Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions

Farmerphile evolves!

The long-running (and always on time!) Philip José Farmer 'zine has morphed into an annual series of anthologies, featuring fiction authorized by Phil's estate, set in Phil's worlds, as well as smattering of essays and interviews.

My own contribution to The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions is the Scarlet Pimpernel story "Is He in Hell?"--now expanded with more Wold-Newtony goodness!

Longtime fans of Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Family are by now well aware of the meteor which struck near the small hamlet of Wold Newton on December 13, 1795. Two large coaches with fourteen passengers and four coachmen were within a few yards of the strike, exposing all present to ionized meteorite radiation, and causing a beneficial mutation of genes in those present. Their descendants included an extraordinary number of great crime fighters, scientists, explorers, and even criminal masterminds. As Farmer has said, “…Most of the passengers came of stock which had been producing extraordinary men and women for many generations. Some of their descendants were more than extraordinary; they bordered on, and in some cases attained, the status of superman.”

What followers of the Wold Newton mythos have long wondered is, what were those passengers and coachmen doing at Wold Newton, so far off the beaten path, on a cold December day in the waning years of the 18th century? Was it a twist of fate, or was such a gathering inevitable?

“Is He in Hell?” takes on that question and sets up what promises to be an ongoing series of tales about these extraordinary men and women, and the origin of the Wold Newton Family.

As a bonus feature, a short note follows the story, detailing the Scarlet Pimpernel family tree and reconciling information from Baroness Orczy's Pimpernel books with Phil's fictional biography Tarzan Alive.

The Worlds of Philip José Farmer will be a series of books published annually for the foreseeable future. This year's book will contain (subject to change):

And for you book collectors out there, The Worlds of Philip José Farmer will be a numbered limited edition trade paperback. The release date is June 26th, during Farmercon V. We will only be printing 50 to 100 copies more than are pre-ordered, so to be sure you get a copy of this book, send an email to mike @ pjfarmer.com and reserve your copy today. You don't have to pay for the book when you pre-order and if you request, the book will be signed by those contributors who happen to be at FarmerCon V, which is also acting as a launch party for the book.
Copies are limited and already going fast, so contact mike @ pjfarmer.com and reserve your copy now!

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Sunday, April 18, 2010

Crossovers 1: A Secret Chronology of the World - May release

I'm pleased to announce that Black Coat Press has set the release date for Crossovers 1: A Secret Chronology of the World; the book will come out with a May publication date--although it may actually reach some early birds a few days before the first of May.

Crossovers 1 covers the Dawn of Time to 1939, and features an introduction by Kim Newman and an addendum covering television crossovers.

Crossovers 2
, scheduled for July release, covers 1940 to The Future, and will have an introduction by Jess Nevins and two addenda: one on alternate universe stories, and one covering Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series.

I'll post again as soon as
Crossovers 1 is available for order on both the Black Coat Press site and Amazon.

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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Philip José Farmer's RIVERWORLD airs tomorrow on SyFy


SyFy's adaptation of Philip José Farmer's Riverworld series airs tomorrow, April 18, at 7:00 p.m. EST/PST.

No matter what you think of the 4-hour television movie, you owe it to yourself to read the books. The first two, To Your Scattered Bodies Go and The Fabulous Riverboat have just been reissued by Tor in an omnibus edition as Riverworld. Tor will also be reissuing the remaining books: The Dark Design and The Magic Labyrinth are already listed. Read 'em all!

While you're waiting for the show tomorrow night, jump over to the Official Philip José Farmer Home Page and read Ten Things You Need to Know about Philip José Farmer.

I'll be watching tomorrow night, and of course hoping for the best. But either way, we'll always have the books.

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Friday, April 09, 2010

Crossovers 2 cover reveal!

Once again, artist extraordinaire Mark Maddox has knocked it out of the park with his cover for Crossovers 2: A Secret Chronology of the World. I'm really pleased to have Mark on this project, and appreciate him taking it on. Click on the pic for the large version...

And as long as we're talking
Crossovers.... I mentioned in a post a few nights ago the release date for Crossovers 1 was July. I now think that will be pulled in to June, or perhaps even May, depending on how fast I can get my corrections on the final proof back to Jean-Marc Lofficier at Black Coat Press.

In the meantime the book's specs have been updated:
US$ 30.95/GBP 22.99
6x9 tpb, 460 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1-935558-10-1


Yes, pricey, but this is essentially an encyclopedia, and if you're a crossover nut, it'll be worth it, I promise. :-)


So stay tuned to this space for more info on the release date!

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Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Crossovers 1



I turned over the final manuscript for Crossovers 1: A Secret Chronology of the World, to Black Coat Press publisher Jean-Marc Lofficier last night.

Current release date is listed as July 10.

Crossovers 2 is for all intents and purposes done, but I'm hanging on to it pending any last minute tweaks.

Now, to sleep.

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