Where I Finally Learn About Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless

The Lion Men of Mongo by Alex Raymond
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I gave this a compassionate 3 stars. I was surprised to see so many gave it that or more. It's a stretch at 3. But that's fine.

I have a soft spot in my heart for pulp, so even when I know it's not gonna be great--and it isn't--I enjoy it some and score it as generously as I can. Yes, I enjoyed this some. Yes, I learned some things. Yes, I'm glad I read it.

It is, however, a pretty bad book.

The world-building is terrible. Nothing makes sense, really. It's almost as if the characters in the world are aware that they're imaginary people living in a literary world. The characters (as you expect in pulp) are absolutely stock, without depth. And the plot is dreadful. Stuff happens; then other stuff happens. The main characters don't achieve very much, TBH.

There is a small amount of action and a little dialogue that is sorta fun. Much less than I hoped. Most of it involved killing large creatures, which is fun, except I felt bad for them...

Anyway, this book is good mostly for connecting nostalgically with a time before your own or to familiarize yourself with something you've heard of but didn't know much about. Or, if you (like me) wanted to educate yourself on some of the oldest sources for space opera. (There are also those "It's so bad it's good!" people, but I don't get that. That ain't me.)

It's pretty thin. Not a lot to be learned here. But it's a quick read that might satisfy some curiosity, and for some folks that makes it worth looking at.

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