What do you think?
Rate this book
The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Original theme anthology. Eleven new tales set in the legendary worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Contains stories by top writers such as Joe Lansdale, Mercedes Lackey, Sarah Hoyt, and Mike Resnick.
Eleven new tales set in the legendary worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Most people don’t know it, but the best-selling American writer of the 1920s wasn’t Hemingway or Fitzgerald, but Edgar Rice Burroughs. Everyone knows that he created Tarzan, but he wasn’t limited to that one classic creation. There was John Carter, Warlord of Mars. There was Pellucidar, the wondrous world that exists at the center of the Earth, and Carson of Venus, the Wrong-Way Corrigan of space, who set off for Mars and wound up on Venus for four novels and part of a fifth.
Many top science fiction and fantasy writers of today grew up reading Burroughs, and this anthology is their way of “paying back” and thanking him for stirring their imaginations. Join their celebration with these all new tales set in the astounding worlds that Edgar Rice Burroughs brought to giving their own spin on the unforgettable characters conceived by one of the great masters of science fiction, adventure, and fantasy.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Mercedes Lackey, Richard A. Lupoff, Mike Resnick, Ralph Roberts, Peter David, Kevin J. Anderson, Sarah A. Hoyt, Max Allan Collins, Matthew Clemens, Todd McCaffrey, F. Paul Wilson, and Joe R. Lansdale
About The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs :
“More fun than I've had in an anthology in a long time.”— Critical Mass
" [A]ltogether a fitting and enjoyable tribute to the worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs."— SF Crowsnest
Eleven new tales set in the legendary worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Most people don’t know it, but the best-selling American writer of the 1920s wasn’t Hemingway or Fitzgerald, but Edgar Rice Burroughs. Everyone knows that he created Tarzan, but he wasn’t limited to that one classic creation. There was John Carter, Warlord of Mars. There was Pellucidar, the wondrous world that exists at the center of the Earth, and Carson of Venus, the Wrong-Way Corrigan of space, who set off for Mars and wound up on Venus for four novels and part of a fifth.
Many top science fiction and fantasy writers of today grew up reading Burroughs, and this anthology is their way of “paying back” and thanking him for stirring their imaginations. Join their celebration with these all new tales set in the astounding worlds that Edgar Rice Burroughs brought to giving their own spin on the unforgettable characters conceived by one of the great masters of science fiction, adventure, and fantasy.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Mercedes Lackey, Richard A. Lupoff, Mike Resnick, Ralph Roberts, Peter David, Kevin J. Anderson, Sarah A. Hoyt, Max Allan Collins, Matthew Clemens, Todd McCaffrey, F. Paul Wilson, and Joe R. Lansdale
About The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs :
“More fun than I've had in an anthology in a long time.”— Critical Mass
" [A]ltogether a fitting and enjoyable tribute to the worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs."— SF Crowsnest
368 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2013
14 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Mike Resnick
812 books551 followersMichael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 15, 2023
Nice collection of new stories set in the Various ERB worlds. Nice read
October 26, 2014
When successful writers don the mantle of a deceased writer and engage in penning a pastiche (or, perhaps, a crafted memorial) of said author, the results are often disappointing. I am delighted to say that the disappointments, if that is not too strong a word, in Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs are few. At times, it seemed like ERB himself was transforming the page. Better yet, there were a couple of ERB novels that I never actually read. I haven’t read The Mucker until now, but after reading the homage led by Max Alan Collins in Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs, I couldn’t resist getting a copy and it is high on my reading list. I also must confess avoiding The Land that Time Forgot because I thought it was just a rehash of the Pellucidar series. Yet, Carson of Venus could well be considered ERB’s self-plagiarization of John Carter of Mars (as I think I demonstrated in my review of those books elsewhere on goodreads.com) and that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying those books.
So, I can honestly say that, because of Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs, ERB still lives in more ways than one. I will be reading more of his novels as a result of reading these stories and portions of these stories filled me with the same kind of wonder and joy that reading my first ERB books provided. And this is all the more amazing in that I usually don’t care for short story anthologies. I like to get involved with my favorite characters over a long period of time and short stories usually don’t do that for me. Of course, I was already involved with most of these characters and, as a result, the format didn’t really bother me.
Here are my personal opinions of each story. They should be read as simply my personal preferences as I reflected on them and not any attempt to suggest overall value to others. I present this disclaimer simply because I don’t feel like I have space to present evidence to support my impressions and just want to initiate possible discussion.
The first story was “Tarzan and the Great War”and I actually enjoyed it. It seemed like a rather strange story to inaugurate the collection, though. It was purportedly about Tarzan, but the bulk of the story was about Lord Greystoke in his French persona as Jean Tarzan. As interesting as the story was and, in spite of the death of a prominent supporting character that I definitely didn’t see coming, it seemed strange to begin the anthology with a rather minor guise from the canon about the protagonist.
The second story, “The Fallen: A Tale of Pellucidar” by Mercedes Lackey had some of those innovative elements of ERB’s world-building, but the characters didn’t seem as bold or potentially heroic as the ERB characters. For me, there was too much of the mundane to be true to the pulp ethos, in spite of the creative additions to the ecology of Pellucidar.
“The Scorpions of Venus” started off so much like ERB that I was incredibly impressed. Yet, somewhere in the middle of the narrative, the author seemed to lose his way. The story started to lose the imaginative detail in the initial portion of the story, the detail that had hooked me in and became a race to finish the word count and get to the final twist. The final twist made no sense at all to me because it completely undercut one of the constants in the ERB corpus. I can’t explain it without committing a “spoiler” gaffe, but I cannot imagine an ERB protagonist making such a shift in loyalty (for lack of a better term) at any point. Perhaps, it seemed too modern.
Mike Resnick’s “The Forgotten Sea of Mars” was more like it. Previously published in other circumstances, this was the only John Carter story in the volume (a certain monolithic studio may have reserved all rights to the characters prior to their major film release) due to intellectual property circumstances beyond the ERB estate.
“Apache Lawman” was my first experience with ERB’s Shoz-Dijiji, the westerner raised by Apaches, and it was enjoyable enough and clever enough that I’ll be checking out the original as a result of this story.
“Moon Maid Over Manhattan” didn’t really seem like Peter David’s best work. It was worth reading, but it didn’t feature the kinds of surprises and interesting characters I’ve grown to expect from David’s work.
Kevin J. Anderson led the way with a cooperative work called “Tarzan and the Martian Invaders.” He makes clear that these aren’t Barsoomians (and indeed, when they appear, they are definitely not anywhere close—much more H. G. Wells-like with a mixture of Cthulhu). There is real Tarzan in the jungle action and this was the right combination of civilized and wild Tarzan such as I was expecting.
“The Two Billys: A Mucker Story” was a terrific collaborative effort that I mentioned earlier as inspiring me to get The Mucker and experience that part of ERB’s writing.
“To the Nearest Planet” by Todd McCaffrey mixes the ERB mythos with a trope out of The Twilight Zone. Well, it isn’t literally out of the old Rod Serling television series, but it could be. It’s a nicely paced story once the trope is introduced, too.
The story in “The Dead World” returned the reader to Pellucidar—sort of. The truth is that the key to the story was more a disjointed idea related to the “moon” of the inner world than about the inner world itself.
Finally, Joe Lansdale offered “Tarzan and the Land that Time Forgot.” This one had the right feel most of the way through, but Lansdale attempts to shoehorn in explanations to satisfy modern sensibilities often jerked me out of my disbelief. Still, I experienced enough of the ERB mythos that I wasn’t disappointed when I reached the conclusion.
Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs pays such marvelous homage to these classic characters and settings that one almost feels like one needs a passport to venture therein. I’ve seen a lot of anthologies as tributes, but this one is, perhaps, the most successful for me.
So, I can honestly say that, because of Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs, ERB still lives in more ways than one. I will be reading more of his novels as a result of reading these stories and portions of these stories filled me with the same kind of wonder and joy that reading my first ERB books provided. And this is all the more amazing in that I usually don’t care for short story anthologies. I like to get involved with my favorite characters over a long period of time and short stories usually don’t do that for me. Of course, I was already involved with most of these characters and, as a result, the format didn’t really bother me.
Here are my personal opinions of each story. They should be read as simply my personal preferences as I reflected on them and not any attempt to suggest overall value to others. I present this disclaimer simply because I don’t feel like I have space to present evidence to support my impressions and just want to initiate possible discussion.
The first story was “Tarzan and the Great War”and I actually enjoyed it. It seemed like a rather strange story to inaugurate the collection, though. It was purportedly about Tarzan, but the bulk of the story was about Lord Greystoke in his French persona as Jean Tarzan. As interesting as the story was and, in spite of the death of a prominent supporting character that I definitely didn’t see coming, it seemed strange to begin the anthology with a rather minor guise from the canon about the protagonist.
The second story, “The Fallen: A Tale of Pellucidar” by Mercedes Lackey had some of those innovative elements of ERB’s world-building, but the characters didn’t seem as bold or potentially heroic as the ERB characters. For me, there was too much of the mundane to be true to the pulp ethos, in spite of the creative additions to the ecology of Pellucidar.
“The Scorpions of Venus” started off so much like ERB that I was incredibly impressed. Yet, somewhere in the middle of the narrative, the author seemed to lose his way. The story started to lose the imaginative detail in the initial portion of the story, the detail that had hooked me in and became a race to finish the word count and get to the final twist. The final twist made no sense at all to me because it completely undercut one of the constants in the ERB corpus. I can’t explain it without committing a “spoiler” gaffe, but I cannot imagine an ERB protagonist making such a shift in loyalty (for lack of a better term) at any point. Perhaps, it seemed too modern.
Mike Resnick’s “The Forgotten Sea of Mars” was more like it. Previously published in other circumstances, this was the only John Carter story in the volume (a certain monolithic studio may have reserved all rights to the characters prior to their major film release) due to intellectual property circumstances beyond the ERB estate.
“Apache Lawman” was my first experience with ERB’s Shoz-Dijiji, the westerner raised by Apaches, and it was enjoyable enough and clever enough that I’ll be checking out the original as a result of this story.
“Moon Maid Over Manhattan” didn’t really seem like Peter David’s best work. It was worth reading, but it didn’t feature the kinds of surprises and interesting characters I’ve grown to expect from David’s work.
Kevin J. Anderson led the way with a cooperative work called “Tarzan and the Martian Invaders.” He makes clear that these aren’t Barsoomians (and indeed, when they appear, they are definitely not anywhere close—much more H. G. Wells-like with a mixture of Cthulhu). There is real Tarzan in the jungle action and this was the right combination of civilized and wild Tarzan such as I was expecting.
“The Two Billys: A Mucker Story” was a terrific collaborative effort that I mentioned earlier as inspiring me to get The Mucker and experience that part of ERB’s writing.
“To the Nearest Planet” by Todd McCaffrey mixes the ERB mythos with a trope out of The Twilight Zone. Well, it isn’t literally out of the old Rod Serling television series, but it could be. It’s a nicely paced story once the trope is introduced, too.
The story in “The Dead World” returned the reader to Pellucidar—sort of. The truth is that the key to the story was more a disjointed idea related to the “moon” of the inner world than about the inner world itself.
Finally, Joe Lansdale offered “Tarzan and the Land that Time Forgot.” This one had the right feel most of the way through, but Lansdale attempts to shoehorn in explanations to satisfy modern sensibilities often jerked me out of my disbelief. Still, I experienced enough of the ERB mythos that I wasn’t disappointed when I reached the conclusion.
Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs pays such marvelous homage to these classic characters and settings that one almost feels like one needs a passport to venture therein. I’ve seen a lot of anthologies as tributes, but this one is, perhaps, the most successful for me.
November 22, 2013
Edgar Rice Burroughs was one of the first authors that I really fell in love with their writings. He was one of the first authors that "wrote for adults" that I read. I took many an adventure to the darkest heart of Africa, Barsoom, the center of the Earth, and other exotic locales. These writings instilled in me a love of high adventure and the fantastic.
The eleven tales presented in this collection are not by ERB, but by different authors who obviously share my love for his writing. Written in style similar to his, they have revisited some of his creations. Ten of the eleven stories are new. Only the John Carter tale is a reprint due to a prior contractual agreement not allowing any new Mars stories. Tarzan gets the lion share (sorry) of the tales with 3 featuring him. But the last one is a crossover where Tarzan visits the Land That Time Forgot. Pellucidar gets 2 stories(and a mention in the third Tarzan tale). Both offer different explanations about the moon at the earth's center. The other six stories are divided among Burrough's other creations.(John Carter, David Innes, the Moon Maid, the Mucker, Shoz-Dijiji, and the planet Poloda).
The line-up of authors is quite impressive.They include F.Paul Wilson, Mercedes Lackey, Peter David, Kevin J. Anderson, Sarah A. Hoyt, Richard A. Lupoff, Mike Resnick, Ralph Roberts, Max Allan Collins, Mathew Clemens, Joe R. Lansdale, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Todd McCaffrey. Yes there are more authors than stories since 2 of the stories are collaborations.
These tales brought back a lot of good memories and gave me a chance to revisit some friends that i hadn't seen for a while. While some of the concepts and actions may seem old-fashioned (or even sexist) to some, the heroes of Edgar Rice Burroughs were simply doing what they believed. Usually this meant fighting some bad guys(aliens, animals, monsters, etc) to protect the woman they loved (who were usually fighting by their side every chance they got). But unlike so many of the movies that portray these characters, they are not just walking muscles. They were highly intelligent, often scientists. Frequently they teach themselves multiple languages.
So if like me, you read any of Edgar Rice Burrough's books when you were younger, this collection is a must-read. If you have never visited any of these exotic places(worlds), now is you chance.
The eleven tales presented in this collection are not by ERB, but by different authors who obviously share my love for his writing. Written in style similar to his, they have revisited some of his creations. Ten of the eleven stories are new. Only the John Carter tale is a reprint due to a prior contractual agreement not allowing any new Mars stories. Tarzan gets the lion share (sorry) of the tales with 3 featuring him. But the last one is a crossover where Tarzan visits the Land That Time Forgot. Pellucidar gets 2 stories(and a mention in the third Tarzan tale). Both offer different explanations about the moon at the earth's center. The other six stories are divided among Burrough's other creations.(John Carter, David Innes, the Moon Maid, the Mucker, Shoz-Dijiji, and the planet Poloda).
The line-up of authors is quite impressive.They include F.Paul Wilson, Mercedes Lackey, Peter David, Kevin J. Anderson, Sarah A. Hoyt, Richard A. Lupoff, Mike Resnick, Ralph Roberts, Max Allan Collins, Mathew Clemens, Joe R. Lansdale, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Todd McCaffrey. Yes there are more authors than stories since 2 of the stories are collaborations.
These tales brought back a lot of good memories and gave me a chance to revisit some friends that i hadn't seen for a while. While some of the concepts and actions may seem old-fashioned (or even sexist) to some, the heroes of Edgar Rice Burroughs were simply doing what they believed. Usually this meant fighting some bad guys(aliens, animals, monsters, etc) to protect the woman they loved (who were usually fighting by their side every chance they got). But unlike so many of the movies that portray these characters, they are not just walking muscles. They were highly intelligent, often scientists. Frequently they teach themselves multiple languages.
So if like me, you read any of Edgar Rice Burrough's books when you were younger, this collection is a must-read. If you have never visited any of these exotic places(worlds), now is you chance.
October 7, 2013
Some top notch writers have written for this anthology. All acknowledge their love and debt to Burroughs's work.
Within these pages are three Tarzan tales(one in which Joe Lansdale puts the ape man in another of Burroughs's worlds, The Land That Time Forgot), two Pellucidar stories, a Carson Napier, Moon Maid, Mucker, a tale from Beyond The Farthest Star, and a western featuring the white man raised by Geronimo. The only reprint is a John Carter story(The Burroughs estate was contractually bound against any new Mars pieces, likely because of the John Carter anthology already out.)It was originally published in 1963 as part of a giveaway and only a thousand copies were printed.
Some of the authors featured include the already mentioned Lansdale, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Peter David, Richard A. Lupoff, Kevin J. Anderson & Sarah A Hoyt, Max Allan Collins & Matthew Clemens, Todd McCaffrey, F. Paul Wilson, Mercedes lackey, Ralph Roberts, and Mike Resnick.
Loved every story here and more than one of them demanded a sequel. Fingers crossed.
Within these pages are three Tarzan tales(one in which Joe Lansdale puts the ape man in another of Burroughs's worlds, The Land That Time Forgot), two Pellucidar stories, a Carson Napier, Moon Maid, Mucker, a tale from Beyond The Farthest Star, and a western featuring the white man raised by Geronimo. The only reprint is a John Carter story(The Burroughs estate was contractually bound against any new Mars pieces, likely because of the John Carter anthology already out.)It was originally published in 1963 as part of a giveaway and only a thousand copies were printed.
Some of the authors featured include the already mentioned Lansdale, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Peter David, Richard A. Lupoff, Kevin J. Anderson & Sarah A Hoyt, Max Allan Collins & Matthew Clemens, Todd McCaffrey, F. Paul Wilson, Mercedes lackey, Ralph Roberts, and Mike Resnick.
Loved every story here and more than one of them demanded a sequel. Fingers crossed.
October 29, 2015
This is a fun read and has a hard to fine 11th john carter of mars book.
October 7, 2020
2012 was the 100th anniversary of the serialization of UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS (which later became A PRINCESS OF MARS) and saw the release of JOHN CARTER in celebration. For the first time, the world of Barsoom and a Princess of Mars was presented to fans in a huge...and expensive...film production. Due to poor advertising and marketing by the Disney group, the film did NOT do well at the box office...BUT...to play off the release of that movie and hopefully to rekindle the flames of Burroughs fandom, ERB, Inc. authorized an anthology of new stories about many of the old heroes of the past 100 years.
Here we have Tarzan during WWII...Angels in Pellucidar...A wrong way pilot returning to his home world...A Warlord looking for his lost friend and soldier...and so on for 11 exciting new adventures that brought back memories of sitting in bed, with the covers over your head and a flashlight, hoping that John Carter would defeat the great White Apes of Barsoom...That Tarzan would escape the evil clutches of the beautiful, but maniacal clutches of La of lost Opar.
And the authors...Richard Lupoff, Mercedes Lackey, Kevin J. Anderson, F. Paul Wilson, Todd McCaffrey, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and others, who were the fantasy, horror, and mystery master story tellers of that time. To top it all off, one of the deans of SF, Mike Resnick contributed a new BARSOOM story and was called upon to do the extra duty as editor of that rag tag group of crazed writers.
While the stories can NOT be considered canon...some were so far out in space that they changed they entire legends of some characters...the adventures themselves were fun and exciting and brought a real pulp type feel back to the world of ERB.
Oh...and btw...while John Carter may have crashed and burned at the theatre, it is enjoying a wonderful resurgence and finding new fans on Netflix where those who love the red planet can go to see tharks...white apes...and...well...ehem...DEJAH THORIS and new explorers can be drawn to a twinkling red star in the night sky... and wonder.
Here we have Tarzan during WWII...Angels in Pellucidar...A wrong way pilot returning to his home world...A Warlord looking for his lost friend and soldier...and so on for 11 exciting new adventures that brought back memories of sitting in bed, with the covers over your head and a flashlight, hoping that John Carter would defeat the great White Apes of Barsoom...That Tarzan would escape the evil clutches of the beautiful, but maniacal clutches of La of lost Opar.
And the authors...Richard Lupoff, Mercedes Lackey, Kevin J. Anderson, F. Paul Wilson, Todd McCaffrey, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and others, who were the fantasy, horror, and mystery master story tellers of that time. To top it all off, one of the deans of SF, Mike Resnick contributed a new BARSOOM story and was called upon to do the extra duty as editor of that rag tag group of crazed writers.
While the stories can NOT be considered canon...some were so far out in space that they changed they entire legends of some characters...the adventures themselves were fun and exciting and brought a real pulp type feel back to the world of ERB.
Oh...and btw...while John Carter may have crashed and burned at the theatre, it is enjoying a wonderful resurgence and finding new fans on Netflix where those who love the red planet can go to see tharks...white apes...and...well...ehem...DEJAH THORIS and new explorers can be drawn to a twinkling red star in the night sky... and wonder.
February 11, 2024
It was worth the read. I met authors I didn't know and who positively surprised me.
I have also read stories by well-known and admired authors that I consider to be works below their usual level.
My special mention to the last story about Tarzan in Pelucidar, one of the best in this pastiche compilation.
-----
Valió la pena la lectura. Me encontré con autores que no conocía y que me sorprendieron positivamente.
También he leído historias de autores conocidos y admirados que considero obras por debajo de su nivel habitual.
Mención especial a la última historia sobre Tarzán en Pelucidar, una de las mejores de este recopilatorio de pastiches.
I have also read stories by well-known and admired authors that I consider to be works below their usual level.
My special mention to the last story about Tarzan in Pelucidar, one of the best in this pastiche compilation.
-----
Valió la pena la lectura. Me encontré con autores que no conocía y que me sorprendieron positivamente.
También he leído historias de autores conocidos y admirados que considero obras por debajo de su nivel habitual.
Mención especial a la última historia sobre Tarzán en Pelucidar, una de las mejores de este recopilatorio de pastiches.
November 21, 2013
I really enjoyed Resnick's Mars novella, both Pellucidar stories and the Poloda one. Skimmed one Tarzan , ignored the other. I skipped the Mucker tale although I've enjoyed the books. Might go back to that .. The Moon Maid tale was disappointing ( how a series goes from an interplanetary romance to a ( yawn ) westernish civil war is beyond me. Sadly Offett's Venus is horrid, it breaks the mold and isn't really a story. So how do you rate such a thing ? I went 3 out of 5 because I read and enjoyed a lot of it. I'd buy a second volume if they did one.
June 27, 2015
Fun collection of short stories featuring characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The expected heroes are here: Tarzan, John Carter, Carson Napier, David Innes. But it's a real joy to read new adventures by some of his lesser known characters such as the War Chief, the Moon Maid, and the Mucker.
April 9, 2014
Great collection. I think Burroughs might have gone where these writers went with his characters.
August 5, 2017
Fantastic read!!! This brought me back to growing up reading the originals. The authors did a great job at capturing the "Burroughs" spirit. Would love to see another book!!
June 26, 2023
"Берроузовская" антология получилась довольно среднего качества. Есть неплохие вещи, но большинство - проходняк от ноунеймов.
Больше всего понравились трибьюты к не-фантастическим вещам ЭРБ - Apache Lawman (про воспитанного индейцами европейского мальчика, который вырос и пытается вернуться в белую цивилизацию Дикого Запада и найти в ней свое место) и The Two Billys (про уличного отморозка по кличке "боксер Билли", медленно и болезненно становящегося человеком). Оба рассказа просто отличные, хотя и преступно короткие.
Scorpion Men of Venus, Forgotten Sea of Mars, Tarzan and the Land That Time Forgot - старательные подражания Берроузу, особо ничем не запомнившиеся. Написаны качественно, в длинном ряду бесконечных приключений Тарзана, Джона Картера и чувака с Венеры (забыл имя) смотрятся вполне аутентично.
The Dead World и The Fallen - оба рассказа про Пеллюсидар по странному совпадению обращаются к теме "луны", неподвижно висящей над Турией, и раскрывают ее очень по-разному, Лэки - с приключенческо-романтической стороны, а Ф. Пол Уилсон, как обычно, переворачивает все мироустройство подземного мира с ног на голову. Оба понравились.
Moon Maid over Manhattan - эту новеллу просто не понял, возможно, потому что не знаком с вдохновившим ее оригиналом. Какая-то лунная принцесса вышла замуж за землянина со странным именем Джулиан Пятый (вероятно, тоже королевских кровей? напрямую про это не говорится), живет с ним в гостинице и переживает по разным поводам.
Tarzan and the Great War - вообще непонятно зачем написано. Тарзан в Северной Африке в годы Первой Мировой становится свидетелем политического убийства, и... ничего не происходит.
Tarzan and the Martian Invaders - идея столкнуть Тарзана с уэллсовскими (почти) марсианами в принципе хороша, но на практике получился не рассказ, а набор бредовых концепций и идиотских совпадений (оказывается, поляна в африканских джунглях, где Тарзан провел детство и юность, это на самом деле тайный космодром, который марсиане много веков назад построили для будущего флота вторжения, и вот ЧАС НАСТАЛ).
В целом материал слабоватый... бОльшую часть рассказов вполне можно прочесть, но вряд ли что-то из них надолго останется в памяти.
6.5/10
Больше всего понравились трибьюты к не-фантастическим вещам ЭРБ - Apache Lawman (про воспитанного индейцами европейского мальчика, который вырос и пытается вернуться в белую цивилизацию Дикого Запада и найти в ней свое место) и The Two Billys (про уличного отморозка по кличке "боксер Билли", медленно и болезненно становящегося человеком). Оба рассказа просто отличные, хотя и преступно короткие.
Scorpion Men of Venus, Forgotten Sea of Mars, Tarzan and the Land That Time Forgot - старательные подражания Берроузу, особо ничем не запомнившиеся. Написаны качественно, в длинном ряду бесконечных приключений Тарзана, Джона Картера и чувака с Венеры (забыл имя) смотрятся вполне аутентично.
The Dead World и The Fallen - оба рассказа про Пеллюсидар по странному совпадению обращаются к теме "луны", неподвижно висящей над Турией, и раскрывают ее очень по-разному, Лэки - с приключенческо-романтической стороны, а Ф. Пол Уилсон, как обычно, переворачивает все мироустройство подземного мира с ног на голову. Оба понравились.
Moon Maid over Manhattan - эту новеллу просто не понял, возможно, потому что не знаком с вдохновившим ее оригиналом. Какая-то лунная принцесса вышла замуж за землянина со странным именем Джулиан Пятый (вероятно, тоже королевских кровей? напрямую про это не говорится), живет с ним в гостинице и переживает по разным поводам.
Tarzan and the Great War - вообще непонятно зачем написано. Тарзан в Северной Африке в годы Первой Мировой становится свидетелем политического убийства, и... ничего не происходит.
Tarzan and the Martian Invaders - идея столкнуть Тарзана с уэллсовскими (почти) марсианами в принципе хороша, но на практике получился не рассказ, а набор бредовых концепций и идиотских совпадений (оказывается, поляна в африканских джунглях, где Тарзан провел детство и юность, это на самом деле тайный космодром, который марсиане много веков назад построили для будущего флота вторжения, и вот ЧАС НАСТАЛ).
В целом материал слабоватый... бОльшую часть рассказов вполне можно прочесть, но вряд ли что-то из них надолго останется в памяти.
6.5/10
January 16, 2022
This is a hit-or-miss collection; it has more hits than misses, and some of the pieces are excellent.
The best is probably "The Forgotten Sea of Mars". It's a rare story, and its inclusion in any collection is a treat. Mr. Resnick says he was trying to emulate ERB's writing style, and I think it came off pitch perfect.
Other excellent stories include "To the Nearest Planet" by Todd McCaffrey, "The Dead World", by F. Paul Wilson, "Tarzan and the Land that Time Forgot" by Joe R. Landsdale and "The Two Billys, A Mucker Story," by Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens.
ANY of the above stories are worth the price of the collection.
Other stories are too small a fragment of what should be larger stories. There's only one real failure -- I'll leave it to you to figure out which one. But you may disagree; literary taste is subjective.
Anyway, I highly recommend this collection. It's great stories by great authors. I'm not doing any spoilers because you'll enjoy discovering these "Worlds" yourself.
The best is probably "The Forgotten Sea of Mars". It's a rare story, and its inclusion in any collection is a treat. Mr. Resnick says he was trying to emulate ERB's writing style, and I think it came off pitch perfect.
Other excellent stories include "To the Nearest Planet" by Todd McCaffrey, "The Dead World", by F. Paul Wilson, "Tarzan and the Land that Time Forgot" by Joe R. Landsdale and "The Two Billys, A Mucker Story," by Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens.
ANY of the above stories are worth the price of the collection.
Other stories are too small a fragment of what should be larger stories. There's only one real failure -- I'll leave it to you to figure out which one. But you may disagree; literary taste is subjective.
Anyway, I highly recommend this collection. It's great stories by great authors. I'm not doing any spoilers because you'll enjoy discovering these "Worlds" yourself.
January 9, 2017
DNF for the last 2 stories.
ERB sat on my shelf next to Heinlein and EE Doc Smith. Tarzan was great because he also had a TV series (Johnny W!), so this was the first time I discovered that books could be better than TV. John Carter was the first compassionate hero I had met.
I don't know what constraints were put on the authors by either the ERB estate or the editors, but with such a fertile environment, why did these stories have to be so tangential? How do you have 4 stories about Barsoom, and have no reference to DT or Carthoris. I bet Carthoris had an interesting adolescence with his absent father/hero. How exactly does Tarzan run out on Jane - again!?!
So many talented authors (KKR!), so many stories I wanted to read, but I get these lame tales instead.
ERB sat on my shelf next to Heinlein and EE Doc Smith. Tarzan was great because he also had a TV series (Johnny W!), so this was the first time I discovered that books could be better than TV. John Carter was the first compassionate hero I had met.
I don't know what constraints were put on the authors by either the ERB estate or the editors, but with such a fertile environment, why did these stories have to be so tangential? How do you have 4 stories about Barsoom, and have no reference to DT or Carthoris. I bet Carthoris had an interesting adolescence with his absent father/hero. How exactly does Tarzan run out on Jane - again!?!
So many talented authors (KKR!), so many stories I wanted to read, but I get these lame tales instead.
February 23, 2020
This collection, in which various writers pay tribute to Edgar Rice Burroughs and the worlds he created, was an entertaining and eclectic mix of stories and worlds. Tarzan, John Carter, David Innes and others were presented in new adventures which were admirably captured in the style of the original ERB tales.
July 8, 2024
as with most anthologies, stories range from eh to quite good.
March 12, 2016
A fun, if disposable, romp through the classic characters of ERB. The strength of this collection is in the enthusiasm of the contributing writers and the way it introduces the reader to the scope of Burroughs' work. I, for instance, have always been a John Carter fan but have never dipped into any of Burroughs' other series. Now I'm more interested in doing so.
The problem with tribute stories in which one author apes a classic writer's style is that it can lead to highlighting the classic author's weaknesses instead of their strengths. For straight ERB-emulation, Mike Resnick gets away with it better than all the others in the collection. In my mind, though, Burroughs' greatest strength was in his world-building, so the stories I enjoyed most in this anthology were those in which the authors let more of their own voice show through while expanding on Burroughs' creations.
In particular, my top pics for this anthology are the two Pellucidar stories - one by Mercedes Lackey and the other by F. Paul Wilson. Burroughs' Pellucidar books weren't previously on my to-read list; they are now.
The problem with tribute stories in which one author apes a classic writer's style is that it can lead to highlighting the classic author's weaknesses instead of their strengths. For straight ERB-emulation, Mike Resnick gets away with it better than all the others in the collection. In my mind, though, Burroughs' greatest strength was in his world-building, so the stories I enjoyed most in this anthology were those in which the authors let more of their own voice show through while expanding on Burroughs' creations.
In particular, my top pics for this anthology are the two Pellucidar stories - one by Mercedes Lackey and the other by F. Paul Wilson. Burroughs' Pellucidar books weren't previously on my to-read list; they are now.
August 27, 2014
This is a very good collection of Burroughs pastiches. It's hard not to compare it to the John Joseph Adams edited anthology of a year or so ago, Under the Moons of Mars, in which a group of authors wrote new Barsoom stories, but I believe the big difference is that in that one the authors put their own spin and take on the tales whereas here the authors try to write in Burroughs' voice. My favorite stories here were Tarzan tales by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Joe R. Lansdale, a Venus story by Richard A. Lupoff that would have been right at home in a 1943 issue of Amazing Stories, and Resnick's long Martian tale, reprinted here for the first time in almost fifty years. I couldn't help but note that the stories I liked the least were set in the worlds with which I was least familiar, the Moon and Polada. I wouldn't suggest this book as an introduction to Burroughs' works, but it's a fun volume for existing fans.
February 26, 2014
I picked up the “Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs” anthology for two reasons. One, I like ERB, and two, one of the stories is written by one of my favorite authors, Kevin J Anderson. This book was an enjoyable read and the authors did a great job with their stories in ERBs different worlds. I loved most of the stories. There were a couple of exceptions that were a little disappointing. “The Scorpion Men of Venus” by Richard A Lupoff where the Characters were at least in my opinion portrayed as very shallow, and “To the Nearest Planet” by Todd McCaffrey which started out awesome but the ending left me scratching my head. Anyway I thought it was a great collection and any ERB fan will love it. My favorite stories were which is hard because they were mostly all great was “The Forgotten Sea of Mars” by Mike Resnick, “Tarzan and the Martian Invaders” by Kevin J Anderson, and “The Dead World” by F. Paul Wilson. However other than the two I mentioned above I really enjoyed all of them.
August 8, 2016
I read my first ERB book, Pirates of Venus when I was about 12 years old went on to read every one of the Venus, Mars, and Pelucidar series and at least 6 Tarzan books before I was 18. Since that time I pick up one now and again, mostly for nostalgic reasons but always with a great fondness for these books.
This collection of 11 stories is a fantastic return to those times. Some of the best authors in the business contributed to this collection including Peter David, Max Allan Collins, Mercedes Lackey, F. Paul Wilson, Mike Resnick, and Joe Lansdale. All channel ERB's voice nicely and pull you back into those worlds.
Truly, an enjoyable collection, even if you're not a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
This collection of 11 stories is a fantastic return to those times. Some of the best authors in the business contributed to this collection including Peter David, Max Allan Collins, Mercedes Lackey, F. Paul Wilson, Mike Resnick, and Joe Lansdale. All channel ERB's voice nicely and pull you back into those worlds.
Truly, an enjoyable collection, even if you're not a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
May 14, 2014
I would have given it 5 stars but, let's face it.... it's Burroughs and there's a bit too much sexism in many of his characters than even I care for. Most of the authors did a very good job of dodging those bullets though, except for the "burroughs scholar" whose story I couldn't even get through it was so full of bad writing, bad plotting and sexism. I highly recommend the hollow world and tarzan stuff in this volume though, as those authors did an amazing job of modernizing the social stuff to be a whole lot more palatable.
Again, would have been 5 stars without the one terrible story and the tendency for the source material to be a bit sexist even for me.
Again, would have been 5 stars without the one terrible story and the tendency for the source material to be a bit sexist even for me.
January 27, 2014
Wow, can't really ask for a more star-studded line up of sci-fi/fantasy authors for this anthology. I was never a huge fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs but picked this up because Todd McCaffrey contributed (which was incredible!). I had a lot of fun with this book, and as usual I find it hard to review anthologies since stories vary so wildly (especially when you're spanning Tarzan to John Carter in content!) but I found it worthwhile.
February 19, 2014
A collection of stories from various authors in homage to the works of ERB. Having read ERB from early teens, I was excited and happy to lay my hands on this volume. It did not disappoint. We get stories of the ape man, of Pellucidar, Mars and other exotic locales and characters. The authors portray Thor characters as ERB would have. There is definitely a good spirit to these stories and I was pleased with it.
February 5, 2014
I had heard an interview with the editors on The Baen Free Radio Hour, so when I saw it on the New Book Shelf at the local public library, I picked it up. The stories were enjoyable, using with Burroughs' characters and extending the worlds he created. I have never been a fan of John Carter, but enjoyed the Tarazan, Pellucidar, the Land That Time Forgot stories. I had not encountered Burroughs Westerns, so I have some tales to discover. Overall, a decent collection.
January 11, 2015
This is an anthology of short stories by some seriously talented writers who use characters and settings originally created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. They also did an excellent job of writing in his style. I think it must be difficult for a writer to write in another's style, and hats-off to these writers for doing it so masterfully.
This is ERB in story and style, and you have to be a fan of his to enjoy this. But if you are, you will.
This is ERB in story and style, and you have to be a fan of his to enjoy this. But if you are, you will.
December 1, 2024
I enjoyed all of these stories about various worlds and characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The best one was by Mike Resnick, a pastiche based on Burroughs' Barsoom ( Mars) series. A fast fun read for me, but you should read the books by ERB first, if you haven't already.
March 12, 2015
Very fun book with lots of good stories reimagining Burroughs characters. Some of these stories are, in my opinion, better written that a lot of what Burroughs wrote. Check it out and see for yourself.
May 9, 2014
A nice foray into the several worlds of ERB by popular authors. I enjoyed this book, some stories a little more than others.
January 18, 2016
Fans of Indiana Jones should check this,many stories and you're sure to find some you enjoy.
February 11, 2022
Great anthology
Loved this book. Great stories and very fun. Read it and enjoy. I read them I conversion. Thank for these storied
Loved this book. Great stories and very fun. Read it and enjoy. I read them I conversion. Thank for these storied
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews