Win Scott Eckert

The Green Hornet has a special place in our hearts. Back in the days we ran our Forest Comics business there was a guy who always seemed to be first through the door at any show we attended, and would run straight to us shouting “Got any Green ‘ornet?” We always made sure we did, and he became one of our best customers. He would have loved this anthology, and as a fellow Green Hornet fan, so do I. As with any anthology the stories (and there’s a lot in this one) vary in quality - but show more here they swing between good and excellent. There isn’t a clunker in these pages. I only have two questions about this collection. 1. Why did I leave this on a shelf unread for so many years? 2. Why don’t I have a story in it? (OK I wasn’t writing fiction back then .. but if anyone ever does a second collection then count me in!) Let’s roll ... show less

While many Sherlockians engage in the mental gymnastics of “Playing the Game”, their efforts pale in comparison to the contortionists who have embraced the connect-the-dots style of game playing inspired by Philip Jose Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe concept. Taking his cue from the Sherlockian approach to dealing with Holmes as a real life personage, Farmer wrote his fictional biographies TARZAN ALIVE and DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE creating a unified family tree connecting most show more pop fiction heroes and villains since 1795 onwards in the process! In MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSE FARMER’S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE editor Win Scot Eckert pulls together 28 essays, by a variety of Wold Newton fans, and reprints a few Farmer pieces as well, expanding on the concept. While only one of the included essays deals specifically with Sherlock Holmes, the heavy interconnectedness of the concept means you’ll find references to Holmes, Moriarty, and various other ACD characters scattered throughout almost every essay in the book. Unfortunately the quality of writing varies dramatically from piece to piece, Rick Lai’s The Secret History of Captain Nemo and Fu Manchu vs. Cthulhu essays stand head and shoulders above the rest, the book is a wildly uneven read at best. Recommended only to those with a familiarity, or appreciation of, the Wold Newton concept, or anyone that really gets a kick out of stretching the patently implausible to the breaking point. show less

Great concept. Unfortunately, poorly executed and only fairly written.
The best:
(1) the author's extention of the map of Pellucidar to the east / northeast bordering a new sea, the Dolar Az,
(2) Tarzan in Pellucidar is an epic concept worthy of multiple reprisals,
(3) the return of many old favorite Burroughs characters: Jason Gridley, David Innes, Diane the Beautiful; as well as villains: Mahars, Sagoths, and Germans (this time Nazis),
(4) the heirs or Tarzan: The Next Generation: while some show more readers may be put off by the new characters introduced, especially such strong female characters as Tarzan's granddaughter Suzanne and Jason Gridley's goddaughter Victory Harben, I found they are worthy heirs to their progenitors: heroic atavism,
and (5) the numerous nods -- often footnoted -- to the Burroughs legendarium.

Unfortunately, however, the characters as depicted lack depth; there is overuse of exposition; there are too many convenient and unbelievable narrative contrivances; when the story is told nonchronologically, it results in confusion; the story pacing is too slow in its first half, and too fast at its climax; and the whole story is bereft of any meaningful emotional engagement.

However, there are two marvelous quotes in which the author perfectly captures Tarzan's world (and life) perspective. [See in COMMENTS below.]

For the simple Burroughs action adventure, it is just fine. But I feel it had the potential of being so much more. show less

Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar
(Swords of Eternity 2)
By Win Scott Eckert

Tarzan; Battle for Pellucidar published by Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. is the second book of the New ERB Universe and part of a four story arc called the Swords of Eternity. All in all not a bad reintroduction of Tarzan to the modern reader.
The setting of the story is World War II with Nazi’s having discovered the world of Pellucidar which resides in the hollow earth. Viewers of Godzilla vs. Kone got to see a show more visualization of this concept since that section of the movie relied heavily on Burroughs' vision of a hollow earth. Part of the esoteric beliefs of the Nazi hierarchy espicailly Himmler also believed in a possibility of a hollow earth and ordered expeditions to discover the openings.
Pellucidar is a prehistoric land created by ERB in 1913 and published in 1914 as At the Earth’s Core, long before Himmler considered the notion. Although many of Burrough’s books had subtle crossovers, the thirteenth book in the Tarzan series was a direct crossover- Taran at the Earth’s Core.
Which brings us to Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar and to Tarzan returning to the land of always day. Eckert does a good job referencing earlier material while not making the reader reliant on knowledge of the earlier books. Walking a fine line between alienating long time fans and confusing new readers, Eckert does a good job of giving enough information for each character including Tarzan. Also the audience doesn’t have to be familiar with the first book in the story arc, Carson of Venus: The Edge of All Worlds to enjoy the story. A reader of the first book is rewarded by plot lines that tie directly into the overall story arc and provide deeper insight.
The story is fast paced with characterization being superficial. The main action focuses on Tarzan, his granddaughter Suzanne and Victory Von Harben. The latter two being introduced in the story arc. There are some comics telling the story of Victory Harben so I should say this is their prose introduction. The author captures the feel of an ERB book while nodding to modern sensibilities.
Criticism of the books has been that Win Scott Eckert relies too heavily on the Wode Newton Concepts created by Philip Jose Farmer. While that is true to an extent, a casual reader would not even notice that some of those ideas are present.
My verdict is that it is a good action story hitting upon the elements of a good ERB book. While some critics will argue the merits of canon or not canon, they seem to miss the point that it is a good jumping on point for a new reader. If the new reader is intrigued by the worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan and Pellucidar, Eckert gives enough reference for the reader to explore more this great author’s work

Victory Harben: Clash on Caspak
By Mike Wolfer

This short story in the back of the book is a direct part of the super arc- Swords of Eternity. The story continues the tale of Victory Harben and Jason Gridley’s travels through unknown and uncontrollable means through the ERB Universe. In this tale Victory and the reader are introduced to the land of Caspak, introduced originally in Edgar Rice Burroughs The Land that Time Forgot. Wolfer’s main task here is to acquaint the reader with Caspak and it’s similarities to Pellucidar while furthering the mystery of Victory’s travels. Wolfer does a good job although a new reader will be a little lost not having read the first Swords of Eternity book and the seasoned reader is purposefully left with questions to keep them reading. show less