The Dark Heart of Time explained

The Dark Heart of Time: A Tarzan novel is a novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, authorized by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.^[1] Published in 1999, the book was first announced under the title Tarzan's Greatest Secret in 1997.^[2] A 2018 reissue of the novel marked the book's first hardcover edition, and was retitled Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time.^[3]

Plot

Set in October 1918—during Tarzan's search for Jane—the novel takes place between Tarzan the Untamed and Tarzan the Terrible.^[4]

The novel's antagonist is James D. Stonecraft, an American oil magnate who believes that Tarzan knows the secret of immortality. Stonecraft hires hunters to track and capture Tarzan for the secret, leading to conflicts at the "City Built by God" and the "Crystal Tree of Time". Through all of the adventure Tarzan is focused on escaping his pursuers so that he may return to his search for his wife.^[5]

Other Tarzan stories by Farmer

Before The Dark Heart of Time, Philip José Farmer wrote a number of books based to some extent on Tarzan.

• Time's Last Gift (1972) being a time travel story, the novel is both an unauthorized sequel to the entire Tarzan series, and a prequel to the authorized Khokarsa series.
• (1972/2006)
• The Adventure of the Peerless Peer (1974) an unauthorized work in which Tarzan meets Sherlock Holmes.
• Khokarsa series, novels authorized by ERB, Inc. set in Tarzan's Africa 10,000 years ago.
  • Hadon of Ancient Opar (1974)
  • Flight to Opar (1976)
• The Secrets of the Nine series, an alternative interpretation of Tarzan and Doc Savage as half-brothers battling a world-wide conspiracy headed by a group known as The Nine.
  • A Feast Unknown (1969)
  • Lord of the Trees / The Mad Goblin (dos-a-dos Ace Double, 1970)
  • The Empire of the Nine (Sphere, 1988) Omnibus reprint of the Ace Double with The Mad Goblin retitled as Keepers of the Secrets.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Publication History . Philip José Farmer International Bibliography . Zacharias L.A. . Nuninga . 16 April 2010.
2. Web site: Edgar Rice Burroughs . Spirit of America Bookstore . July 24, 2010.
3. Web site: Meteor House » Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time – Now in Hardcover!. meteorhousepress.com. 2018-02-23.
4. The Dark Heart of Time . Doc . Hermes . ERBzine . 0981 . 26 October 2002.
5. Web site: The Dark Heart of Time . David A. . Adams . 2006 . Edgar Rice Burroughs Summary Project.