'; Brad Mengel, who explores the tangled family tree of Sherlock Holmes; and Dennis Power, who discusses 'Asian Detectives in the Wold Newton Universe', brings Kipling's Mowgli into the Wold Newton Family in an interesting way and provides, with co-writer Coogan, a definitive look at the long and storied life of Burroughs' John Carter of Mars (which is timely what with a feature film on John Carter in pre-production).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough to any and all fans of Philip Jose Farmer, pulp heroes, Tarzan, Holmes, or crossover fiction such as the League of Extraordinary Gentleman (for which MFTMA contributor Jess Nevins has penned two exhaustive companion volumes). You may not agree with all of the theories about your favorite genre characters and the connections between them (just as in real scholarship, the 'parascholarship' employed here invites a wide range of sometimes conflicting theories - attempting to reconcile them into a cohesive universe is one of the many thrills of 'The Game'). But you will definitely have an incredibly entertaining and informative read.

Besides the current series of Farmerphile magazine, which includes previously-unseen works by Farmer, this is the first new publication in a while to showcase his mastery of the 'fictional' genre by collecting a slew of articles he wrote for various related fanzines over the years.
At its best, this is no 'Game', but a scholarly investigation into connections that might otherwise might've gone unnoticed or been unacknowledged. Despite the various subjective takes on the Farmerian Monomyth by the other authors also included here, all ultimately serve to contribute to a rising awareness in the reader of Farmer's own intricate and well-researched ideas, and the obvious great lengths he's undertaken to uncover them. Beginning with TARZAN ALIVE!, followed by DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE, and including various related tomes, Farmer blew the lid off a kettle of worms, and now has a plethora of like-minded individuals following in his footsteps, equal in fervor and sometimes even with the same high standard of technique and craftsmanship.
No matter how the book is taken, MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE : PHILIP JOSE FARMER'S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE is a great read and will interest anyone who is into pulp literature, thought-provoking essays, not to mention comic books, as Wold-Newtonry closely parallels the now-rampant staple of 'crossovers' in that medium.
The cover is by John Picacio and below is a listing of the contents:

Introduction: Myths for the Modern Age: Farmer's Wold Newton Family and Shared Universe-
Win Scott Eckert
Wold-Newtonry: Theory and Methodology for the Literary Archaeology of the Wold Newton
Universe- Dr. Peter M. Coogan
The Arms of Tarzan (The English Nobleman whom Edgar Rice Burroughs called John Clayton,
Lord Greystoke)- Philip José Farmer
The Secret History of Captain Nemo- Rick Lai
From Pygmalion to Casablanca: The Higgins Genealogy- Mark K. Brown
A Reply To "The Red Herring"- Philip José Farmer
The Daughters of Greystoke- Chuck Loridans
The Green Eyes Have It - Or Are They Blue? or Another Case of Identity Recased-
Christopher Paul Carey
The Two Lord Ruftons- Philip José Farmer
Kiss of the Vampire- John A. Small
Name of A Thousand Blue Demons- Cheryl L. Huttner
The Great Korak-Time Discrepancy- Philip José Farmer
Asian Detectives in the Wold Newton Family- Dennis E. Power
This Shadow Hanging Over Me Is No Trick Of The Light- Jess Nevins
The Lord Mountford Mystery- Philip José Farmer
The Magnificent Gordons- Mark K. Brown
The Legacy of the Fox: Zorro in the Wold Newton Universe- Matthew Baugh
From ERB To Ygg- Philip José Farmer
Who's Going to Take Over the World When I'm Gone? (A Look at the Genealogies of Wold
Newton Family Super-Villains and Their Nemeses)- Win Scott Eckert
Jungle Brothers, Or, Secrets Of The Jungle Lords- Dennis E. Power
A Language For Opar- Philip José Farmer
Watching the Detectives, Or, The Sherlock Holmes Family Tree- Brad Mengel
Fu Manchu Vs. Cthulhu- Rick Lai
Jonathan Swift Somers III, Cosmic Traveller in a Wheelchair: A Short Biography by Philip
José Farmer (Honorary Chief Kennel Keeper)- Philip José Farmer
John Carter: Torn from Phoenician Dreams (An Examination Into the Theories that John
Carter was Phra the Phoenician and Norman of Torn)- Dennis E. Power and
Dr. Peter M. Coogan
D is for Daughter, F is for Father- Mark K. Brown
The Monster on Hold (A chapter from a projected novel in the Lord Grandrith/Doc Caliban
series)- Philip José Farmer
Travels in Time- Loki Carbis
A Review of Final Menacing Glimpses- Art Bollmann

For all of you who are Wold Newton fans, this is really the book for you. If you're not a Wold Netwon fan, then by all means pick up this book if you have even a minor interest in literary characters and want to see them in a fresh new way. I got this book only a couple of days ago and I can't seem to put it down. Most of us who are familiar with this concept know these articles from the website it's spawned from, but even then, reading these articles of the many men who were Zorro, the connections between Dr. Moriarty and Captain Nemo, the strange lineage of Tarzan's children and other articles really come to life when you're holding them in front of you. I have to give it to Mr. Eckert, if it wasn't for his webpage, I wouldn't have gotten into so many classic literary characters and actually wanted to read the original material they came from. This book takes everything we know about them and adds connections that may seem odd at first, but once you read the articles, you'll start to see that they could make sense if the original authors wrote it.

Like I said, if you're familiar with the concept of the World Newton Universe, then pick this book up. If you're not, read the introduction and what follows to see if it's something you'd be interested in reading. I think if you give it a chance, you'll be like me and be pleasantly surprised.

I'm so glad that all these bits about The WNU have been collected in one volume. I first got interested in PJF's concept when I read his Doc Savage bio. I've been lucky enough to track down a mint HC version of it...at a very reasonable price! This book has made me almost miss my Metro stop on more than one occasion. If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, pulp heroes, or just want to read some very creative writing then you must buy this book. I plan on giving a couple as gifts this year.
I am also lucky enough to have been accepted into the Johns Hopkins University's Master of Arts in Writing Program. I showed this book to one of my instructors and he was fascinated by it. I gave him the nutshell explanation of WNU and told him that, after I get my degree, I would like to teach a course or two about it. If you are already an English/Writing teacher, please do the same. Let's srpead the fun around!!!

This is a further exploration of the relationships in Philip Jose Farmer' s Wold Newton Universe, as seen in books like Tarzan Alive, Doc Savage - His Apocalyptic Life, and the Other Log of Phileas Fogg.

Myths for the Modern Age is worth it for the Captain Nemo is Moriarty piece alone, not to mention the fabulous cover, complete with Modesty Blaise!

Here you have a collection of essays that inter-relate various characters, families and other information, by several different authors, including a compatriot, as well as Eckert himself, not to mention Farmer himself, so you could call this an anthology.
Please be aware that this is not a novel, if that is what you are looking for.

Eckert has a passion for this stuff, yes, you could call it obsessive monomania, but that is what collecting, which is really what this is all about, 'collecting' characters into universes and relationships, and utter, utter, fandom.

He is also a Philip Jose Farmer expert, to boot.

This is just fantastic stuff. Check out his and Farmer's various websites too, they are great. There are also related mailing lists that are worth it, if you are interested to this level.

Something else I have found : if you ask these authors a question, or anything like that, they will answer. They are completely devoted.

Outstanding book, in presentation, content, and participation. I am sure Farmer is quite pleased.

5 out of 5

In literature, some pursuits acquire strange titles. The idea that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson had been real persons, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had been acting as the "literary" manager of Dr. Watson, is called "the game". This idea, no matter how trivial it might appear to some, has resulted in truly impressive scholarship, and has made Sherlock Holmes more real than imaginary, and hence it has now ceased to be just a "game". Similarly, a basic idea of Philip J Farmer [which might have originated even before, and appeared to be perfected in Alan Moor's vision of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (before that series got stuck in its present intellectual quicksand)], that links all the known heroes & villains to a 'cosmic' incident at Wold Newton, became bigger & vaster than anything imaginable. But it's easy to make abstract ideas, you need people to do the dirty work (research!) to actually effect the linking. And in that aspect, this book plays a crucial role, as it tries to tie all the loose ends, so that the Wold Newton Universe gets its stars, black holes, and other dark matter. For those inclined in Wold Newtoniana, this book is highly recommended. But don't read all of them together. Sip them gently, interspersed with the works of Jess Nevins, to get a clearer (and perhaps, more enjoyable) perspective.