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dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Now it can be told: the true story of The Big Guy, a man raised by ape-like beings in a lost world and brought to civilization, as told by his ape-brother, Bill! What really happened when The Woman and her scientist father brought The Big Guy and his brother from their jungle home?
Joe Lansdale has been one of my top five writers for over a decade now. As much as I pimp his Hap & Leonard series to crime fans, what really grabbed my attention was his weirder fare like this.
In The Ape Man's Brother, Uncle Joe takes a page from Philip Jose Farmer's playbook and imagines what Tarzan, sorry, The Big Guy, might have been like if he actually existed. Only instead of Farmer's take, this tale is full of the usual mojo: sex, cursing, violence, and humor. Farmer sure didn't drag Tarzan and Cheetah to Hollywood and have them star in a movie based on their exploits. And Cheetah sure didn't... well, I don't want to spoil too much.
Even though Tarzan fans might not appreciate The Big Guy's antics, it's clear Joe Lansdale loves the subject matter he's tackling. There's pulpy action and, if you ask me, the Big Guy acts like a jungle-raised savage would if he was brought to Hollywood and had fame and fortune thrust upon him.
At 104 pages, it's a slim book but it's the perfect size for what it is: a hilarious tale only the mojo storyteller himself could dream up. With dinosaurs, lots of humor, violence, and the Big Guy sodomizing a dead lion, it's worth ever penny. Four out of five stars!
Joe Lansdale has been one of my top five writers for over a decade now. As much as I pimp his Hap & Leonard series to crime fans, what really grabbed my attention was his weirder fare like this.
In The Ape Man's Brother, Uncle Joe takes a page from Philip Jose Farmer's playbook and imagines what Tarzan, sorry, The Big Guy, might have been like if he actually existed. Only instead of Farmer's take, this tale is full of the usual mojo: sex, cursing, violence, and humor. Farmer sure didn't drag Tarzan and Cheetah to Hollywood and have them star in a movie based on their exploits. And Cheetah sure didn't... well, I don't want to spoil too much.
Even though Tarzan fans might not appreciate The Big Guy's antics, it's clear Joe Lansdale loves the subject matter he's tackling. There's pulpy action and, if you ask me, the Big Guy acts like a jungle-raised savage would if he was brought to Hollywood and had fame and fortune thrust upon him.
At 104 pages, it's a slim book but it's the perfect size for what it is: a hilarious tale only the mojo storyteller himself could dream up. With dinosaurs, lots of humor, violence, and the Big Guy sodomizing a dead lion, it's worth ever penny. Four out of five stars!
shane_tiernan's review
3.0
This started out absolutely hilarious, then around a third of the way in it became just funny once in a while. It was a fun story all the way through though, especially if you like completely ridiculous stories heavily sprinkled with vulgar sexual references.
honeymonster's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This quasi-Tarzan tale is not Lansdale's best, but it's sort of pulp-fiction fun.
joshua_shaw's review
4.0
I should note, that I read this story in the collection "Fishing for Dinosaurs," though I was taken enough with it that I may very well try to track down a standalone copy for my collection.
I do not know how this story reads for a casual reader, but as a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan stories, I rather enjoyed it. Pulpy and self-aware, with laugh-out-loud dialogue, it was a hard one to put down. It is classic Lansdale and one I would recommend to anyone who likes Tarzan or Joe R. Lansdale.
I do not know how this story reads for a casual reader, but as a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan stories, I rather enjoyed it. Pulpy and self-aware, with laugh-out-loud dialogue, it was a hard one to put down. It is classic Lansdale and one I would recommend to anyone who likes Tarzan or Joe R. Lansdale.
verkisto's review
3.0
There were two strikes against me as I started reading this novella. First, I'm not too familiar with the Tarzan stories. I mean, yeah, I know who he is, but I haven't read any of the books, so my knowledge of the character and series is only superficial. Sure, I knew the story was going to be a riff on the Tarzan mythology (with a title like The Ape Man's Brother, how could I not know? I'm not an idiot), but I didn't realize it was going to be a more-or-less complete retelling of his origin.
Secondly, I haven't read Lansdale's Ned the Seal books. I wouldn't have expected this to be a strike against me, but apparently the story is set in that same universe, which explains the strange geography of the United States. At first, I thought Lansdale was channeling Philip K. Dick with how the US was split into a European-led eastern half and a Japanese-led western half, but maybe he still is. I haven't read those books to get a clear idea of why that's the case.
(For that matter, why set this novella in that universe at all? Or will that make more sense to me once I read those books?)
The story is, as I mentioned above, a retelling of Tarzan's origin, told through retrospection from the perspective of Cheetah (not his real name, he's quick to tell you). In true Lansdale fashion, it's a profane retelling, including the sexual exploits of both Tarzan ... er, The Big Guy, and Bill, our ape-like narrator. Bill tells us how The Big Guy arrived in their hidden wilderness, how they were later discovered, and how they went back to the US to learn to be civilized. It's less an adventure story than I would have expected for a Tarzan story, but it still winds up being a compelling character study.
Much of the book relies on description, which is fine by itself, but Lansdale is known for his snappy dialogue, which is mostly missing. There are still his unique turns of phrase, but without that dialogue, not only does it feel less like a Lansdale story, but it also distances the reader from all the characters but Bill. Without having a better idea of the characters outside of what they mean to Bill, we lack a better connection to the other characters. On the bright side, Lansdale is showing us that the ape-like narrator is more human than any of his human companions, so maybe that's intended.
I get the feeling I should have caught up on the Tarzan books before reading this novella, but what I did know seemed to be enough. The story is compelling and interesting enough, though Lansdale has done much better than this with his other stories. In the grand scheme of thing, it's better than, say, Prisoner 489, but not as good (not nearly as good) as his Texas noir stories. It's lodged firmly in the middle, making this story only for the completionists.
Secondly, I haven't read Lansdale's Ned the Seal books. I wouldn't have expected this to be a strike against me, but apparently the story is set in that same universe, which explains the strange geography of the United States. At first, I thought Lansdale was channeling Philip K. Dick with how the US was split into a European-led eastern half and a Japanese-led western half, but maybe he still is. I haven't read those books to get a clear idea of why that's the case.
(For that matter, why set this novella in that universe at all? Or will that make more sense to me once I read those books?)
The story is, as I mentioned above, a retelling of Tarzan's origin, told through retrospection from the perspective of Cheetah (not his real name, he's quick to tell you). In true Lansdale fashion, it's a profane retelling, including the sexual exploits of both Tarzan ... er, The Big Guy, and Bill, our ape-like narrator. Bill tells us how The Big Guy arrived in their hidden wilderness, how they were later discovered, and how they went back to the US to learn to be civilized. It's less an adventure story than I would have expected for a Tarzan story, but it still winds up being a compelling character study.
Much of the book relies on description, which is fine by itself, but Lansdale is known for his snappy dialogue, which is mostly missing. There are still his unique turns of phrase, but without that dialogue, not only does it feel less like a Lansdale story, but it also distances the reader from all the characters but Bill. Without having a better idea of the characters outside of what they mean to Bill, we lack a better connection to the other characters. On the bright side, Lansdale is showing us that the ape-like narrator is more human than any of his human companions, so maybe that's intended.
I get the feeling I should have caught up on the Tarzan books before reading this novella, but what I did know seemed to be enough. The story is compelling and interesting enough, though Lansdale has done much better than this with his other stories. In the grand scheme of thing, it's better than, say, Prisoner 489, but not as good (not nearly as good) as his Texas noir stories. It's lodged firmly in the middle, making this story only for the completionists.
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