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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
I’ve noticed that what there is of character development in the Tarzan series (it’s not a lot) seems to occur between the novels rather than in them. So here we find Tarzan and Jane living in London, apparently having been there for a decade since THE BEASTS OF TARZAN, and the jungle lord is much more the gentleman than we’ve ever witnessed before. Not that we witness a great deal of it here, because Tarzan has little more than a walk on part in this one. His son, Jack—who becomes Korak—is the primary protagonist in a tale that more or less replays the first volume but with greater style and at a faster pace. It’s pretty good—one of the best in the series—but, of course and as always, you need to find a way to deal with Burroughs’ preposterous plot, unbelievable coincidences, cardboard cut-out characters, nonsensical assumptions, and casual racism and sexism if you’re to appreciate his work. That’s a lot to get around, but if you regard his output (and the Tarzan series in particular) as mythology of the early 20th century, it becomes a little easier to steer through the unpalatable stuff. After all, if we were to censor everything based on current morality and ethics, then the Greek classics would have to be shredded for their matricide, patricide, fratricide, and pedophiliac content. Burroughs was never a zealous racist, anyway—he was simply a product of the period, a man who unquestioningly accepted prevalent attitudes with little realisation that they were vile and utterly wrong. So, yes, you need to do some contextual work to navigate through wince-inducing statements and get the best out of this, but if you can manage that, then you’re in for a treat, because there’s a generous serving of fun here.
Such a fun fast paced read. I remember reading this when I was about 15 or 16 and this series made for some of my favorite reads ever. One of a very few books I read more then once...and reading it now...2 decades later I still think it's a fine piece of writing :)