Reviews

The Beasts of Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

altruest's review against another edition

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5.0

The third installment of my (most likely) month of Tarzan. I really liked this one, priimarily because it sees Jane Porter, once the archetypal love interest/damsel in distress, take the initiative and do some action-heroing (heroineing?) without her husband, Tarzan of the Apes. The first time she leveled a heavy rifle at some fool Russian's head I almost giggled with glee. The rest of the story is pretty standard Tarzan fare, the imagery of Tarzan's new gang sailing down the river is a fearsome and kind of humourous one. I did enjoy this, can't wait to see what happens next.

eeclayton's review against another edition

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4.0

Update, 2020:
Now that I've read the first two books, this third installment makes way more sense, and I find it way more enjoyable too. Yes, you need a generous amount of suspension of disbelief, but it's good pulp fiction, very entertaining, and I loved that Jane appeared as a strong female character.

***
Review, 2015:
Szokták mondani, hogy vigyázni kell, mit kíván az ember lánya: hát én valami könnyedet akartam olvasni, amin nem kell sokat agyalni, és megkaptam. Ettől még szerethettem volna a könyvet, elvégre tele van akcióval, igazából egy fél oldalra sem ül le a történet, jelenthetett volna valódi kikapcsolódást. Csakhogy folyton kizökkentett a számtalan következetlenség, például, hogy Tarzan helyenként kilométerekről kiszagolja az ellenségét, máskor meg akkor sem veszi észre, ha centikre megközelíti, az állatcsapatot meg egyszerűen nem vettem be.
SpoilerAz egy dolog, hogy Tarzan a dzsungelben nőtt föl, és ezért könnyen eligazodik benne, de hogy megtanítja a majmokat evezni? A párduccal napok alatt elfogadtatja a majomhordát és vice versa? Ne már. Úgy általában véve minden olyan könnyen megoldódik. Felmerül a bonyodalom, de szerencsére mindig pont akad valami, ami megkönnyíti az elhárítást.

Szóval bármennyire is kellemes egy szinte meztelen, civilizálódott angol dzsungelfiának a kalandját követni, ez most nem tetszett.

gatorelgato's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

mindsplinters's review against another edition

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2.0

Not as fun as #2 - more brutal, somewhat more problematic.

whitneyborup's review against another edition

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4.0

In this one Tarzan recruits a bunch of apes and a leopard to help him row a boat and fight Russians. So it's awesome.

joshua_shaw's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

3.75

cheermio's review against another edition

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2.0

I might be done reading Tarzan books...

papi's review against another edition

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3.0

A young teen classic...bet it (or others by Burroughs) aren't read much any more. Too bad.

kailey_luminouslibro's review against another edition

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4.0

The suspense keeps you reading on and on! Can't put it down. Burroughs is a master of keeping you hanging at the end of a chapter. The action is practically non-stop, and the characters are admirable. He really gets you cheering for the good guys, b/c they are so brave and righteous. The villains are horrid too. Fantastic writing without any wasted words or boring descriptions or endless analyzing of character's motives. He sets it out in a simple sentence, then moves on. I love his writing style! Can't wait to read the next one, Son of Tarzan.

birdmanseven's review against another edition

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4.0

After reading the dreary "Return of Tarzan" I was worried only the first book would be any good. Luckily, book 3 got us back on track. My problem with "Return" was that it got away from the things that make Tarzan cool. Tarzan as a secret agent = dumb. Tarzan as king of the jungle = awesome. "Beasts" brought Tarzan back to the jungle and back to his strengths. Very good.

We discussed this series in a special episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-247-lockdown-recommendations-books