Tarzan Trilogy

Wild Adventures of Tarzan #3

by Thomas Zachek, Douglas Klauba (Illustrator), Joe Jusko (Cover art)

Here are three tales of Tarzan at Point Station, a remote English outpost near the Waziri homelands. Set during WWII, we see more and more European intrusion to the Bolongo River Basin. Tarzan becomes embroiled in increasingly dangerous events as cultures clash. Tarzan and the “Fountain of Youth”: Searching for the missing son of a friend, Tarzan encounters agents of an unscrupulous pharmaceutical company exploiting jungle resources for its own profit. Tarzan and the Cross of A team of archaeologists making a groundbreaking discovery; a group of well-meaning but naïve American missionaries arriving to convert the native tribes; and a ruthless band of men with a dark purpose stir up a heady mix of challenges for Tarzan, fomenting an intertribal war that only he can stop. Tarzan the When the Third Reich invades Africa to exploit the land for riches and enslave the native population in labor camps, Tarzan leads the tribes in an unprecedented tribal resistance.

Genres: Pulp, Historical Fiction

382 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2017

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trio of Tarzan stories set "between the books." Tarzan fights industrialists, missionaries, and Nazis. Unfortunately, they lack ERB's flair for writing, and are too woke to be at all authentic. Maybe if these featured Ki-Gor or Ka-Zar it wouldn't bother me.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lord Greystoke speaks to the House of Lords…

This book falls within the Wild Adventures of Tarzan/Edgar Rice Burroughs series. The book consists of three loosely linked novellas. The links are there but very subtle. This means that they read well as a series but also as individual tales of Tarzan. That fact is IMHO brilliant!

“1936: Tarzan and the Fountain of Youth” begins the book with a bang! Tarzan meets a friend for a drink at a London pub. George Fredrickson wants Tarzan to return to Africa. Fredrickson’s son Jack is out of touch, being in Africa with a Botanist named Professor Alistair Winslow. Fredrickson wants Tarzan to find Jack before it’s too late.

Winslow is working for a man named Peter DeKelm, a representative for Consolidated Pharmaceutical. They are looking to find the secret of why certain African tribes seem to live longer than other people. They are determined to get what they want and no one better stand in their way…

“1937: Tarzan and the Cross of Vengeance” is the story of a man named Maximilian who has a beef to pick with Tarzan. Thanks to a PI named Raymond Wilson, Maximilian now knows that Tarzan is actually John Clayton, Lord Greystoke!

Add in a Missionary lady who is determined to convert the native tribes in the vicinity of Tarzan’s African home and you get a blast of action, intrigue, and mystery. Maximilian wants revenge, yet Tarzan does not have any clue as to why…

“1938: Tarzan the Conqueror” brings the Nazis to Tarzan’s neighborhood. Tarzan has argued in the House of Lords that the Nazis’ presence in Africa, their enslavement of native tribes, and flat out murders should be a priority for Great Britain. The other members point out that the Government is in the midst of negotiations with Germany, and is loath to anger Hitler. It is only natives, and they should fend for themselves.

Tarzan is not one to stand by and let his friends be slaughtered by the Third Reich. He will go to war with the German Occupation of Africa even if he has to do it alone!

All three stories could have been written by Burroughs himself! The tone, the atmosphere, the characters and relationships with the natives ring as if Thomas Zachek were channeling Burroughs’ spirit! Bravo! Well done! Encore!

I give each individual story and the volume as a whole five stars plus!

Quoth the Raven…

[Bill Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

Missed Jane seemed weird without that part of the back ground. Mark also missing . Story's was ok. The last o e was best

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not written by Burroughs it is still a great read. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The author needs to learn about how mortars work though.

[Phil Matthews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tarzan of the movies

This is not the Tarzan of ERB, but of the later movies. Germans used bolt action rifles. The German high command didn't think enlisted men had the fire discipline for semi automatics. Mortars are not that accurate, even with seasoned crews let alone new ones. Only SS troops would be wearing Nazi armbands.

[Janet Fleckenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading

Enjoyable TarzaN stories. If you have been reading Edgar Rice Borroughs stories threefold stars similar vane and provide a relaxing few hours of reading. I. Would definitely recommend them to a Tarzan afficianado,

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a novel of three novellas which were poor, awful, and alright. I'm not even sure I would say only a Tarzan fan would enjoy this book.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book in "The Wild Adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs" series authorized by ERB, Inc., which feature different ERB characters and not only Tarzan. In this one, we have three novellas featuring Tarzan and set in the Thirties--a good time period I think for Tarzan stories. All three stories involve intruders in Tarzan's jungle--"Big Pharma" looking for herbs used by the natives, which increase longevity, a meddlesome missionary (a missionary is meddlesome by definition!) and everyone's favorite villains--the Nazis.
I don't expect adventure stories to stick close to actual history but I just don't see the British allowing the Nazis to enslave the natives in one of their colonies ( I'm not clear if it is in British East Africa or if it is the Belgian Congo). It's like in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," with Nazis in full uniform digging for the Ark in Egypt, which was under British control. The Brits would just not have allowed it.
Overall, they're OK stories. 3 stars.
I read the book in 2017 but, for some reason, did not post a review then.