Lord of the Trees

"Lord of the Trees" is an American novel by Philip José Farmer. Originally released in 1970, it was one of two intertwining sequels to Farmer's previous "A Feast Unknown", along with "The Mad Goblin". "Lord of the Trees" features Lord Grandrith, an analogue of Tarzan, as the main character.

Plot summary

At the end of "A Feast Unknown", Grandrith and Doc Caliban (a thinly disguised Doc Savage) cease fighting each other upon learning that their personal war and indeed their entire lives were engineered by the Nine, a megalomaniacal and powerful secret society. The two men have a sexual affliction in common; they are impotent except when performing acts of violence. This is caused by a serum that grants them eternal life—another product of the Nine. Angered by the ways they have been manipulated, the two heroes split up to overthrow the Nine, ultimately meeting up at the end. "Lord of the Trees" shows the story from Grandrith's point of view. "The Mad Goblin" tells the same story from Doc Caliban's viewpoint.

During the events of the book, Grandrith kills one member of the Nine, Mubaniga. The oldest member of the Nine, XauXau, died previously of extreme old age in "A Feast Unknown." Doc Caliban kills two others, Jiinfan and Iwaldi, in "The Mad Goblin". In the end, only four of the Nine remain alive, and the group is crippled.

Connection to Wold Newton family

Like "A Feast Unknown", "Lord of the Trees" contains many elements in common with Farmer's Wold Newton family concept, primarily the presence of characters based on Doc Savage and Tarzan. However, there is some disagreement as to where the stories fit into Farmer's fictional chronology, or, indeed, whether they fit at all. Farmer himself said that it was best to "let the reader decide", but some Wold Newton fans have taken it upon themselves to explain the apparent discrepancies. In particular, see Dennis E. Power's essays "Triple Tarzan Tangle" [ [http://www.pjfarmer.com/secret/tarzan/time-travelers-revised.htm Triple Tarzan Tangle] ] , "Tarzan? Jane?" [ [http://www.pjfarmer.com/secret/tarzan/Tarzan-Jane-intro.htm Tarzan? Jane?] ] , and "Tarzan"s" in the Valley of Gold" [ [http://www.pjfarmer.com/secret/tarzan/tarzans-in-the-valley-of-gold.htm Tarzan"s" in the Valley of Gold] ] .

Publishing history

The book was originally released as an "Ace Double" with "The Mad Goblin" in 1970. This copy featured cover art by Gray Morrow. Another Ace Double edition was published a decade later, in 1980. The book was later published in the United Kingdom in 1983 by Severn with art by Julie Smith. It was also released by Sphere in 1983, and in 1988 as an omnibus called "Empire of the Nine". The French edition was entitled "Le Seigneur des Arbes" ("The Lord of the Trees"). [ [http://www.xs4all.nl/~rnuninga/NovCol/NClott.htm Publishing history] ]

References

* [http://www.pjfarmer.com/books.htm#trees "Lord of the Trees"] at Farmer's official website.
* [http://www.pjfarmer.com/reviews.htm#mad Reviews of "Trees"] at Farmer's official website.

Footnotes