# I just read "Tarzan of the Apes"



## John Q. Mayhem (Oct 12, 2005)

Just finished. I was inspired to by the Tarzan vs. Conan thread, and enabled to by the link to the Gutenberg Project someone posted a little while back in the time machine thread.


I liked it. 

And Tarzan totally whoops Conan.


EDIT: And all the movie-Tarzans are _wussy little girly-men_ compared to the book-Tarzan.


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## Tonguez (Oct 12, 2005)

John Q. Mayhem said:
			
		

> Just finished. I was inspired to by the Tarzan vs. Conan thread, and enabled to by the link to the Gutenberg Project someone posted a little while back in the time machine thread.
> I liked it.
> 
> And Tarzan totally whoops Conan.
> EDIT: And all the movie-Tarzans are _wussy little girly-men_ compared to the book-Tarzan.




Welcome to the fold!

Tarzan is my all time favourite character and yep in everyway he whoops Conan
Tarzan of the Apes is a book I've been wanting to get a hold of for a long while to add to my collection of Tarzan novels. You'll find that some of the stories get a bit weird (like Tarzan and the Antmen or Tarzan in Pellucidar - which includes a flying stegosaurus!) but overall ERB rocks!


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## Hand of Evil (Oct 12, 2005)

ERB rules!  The book Tarzan sometimes surprises readers.    

Next try John Carter of Mars!


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## Desdichado (Oct 12, 2005)

Wow, I've done some unintentional good work with that thread!  

Yeah, the Project Gutenburg link is great.  But I still love my Ballantine paperback copy with the Neal Adams painting of Tarzan leaping out of the trees with his knife to attack Terkoz, who stands their bellowing back at him and loosely holding Jane by the hair in one hand.  To me, that's the iconic Tarzan image right there; savage yet righteous fury personified.

You read that quick, though--you should definately check out _The Return of Tarzan_ and close the loop on that story arc, though.

I honestly think that ERB didn't intend to continue Tarzan past those two books, but his popularity was so incredible that he ended up milking it for some 24 books or so (the last published posthumously.)  They do tend to get into a rut of sorts, though--it's not really worth it reading all of them unless you really have a lot of time on your hands (plus they're not all available at PG.)  _Tarzan and the Ant Men_ is considered by some to be the best of the "mid-series" Tarzan books, though--following the formula, but doing it with style before it got tired.  _Tarzan at the Earth's Core_ is also an odd book, but it's one of my favorites; the breadth of imagination in there is amazing.  I've also really always liked _Back to the Stone Age_ a one-shot spinoff book from _TatEC_.

Oh, did I mention that I'm kinda an incurable ERB fanboy?


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## John Q. Mayhem (Oct 13, 2005)

I've read a few chapters already. Looks very interesting  I like that Burroughs doesn't seem to be as insanely racist as Howard. That's nice.


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## Desdichado (Oct 13, 2005)

Whether or not Burroughs was racist is a sore topic amongst his fans (and scholars).  Although you'll find many people on many ends of the spectrum, the majority opinion seems to be that he more or less wasn't; he seems to have had heroes, villains and comic relief characters from all races, although his position on white European and American vs. "savages" of all stripes is a tad condescending.

Personally, I think he was perhaps a bit more of a "culturist" and nationalist than a racist, but there you have it.


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## John Q. Mayhem (Oct 14, 2005)

I'm inclined to agree with you there. And I don't think _anyone_ would argue with him being less racist than REH


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## Hand of Evil (Oct 14, 2005)

I think it was more to do with the times, ERB & REH were both products of the culture, that culture had a belief, social structure, and way of thinking, that by today's standard is racist but that is 20/20 hindsight and looking from the outside in.  What will be said of us in 100 years.


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## John Q. Mayhem (Oct 14, 2005)

Yeah, and I understand that, but even so, Howard gets pretty crazy at times


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## Desdichado (Oct 14, 2005)

Speaking of Tarzan, was I the only kid who used to watch his cartoon religiously in the late 70s?  I loved that show.  I wonder if I can find some DVD copies of it kicking around anywhere?  Along with Flash Gordon and Thundarr the Barbarian...


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## ragboy (Oct 14, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Speaking of Tarzan, was I the only kid who used to watch his cartoon religiously in the late 70s?  I loved that show.  I wonder if I can find some DVD copies of it kicking around anywhere?  Along with Flash Gordon and Thundarr the Barbarian...




Nope. I was right there with you. My wife still has a crush on the cartoon Tarzan... How about the live action version from the late 60's early 70's? With the little kid and Cheetah? Many a too-hot Saturday afternoon were spent under the window unit watching that show. 

I started reading Tarzan books when I was 15 or so (my first D&D character was named Korack--Tarzan's son). They were always sitting around the house because my Dad was a big ERB fan. I've read the first four or five books many many times. Never gets old. 

What was the one where Tarzan had to save the movie crew who was in the jungle filming a Tarzan movie? That book was fantastic and I highly recommend it (it's later in the series). 

And I for one love the 'weird' ones as much as the 'normal' ones. 

Faves: <tie> _Son of Tarzan _ and _Jungle Tales of Tarzan_

I agree about the Neal Adams painted cover... I used to stare at those covers for hours. Such odd little details.


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## Desdichado (Oct 14, 2005)

ragboy, U R AWESOME!!11!

If I ever move back to Austin or San Antone (my wife's always bugging me to check out the job market there; she's not a fan of Detroit.  Neither am I, really, for that matter) I'll definately look you up for recommendations on where to start finding a local game.


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## ragboy (Oct 20, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> ragboy, U R AWESOME!!11!
> 
> If I ever move back to Austin or San Antone (my wife's always bugging me to check out the job market there; she's not a fan of Detroit.  Neither am I, really, for that matter) I'll definately look you up for recommendations on where to start finding a local game.




Ah... well thanks! You're welcome down here anytime. Unfortunately, my main game contacts are with my live-in gamers (my kids). But, IIRC, you have four kids as well, so we can get a massively multi-kid RPG going...


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## Warrior Poet (Oct 20, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Speaking of Tarzan, was I the only kid who used to watch his cartoon religiously in the late 70s?  I loved that show.  I wonder if I can find some DVD copies of it kicking around anywhere?  Along with Flash Gordon and Thundarr the Barbarian...



Definitely not the only one.  That cartoon rocked!  Not as truly faithful to ERB as the books, of course, 'cause it was for kids, but still, a great show.  The Flash Gordon cartoon was also good.  Of course, I was but a wee lad, and I recall they recylced a lot of animation, but still, it was great!

Warrior Poet


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## Desdichado (Oct 20, 2005)

Warrior Poet said:
			
		

> Definitely not the only one.  That cartoon rocked!  Not as truly faithful to ERB as the books, of course, 'cause it was for kids, but still, a great show.  The Flash Gordon cartoon was also good.  Of course, I was but a wee lad, and I recall they recylced a lot of animation, but still, it was great!



And yet more faithful than any other screen repsentation of Tarzan, big or small, if I remember correctly, even so.  I never would have been drawn to the Tarzan books a few years later (when I was 11 or 12) if it hadn't been for that cartoon.  And even then, I probably wouldn't have eventually preferred the John Carter "planetary romance" books to Tarzan if it wasn't for Filmation's Flash Gordon paving the way for me there, too.

Those two, along with Thundarr the Barbarian, are probably the Saturday morning cartoons that were most influential on me as a kid.  I'd jump at the chance to pick up DVD's of any of those.  (Speaking of which, you can get complete runs of Thundarr on eBay for not much money.  Just put a bid down, as a matter of fact!)


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## Warrior Poet (Oct 20, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> And yet more faithful than any other screen repsentation of Tarzan, big or small, if I remember correctly, even so.  I never would have been drawn to the Tarzan books a few years later (when I was 11 or 12) if it hadn't been for that cartoon.  And even then, I probably wouldn't have eventually preferred the John Carter "planetary romance" books to Tarzan if it wasn't for Filmation's Flash Gordon paving the way for me there, too.
> 
> Those two, along with Thundarr the Barbarian, are probably the Saturday morning cartoons that were most influential on me as a kid.  I'd jump at the chance to pick up DVD's of any of those.  (Speaking of which, you can get complete runs of Thundarr on eBay for not much money.  Just put a bid down, as a matter of fact!)



Nice!  Yeah, I feel the same way.  The Tarzan cartoon definitely had a flavor to it that was certainly more faithful to Burroughs than the live-action Hollywood varieties.

Those cartoons were definitely early influences for me (along with Tolkien, which is a wonderful odd-coupling), as well, and led me to Burroughs, Howard, Frazetta, Leiber, Lovecraft, and Moorcock (and when I found _Fire and Ice_, that was the cherry on the sundae!).  I love all that savage-world-strange-landscape-weird-beasts-eldritch-and-obscure-
magic-two-fisted-sword-and-sorcery-with-beautiful-zaftig-
heroines-and-wild-adventure with some good-old-fashioned-
horrific-tear-back-the-curtain-on-reality's-darkness-and-
reveal-the-squamous-horror-beneath-stuff thrown in for good measure.  

Good memories . . . good memories . . . .

Warrior Poet

_Edit:  there's just no good way to format that compound descriptor so it looks good on screen, is there? _


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## Desdichado (Oct 20, 2005)

Warrior Poet said:
			
		

> there's just no good way to format that compound descriptor so it looks good on screen, is there?



Sorry, no there's not.


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## jester47 (Oct 26, 2005)

REH's stories are an interesting study when you look at his life and when the stories were written and their content.  His style changes after meeting Novelyn Price in that some of his women become more empowered.  Also, the racism drops off a little.  This is noticable if you read them in the order written.  Also, the stories for the time were very ahead of their times in some social commentary.


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## Cthulhu's Librarian (Oct 26, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Yeah, the Project Gutenburg link is great.




Another good link that I have to push since it's got offices just down the hall from me    is the UVA library's EText center. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ They have 17 ERB works availbale there, including a few illustraded editions http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/modeng/modengB.browse.html (scroll down almost to the bottom of the page)


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## Desdichado (Oct 26, 2005)

Great link, Rich!  Thanks!  Now I can also read <i>The Moon Maid</i> which for some reason has not been transcribed to Project Gutenberg yet.


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## Cthulhu's Librarian (Oct 26, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Great link, Rich!  Thanks!  Now I can also read <i>The Moon Maid</i> which for some reason has not been transcribed to Project Gutenberg yet.




Glad it's of use to you.   They are a great group of people working there, and it's always nice to see that people appreciate what they are doing. Look around the site, there is some excellent stuff there.


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## ragboy (Oct 26, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Great link, Rich!  Thanks!  Now I can also read <i>The Moon Maid</i> which for some reason has not been transcribed to Project Gutenberg yet.




Moon Maid and tons of other ERB (and Howard!) stuff is here: 

http://arthursclassicnovels.com/arthurs/burroughs/mnmaid10.html
http://arthursclassicnovels.com/arthurs/burroughs.html

Howard

Root


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## Desdichado (Oct 26, 2005)

ragboy said:
			
		

> Moon Maid and tons of other ERB (and Howard!) stuff is here:



Cool, and that has _Beyond Thirty_ under it's other title of _The Lost Continent_.  That's another one I've always wanted to read, but never had.


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## CarlZog (Oct 27, 2005)

I became a Tarzan junkie at a very early age. I don't even remember what originally drew me to it, but I'd read 'em all by the time I was 12. The phenomenon worried my mother a bit, accompanied as it was by the need to climb to the very tops of all the biggest trees I could find. 

Tarzan lead to John Carter and to Carson of Venus and then to ERB's other novels. He was easy to find on the bookshelves in the '70s, and I had it all. One of my biggest regrets is selling all my paperbacks in the mid-90s during a move. ( I figured, you can always get another paperback....arrgghh!)

I remember the cartoon, but didn't watch it much. I did watch Ron Ely's live-action show in the early '70s, and, yes, it was incrdibly cheesy.

My favorite artistic depictions of Tarzan are Joe Kubert's comics for DC. He did a large-format verson of the Return of Tarzan that hewed very closely to the book, and was incredibly powerful. Thankfully, I still have that.

By the way, Dark Horse Comics is collecting ALL Kubert's Tarzan work in a new series of hardcovers. The first volume comes out in a couple weeks:

http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=10-922

I strongly recommend it.

Carl


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## Cthulhu's Librarian (Oct 27, 2005)

CarlZog said:
			
		

> By the way, Dark Horse Comics is collecting ALL Kubert's Tarzan work in a new series of hardcovers. The first volume comes out in a couple weeks:
> 
> http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=10-922




Didn't know that was coming out, I'll have to pick it up. Thanks!


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## barsoomcore (Oct 27, 2005)

(opens thread door, notes incredibly comfy atmosphere, settles in with a heart-felt sigh)

This is where I live. This is my home.

By the way (and this is oddly related) I just watched Tim Burton's early short _Frankenweenie_ (on the _Nightmare Before Christmas_ DVD) and it opens with a sequence ostensibly filmed by the young Victor Frankenstein featuring oven-mitt dinosaur puppets, mismatched action figures and a dog in a delightful dinosuar costume that had me laughing so hard that even after my wife paused the disc, sat watching me chortle helplessly, got up, left the room, poured a glass of water, came back, offered it to me, realised I was incapable of drinking, left again, got another pillow, came back, put the pillow behind me to help, sat down again -- and I was still in the grip of giggles unending.

Holy crap it was funny. I mean it was STUPID funny.

Hi, everyone! Mmmmm, ERB talk.

Does anyone remember the one about the twelve planets all orbiting the same star in the same orbit, with a torus of air circling around with them, so you could hop in your flying machine and just fly to the next planet around? I'm sure that was an ERB book.


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## John Q. Mayhem (Oct 27, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Tiny Terrors -- Pint-Size Fun from EN Publishing
> THINK OF THE CHILDREN! Animated toys band together to protect the innocence of their young owners from the hungry extra-dimensional terrors of the Boogeyman and his fearful minions




You wrote this?

You. Are. The. MAN!


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## Desdichado (Oct 28, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Does anyone remember the one about the twelve planets all orbiting the same star in the same orbit, with a torus of air circling around with them, so you could hop in your flying machine and just fly to the next planet around? I'm sure that was an ERB book.



Yes, it is.  It's "Beyond the Farthest Star" and "Tangor Returns", two novellas that are usually collected these days in a single book called _Beyond the Farthest Star_.  Coincidentally, I just re-read that myself about two weeks ago.  Sadly, that story arc remains unfinished due to ERB's death in 1950, but it was--for a planetary romance adventure story--a strikingly chilling preview of the cold war from an ERB who was significantly disabused of many of his romantic notions about war from his time as a septagenarian war correspondent during WWII.  

That's one of the few ERB novels that's more fascinating because of the view into his life and head it allows than for the actual meat and potatoes of the story and setting itself.

And hey!  How'ya been?  Haven't seen much of you lately; you're blog's been quiet for over a month, and last time I tried to look at your website it was down.  I was starting to get worried!


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## barsoomcore (Oct 28, 2005)

John Q. Mayhem said:
			
		

> You wrote this?



Nope. I edited and published it. Mr. Lee Hammock wrote it.



			
				John Q. Mayhem said:
			
		

> You. Are. The. MAN!



One of them, anyway.

All kidding aside, I'm really glad you liked _Tiny Terrors_. Lee worked super-hard on it, and came through with an awesome product. Really great stuff.


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## barsoomcore (Oct 28, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Yes, it is.  It's "Beyond the Farthest Star" and "Tangor Returns", two novellas that are usually collected these days in a single book called _Beyond the Farthest Star_.



Hey, thanks! I'll be looking for a copy myself.



			
				Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> How'ya been?  Haven't seen much of you lately; you're blog's been quiet for over a month, and last time I tried to look at your website it was down.  I was starting to get worried!



Man, it's been crazy days for me. My job went super-nova-crazy in about August, I ended up on a madcap business trip to Costa Rica (hoo boy) and then my lung sort of collapsed and my project manager quit and my pal who maintains my website moved and I had to publish _Tiny Terrors_ and Barsoom might be wrapping up for good and for all this very weekend.

Sigh. I'm tired. How's with you?


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## shilsen (Oct 28, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Man, it's been crazy days for me. My job went super-nova-crazy in about August, I ended up on a madcap business trip to Costa Rica (hoo boy) and then my lung sort of collapsed and my project manager quit and my pal who maintains my website moved and I had to publish _Tiny Terrors_ and Barsoom might be wrapping up for good and for all this very weekend.




Your lung "sort of collapsed"?


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## barsoomcore (Oct 28, 2005)

shilsen said:
			
		

> Your lung "sort of collapsed"?



Yeah. It didn't ACTUALLY collapse (which it did five years ago), but my body reacted as though it had -- crippling pain across my upper torso.

Not sure how, had my lung ACTUALLY collapsed, that would help in any way, but that's how the body reacts, it seems.

At least I didn't have to have a two-foot-long needle inserted into my chest. Boy howdy THAT will wake you up in the morning, no kidding.


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## shilsen (Oct 28, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Yeah. It didn't ACTUALLY collapse (which it did five years ago), but my body reacted as though it had -- crippling pain across my upper torso.
> 
> Not sure how, had my lung ACTUALLY collapsed, that would help in any way, but that's how the body reacts, it seems.
> 
> At least I didn't have to have a two-foot-long needle inserted into my chest. Boy howdy THAT will wake you up in the morning, no kidding.



 Heh! Your comparison of it to the two-foot needle sounds like my method of looking on the bright side. When my colleagues complain about having a bad day at work, I tend to say something like, "Hey, at least it's not a tsunami." Somehow most people don't buy my theory


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## Warrior Poet (Oct 28, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> then my lung sort of collapsed



Hope you're feeling better.



			
				barsoomcore said:
			
		

> and Barsoom might be wrapping up for good and for all this very weekend.




Wow.  That's heavy.  Maybe not collapsing-lung heavy, but heavy.  Well, if it is, congratulations to you and you're players.  From the writings, it sounds like it was one helluva game.

Keep breathing,

Warrior Poet


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## BigFreekinGoblinoid (Oct 28, 2005)

I fully credit ERB for my Fantasy laden life. Even before I read The Hobbit, It was the John Carter of Mars series that sent my head reeling as a child. Tarzan was OK, but Barsoom was the bomb diggity, yo. 

I was in a book store as a pre-teen, and must confess that the cover of the first JCWoM book drew me in with it's cheese - you may remember the one, with John Carter holding a deliciously unclad, bonzed Dejiah Thoris? With tremendously huge 4 armed Tharks menacing in the background? I had to hide that book from my mother. 

I don't remember ERB as being particularly racist, but I do remember some of his values and perceptions to be failry dated. Weren't those books written in  the early 1900's? 

Then I got into Moorcock, and it was all over. The perfect anti-hero to JC's Paladin-like goody 2 shoes.


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## Desdichado (Oct 28, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Hey, thanks! I'll be looking for a copy myself.



It shouldn't be hard to score a copy.  Both Amazon and Abebooks have lots of listings where the S&H is literally more than the actual cost of the book.


			
				barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Man, it's been crazy days for me. My job went super-nova-crazy in about August, I ended up on a madcap business trip to Costa Rica (hoo boy) and then my lung sort of collapsed and my project manager quit and my pal who maintains my website moved and I had to publish _Tiny Terrors_ and Barsoom might be wrapping up for good and for all this very weekend.



Wow, ouch.  Those don't sound like very good things (well, Tiny Terrors does, and I know that Barsoom was scheduled to wrap up from a long time ago, so it's not like it just collapsed or anything.)  I hope you feel better lungwise too.


			
				barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Sigh. I'm tired. How's with you?



I can imagine.  I'm fine, thanks.  Mostly the same old same old for me.  I've actually been rereading (and reading for the first time) a lot of planetary romance ala ERB, including many of his imitators.  Most of them are obviously inferior, but not all of them--and let's face it, as imaginative as he was, and as much as I love him, ERB only had a handful of plots that he recycled over and over again, and he's not winning any awards for his beautiful prose anytime soon.

I recently read Michael Moorcock's Barsoom imitation series, as a matter of fact.  Finished it last night.  It was absolutely dreadful.  I read a version where all three books were collected in one (_Kane of Old Mars_, collected and re-published by White Wolf in the 90s), and it was probably the worst book that I've allowed myself to finish reading in more than fifteen years.  I chalk it up to "planetary romance scholarship," though.  I'm trying to get my hands around the sub-genre.  Heck, I even wrote a Wikipedia article on it called "Sword and Planet", an alternate title for the subgenre coined by Don Wollheim--editor of Ace and DAW Books who publised most of the second wave of it.


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## Desdichado (Oct 28, 2005)

BigFreekinGoblinoid said:
			
		

> I do remember some of his values and perceptions to be failry dated. Weren't those books written in  the early 1900's?



ERB was born in 1875, and wrote his first story in 1911 (which was "Under the Moons of Mars", published in All-Story.  Later republished as the novel _A Princess of Mars_.)  He died in 1950, and was still publishing stuff up until 1948 or so at least.  A few other books were found and published posthumously in the 1960s for the first time.

But yeah, it's easy to note where the books have aged.  Surprisingly (to me, anyway) is that the appeal of them seems fairly timeless.  Despite the age, _A Princess of Mars_ is still one of my favorite books of all time.


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## Warrior Poet (Oct 28, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I recently read Michael Moorcock's Barsoom imitation series, as a matter of fact.  Finished it last night.  It was absolutely dreadful.



I used to be a Moorcock apologist, but over the years I've revised my opinion of his work.  I think the core Elric stories are excellent examples of a different take on traditional fantasy, and I think Moorcock did a great job of painting a truly strange world where Chaos (in particular) felt like a tangible force.

But he's really hit-or-miss, it seems to me.  A few years ago I tried to read _Blood:  A Southern Romance_, which sounded like a really cool concept (the idea of raw color as an energy source, and a society of renowned gamblers, and confronting racism, etc.), but the execution was . . . lacking.

I don't know.  I think he's a solid writer on some things, less so on others.  Many writers are that way, though, and that's fine.  But I have sea-changed from a major Moorcock advocate (I still think the core Elric stuff is outstanding) to a more measured, even cautious opinion.  I didn't realize he'd written a Barsoom imitation.  What was it called (I'm not going to read it; I'll leave Barsoom to Burroughs, but just curious)?

I haven't kept up with much fantasy fiction in the last 10 years or so.  Are there any good, classic sword-and-sorcery/sword-and-planet style writers producing today?

Warrior Poet


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## Desdichado (Oct 28, 2005)

Warrior Poet said:
			
		

> I didn't realize he'd written a Barsoom imitation.  What was it called (I'm not going to read it; I'll leave Barsoom to Burroughs, but just curious)?



That's actually a more complicated question than it should be.  It was originally published under the pen-name of Edward Powys Bradbury as three little novels, called _Warriors of Mars, Blades of Mars_ and _Barbarians of Mars_.  They were later republished under his real name with completely different titles--_City of the Beast, Lord of the Spiders_ and _Masters of the Pit._  The version I read was all three novels combined into one (it was still only 350 pages or less--they were pretty small novels.  As was normal for sci-fi published in 1965, I guess) and was called _Kane of Old Mars_ published by White Wolf in the 90s.  That version is actually harder to get a hold of than the earlier ones (well, more expensive anyway) but I found a copy at the public library in the community just north of us.  Because we have a sharing agreement with them, I popped up there, validated my local library card with their system, and brought it home.


			
				Warrior Poet said:
			
		

> I haven't kept up with much fantasy fiction in the last 10 years or so.  Are there any good, classic sword-and-sorcery/sword-and-planet style writers producing today?



Neither have I.  It seems the thing that's selling these days is all this epic pseudo-Tolkienian soap opera.  Which, don't get me wrong, some of it I enjoy, but I'm finding that my tastes have branded me as "old fashioned" anymore.  That's why I'm writing my own Sword and Planet stories.     I'm trying to not just rehash Burroughs though--if I can't bring something new to the table, why bother?  I have no ambition to publish them; I don't think anyone's buying Sword and Planet these days, so I'll just post them online.  I'm just writing them for fun anyway.


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## Desdichado (Oct 28, 2005)

shilsen said:
			
		

> Heh! Your comparison of it to the two-foot needle sounds like my method of looking on the bright side. When my colleagues complain about having a bad day at work, I tend to say something like, "Hey, at least it's not a tsunami." Somehow most people don't buy my theory



The comparison is a bit more immediate in this case, though--if your lung actually collapses, they _do_ stick a two-foot long needle into your torso.  Trust me, it's no fun.  Luckily, I only know that second-hand, not first-hand, but I'd bet barsoomcore would validate that feeling.


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## Warrior Poet (Oct 28, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> That's why I'm writing my own Sword and Planet stories.     I'm trying to not just rehash Burroughs though--if I can't bring something new to the table, why bother?  I have no ambition to publish them; I don't think anyone's buying Sword and Planet these days, so I'll just post them online.  I'm just writing them for fun anyway.



Cool!  Have you posted any thus far?  If so, where?

Warrior Poet


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## Desdichado (Oct 29, 2005)

D'oh!  Looks like I opened my bit mouth about a month or two too early--I haven't posted much of it yet--only the very first chapter as a matter of fact, and even then it's only a first draft.   I wasn't quite ready to go live.  I've got a few more written, and several more plotted out, but I need to "html-ize" and upload them, which will require a little bit of time.

Still, what'll I get from this thread; maybe four or five hits?  What the hey.    

http://www.freewebs.com/jdyal/


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## ShrinkyLink (Oct 29, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> But I still love my Ballantine paperback copy with the Neal Adams painting of Tarzan leaping out of the trees with his knife to attack Terkoz, who stands their bellowing back at him and loosely holding Jane by the hair in one hand.  To me, that's the iconic Tarzan image right there; savage yet righteous fury personified.




Came late to this thread, but yes! That's the same edition I have, and I agree wholeheartedly with you. Although when it comes to favourite Neal Adams, I've always adored  his cover to 'The Beasts of Tarzan' just a wee bit more.


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## barsoomcore (Oct 29, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I have no ambition to publish them; I don't think anyone's buying Sword and Planet these days, so I'll just post them online.



I'm buying.

I'm not paying much, it's true, but hey, they say it's the thought that counts.  



			
				Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Trust me, it's no fun.  Luckily, I only know that second-hand, not first-hand, but I'd bet barsoomcore would validate that feeling.



     :\


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## damiynn (Oct 29, 2005)

*Read all the others*

Rmember that there are like 23 in the series and all of them are good except i think the last one which comes out I think of Erb notes rather than his own imagination.  After Tarzan be sure to read his pellucidar series as well, excellent books


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## Desdichado (Oct 30, 2005)

damiynn said:
			
		

> After Tarzan be sure to read his pellucidar series as well, excellent books



For some real wackiness, check out _Tarzan vs. Predator At the Earth's Core_.  How in the heck Tarzan, or even moreso the Predator(!) gets into Pellucidar is beyond me, but I'm sorely tempted to get a copy of this baby.  I'll probably enjoy it in the same way you enjoy really silly B-movie science fiction.


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## Desdichado (Oct 30, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> I'm buying.
> 
> I'm not paying much, it's true, but hey, they say it's the thought that counts.



Yeah, but you're not a publisher.


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## Desdichado (Oct 31, 2005)

According to this link righchere Robert E. Howard's "sword and planet" novel _Almuric_ should be in the public domain.  Anyone know where I can get an etext of it?  Either my google fu is weak tonight, or it's not available anywhere.


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## John Q. Mayhem (Oct 31, 2005)

Just wanted to pop again in and say that I found _Almuric_ in my local thrift store


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## barsoomcore (Oct 31, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Yeah, but you're not a publisher.



Sez you.

Sez Me.


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## Desdichado (Oct 31, 2005)

OK, are you buying planetary romance to publish as fiction though?  If so, I'll stop all activities on my website and attempt to sell it to you after all.


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## Desdichado (Oct 31, 2005)

John Q. Mayhem said:
			
		

> Just wanted to pop again in and say that I found _Almuric_ in my local thrift store



Damn you, John Q. Mayhem!  Damn you to hell!  You went and did it!

Waitaminute... I think I started channelling Charleton Heston there for a second.  Anyway, yeah, it's not hard to pick up used copies of it for pretty cheap, except that I have to also pay S&H and then wait a week or so to get my copy that way.  I was hoping to find an etext for free, since--if anyone's transcribed it--I can legally do so.  Sadly, I found three Spanish translations of it.  I even speak Spanish (or did, anyway) although I'm not confident in the breadth of my knowledge of the language to go read a fantasy novel written in Spanish.    

Plus I'm a stickler for original versions whenever possible.  I'd rather not read the Spanish translation when I really want to read Howard's original text.  Other than a predilection for the phrase "steely thews" I usually like Howard's prose; I think he had a gift for vibrant, active text that seemed to kinda reach out and grab you by the throat.


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## Warrior Poet (Oct 31, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Still, what'll I get from this thread; maybe four or five hits?  What the hey.
> 
> http://www.freewebs.com/jdyal/



Cool!  I can't check it out right now, but I'll take a look later!

Wished I could have viewed it over the weekend, but I didn't get a chance to get to good old EN World.

I look forward to reading it!

Warrior Poet


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## Desdichado (Oct 31, 2005)

Well, like I said, there's only one chapter so far.  Don't get too excited.


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## Warrior Poet (Oct 31, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Well, like I said, there's only one chapter so far.  Don't get too excited.



That's one more chapter of Sword and Planet fiction than I've written.   

Warrior Poet


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## John Q. Mayhem (Nov 1, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Damn you, John Q. Mayhem!  Damn you to hell!  You went and did it!




If I find my copy, I'll give it to you for $.50 plus shipping & handling. That's what I paid for it, and I like to share the love.


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## Warrior Poet (Nov 1, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Well, like I said, there's only one chapter so far.  Don't get too excited.



OK, I read the first chapter, and I look forward to reading more!  One quick note:  it's "airborne" not "air born" when referring to the U.S. military unit (sorry, in my day job I'm an editor, and sometimes, even if I'm not reading something for work, the urge to correct takes over like the Hulk pushing mild-mannered Bruce Banner out of the way.  Or something.    ).

No time now, but I'm gonna re-read it again later.  What will happen next?!   

Warrior Poet


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## Warrior Poet (Nov 1, 2005)

P.S.  The dedication was great!  Eddie, Bob, and Howie  

Warrior Poet


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## Desdichado (Nov 1, 2005)

Warrior Poet said:
			
		

> OK, I read the first chapter, and I look forward to reading more!  One quick note:  it's "airborne" not "air born" when referring to the U.S. military unit (sorry, in my day job I'm an editor, and sometimes, even if I'm not reading something for work, the urge to correct takes over like the Hulk pushing mild-mannered Bruce Banner out of the way.  Or something.    ).



That's nice to know.  Actually, I'd like to find someone with some military experience who could tell me if my movie and Tom Clancy esque hodge-podge of stuff there rings really false or if it's more or less OK.  I did mention that was a first draft, right?


			
				Warrior Poet said:
			
		

> No time now, but I'm gonna re-read it again later.  What will happen next?!



In the next few days look for some romance and some planet.  And a sword or two.


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## Warrior Poet (Nov 1, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I'd like to find someone with some military experience who could tell me if my movie and Tom Clancy esque hodge-podge of stuff there rings really false or if it's more or less OK.



I know some stuff, but have never been in the military, so my knowledge is definitely not firsthand, and certainly not authoritative.



			
				Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I did mention that was a first draft, right?



Gotta start somewhere, and I'm definitely interested in reading more!  I wasn't reading it critically, anyway, although I'm going to read it again, and I'd be happy (isn't everyone, and frequently only too happy?) to offer feedback, if you'd like, or keep my big presumptuous mouth shut, if you'd also like.  



			
				Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> In the next few days look for some romance and some planet.  And a sword or two.



Woo hoo!

Warrior Poet


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## Desdichado (Nov 1, 2005)

Feel free to send feedback!  If I didn't screw it up, my email address is at the bottom of every page at that site.  That way we can also stop hijacking this wonderful thread on Tarzan; which hasn't been about Tarzan in way too long.  Sorry, John Q.!  You da man with that _Almuric_ business!  Let me know how you like it, too!


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## ragboy (Nov 1, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> That's nice to know.  Actually, I'd like to find someone with some military experience who could tell me if my movie and Tom Clancy esque hodge-podge of stuff there rings really false or if it's more or less OK.  I did mention that was a first draft, right?.




I'm actually working on that now. I've read it through once. Now I'm adding comments. Can you take Word files?



			
				Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> In the next few days look for some romance and some planet.  And a sword or two.




Excellent.


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## John Q. Mayhem (Nov 1, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Sorry, John Q.!  You da man with that _Almuric_ business!  Let me know how you like it, too!




Sorry for what? Hijacking? Don't be silly 

I really liked _Almuric_. I wasn't kidding about selling it to you for $0.50, though


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## Fenris (Nov 1, 2005)

Alright boys. You've convinced me. I need to read ERB. I am nearly done with Dumas so I start another author now. We have hundreds of ERB books in the library. So my question is "Where to start?" A little Tarzan and a little Mars. And sequences please!
Fenris


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## ragboy (Nov 1, 2005)

Fenris said:
			
		

> Alright boys. You've convinced me. I need to read ERB. I am nearly done with Dumas so I start another author now. We have hundreds of ERB books in the library. So my question is "Where to start?" A little Tarzan and a little Mars. And sequences please!
> Fenris




_Princess of Mars_, if you want to get started on sword and planet. 

_Tarzan of the Apes_ if you want to read 20+ books back-to-back...  They're nice and short... My favorites are _Tarzan of the Apes_, _Son of Tarzan_ and _Jungle Tales of Tarzan_.

Just out of curiosity... what Dumas were you reading?


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## Fenris (Nov 2, 2005)

ragboy said:
			
		

> _Princess of Mars_, if you want to get started on sword and planet.
> 
> _Tarzan of the Apes_ if you want to read 20+ books back-to-back...  They're nice and short... My favorites are _Tarzan of the Apes_, _Son of Tarzan_ and _Jungle Tales of Tarzan_.
> 
> Just out of curiosity... what Dumas were you reading?




I started with The Three Musketeers, then Twenty Years After, then both volumes of the Viscomte de Brageleon (Ok I misspelled it) and am FINALLY on The Man in the Iron Mask.

Cool the library has 11 copied of Princess of Mars. I think I can find one to read 

And they have Tarzan of the Apes. So I can start and end when I like with that one.


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## Desdichado (Nov 2, 2005)

You can also get (legal) etexts of a lot of Burroughs stuff.  Project Gutenberg, supplemented by their Australian organization has a lot of the Tarzan stuff and pretty much all of the Barsoom and Venus series, as well as tons of other one-shots and minor series.


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## ragboy (Nov 2, 2005)

Fenris said:
			
		

> I started with The Three Musketeers, then Twenty Years After, then both volumes of the Viscomte de Brageleon (Ok I misspelled it) and am FINALLY on The Man in the Iron Mask.





I did that same marathon a couple of months ago. I didn't care for the Man in the Iron Mask so much...that was the first time I'd read that one. I think Twenty Years After is my favorite. 

I really really want to do a 1600's GT campaign. Roundheads and cavaliers and crazy alchemists, etc etc. 

Threadjack complete.


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## Fenris (Nov 3, 2005)

ragboy said:
			
		

> I did that same marathon a couple of months ago. I didn't care for the Man in the Iron Mask so much...that was the first time I'd read that one. I think Twenty Years After is my favorite.
> 
> I really really want to do a 1600's GT campaign. Roundheads and cavaliers and crazy alchemists, etc etc.
> 
> Threadjack complete.




OH OH PBP? Pretty Please. Austin is _such_ a commute   

The Man in the Iron Mask has been OK so far (about 1/3 the way through). I did enjoy 20YA but the Viscomte I could barely finish. But I am glad I trudged through it to see the set up for Iron Mask.


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## ragboy (Nov 3, 2005)

Fenris said:
			
		

> OH OH PBP? Pretty Please. Austin is _such_ a commute
> 
> The Man in the Iron Mask has been OK so far (about 1/3 the way through). I did enjoy 20YA but the Viscomte I could barely finish. But I am glad I trudged through it to see the set up for Iron Mask.




I have a campaign about half-built based on the legends surrounding the Hope Diamond, with adventures set in the 1600's through 1980... but I'm trying to get this GT Conan PbP off the ground... 

Anyway... I don't think I ever finished Viscomte, either. Or if I did, I don't remember much of it. Iron Mask got this wandery quality to the narrative about halfway through and never really recovered. I finished it, but wasn't too happy with it. The movie has one of the best trademark Musketeer scenes I've seen in a Musketeer movie, but other than that, it's pretty forgettable.

To come back on topic (sorta), is Harry Knowles' Princess of Mars movie ever going to get off the ground?


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## Desdichado (Nov 3, 2005)

Hey, John Q.--send me an email at gmail.com.  My username there is joshudyal.  I want to take you up on that Almuric offer; let's hash out the details.  How did you like that book, by the way?  I've heard good things about it.  I've heard it's kinda like Conan goes to Barsoom, in a way.  Which I guess isn't really surprising if true.


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## David Howery (Nov 4, 2005)

Almuric is hard to find?  There were a couple of different editions of it floating around not all that many years ago... surely, you should be able to find it in some place that sells used paperbacks.
Anyway, Almuric is OK, but kind of disjointed... as one reviewer noted, it's obviously a first draft.  Some of the names are damn near identical or just plain silly.  I wouldn't say it's a bad story (I still have my copy of it), it just needed some polish...


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## Desdichado (Nov 5, 2005)

David Howery said:
			
		

> Almuric is hard to find?



No, it's not.


			
				David Howery said:
			
		

> I wouldn't say it's a bad story (I still have my copy of it), it just needed some polish...



True of much of Robert E. Howard's writing, IMO.


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## Warrior Poet (Nov 7, 2005)

Last thread hijack for me:

Joshua, sent along some thoughts on your first chapter to your gmail address.  Thanks for posting your work!

Warrior Poet


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## David Howery (Nov 8, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> True of much of Robert E. Howard's writing, IMO.



well, one problem is that a lot of REH's stuff that has appeared in print was, like Almuric, first drafts of stories never sold or submitted, things that were found in his files after his death.  When Howard actually did polish up his stories, they're great.  Even so, a lot of his first-draft stories can be pretty good (Almuric really isn't a bad story, but a rewrite would have done it good)...


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## Desdichado (Nov 9, 2005)

There's a rumor that his agent, Otis Adelbert Kline, who wrote a number of ERB knock-off's himself (a three book Venus series: _Planet of Peril, Prince of Peril, Port of Peril_, a two book Mars series: _Swordsman of Mars, Outlaw of Mars_ and a few Tarzan knockoffs as well: _Tam, Son of Tiger, Jan of the Jungle_) actually wrote the ending to _Almuric_.  Don't know if that's true or not.  His own planetary romance stories are supposed to be pretty good.  I haven't read any yet, but I just got the Mars series in the mail from a used book store; they were all republished in the 60s as cheap paperbacks.

Warrior Poet: I got your email; thanks for the feedback!  Great stuff, and very useful to me.  You pointed out mostly a lot of minor writing idiosynchrocies of mine, and I will probably update the story at some point with almost all of your advice integrated.

But I want to move forward before I spend too much time revising and rewriting what's already there.  I hope to have a chapter 3 posted this week or early next week.


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## JoeGKushner (Nov 9, 2005)

So if one wanted to start Tarzan these days, what options are open? I only saw a few of ERB books at the store and one of 'em was an oversized Tarzan book but no sequels. Is this a used book store hunt?


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## David Howery (Nov 9, 2005)

JoeGKushner said:
			
		

> So if one wanted to start Tarzan these days, what options are open? I only saw a few of ERB books at the store and one of 'em was an oversized Tarzan book but no sequels. Is this a used book store hunt?



Probably, if you want all of them.  You should be able to find the old Ballantine ones with the Adams/Vallejo covers... they printed lots of them back in the 70's...


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## Warrior Poet (Nov 9, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I got your email; thanks for the feedback!



Cool, I'm glad it was useful!



			
				Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> But I want to move forward before I spend too much time revising and rewriting what's already there.  I hope to have a chapter 3 posted this week or early next week.



Look forward to seeing chapter 3.  Yeah, it's always been helpful to me in my writing to plow through and keep the momentum, THEN go back and revise.  Good luck!

Warrior Poet


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## Desdichado (Nov 9, 2005)

JoeGKushner said:
			
		

> So if one wanted to start Tarzan these days, what options are open? I only saw a few of ERB books at the store and one of 'em was an oversized Tarzan book but no sequels. Is this a used book store hunt?



Best option is to go to Project Gutenberg, IMO.  They have the first nine or ten of the Tarzan books available as free eTexts.  After that, if you still want more, you can pick up several more at the Australian Project Gutenberg.

After that, you've already read a good 2/3 of the Tarzan books, and it shouldn't be hard to find used paperback copies of the old Ballantine books that make up the remainder of the series.  They'd be pretty cheap on Abebooks or through Amazon stores, if you can't find them locally.


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