Anthony Cardno Interviews the Meteor House Crew!

 Originally published on anthonycardno.com on July 31, 2025

Today I chat with Meteor House founders Paul Spiteri, Win Scott Eckert, and Michael Croteau, to discuss their new collection Savageology, showcasing Philip José Farmer’s love of Doc Savage and some of the work it has inspired. Savageology is available to order from the Meteor House website and will also be available for purchase at Pulpfest.

Meteor House is a publisher of science fiction and fantasy. They publish The Worlds of Philip José Farmer anthology series, authorized limited edition novellas set in Farmer’s worlds written by other authors, and high-end limited-edition hardcovers of Farmer’s classic works.

Philip José Farmer fans are well aware of his love for, and work on, Doc Savage. What made Meteor House decide that now was the time to publish a collected volume of Farmer’s non-book-length Doc writings, along with writing about Farmer and Doc by other authors?

METEOR HOUSE: We published The Man Who Met Tarzan in 2021, a collection of Farmer’s writings about the jungle lord, including an interview he did with Lord Greystoke. We knew then we wanted to also publish a collection of his writings on Doc. When we heard last year that DocCon would be held at PulpFest this summer, we thought Savageology would be a great way to celebrate.

How would you compare Savageology and The Man Who Met Tarzan?

There is a fundamental difference. The Man Who Met Tarzan is, apart from introductory essays, all by Farmer and looks at how Farmer built his theories about Tarzan. Savageology takes a wider perspective and includes many pieces from fans and scholars influenced by Farmer and his varied writings about Doc.
    The commonality is Savageology is a fan focused love letter to Doc, and The Man Who Met Tarzan is his love letter to the lord of the jungle.

Savageology sports a truly impressive table of contents. Are there any pieces that are particularly rare or that were difficult to get included?

We really wanted to include “Doc Savage and the Cult of the Blue God,” a screen treatment Farmer wrote for George Pal as a potential sequel to the movie, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. It took a bit of time to negotiate with Condé Nast for permission to reproduce this, but it worked out in the end.
    Another item that was a lot of work, but really worth the effort, is the expanded version of the 8,000-word interview Will Murray did with Farmer in 1989 for Starlog magazine (published in 1990). Murray gave us access to the tapes of the over three-hour long interview, and we were able to expand it by over 10,000 words.

Meteor House has now brought out two editions of Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Is it accurate to describe Savageology as a companion piece to that biography?

Yes, absolutely. We believe anyone who enjoyed Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life will find this book just as educational and entertaining.

Doc fans can be notoriously split on how they view Farmer’s Savage-related writings. Would you say Savageology is aimed more at Farmer fans or Doc fans?

Both. We’re hoping this book may bridge that gap some. We always want to stress that Farmer absolutely loved Doc Savage. He had many different takes on Doc; he was not a black-and-white thinker and creator. So one of the points of the book is not adherence to one, strict interpretation, but rather an all-encompassing enthusiasm for the character and for fandom, something that everyone can share in. As Farmer and Murray discuss in the interview, Farmer was striving to explore the character of Doc Savage, to get into the essence of what a superhuman would actually be like.

Of course, some of that split has to do with Farmer’s creation of Doc Caliban, as Chuck Welch points out in his piece that acts as an introduction to the collection. There is some Doc Caliban content in this book. What are the essential differences between Doc Savage and Doc Caliban?

Put simply, Doc Savage is not flawed. He rarely makes mistakes, and he rarely, if ever, regrets a course of action he has taken. Doc Caliban is just as brilliant, both mentally and physically, but he comes with all the hangups and neuroses that we all have, coupled with the baggage of his highly unusual upbringing. Consequently, Caliban made a deal with the Devil when he joined The Nine. That’s not a decision (a mistake) that Savage would have made.

I never got to meet or interact with Phil before his and Bette’s passing, but you all at Meteor House did. Do any of you recall having conversations with him about Doc (Savage/Caliban) that readers here may find interesting?

Not about Savage or Caliban specifically, but rather pertaining to the novel about Doc’s daughter, Patricia Wildman. Win Eckert and Chris Carey were sitting with Phil and Bette, having a deep discussion about the approach Win should take in completing Phil’s unfinished novel The Evil in Pemberley House. At issue was whether to excise the highly graphic sex scenes Phil had written, or leave them in. Bette was in favor of deleting the sexual material; Phil wanted it left in but seemed resigned that due to the sensibilities of the late twenty-aughts (the book saw publication in 2009), the material would be removed. In the end, the sex scenes were deemed essential to the plot, theme, and character, and were left intact. It was an interesting conversation, to say the least.

Do you have plans for any more themed collections like Savageology and The Man Who Met Tarzan?

MH: We would like to someday publish a collection of Farmer’s writings relating to Sherlock Holmes, both fiction and non-fiction. And if we ever reprint his novel, A Barnstormer in Oz, we’d like to also include several shorter pieces he wrote about Oz. Perhaps one day we’ll collect his original Sturch stories and maybe do a collection of his shorter Riverworld stories.

And finally, what do you think Farmer would have made of books like Savageology and The Man Who Met Tarzan?

Farmer loved these characters so much he spent years researching them and writing about them. We think he would have liked how the pieces were presented and how, in concise volumes, he could see how his own thinking on these two iconic characters developed over time. And also appreciate the further study of these characters he inspired.

Thank you, Paul, Win, and Mike for your time. I look forward to seeing you all at PulpFest.

Thank you, Anthony, this has been a lot of fun!

 

 

Readers, it is not too late to register for and attend Pulpfest 2025 (THE pulp magazine-focused convention in the Northeast) and the other three conventions it hosts: FarmerCon (dedicated to the works of Philip Jose Farmer), ERBFest (dedicated to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs) and DocCon (dedicated to all things Doc Savage related). Check out the Pulpfest website for registration and hotel information!

New Interview Conducted By Anthony Cardno!

 Originally published on July 28, 2025 on anthonycardno.com

 

Today I chat with author and friend Win Scott Eckert, as a part of my ongoing series featuring creative folks who will be appearing at Pulpfest 2025. Win is the editor of Myths For the Modern Age and three volumes of short stories featuring The Green Hornet, co-author with Philip Jose Farmer of The Evil in Pemberley House and The Monster on Hold, and author of Crossovers: A Secret History of the World, The Scarlet Jaguar, and the authorized Edgar Rice Universe canonical novels Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar, and Korak At The Earth’s Core. He has also written short stories featuring classic characters like The Green Hornet, the Lone Ranger, the Avenger, the Phantom, Sherlock Holmes, the Domino Lady, Honey West, T.H.E. Cat, and Irma Vep. Win is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, holds a B.A. in anthropology and a Juris Doctor.

 

Hi, Win! Thanks for taking some time to chat. I know you’re busy working on the second book in your Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe trilogy, the Dead Moon Super-Arc.

WSE: Hi, Anthony! Yes, Pellucidar: Land of Awful Shadow.

 

We’ll talk about the new book shortly, but my first question is more general. You’ve had a wonderful career writing in the worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Philip José Farmer, the Green Hornet, The Avenger, Honey West, the Lone Ranger, and others. Talk to me a bit about your earliest memories of wanting to write these characters/in these worlds.

To be honest, I didn’t consider writing fiction until after I started my metafictional Wold Newton Universe site in 1997. My first forays were non-fiction (or rather, metafiction) essays which were writing about characters’ chronologies and family trees, rather than traditional fiction stories. It was only when Jean-Marc Lofficier suggested that I try my hand at straight fiction for his annual Tales of the Shadowmen anthologies that I considered it. This was in 2004.

What is your current writing process like? That is, are you a plotter, a “pantser,” etc.? Do you set daily wordcount goals? And has that process changed at all throughout your career?

I am not a “pantser.” I definitely outline, but at a high level. I know the beginning, middle, and most importantly, the end. Part of this is because it is generally required when writing for licensed properties (although requirements for licensed properties are on the spectrum of detail from “almost no detail, just a pitch” to a strict chapter-by-chapter outline). Even with a strict chapter outline, there is a lot of room for creativity as I actually write the chapters, as additional inspiration inevitably hits while I am writing. And sometimes the chapters end up getting moved around as I write, and so forth. So, the outline is not a strict contract, but rather a demonstration that I know where I’m going in the end, even if the path of getting there deviates from the outline. As for your other questions, when I am deep in a writing project, I do set wordcount goals. My process has not changed much in the last twenty years, with the exception that within the last five years or so I occasionally dictate some portions of a novel; it speeds up my writing, but I’ve also noticed that more errors are introduced which I sometimes fail to catch despite intense proofing, so I am a bit gun shy right now about dictating too much.

 

You’re on your third novel for the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe (the first being Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar in the “Swords of Eternity Super-Arc” that launched the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe (ERBU), and the second being Korak at Earth’s Core, the first book in your “Dead Moon Super-Arc”). I’d love to hear a bit about how you came to write for ERB Inc., and how you crafted your pitch for the “Dead Moon Super-Arc.”

Shortly before Christopher Paul Carey joined ERB, Inc. as Director (now VP) of Publishing, I pitched a Korak novel to CEO Jim Sullos, which was accepted. Once Chris joined, and outlined his plans for the ERBU, to be kicked off with the “Swords of Eternity Super-Arc,” it was a no-brainer that a Tarzan novel was needed for that launch. I reworked my Korak pitch into a Tarzan pitch which became Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar. After that, Chris and I still really wanted to do a Korak novel. I explained my idea to him in person at PulpFest, to which he burst out laughing, and said, “Let’s do it!”

Philip José Farmer wrote an article originally published in ERB-dom No. 57, April 1972. His ideas were worked into his mock biography, Tarzan Alive. The article has also been republished in my collection Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe (MonkeyBrain Books), Pearls from Peoria (Subterranean Press), and The Man Who Met Tarzan (Meteor House). The article is entitled “The Great Korak-Time Discrepancy” and deals with how Korak, the son of Tarzan, impossibly ages about eight-ten years between the ERB books The Beasts of Tarzan and The Son of Tarzan. Farmer proposes an explanation, and there is another branch of fandom that proposes a different explanation. You can read the article online here. The “Dead Moon Super-Arc” will present a third, in-universe explanation.

We also wanted to explore as-yet untouched (or relatively untouched parts) of Pellucidar, the hollow world at the Earth’s core, and decided that the Dead World and the Land of Awful Shadow would be great settings for this trilogy.

What challenges have you encountered in moving Burroughs’ classic characters forward in time and in expanding the ERBU while still remaining true to his spirit and Burroughs’ original timeline and characters?

Honestly . . . not many. The biggest challenge is ensuring that all the writers’ stories remain consistent with each other, with no contradictions. That is one of the big selling points of the ERBU: the novels, stories, and comics are consistent both in continuity and in character with what ERB wrote, but they are all also consistent with each other. It’s not difficult to portray these characters as honorable and heroic. Perfect? No, of course not. I had a good time portraying Korak as less than perfect, and yet still heroic. 

 

Without spoilers, what can you tell us about the upcoming second “Dead Moon Super-Arc” novel, Pellucidar: Land of Awful Shadow?

Yes! It takes place mostly concurrently with Korak at the Earth’s Core (this was a technique Burroughs used; for examples, see the Pellucidar novels Tarzan at the Earth’s Core and Back to the Stone Age), in which it is mentioned that Rahnak and Kyrianji have set off into the Land of Awful Shadow in search of Rahnak’s mother, Suzanne Clayton. So, Pellucidar: Land of Awful Shadow is the tale of their adventure. Rahnak the Daring is the grandson of Korak, and thus the great-grandson of Tarzan! Kyrianji is a great Waziri warrior princess.

Along the way, they have many adventures in this weird Land of Awful Shadow as they struggle to get back to their friends and allies, including David Innes, with some important information. We’ll also get some insight into what happened to Suzanne (Tarzan’s granddaughter), who was mentioned in Korak at the Earth’s Core (her disappearance set off the events of that book).

It's a lot of fun because the book is probably eighty or more percent focused on characters I was privileged to create: Rahnak, Kyrianji, and Suzanne.

All the plotlines will come crashing together in the third book, Tarzan Unleashed. (You see … there’s really no way to “pants” this. 😊)

You also had a short story in the anthology Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2025, edited by Robert Greenberger. Tell us a little bit about that story and what inspired it.

It was an honor to be invited to contribute to that anthology, with such an awesome lineup of authors, and it was great to flex my short story muscles. My entry was a weird menace tale, bordering on occult, called “She-Devil of Paris.” It was very much a Sax Rohmer homage, and featured Irma Vep, the anti-heroine of a 1915–16 French serial in ten chapters called Les Vampires. (The Vampires are a criminal gang who terrorize Paris, not actual vampires.) But, as with most Rohmer stories, the main character isn’t really the one who appears more “on camera,” Irma Vep, but rather her antagonist, who in 1923 Paris is calling herself Astarte.

Finally, do you have anything else upcoming that you’re able to tell us about?

I do! After Tarzan Unleashed, I plan to write the fifth and final Secrets of the Nine novel, as yet untitled. You may recall that the fourth book, The Monster on Hold (cowritten with Philip José Farmer from his outline and including large sections of his prose), most of Doc Caliban’s plotlines were wrapped up. Caliban was the POV character, and Phil’s outline and plot did not include anything regarding Lord Grandrith. Therefore, we still have dangling plotlines regarding Grandrith going all the way back to A Feast Unknown, Lord of the Trees, and The Mad Goblin. Phil’s estate and agent have granted me permission to write a Lord Grandrith-centric novel (I’m sure Caliban will also make an appearance, but its Grandrith’s book) resolving all the plotlines. I want to be clear that we do not have anything in Phil’s files (“The Magic Filing Cabinet”) regarding a fifth book, so this will be solely by me. Believe me, I wish we did have notes or hints. The book will be published by Meteor House, with consistent trade dress, art, and design as seen on the other Secrets of the Nine books.

I also plan to finally return to Patrica Wildman and write more novella-length follow-ups to The Evil in Pemberley House and The Scarlet Jaguar. I’d like to write more Sherlock Holmes short stories, following up on “The Adventure of the Fallen Stone.” And I want to do a series of novels featuring Astarte in different time periods, from the Victorian era, to the 1930s, and perhaps even into the 1960s and ’70s.

Finally, Anthony, I want to thank you for the interview. It’s been quite a while since we’ve done this (2017!), and I appreciate it. I’m looking forward to seeing you at PulpFest 2025 / FarmerCon XX in August 2025!

It was my pleasure, Win! Always fun discussing writing and Phil and Burroughs and Star Trek and The Man From U.N.C.L.E and everything else we have in common. See you in a few weeks!

 

 

Readers, it is not too late to register for and attend Pulpfest 2025 (THE pulp magazine-focused convention in the Northeast) and the other three conventions it hosts: FarmerCon (dedicated to the works of Philip Jose Farmer), ERBFest (dedicated to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs) and DocCon (dedicated to all things Doc Savage related). Check out the Pulpfest website.com/ for registration and hotel information!

Looking Back on PulpFest 2024 / FarmerCon XIX

Our friends at ThePulp.net have posted audio recordings and photos of last year's PulpFest 2024 and FarmerCon XIX, which took place Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 1-3, in Mars, Pa., just outside of Pittsburgh. 

Pulp Tales podcast’s links to the audio recordings of 13 sessions — over 10.5 hours — from PulpFest 2024.

Our FarmerCon presentation was entitled "Secrets, Crossovers, and the Full Account," a look at the latest projects from Philip José Farmer and Meteor House — Around the World in Eighty Days/The Other Log of Phileas Fogg: The Full Account by Jules Verne and Farmer; Crossovers Expanded 3 by Sean Lee Levin; and the Secrets of the Nine omnibus by Farmer. Keith Howell moderated this discussion of new projects in the works by Meteor House. On the panel were writers Paul Spiteri, Sean Lee Levin, and Win Scott Eckert. This presentation was recorded on Saturday, Aug. 3, in Pittsburgh.

 

Photo credit by William Lampkin

 

FarmerCon XX and Meteor House are very much looking forward to PulpFest 2025!

 

 

A summertime pulp tradition since 1972.

WHERE: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry, Pa.

WHEN: Thursday-Sunday, Aug. 7 - 10, 2025

REGISTER NOW

ASSOCIATES

 

 

 

 

 

FarmerCon XX (Twenty Years of FarmerCon!!!!)

 Originally posted on PulpFest.com on 16 June 2025

 FarmerCon XX: 

Tarzan the Time Traveler and Discourses on Doc

Programming

 

 Mike Chomko

June 16, 2025

5 min read

At PulpFest 2025, we’ll not only salute the “Masters of Blood and Thunder,” the “Great Pulp Villains,” and more, we’ll also welcome back the fans of Philip José Farmer for Farmercon XX!

Since 2011, PulpFest has hosted Farmercon, a convention celebrating the life and times of the longtime pulp fan and Grand Master of Science Fiction, born over 100 years ago.

Few people think of Philip José Farmer as a pulp writer, but he was a child of the pulps and launched his career in the pulps. Born January 26, 1918 in North Terre Haute, Indiana, Farmer grew up in Peoria, Illinois. He spent much of his childhood reading everything he could find from the classics through the pulps.

Farmer’s interest in the rough-paper magazines of his youth would lead him to pen two biographies about pulp characters — Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life during his career. He would also author official Doc Savage and Tarzan novels: Escape from Loki and The Dark Heart of Time. Both stories were set in the year of their author’s birth — 1918.

One of the highlights of FarmerCon XX will be the convention’s panel saluting Doc Savage and Tarzan — the late author’s two favorite pulp characters.

We hope you’ll join PulpFest on Friday, August 8, at 8:35 pm as we welcome Christopher Paul Carey and Win Scott Eckert  to our stage for “Tarzan the Time Traveler” — exploring Philip José Farmer’s Time’s Last Gift, a novel featuring “a tall, dark-haired, gray-eyed Englishman who goes native far too easily and competently” — and “Discourses on Doc” — a look at Farmer’s writings and speculations concerning “The Man of Bronze.”

Christopher Paul Carey is the coauthor with Philip José Farmer of The Song of Kwasin, and the author of Exiles of Kho, Hadon, King of Opar, and Blood of Ancient Opar, all works set in Farmer’s Khokarsa series. He is the author of Swords Against the Moon Men, an authorized sequel to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic science fantasy novel The Moon Maid, as well as the ERB Universe novel Victory Harben: The Fires of Halos. He has scripted several comic books set in Burroughs’ worlds and his short fiction can be found in various anthologies. He is Vice President of Publishing at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., the corporation founded by Burroughs in 1923, and he has edited more than 100 novels, anthologies, and collections for a variety of publishers. He lives in Southern California.

Win Scott Eckert is the authorized legacy author of Philip José Farmer’s Patricia Wildman series (The Evil in Pemberley House, The Scarlet Jaguar), as well as the coauthor with Farmer of the Doc Caliban/Secrets of the Nine novel, The Monster on Hold. A lifelong Edgar Rice Burroughs reader, Eckert wrote the authorized Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe novels, Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar and Korak at the Earth’s Core, with Pellucidar: Land of Awful Shadow and Tarzan Unleashed forthcoming. His other professional credits include authorized tales of Zorro, the Phantom, Honey West, the Avenger, the Lone Ranger, and the Green Hornet, as well as short stories featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel, the Domino Lady, and Sherlock Holmes. His latest short story, “She-Devil of Paris,” saw print in Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2025. He lives in Woodland Park, Colorado, with his wife and a bevy of four-legged family members.

“Fraternize at Farmercon” will follow our panel presentation at 11:05 pm in the Ember & Vine lounge at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. All are welcome to join the “Friends of Phil” during their gatherings in our host hotel’s restaurant and lounge.

All this and more will be part of Farmercon XX, the 2025 convention for all things Farmer, taking place from August 7 – 10 at this summer’s PulpFest.

The general public is welcome to attend our evening programming events free of charge. To learn more about our programming, please click the 2025 Schedule button at the top of this page.

For those who also want to enjoy our dealers’ room, you can join PulpFest by clicking the register button at the top of this page. And don’t forget to book a room. The DoubleTree is essentially sold out, but you can click here for nearby hotels. If you’re looking for a roommate, write to Jack Cullers at his email address below.

Remember, in addition to your membership in PulpFest 2025, you’ll also be a member of Doc Con XXI, ERBFest 2025, and Farmercon XX. That’s four conventions for one price! You can’t beat that deal.

If you’re interested in selling at PulpFest, our dealers’ room is full. However, we are adding a limited number of tables in the pre-function hallway outside of the dealers’ room. These tables will cost $125 each and will be guarded by security overnight. If you are interested, please write to Jack Cullers at jack@pulpfest.com to sign up for a spot. Any attendees who are interested in providing security services, please write to Jack Cullers at his email address above.

Our featured image is excerpted from Keith Howell’s cover art for Savageology, a collection of Philip José Farmer’s writings about Doc Savage, forthcoming from Meteor House in 2025.

Speaking of Doc Savage, catch Craig McDonald’s latest video on the Man of Bronze by visiting our YouTube Channel.

 

And while you’re there, be sure to subscribe.

Our lead image is adapted by William Lampkin from Bob Eggleton’s dust jacket art for Philip José Farmer’s Time’s Last Gift, forthcoming from Meteor House in 2025.

Our final image is Philip José Farmer’s Time’s Last Gift, the second British printing, published by Panther Books in 1979 with cover art by Geoff Cummings.

First Ever Hardcover Edition of Philip José Farmer's THE OTHER LOG OF PHILEAS FOGG!

The first ever hardcover edition of Philip José Farmer's groundbreaking 1972 novel The Other Log of Phileas Fogg!

The first ever hardcover edition... 

• ...of what was "steampunk" long before the term was coined!
• ...of a key Wold Newton Universe novel!
• ...of a seminal crossover novel by one of the masters of the genre!

Don't let your Philip José Farmer collection go without this new unique edition that also includes Jules Verne's Around the World in Eight Days... 

The limited edition hardcover includes:

• Leatherette cover with gold foil stamping
• Custom printed end papers
• Illustrated signature page in color, signed by contributors Win Scott Eckert, Henry Franke, Dennis Power, and cover artist M. S. Corley!

BOTH the limited edition hardcover and the trade paperback include:

• Farmer’s Foreword and Introduction (as included in all prior editions of Other Log)
• “A Submersible Subterfuge, or, Proof Impositive” by H. W. Starr (as included in all prior editions of Other Log)
• “Jules Verne’s Extraordinary Voyages Around the World” by Jules Verne expert Henry G. Franke III
• “Only a Coincidence: Phileas Fogg, Philip José Farmer, and the Wold Newton Family” by Farmer and Wold Newton Family expert Win Scott Eckert—including a family tree graphic showing Philip José Farmer’s place in the Wold Newton Family!
• “A Chronology of Major Events Pertinent to The Other Log of Phileas Fogg” by Win Scott Eckert
  

Also included are two bonus stories, set in the latter part of the novel when Fogg and company are traveling across the midwestern United States:

• “Being an Account of the Delay at Green River, Wyoming of Phileas Fogg, World Traveler” by Win Scott Eckert
• “Passing through the Hands of Steel” by Dennis E. Power

In addition, by arrangement with artist Rick J. Bryant, we have included his original interior illustrations originally published in the 1982 TOR Books edition of Other Log!

Preorder your copy today!

The Monster on Hold

There was a Door to which I found no Key:

There was a Veil past which I could not see:

  Some little Talk awhile of ME and THEE

There seemed—and then no more of THEE and ME.

          Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, translated by Edward FitzGerald

What seems Up may be Down.

         Escape from Loki

         Philip José Farmer

Meteor House

Amazon

FarmerFan - a new fanzine dedicated to Philip José Farmer

If you're a fan and reader of Philip José Farmer and haven't checked this out yet, you really should...

Online and free here: http://farmerfan.com/

Meteor House's New Edition of IRONCASTLE

I submitted my afterword, "Surprising Embellishments," yesterday for the new edition of IRONCASTLE by J.-H. Rosny aîné and Philip José Farmer. The new limited edition hardcover, as well as softcover edition, is coming soon from Meteor House.

I'm in good company with essayists Brian Stableford and Christopher Paul Carey!

US $23 tpb/$65 hc
5.5×8.5, 204 pages
Trade Paperback
Limited Edition of 200 Hardcover copies

Somewhere in the unexplored heart of Africa, a part of this Earth had been taken over by an intelligence from outer space. Such was the message that reached the explorer Hareton Ironcastle, member of the famous Baltimore Gun Club. In that hidden and transformed valley would now be found monsters and pre-humans not to be seen anywhere else. Such a challenge could not be ignored…

The account of Ironcastle’s expedition of daring but inexperienced amateurs became one of the classic novels of the French writer, J.-H. Rosny aîné, who was a contemporary of Verne, Wells, and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Philip José Farmer, Hugo winner and chronicler of the adventures of Tarzan and Doc Savage, translated and retold Rosny’s 1922 novel, L’étonnant voyage de Hareton Ironcastle, making it a marvelous adventure novel to stand alongside the works of Burroughs, Haggard, and Farmer himself. Farmer’s 1976 version, published in paperback only, followed Rosny judiciously, while adding certain surprising embellishments of his own.

This handsome new edition boasts the same stunning cover art and six interior illustrations as the original paperback—by the legendary Roy G. Krenkel!

Curiously, the 1976 edition featured only a tiny sample of Krenkel’s painting, making this the first edition to feature the entire magnificent cover art. Honoring Krenkel’s original art, the Meteor House limited edition hardcover is presented unadorned—that is, no title and byline will cover any portion of Krenkel’s stunning artwork.

Bonus Features:

• Brian Stableford, a prolific British science fiction author who has in recent years translated many of Rosny’s works from French to English for Black Coat Press, has provided an introduction to this edition of Ironcastle.
• Published with Ironcastle for the first time is the short story sequel, “Iron and Bronze: A Hareton Ironcastle and Doc Ardan Adventure,” by Farmer and pulp-lit experts Christopher Paul Carey and Win Scott Eckert.

Taduki-inspired visions draw an intrepid adventurer and a madman to a lost African outpost of Atlantis where they must confront an ancient mystery from the stars… Drawing on diverse sources such as Jules Verne’s The Barsac Misison, H. Rider Haggard’s She and Allan, Guy d’Armen’s Doc Ardan (who has been called the “French Doc Savage”), J.-H. Rosny âiné’s L’étonnant voyage de Hareton Ironcastle, Pierre Benoit’s L’Atlantide (The Queen of Atlantis), and Philip José Farmer’s own “monomyth,” “Iron and Bronze” hearkens back the classic SF adventure pulps of the 1920s and ’30s.

Also in this edition, Christopher Paul Carey pens an insightful foreword explaining how IRONCASTLE ties into the "Farmerian Monomyth," and Win Scott Eckert provides a short afterword covering Farmer’s “surprising embellishments” related to the Wold Newton Family.

This book is available in a Trade Paperback and Signed Hardcover Limited Editions (signed by Stableford, Carey, and Eckert). The hardcover features a leatherette cover with gold foil stamping and custom printed color end papers—a high quality collectible in the tradition of Meteor House’s prior limited edition hardcovers. We’re taking preorders now and both editions will ship in June 2022.

• The trade paperback edition is $23 (plus shipping).
• The signed hardcover limited edition is $65 (plus shipping).
• Or you can buy them together for only $83 (plus a further discount with combined shipping)!

Merci beaucoup to Fabrice Mundzik at the J.-H. Rosny blog for promoting our new forthcoming edition of IRONCASTLE!

“This translation (or rather 'retold', sometimes even the term 'embellishment' is used) by P.-J. Farmer deserves to be... translated into French! I haven't changed my mind, this version of Philip José Farmer is simply excellent!!!"

"In addition to the novel by J.-H. Rosny, Meteor House has the good sense to add an introduction by Brian Stableford, 'Iron and Bronze: A Hareton Ironcastle and Doc Ardan Adventure', by Christopher Paul Carey and Win Scott Eckert, as well as an afterword by Win Scott Eckert.... 'De Fer et de bronze' ('Iron and Bronze') is in my Top 10 of the best literary tributes to J.-H. Rosny!"

Meteor House 2021 Releases Unboxing Video - The Monster on Hold | The Man Who Met Tarzan | It's Always Darkest

 Meteor House 2021 Releases Unboxing Video

The Monster on  Hold | The Man Who Met Tarzan | It's Always Darkest

The Monster on Hold - Trade paperback cover reveal

Catching up on blogging, I realized I announced the wonderful cover reveal for the Signed Hardcover Limited Edition of The Monster on Hold by artist Mark Wheatley back in February, but I neglected to post here about the fantastic Trade Paperback cover by Doug Klauba when it was revealed back in May. 

Oops! Here it is, in all its glory,

Philip José Farmer worked on The Monster on Hold, the fourth novel in his Secrets of the Nine series, in the 1970s and ’80s, but never completed it or any other works in the series. Using Farmer’s partial manuscripts and copious notes, Win Scott Eckert, co-author with Farmer of The Evil in Pemberley House, has at long last completed the novel.

They were known simply as the Nine. Grim and ancient rulers who discovered the key to eternal life thirty-thousand years ago, and ever since have held the world secretly in thrall. These dark manipulators control the destinies of billions, including the formidable Doc Caliban, Champion of Justice. Once, Doc had been their servant and had shared their secrets. Now, appalled by their tyranny, he and his half-brother, Lord Grandrith—bastard son of Jack the Ripper—have turned against the Nine, daring to challenge their centuries-old supremacy.

In the eighteenth century, the Nine had been faced with a similar revolt and, in desperation, summoned a thing from another dimension—a thing with the power to touch the subconscious and cause nightmares. And that thing—Shrassk—was held in abeyance in a deep cavern complex below New England.

Now, Shrassk and her Children have awakened.

Caliban, suffering from recurring nightmares in which he sees somebody much like himself—and who in these visions seems to be dreaming of Caliban—gathers his closest allies for a final showdown. Together with longtime associates Pauncho Van Veelar and Barney Banks, and his titian-haired cousin, Trish Wilde, whose superhuman skills match his own, Doc descends deep into the subterranean complex to confront an infinite evil, the unspeakable dweller lurking at the threshold between two universes…

Featuring an introduction by Bronze Gazette editor Chuck Welch, The Monster on Hold is available in a Trade Paperback (featuring cover art by Doug Klauba) and a Signed Hardcover Limited Edition (featuring a wraparound jacket by Mark Wheatley). Each edition also includes interior artwork by both artists. The hardcover will be signed by Win Scott Eckert, Chuck Welch, Doug Klauba, and Mark Wheatley!

The book is due out in the fall of 2021.

Pre-order The Monster on Hold

The Monster on Hold - Preorder & Cover Reveal!

Philip José Farmer worked on The Monster on Hold, the fourth novel in his Secrets of the Nine series, in the 1970s and ’80s, but never completed it or any other works in the series. Using Farmer’s partial manuscripts and copious notes, Win Scott Eckert, co-author with Farmer of The Evil in Pemberley House, has at long last completed the novel.

Today, publisher Meteor House announced the two cover artists. Douglas Klauba is doing the Trade Paperback cover and Mark Wheatley is doing the Signed Hardcover Limited Edition cover. And here is a look at the front (only) of the hardcover wraparound artwork by Mark Wheatley!

They were known simply as the Nine. Grim and ancient rulers who discovered the key to eternal life thirty-thousand years ago, and ever since have held the world secretly in thrall. These dark manipulators control the destinies of billions, including the formidable Doc Caliban, Champion of Justice. Once, Doc had been their servant and had shared their secrets. Now, appalled by their tyranny, he and his half-brother, Lord Grandrith—bastard son of Jack the Ripper—have turned against the Nine, daring to challenge their centuries-old supremacy.

In the eighteenth century, the Nine had been faced with a similar revolt and, in desperation, summoned a thing from another dimension—a thing with the power to touch the subconscious and cause nightmares. And that thing—Shrassk—was held in abeyance in a deep cavern complex below New England.

Now, Shrassk and her Children have awakened.

Caliban, suffering from recurring nightmares in which he sees somebody much like himself—and who in these visions seems to be dreaming of Caliban—gathers his closest allies for a final showdown. Together with longtime associates Pauncho Van Veelar and Barney Banks, and his titian-haired cousin, Trish Wilde, whose superhuman skills match his own, Doc descends deep into the subterranean complex to confront an infinite evil, the unspeakable dweller lurking at the threshold between two universes…

Featuring an introduction by Bronze Gazette editor Chuck Welch, The Monster on Hold is available in a Trade Paperback (featuring cover art by Doug Klauba, coming soon) and a Signed Hardcover Limited Edition (featuring a wraparound jacket by Mark Wheatley). Each edition also includes interior artwork by both artists. The hardcover will be signed by Win Scott Eckert, Chuck Welch, Doug Klauba, and Mark Wheatley!

The book is due out in the fall of 2021.

Order The Monster on Hold

Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe - Philip José Farmer’s Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time

My partners and I at Meteor House were so thrilled when Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. announced at the ERB panel at San Diego Comic-Con on July 19, 2019 that certain previously published authorized Burroughs novels by other writers—specifically Philip José Farmer’s Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time and Fritz Leiber’s Tarzan and the Valley of Gold—are considered official canonical novels in terms of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe™ (ERBU), that we immediately asked ERB, Inc. if we could add the ERBU logo to our next printings of Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time.

With an enthusiastic “yes” from ERB, Inc. in response, we quickly ordered a new run of hardcovers which we’ll have on hand at PulpFest 2019 / FarmerCon XIV this week—August 15 through 18—in Cranberry (Pittsburgh) PA. 

Softcovers won’t have the new logo until we sell through our current stock, and ebooks will be updated with the new logo shortly after PulpFest. A new first hardcover edition of Leiber’s novel is also just out, published by ERB, Inc. and Christopher Paul Carey, Director of Publishing at ERB, Inc. will have copies on hand at PulpFest.

Tarzan Lives!

Trademarks Edgar Rice Burroughs®, Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe™, and Tarzan® owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. The Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe™ logo is a trademark of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Used by permission.

PulpFest 2019...and me!

I'm pleased to announce that after much back and forth, I will be attending PulpFest 2019 in August, and will have copies of Hunt the Avenger (published by Moonstone Books) on hand!

On Saturday, August 17, from 1:30 – 2:30 PM, I'll be signing Hunt the Avenger. If you've already preordered a copy, please bring it with you and I'll be happy to personally inscribe it (even if you already bought one of the signed limited edition hardcovers). Of course, if you want to pick up a copy from me there, that's fine as well. I will have softcovers and hardcovers–probably more softcovers.

Immediately thereafter, 3:15 – 4:30 PM, I'll be joining top notch writers (featuring John Bruening, Christopher Paul Carey, Craig McDonald, and William Patrick Murray) on a panel on Contemporary Pulp: Writing Genre Fiction moderated by authorized Fu Manchu continuation author William Patrick Maynard.

That evening, 7:45 – 8:25 PM, I'll be on the FarmerCon XIV panel: Farmer of the Pulps: A Harvest of Influences (featuring Jason Aiken, Christopher Paul Carey, and Garyn G. Roberts Ph. D., with Paul Spiteri moderating).

I hope to see you there!

• PulpFest site
• Full PulpFest schedule

The Evil in Pemberley House on sale!

From publisher Meteor House:

Our sixth biweekly sale is a discount usually only available to dealers: 40% off on one of our bestselling books — The Evil in Pemberley House, by Philip José Farmer & Win Scott Eckert. 

Pemberley is a darkly erotic novel with broad appeal to readers of pulp and popular literature, particularly followers of Doc Savage, Sherlockians, and fans of Farmer’s own celebrated Wold Newton Family.

This is our $20 trade paperback edition, which you can get for only $12 (+shipping). 

As always, please be sure to select the correct shipping option in the PayPal button below and do note that quantities are limited.

From ERB to PJF: How Burroughs Inspired Philip José Farmer - Dum-Dum 2018

On August 3, 2018, I was honored to give a guest speaker presentation at the 2018 Dum-Dum, held in Morgan City, LA, the site of the filming of the first Tarzan movie one-hundred years prior.

With thanks to Bill Hillman's ERBzine for the image conversion of my presentation, I'm pleased to make it available on Farmer's 101st birthday. Bill Hillman is also kindly hosting the presentation on his ERBzine site. 

I'd also like to thank The Official Philip José Farmer Web Page, which was a great resource as I prepared the presentation, in helping me verify that I covered everything.

In addition, I recommend downloading the accompanying audio file of my talk and scrolling through the slides/images below while listening. (Thanks to Henry Franke of the Burroughs Bibliophiles for providing the audio!)

Happy birthday, Phil!