Audible Book Review - The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs

I wasn't planning on getting this any time soon. This wasn't because I didn't like the first book, but rather because I recently finished three books that were all start of their respective trilogies (see last three book reviews). However, there were a number of factors that influenced me to get The Return of Tarzan from Edgar Rice Burroughs. First, two of the trilogies I got from the library and I didn't want to own the audio versions of the later books without having the first book. Second, in regards to the series I listened to Angel already bought the second book (and today the third) so I didn't have to. Third, as I won't make it to the library until Saturday, I wanted to start something right away, but needed to put some space between the last book and the 2nd in the trilogy. Fourth, a good friend recommended that I listen to book two of Tarzan as it wraps up Tarzan's undecided love story with Jane. So, all in all, I got The Return of Tarzan and now am ready to dive back into the other trilogies. Here is the link to the Audible's page for the book. It was narrated by Robert Whitefield and was a much better production then my copy of the first Tarzan.

Plot: Tarzan has left America and is intent on returning first to Paris and then, ultimately to his jungle Africa. While on the boat however, he interferes in the affairs of a man who will come to plague Tarzan. Rokoff, a Russian spy stationed in Paris, is as devious and sinister as Tarzan is noble. In Paris, Tarzan meets and becomes friends with others that help him secure his first job, a special agent for the Ministry of War. His mission takes him to North Africa to ferret out a spy. Next he is sent to Cape Town, but is caught by surprise and is tossed overboard, only to wind up at his original cabin, built by his own father. In a search for weapons to arm himself (there were none left at the cabin and he had none on him when he was thrown overboard), he meets and befriends a wild tribe, the Waziri. Helping to save the village from slavers and cannibals endears him to them and they elect him their king. While with the Waziri Tarzan hears of a land of gold to the south and leads a group of warriors there to try and claim some. Tarzan is captured by the misshapen inhabitants, but is able to escape and with the warriors returns laden with gold ingots. At this same time, Jane Porter, the only woman Tarzan has ever loved is on a cruse around Africa with her fiance and some friends when they are shipwrecked not far from where they originally met Tarzan. But Rokoff is among them and how will they survive without Jane's "Jungle God" to watch over them?  From the journey across the Atlantic to Paris, to North Africa, and ultimately back to his cabin by the sea Tarzan meets this villain and strives to foil his plots both as they threaten others and Tarzan himself.

My personal favorites: This book moved faster than the first Tarzan. There was lots of action and Tarzan was either kicking trash or facing dangerous peril. I was surprised on the occasions that Tarzan made mistakes or was caught off guard. It made him a little more human. Although, like most good adventure stories he rallied and came back stronger for it. I found it entertaining how Burroughs would phrase many of Tarzan's inner thoughts as "Tarzan soliloquized." Tarzan working as a special agent for the war department (in essence a spy) made sense and was a fun twist on his story. The character of Rokoff was suitably despicable and made a good adversary for Tarzan, balancing strength for cunning. Not to say that Tarzan was stupid, but that Rokoff was good at coming at him in ways he didn't expect. It was also interesting to read of Tarzan's comparisons between "civilized man" and the savage jungle.

Consideration: Like the first, this book has some early 20th century opinions and some may find offense with comments made about women or people of color. I didn't think the Burroughs was unfair to women, as a whole, but there were times that a comment made would make me shake my head. Tarzan is just as superhuman as ever and "has the devil's own luck." The whole idea that a man was thrown overboard on one day should land on a beach that two months later should house shipwrecked mariners was rather far fetched, as were some of the things that assisted Tarzan. But again, these troupes are common in the adventure genre and should be taken with a grain of salt.

All in all, I enjoyed the book immensely and found it hard to put down. There is a lot that happens over the course of the book and it had both the surprising and the inevitable. It was a very good distraction. The totol length was nine hours.

Book Review - King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

I've started taking the bus to work which gives me time to actually sit down and read and not just listen. I figured that I would review those books as well as my Audible.com books. I picked up King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (later Sir Haggard) from the library. Considered a classic work of literature and the start of the adventure genre I first heard about it after watching League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Allan Quartermain was played by Sean Connery, but I must say that after reading the book, I don't picture Quartermain as an old, bearded James Bond. I did enjoy the book and the style it was written in.

Plot: Allan Quartermain is an English game hunter, trader, and general outdoors-man who makes his life out in the bush and between the cities. While traveling, he is approached by two Englishmen, Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good (ret.), to help find Sir Henry's brother, lost while attempting to find the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon. Quartermain has not only heard of the mines but knew a man who tried to find them. He is hesitant to lead the men, fearing that as none have returned that his death will impact his son's ability to study medicine in England. Sir Henry provides means to placate Quartermain's fears and they set off. Over the course of their adventure they face angry elephants, deserts, frozen peaks and caves, savage native kings, cruel witches, treachery, forbidden love, and outright war. In the end the escape and are able to accomplish their respective goals to varying degrees. The ending was quite satisfactory and the read was enjoyable.

Personal Favorites: I enjoyed the action and the situations the characters found themselves in. While not the most surprising read, there were elements of suspense that kept me interested. The action was uncomplicated but enjoyable and the pacing wasn't bad. The book is framed as a memoir with Quartermain narrating it so he'll skip over bits that he thinks are boring, enabling the story to flow rather well. I liked the diverse characters from the warrior Sir Henry, to the properly attired Good, to stalwart and clever Quartermain. As I mentioned, Quartermain is very different then how he is portrayed in League of Extaordinary Gentlemen, but he is still an engaging and very human character. He has realistic fears, desires, considerations, and sensibilities. He is not perfect, but he is capable and likable. Call me a delinquent but one of my favorite scenes is when the three Englishman "cast a spell" before a tribe of natives (who don't speak English) and while Sir Henry and Quartermain quickly run out of nonsense words Good, being a seaman, is able to sustain his cursing and swearing for a long time "with very little repetition."

Considerations: It is an older book and so older sensibilities and opinions are expressed. Some may find their relationship, opinion, and treatment of the natives as undesirable, although they are considerate to all they meet and are not harsh to others. It is expressed that whites and blacks cannot intermarry and are quite separate from each other, but beyond this their relations seem equal in many respects. Our heroes are hunters and are not opposed to killing elephants for the ivory and other things. While the book was not particularly graphic, it did have violent parts. It is not a complex story so if you're looking for something really cerebral I wouldn't recommend it. I saw all of these considerations as minor inconveniences to the story and none of them were of grievous offense. I mention them simply because some may be sensitive to such things.

Overall I enjoy the book very much and am glad to have read it. It's overall length was a little under 300 pages.

Audible Book Review - Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Yesterday I finished listening to Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the same man who wrote John Carter of Mars. Considered one of the first adventure novels it was published in 1912 Tarzan is a character known by many across the world and was even one of the inspirations for Jane Goodall. My mother (and I want to say older sister as well) read it a few years ago and mentioned how much they enjoyed it. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it but found myself enjoy it immensely. The only version of the Tarzan story that I was familiar with prior to reading the book was the Disney movie which came in in 1999 and enjoyed finding the small things Disney paid tribute to in their version. Although, I thought it was funny that the name of Tarzan's father in the book is the name of the villain in the film. Here is the link to Audible's page for the book. The book was narrated by David Ian Davies and while there were some technical oddities, it was enjoyable to listen to.

Plot: John Clayton (Lord Greystoke) and his pregnant wife, Lady Alice, are marooned on the west coast of Africa after a horrible mutiny. They live there for the space of a year and a half before are killed by the wild apes - Alice from mental trauma after an attack early on, and John at the hands of Kerchak the morning after Alice's death. Kala, an ape in Kerchak's tribe who had lost her own child to Kerchak's rage the same morning he kills John, see's the "young Lord Greystoke" and leaving her own dead infant in the cradle takes Tarzan for her own. Tarzan grows and as he gets older returns to the cabin build by his father, discovering his hunting knife and the books they had brought to teach him. Over the course of many years he teaches himself to read and write English, rope, maintain his knife, shoot a bow and arrow, and starts his path to becoming Lord of the Jungle, and his own tribe of apes. Eventually another party of people are marooned on the same beach as his parents. The party includes a young American, Jane Porter, her father, his secretary, her maid servant, and William Cecil Clayton, Tarzan's own cousin and the current heir to the Greystoke estate and wealth. Tarzan, seeing them as fellow "men" strives to help them survive all the while falling in love with Jane. When the party is rescued by a french navy ship things go wrong as they are attacked by cannibals and Tarzan leaves to rescue one of their officers, D'Arnot. As Tarzan cares for the man's wounds in the midst of the jungle the ship sets sail without them. After reading a note left by Jane, who by now feels something for him, Tarzan decides to search her out in America. But first he and D'Arnot has to get out of Africa. And to complicate things that blasted D'Arnot had to teach Tarzan to speak French instead of English.

My personal favorites: Growing up on stories of Mowgli of India, I loved watching another character become a superhuman, supernatural force. Able to communicate and overcome the wild. Tarzan is not a perfect person, is very human. He likes to play pranks on the local cannibal tribe. Throwing the bodies of those he ambushes into the midst of the village from the trees, or leaving the body to peer around the side of the gate when they flee the at his antics. The action was fun and the other characters entertaining. Particularly the interactions between Jane's father and his secretary. There's something inherently funny about an academic being so wrapped up in his thoughts that when his companion tells him that there is a lion approaching them he objects to the interruption and then complains about the use of use "slang" as the term "lion." The ending was satisfying, if unexpected, and the extent of the adventure was gratifying. One other thing I like was the language used to describe everything. It was full of terms that are uncommon today (anthropoid, rapidity, etc.) that reminded me of Kipling, and other writers of the time and added a flavor that was a lot of fun.

Considerations: Some might take some offense at the constant references to Tarzan's superior heredity, race, reasoning, etc. While the vast majority of this language is used to compare him to the apes it almost sounds like racial and royal supremacy. While I found it mildly over the top, because it was excessive in its expression (not necessarily it's frequency) it was also humorous. I mention it only because some have strong feelings about such language. Also, I mentioned the technical oddities in the recording - sometimes the volume would change slightly, or a voice would be different, or there was a hint of static. In many ways it reminded me of an old radio story. It added a fun air to it and was a decent recording, albeit not the best.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and am now torn about going right the the second book, or listening to the one I planned on prior to finishing. I could go either way and be completely satisfied. The total length was 7 and a half hours.