The Great Tarzan Adventure #5: Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar

Burroughs’s fifth Tarzan novel, Tarzan of the Jewels of Opar, is the first, to me anyhow, that read like a stand-alone adventure.  There were references to earlier volumes, we meet an old friend, the Waziri, and, of course, La and the lost city of Opar.  Still, there is no narrative carry over the way there was with the Russian storyline.  This would be a good place for the casual reader to jump in.  There’s a sense of continuity but not a necessity to know it.  For the dedicated reader, however, there’s little to be learned of the character or history of Tarzan.   

Be warned – spoilers ahead!

Tarzan has gone broke from some venture at the beginning of this tale.  No big deal for him, since his fortune came from the lost colony of Atlantis, Opar.  He simply has to go get more.  Until, that is, he takes a blow to the head and awakens with amnesia.  I don’t know how clichéd the plot device was during Burroughs’s time, but it just didn’t work for me.  I could be biased; these types of stories tend to frustrate me.  For one, I don’t like seeing the protagonist acting the opposite of the way he typically does.  And for another, it just seems like a lazy, too simple way to make conflict.  It happens, however, and bad stuff happens.  Jane is kidnapped by a band of Arabs with plans for ransom.  There’s the story of a Belgian who has murdered his officers and fled into the jungle and who gets wrapped up with the Arabs, and therefore Tarzan. 

Yeah, my thoughts exactly – where’s Opar in all of this?  I mean, he goes there, gets amnesia, and leaves.  La does pursue him to win back a sacred knife and because she’s totally, madly in love with him, but that’s pretty much it.  Everything, of course, works out in the end, but I was expecting a bit more from this one. 

So, yes, I was disappointed.  I rated it three on Goodreads, so I didn’t hate it.  I didn’t not like it. I was just disappointed.  Here’s my major complaints:

1. Lack of information about Opar.  Burroughs spends about a page or so info-dumping about the history of Opar, for which I’m eternally grateful . . . I just wanted more.  I was expecting Tarzan to delve into the deep, dark recesses of Opar and uncover hidden truths, etc.  Didn’t happen.
2. La made me cringe.  She made a brief but memorable appearance in Return, so I was expecting something earth-shattering here.  I mean, she’s pretty ingrained in the mythology outside the novels.  I wanted to know more about her, see her as a powerful woman.  Didn’t happen.
3. Where’s Tarzan?  Was it just me, or did it seem like Tarzan was only in about half the book?  I wanted him exploring a lost world, battling strange beasts . . . Didn’t happen.
4. Where’s Korak and Meriem?  They were introduced as a great power couple in the last book.  No, I didn’t expect them to reside at the Tarzan mansion, but I did expect them to at least be mentioned once.  Didn’t happen.
5. An uncomfortable number of lions died in the course of the story.

If I could point to one thing that saved the book from total disillusion, it was Mugambi and the Waziri.   I was especially glad to see the return of Tarzan’s companion from Beasts, and his and the Waziri’s defense of Jane ranks as one of my favorite Edgar Rice Burroughs scenes.  Probably in my top twenty of reading period.  When the Arabs are attacking the Greystoke estate, the Warzir, lead by Mugambi, are gradually pushed into the house, then into the very room where Jane has sought refuge.  They fight and die, not giving an inch freely.  It was like a scene from Cy Endfield’s Zulu.  When Mugambi fell, I was genuinely saddened.  What a way to go though – very memorable.  And then when Burroughs brought him back, I can honestly say I wasn’t totally surprised.  I usually hate tricks like this one because they make the powerful death scene seem cheapened; it feels like a cheat.  Not this time.  I hope to see Mugambi later.  (Of course, I wrote the same thing about Korak and Meriem last time, and look where that got me.)   

The Jewels of Opar, by far, has been the biggest disappointment for me so far on this journey.  I probably sound a bit more bitter than I actually am, but I was so looking forward to this one, more than many of the others just based on titles.  Oh well, I’ve still got nineteen to go.  I expect there will be lots of ups and downs along the way.  Next on the list is The Jungle Tales of Tarzan.  It’s a collection of short stories from Tarzan’s youth.  If you’ve been thinking about joining the Adventure, here’s probably a very good chance to climb on board.

See you next time!

The Great Tarzan Adventure #4: The Son of Tarzan

I remember buying the Gold Key Korak comics when I was a kid.  I especially loved the dinosaur and lost world painted covers, and even though it stated clearly on the front of each issue “Son of Tarzan” and “Edgar Rice Burroughs,” I somehow never put two and two together until I began reading The Son of Tarzan.  Oh, well.  Live and learn.  And that’s essentially what this book is all about: Tarzan’s son lives in and learns the ways of the jungle in a strikingly similar manner in which his father did.  If you’ve read the first three, you’ll probably want to read this one simply because it ties up everything with the Russians. 

If you haven’t read this one yet, you will be hitting some spoilers very soon.  You’ve been warned.  Here’s one already – Paulvitch, having run into the jungle at the end of Beasts, is rescued.  He’s aged drastically, scarred from torture, and completely unrecognizable.  And of course, he blames everything on Tarzan.  It is he who acts as the motivating force for the book.  He will serparate Jack, Tarzan and Jane’s son, from his family, which will lead to his being stranded in the jungles of Africa.  The book explores his growing up and learning to survive in the jungle.  Oddly, however, the book is just as much as about the struggles of Meriem, Jack’s – soon to be named Korak – love interest.  

From the opening of the first chapter, I thought this was going to be more or less about Paulvitch’s revenge against Tarzan via his son.   Well, I’ve been wrong before.  Paulvitch doesn’t survive the first handful of chapters.  He gets things started then – bam – he’s dead.  I was surprised but was really ready to have the Russians out of the picture once and for all.  So, no complaints there.  I was glad to see Akut return – he actually plays a bigger role in this volume than the previous.  It is he who gives Jack the name Korak, the Killer, and becomes his mentor.  I would have loved to have seen Sheeta, but you can’t always get what you want.  Sadly, however, I am left wondering if the sheeta that was killed at the beginning of the story was ours from Beasts.  I hope not, but it’s the law of the jungle and all that. 

The biggest surprise for me was Meriem’s story.  I expected to have the typical Burroughs’ romance plot, but I’d venture a guess to say that she takes up nearly half the book.  We not only learn her background, but we see her growing up and suffering at the hands of an evil Arab long before being rescued and falling in love with Korak.  And as expected, once Korak finds Meriem, and learns that he loves her, we know the two are doomed to be separated by distance and social circumstances, just as we expect every thing to work out in the end.  Which it does – almost too perfectly.

I can honestly say that I was not looking forward to this novel.  (There’s one more that I do not look forward to, but we’ll get there when we get there.)  I was reading Tarzan, daggonit, and I didn’t want to read a book about his son.  I wanted a hero, not someone like “Boy” from the Weismuller films, who only serves as a plot device or side-kick.  When it became evident that Burroughs was going to focus on Korak instead of Tarzan, I felt somewhat relieved.  I still wanted Tarzan, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt at this point.  When Korak grew to manhood, I was even more relieved, and I never felt like I was reading Tarzan of the Apes retold, though the stories are very similar.  At first I was frustrated when that story was interrupted with Meriem.  When it became evident she was more than the standard love-interest material, I was fairly comfortable with the story.  By the time the story ended, she was much more interesting than Jane in all the previous books combined. 

One thing I absolutely did not care for this time around was the heavy reliance upon coincidence.  Things definitely progressed at the speed of plot convenience here.  First there was Paulvitch being taken to the jungle ilse home of Akut, who happens to take the ape to London, where he almost immediately reconnects with Tarzan.  There were lots more, especially involving Meriem’s ordeals.  As soon as it was shown her being kidnapped as a child,  I automatically knew she would be reunited with her family by the end of the book.  Making her an actual princess in the end was pushing it a bit for me, though.

I did like much of the book and was surprised on occasion.  Korak was more mistrustful and bloodthirsty than his father had ever been.  And there were more Wiesmuller moments – good ones – in this book than the previous.  Akut and Korak have many conversations, but I was more excited to see his relationship with Tantor, which lead to some shocking and bloody moments.  And then Burroughs pulled one on me.  When we meet Bwana and My Darling, I assumed they would be Meriem’s parents.  At one point, I even wondered why My Darling would be teaching her English instead of French.  Of course, as soon as Bwana started stripping when he went into the jungle to find Korak, I knew he was Tarzan.  Like I said, I’ve been wrong before.   By that point, however, I realized I was enjoying the novel much more than I had anticipated. 

Of the first four books, I’d place The Son of Tarzan above Retun and below Beasts.  The first novel was different enough, to me, to be in its own category.  Korak proved to be a very likeable protagonist, the action was there, the fantastical elements, too, with talking to the apes and all.  The big surprise was Meriem who proved to be as interesting as Korak.  I would definitely not mind seeing these two again. 

It’s been fast and furious run so far.  Hope you stay along for the ride! 

THE GREAT TARZAN ADVENTURE #2: The Return of Tarzan

Burroughs covers most of the "pulp" bases with this one. Welcome to installment number two of THE GREAT TARZAN ADVENTURE!  This time out, we’ll be examining the good, the bad, and the ugly of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s second Tarzan novel, The Return of Tarzan.  This book marks a significant turn already for the series.  Whereas, Tarzan of the Apes read like a Victorian adventure novel despite its pulp accoutrements, Return strives to be nothing more than it is: a globetrotting story that would give Indiana Jones a run for his money.  Does that make for bad reading?  I suppose it really depends on the reader; it definitely doesn’t for me.  The spoilers are about to be let slipped.  So, if you haven’t read it yet, you’ve been warned.

The Return of Tarzan picks up pretty much where the first ended.  Our protagonist is trying to find his way in the civilized world.  He’s taken up with D’Arnot, his closest “civilized” companion from the first book, who is trying to divert Tarzan’s mood after having sacrificed his love for Jane to ensure she and her father have a happy, comfortable life.  I don’t know that Edgar Rice Burroughs set out to write a novel in the traditional sense with the first book, but here, he plays strictly to his strengths.  There’s social and political intrigue, there are exotic locales and the discovery of a lost world – it’s like all the best ingredients of pulp fiction.  On the other hand, the limitations of pulp are more clearly seen in this volume – there’s limited character development and a less developed plot.     

Before I began reading, I read the back cover where we are told: “After a brief and harrowing period among men, he turned back to the African jungle  . . . It was there he first hear of Opar, the city of gold, left over from fabled Atlantis.”  I was excited, because who does lost city adventures better than Burroughs?  It was only by the time I got to chapter nineteen of a twenty-six chapter book, however, that I was finally getting ready to see Opar.  Now, what was left off the back cover was the story of a Russian agent blackmailing people for information and how Tarzan gets on his bad side.  This story would see Tarzan from the streets of Paris to the deserts of North Africa to the deck of a steamer.  And the best part is that Tarzan himself becomes a secret agent!  Foiled by Tarzan in Paris, the Russian swears revenge that sees him moving and counter-moving against the Lord of the Jungle on two continents.  When Tarzan is tossed off the steamer by the enemy agent and left for dead, the narrative finally returns to the African jungle and to the lost city of Opar.

Now, to say I was disappointed by the late appearance of Opar would be deceiving.  I definitely wanted Tarzan to get there, but all along the way I kept just thinking, “No way – no way!”  If anything bothered me about the book, it was the crazy coincidences that pushed the plot along.  For example, Jane just so happens to take a cruise to postpone her marriage, and when the ship sinks, she ends up on the African coast, in Tarzan’s family’s old cabin no less.  And it just so happened that Tarzan, once dumped overboard, finds himself back at his old haunt as well.  There was more, but those were the icing on the cake.  Yes, it’s incredulous at times, but the thrills and the sense of wonder overshadows its limitations.  The fast and furious pace, plus the vivid scenery and action make it an easy, worthwhile read.

I think it’s justified, too, to say that Burroughs relies on stereotyping in this novel.  The Russians are the conniving villains; Jane is the damsel in distress; the Waiziri are the Noble Savages. Concerning the portrayal of the Arab tribes: the good guys look good, the bad guys look bad.  He utilizes this trope regardless of race. About the only character who shows any sort of growth is our protagonist.  During his initial encounter with the Waiziri, Tarzan is ready to kill one of the tribesman just as he killed in the previous novel, but this time, he waits.  He realizes he is not a savage beast but a man, and that man realizes the Waiziri are men, too. 

On a final note, I would like to pose this question: do you think that the fantasy trope of the primitive men with supermodel women emerges from this book?  The men of Opar are a step or two above the apes, yet the women are slower to devolve.  This image became ingrained in the minds of readers, especially when Frank Frazetta got a hold of it.  That would be an interesting topic to pursue.  Any takers? 

Anyway, that’s all for now.  THE GREAT TARZAN ADVENTURE! will return next month (that will be in late April) with a look at The Beasts of Tarzan.  If you’re just now finding us, look that one up and start there.  Would love to have company along for the ride.  As always, Nerdbloggers would love to hear what you folks have to say.  Feel free post to your heart’s content: agree, disagree, compare/contrast, discuss future reads, or anything.  

THE GREAT TARZAN ADVENTURE #1: Tarzan of the Apes

Ballantine. Neal Adams art.Who doesn’t know Tarzan of the Apes?  I wouldn’t even venture a guess as to how many do simply because of Disney.  That being said, I’d bet not many at all these days know the story by Edgar Rice Burroughs that introduced the character to the world in the pages of All-Story Magazine back in 1912.  Until recently, I only knew Tarzan from films, cartoons, and comics, and it was not until I read Tarzan of the Apes that I realized I really didn’t know the character at all.  Tarzan is not a good-natured, ignorant brute, nor is he someone who tree-surfs through the jungle – he is unlike anything most people think they know about the character.  If you want to get to know the original Lord of the Jungle, you will want to read Burroughs’s book.     

Tarzan emerged from the pulp magazines, where one could read anything from sports stories to westerns.  The magazines were cheaply made to be affordable for the common, working man, so it’s not too surprising that the stories inside were escapism in their purest forms.  Many of science fiction and fantasy’s most beloved icons developed their talents in their pages, greats like Ray Bradbury, Robert E. Howard, C.L. Moore and Fitz Leiber.  Before they had begun to define the science fiction and fantasy we know and love today, Edgar Rice Burroughs had been creating characters and worlds that would loom large across both genres, inspiring writers and readers alike.  Tarzan proved to be his most lucrative creation and has gone on to become a cultural icon.          

Okay, if you haven’t read the book, be warned.  There be spoilers lurking in the paragraphs ahead.

Of course, most people know the basic story of Tarzan: boy raised by apes, becomes big and strong man, falls in love with Jane, they live happily ever after.   However . . . even this watered-down story regarding our ape-man hero is incomplete and often wrong in spots.  For example, the story of the fear and struggle surrounding Tarzan’s birth is hardly ever covered, nor what it was like for him maturing among the apes.  Personally, l had never encountered Tarzan teaching himself to read until I read Burroughs.  I knew nothing of his first interactions with other humans and how he ruthlessly killed some of them with – of all weapons –  a lasso!  And while I knew Tarzan visited the states, I didn’t know it was to meet Jane only to leave her betrothed to another man.  Where’s the happily-ever-after in that we’re all used to getting?

I enjoyed this book immensely and would not be afraid to say it may be the best Burroughs I’ve read.  It’s definitely one of my favorites.  My love of ERB stems mainly from the wonderful worlds he created and the fantastic adventures that sweep the heroes across those worlds.  I definitely wasn’t disappointed in that regard.  No, Burroughs’s Africa is not a Barsoom or Pellucidar, but it is just as wondrous and dangerous.  The apes, with their own language and customs, are not that far removed from the Green Martians from A Princess of Mars.  The scene where they gather for the Dum Dum to hold “council” and dance was marvelous.  I also enjoyed having Tarzan as a logical and rational protagonist (which was what I enjoyed most from Filmation’s Saturday morning cartoons).  He doesn’t have to rely on anyone, even when he’s transported to the “civilized” world.  If anything, he refuses to use anyone or anything as a crutch.

That being said, Tarzan of the Apes is not a perfect book.  I’ve heard Burroughs described as the “best worst writer.”  While I don’t proscribe to the idea he’s the worst, he’s far from the best.  His dialogue tends to be a bit stilted and plots a bit redundant.  It’s easy to argue that the man meets woman, woman can’t be with man because of social situation, man saves/wins woman through his heroic deeds is the basic plot of A Princess of Mars and At the Earth’s Core, just as it’s easy to say that he doesn’t write characters but uses character types.  The easy reply to that would be consider his medium – the pulps.  Burroughs is writing to entertain.  Pulp characters tend to be “types,” maybe more archetype than stereotype in the better ones, but that’s all the story needs.  Yes, the plots are similar, but it’s seeing how the protagonist will win out that’s important here. 

First ed. cover.Nonetheless, I would argue that Tarzan is more than a “type.”  He represents those ideals:  the individual unsullied by civilization, strong and resourceful.  Look at him early in the book – he is true to his ape upbringing.  There are he and his “people” and there are “others.”  Through the course of the book that concept changes, until he has meshed both world views together.  Tarzan becomes more than the “Noble Savage.”  He is a complex being born of two worlds, and because of these circumstances, we can see the pros and cons of civilization and the evil innocence of savagery.  In this regard, Tarzan is a precursor to what Robert E. Howard would examine in some of his Conan stories.  And again, there is that wonderful setting.  Burroughs is at his best when his imagination is allowed to run wild.  His vision of Africa is just as wonder-filled as his Mars and Pellucidar.  Burroughs’s strengths in Tarzan of the Apes, like they do in the best of his books, overshadow his weaknesses.   

Tarzan of the Apes is an excellent read.  Through the sheer power of his imagination Burroughs is able to take the elements of pulp fiction to another level.  The book is much more complex than most readers would acknowledge, definitely more so than the image of Tarzan that resides in the popular consciousness. 

And that is an excellent start to THE GREAT TARZAN ADVENTURE!  Nerdbloggers would love to hear what you folks have to say.  Feel free post to your heart’s content: agree, disagree, compare/contrast, discuss future reads, anything.  Next month, I’ll be posting my review of The Return of Tarzan, so any of you that would like to join the adventure, read or reread along.  The ebook versions are dirt cheap at Amazon.com.  You can get single books for free or the entire collection for under five dollars.  Project Gutenberg has fee ebook and free audio versions of the first ten books or so. 

You can look for the next adventure toward the middlish-end of March.  Hope to see you there!   

THE GREAT TARZAN ADVENTURE!

Having been an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan for over thirty years, I came to the startling realization last year that I hadn’t read any of his Tarzan adventures.  I began as a sophomore with Pellucidar, hopped over the John Carter, skipped to Caspak, skimmed around Venus, went to the moon, picked around various other titles here and there, then reread portions of Pellucidar and Mars, but nary a single Tarzan in all those years.  Okay, wait, I read Tarzan at the Earth’s Core as part of the Pellucidar series, but I didn’t consider it a Tarzan read at the time.  I guess I never really considered Tarzan sci-fi-y enough or not fantasy-y enough, even though I knew he discovered lost cities (and went to the center of the Earth).  Hmph, go figure. 

Via Filmation.Maybe it’s just that I got my Tarzan fix through different media.  I grew up with Jonny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan first on Dialing for Dollars (anybody remember that afternoon quiz show/daily genre movie show?) and now on DVD.  I watched every movie adaption that came out from the seventies up through Disney – except for Bo Derek’s.  I read the comic books from Gold Key, Marvel and DC and watched the Filmation series every Saturday, even when they crunched him up with the Lone Ranger.  I honestly don’t know why I never read the actual novels.  Which brings me to the task at hand: THE GREAT TARZAN ADVENTURE!

The really cool Ballantine covers.I am publicly declaring that it is my intent, my mission, my moral obligation as a Burroughs fan, to read the Tarzan stories from beginning to end.  I will start at Tarzan of the Apes and end twenty-four books later with Tarzan and the Castaways.  I will not include the kiddy Tarzan Twin stories as they are not considered part of the official Tarzan series according to . . . well, most everybody.  I will be reading the Ballantine editions from seventies (the really cool black covered ones with the great Neal Adams and Boris Vallejo artwork).  I also bought The Complete Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs for my kindle, so I will have Tarzan with me wherever I go. 

It’s my intention to read one per month.  I’ve already read the first two, so I will post my first review toward the middle of February.  I think it would be great to have as many readers participate as possible – that’s why I’m going to wait a bit before I start posting my reviews – and ideally we can get lots of discussions going to examine the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Tarzan stories.

So, join me on Nerdbloggers as I plunge into the exciting journey I like to call THE GREAT TARZAN ADVENTURE!