Where Tarzan Teams Up with Some Scary Beasts

The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like the first novel, and unlike the second, this works quite well as a novel with a single, straight-forward, unique plot. At about 75,000 words, it's a good length for a pulp novel--not too long, I mean--and it makes good use of the skills and attributes of the character Burroughs created.

I sort of like urban Tarzan, Lord Greystoke. If nothing else, it's a good palate-cleanser for the jungle scenes. But Tarzan in the wilderness, with animals, with trees to swing from, well, that's the reason you read Tarzan, right?

Like Superman with Lois or Jimmy, Tarzan is only vulnerable with his wife and child, so this story has his nemesis, Rokoff, kidnapping them from their London home and promising to leave them forever in the worst possible situation. His need to get revenge on Tarzan means that, instead of killing him when he has the chance, he keeps him alive to witness or at least know about the horrible life they will be trapped in. Of course, with Tarzan still alive, even marooned on an island, there's still hope.

The title lets you know part of the story. He befriends a panther and dominates a group of gorillas, making them into a kind of tribe or army, and some of the best scenes in the story include them going after the bad guys. With a little tweaking, this could all be converted to fantasy; it's very close.

There is a nice conclusion to the novel, which I'm glad for. I was afraid we were going out on a cliffhanger. Nope. Good ending. All made sense. Satisfying and self-contained, this is about as successful as this type of novel can be.

[*There's tons wrong with these books, especially the harmful stereotypes and casual racism, and maybe I should write a review just on that and then link it every time I mention it. For now, let me just refer to ~all of that~ with a sort of asterisk, reminding the reader that the flaws in society, in every period, inevitably keep showing up in books like a stain on every page. Whether that means one reads those stories with a cautious awareness of the flaws or one avoids reading them altogether I leave to others to decide for themselves. I get it either way.]

In terms of action, though, and creativity, and intrigue, Burroughs is an amazing storyteller. His golden era is well behind us, with movies and TV shows, and future generations may forget him altogether, the way we have done with so many authors of earlier periods, but he might well rebound. These titles of more than a century ago have become something of a niche read, but Tarzan, and some version of his stories, continues to be profitable and famous for good reason.

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