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topdragon's review against another edition
4.0
In this ninth book in the Tarzan series, Tarzan, Jane, and son Korak are returning home from their previous adventure (as told in the book, “Tarzan the Terrible”) and come across an orphan lion cub which Tarzan decides to take back home and train as a hunting companion. About two years pass and the lion grows strong and loyal but just wild enough to be able to kill on Tarzan’s command. Also, over this time, Tarzan and Jane must re-build their African plantation after the Nazi’s destroyed it two books ago. But funds are running low so Tarzan decides to risk another trip to Opar to replenish the coffers. Meanwhile, Flora Hawkes, a former maid in the Greystoke home in London has put together a plan based on stories she has heard from her employers. She plans to become rich by stealing gold from Opar so she forms a safari-like team of associates including a Tarzan look-alike as a way to infiltrate Opar and take the gold.
A number of subplots are woven through the book as well, including another lost culture of gorilla-like people who control a large slave population, near Opar. And of course, we can't have an Opar adventure without the beautiful La, and this time, she has been betrayed and ousted by her evil and corrupt high priest. Tarzan must navigate his way through all of these threats.
Another enjoyable Tarzan adventure novel with plenty of action and adventure. For me, this one was especially nostalgic because it was my very first Tarzan novel, one that I first read way back when I was about 10 years old. I remember very little about that experience other than a feeling of disappointment, no doubt due to the fact that I was really too young to read it. My Tarzan experiences and expectations up to that point were based solely on cartoons, the funny pages, and perhaps a clip or two from a Johnny Weissmuller film, none of which depicted Tarzan as Lord Greystoke, an intelligent and forward thinking being.
This has been my “year of Tarzan”, a decision I embarked on back in January when I discovered this year (2018) was the 100th anniversary of the first Tarzan movie, a silent movie produced and released in 1918. Consequently I have watched about 20 of the classic era movies through this year, including that first silent movie, all of Weissmuller’s films, and the five Les Barker flicks. I am currently making my way through the 6 Gordon Scott pictures and plan to continue the film history of Tarzan into next year as well. I’ve only read five Tarzan books this year, four of them by Edgar Rice Burroughs and one by Will Murray. That’s OK. The Tarzan books are best read spread out over several years so that each one remains fresh.
A number of subplots are woven through the book as well, including another lost culture of gorilla-like people who control a large slave population, near Opar. And of course, we can't have an Opar adventure without the beautiful La, and this time, she has been betrayed and ousted by her evil and corrupt high priest. Tarzan must navigate his way through all of these threats.
Another enjoyable Tarzan adventure novel with plenty of action and adventure. For me, this one was especially nostalgic because it was my very first Tarzan novel, one that I first read way back when I was about 10 years old. I remember very little about that experience other than a feeling of disappointment, no doubt due to the fact that I was really too young to read it. My Tarzan experiences and expectations up to that point were based solely on cartoons, the funny pages, and perhaps a clip or two from a Johnny Weissmuller film, none of which depicted Tarzan as Lord Greystoke, an intelligent and forward thinking being.
This has been my “year of Tarzan”, a decision I embarked on back in January when I discovered this year (2018) was the 100th anniversary of the first Tarzan movie, a silent movie produced and released in 1918. Consequently I have watched about 20 of the classic era movies through this year, including that first silent movie, all of Weissmuller’s films, and the five Les Barker flicks. I am currently making my way through the 6 Gordon Scott pictures and plan to continue the film history of Tarzan into next year as well. I’ve only read five Tarzan books this year, four of them by Edgar Rice Burroughs and one by Will Murray. That’s OK. The Tarzan books are best read spread out over several years so that each one remains fresh.
kathyscottage's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
gentlemanjeff's review
3.0
Only one victory cry, Korak barely mentioned, and not so triumphant an ending as the Greystokes have brought us in the past. Villains' absurdly affected vernacular, repeated mistaken-identity gags and still more lost city ape-men have become tedious.
blchandler9000's review
3.0
Pulpy fun.
Tarzan raises an orphaned lion and trains it to heel, fetch, and kill. By the book's title, one might think that was the book's entire premise, but it's not. The book also includes a visit to the ancient Atlantean colony of Opar; a lost city of intelligent, diamond-mining gorilla men; evil priests; a band of craven European treasure hunters; a Tarzan impersonator; tribes of cannibals and slavers; and the disappearance of Jane. You get the impression that ERB was cramming every idea he could muster into the story. And he juggled it all well, actually. The denouement is a little hasty and there are a few moments where one wonders why ERB decided to cut off certain threads before they grew into interesting ideas, but I suppose there must be a return to the status quo come book's end.
On a personal note, this was especially fun to read because I decided to read one of the older books in my collection instead of an electronic copy. It was a red cloth Grosset & Dunlap from the 1920s. When I devoured ERB during my adolescence, I read entirely from used books, either copies I inherited from family or found in used book shops, these red G&Ds and the Ace paperbacks being my favorite editions. It was fun to smell the must of the thing, feel the coarseness of the paper, note foxing and stains on the pages and spots where the printing was imperfect (a little triangle of black often appeared above the lower case d where the type was over-inked). I almost gave the book 4 stars based on the pleasure I had in reading the thing. It was so nice to lie on a bed on a quiet afternoon, the window open, gentle breeze and birdsong leaking through it, and just plow through a book like I used to 30 years ago.
Tarzan raises an orphaned lion and trains it to heel, fetch, and kill. By the book's title, one might think that was the book's entire premise, but it's not. The book also includes a visit to the ancient Atlantean colony of Opar; a lost city of intelligent, diamond-mining gorilla men; evil priests; a band of craven European treasure hunters; a Tarzan impersonator; tribes of cannibals and slavers; and the disappearance of Jane. You get the impression that ERB was cramming every idea he could muster into the story. And he juggled it all well, actually. The denouement is a little hasty and there are a few moments where one wonders why ERB decided to cut off certain threads before they grew into interesting ideas, but I suppose there must be a return to the status quo come book's end.
On a personal note, this was especially fun to read because I decided to read one of the older books in my collection instead of an electronic copy. It was a red cloth Grosset & Dunlap from the 1920s. When I devoured ERB during my adolescence, I read entirely from used books, either copies I inherited from family or found in used book shops, these red G&Ds and the Ace paperbacks being my favorite editions. It was fun to smell the must of the thing, feel the coarseness of the paper, note foxing and stains on the pages and spots where the printing was imperfect (a little triangle of black often appeared above the lower case d where the type was over-inked). I almost gave the book 4 stars based on the pleasure I had in reading the thing. It was so nice to lie on a bed on a quiet afternoon, the window open, gentle breeze and birdsong leaking through it, and just plow through a book like I used to 30 years ago.
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