Friday, August 7, 2009

Pemberley House--full Booklist review



In the many novels of the Wold Newton series, the late Farmer proved fond of enhancing the "biographies" of famous literary characters, such as Verne's Phileas Fogg and Burroughs' Tarzan, with fanciful, "uncovered" details. Here, collaborating with sf colleague and Wold Newton enthusiast Eckert, he recounts the fate of Patricia Wildman, daughter of pulp fiction icon Doc Savage. When her parents are presumed dead in a plane crash, 22-year-old Patricia assuages her grief in a spate of short-lived, unfulfilling love affairs. Then surprising news arrives: Patricia is the sole heir to Pemberley House, the estate featured in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and she sets off immediately for England. Eager for the change of scenery, Patricia comes well prepared to meet her bawdy cousins and 103-year-old dowager aunt, still living at Pemberley, but is less prepared for the restless ghost still haunting the estate. Part pulp romance, part erotic thriller, Farmer and Eckert's yarn is a steamy, intriguing addition to Wold Newton lore.

- Carl Hays

(c) Booklist 2009