Thursday 20 January 2011

Tarzan

I thought I'd get in the African mood - good thing I've got half a dozen of the original Tarzan novels on my Sony eReader. I know Tarzan well -who doesn't?- but only from the countless Movies I've seen, TV series I've watched and comic books I've read. But I've never read any of the original novels.

I'm going right back to the start, Tarzan year zero if you like with Tarzan of the Apes which was first published in 1912 and is available as a free download from Gutenberg. Will it still be readable? Will it be hopelessly dated?

I'll let you know.

6 comments:

Chris said...

I read it a couple years ago, and while it's dated, if you can overlook that I think you'll find it a lot of fun. I sure did. I think I'll throw one of those old novels in my bag to read in the near future myself!

Davieboy said...

It's many years since I read them but I think you'll find them a quick, fun read. The original stories are better than any of the screenplays.
Then it's on to John Carter of Mars...

Scott D. Parker said...

I, too, read the first book a couple of years ago...and thoroughly loved it. Not like any of the movies, but Greystoke comes close. I blew through books 1-3, and 6. Very much enjoy them.

wayne d. dundee said...

You won't be disappointed. The writing style is a little heavy-handed and outdated, but for sheer imagination and adventure and plot twists told from multiple character angles ... few could match Burroughs. TARZAN OF THE APES may be the proper place to start, but the peak of the series came with THE RETURN OF TARZAN, THE BEASTS OF TARZAN, TARZAN THE UNTAMED, and TARZAN THE TERRIBLE.

Matthew P. Mayo said...

I agree with these folks, Gary. I've read most of them, plus most of ERB's other books, and it's been a rare occasion when I've been disappointed. For classic adventure, these will be difficult to beat.

On a related note, I just read at Mel Odom's blog (http://melodom.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-tarzan-of-apes.html) that author Andy Briggs is rebooting the Tarzan series--Tarzan as a lad, I think--for a YA audience. I'm guessing this is due to the recent successes with young Bond and Holmes books. I wish 'em luck. And I'll probably read them....

Nik Morton said...

I agree with Wayne, some of the later books - Beasts, Untamed and Terrible are really good and not for Disney kiddies. One day we may see a reboot of Tarzan for grown ups!
Nik Morton

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