The Red One: Jack London (Classics, Literature, Action & Adventure) [Annotated]

by Jack London

"The Red One" is a short story by Jack London. It was first published in the October 1918 issue of The Cosmopolitan, two years after London's death. The story was reprinted in the same year by MacMillan, in a collection of London's stories of the same name.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Classics, Adventure, Horror, Ebooks

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1918

About the author

John Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.

London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.

His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".

Reviews

[Warren Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella from Jack London will make you feel sweaty, itchy, and grimy in just the first two pages.

Set on the island of 19th Century Guadalcanal, a naturalist on a cruise gets intrigued while on shore by an alien noise, almost like a beckoning bellow, coming from the mainland, but he gets separated from his party and irretrievably lost. He is immediately beset upon by swarms of mosquitos, oppressive heat, and and unfriendly cannibals. He ends up living out his last days in a local village stricken with malaria, developing a kind of friendship with the witch doctor who covets his head.

It turns out that the mysterious sound is coming from somewhere near this village, but the area is taboo to him, so he tries to manipulate the villagers into showing him the source of the cry, which they say comes from "The Star-born."

This is a hard story to rate. It truly is a great example of weird fiction and cosmic horror, with some deep themes. But I don't care for it.

One of the most obvious reasons is Jack London himself. He is actually a great science fiction writer, but when he goes off into South Sea adventure territory, he often loses me. This is because he was one of those progressive types who would traipse around inhospitable territories in search of dopamine hits through danger and adventure so he could tell everyone what a mensch he was. Tough guy. You know the type. Today, they are the annoyingly handsome pricks who show up at parties with a six-pack of IPA, eager to tell of their latest excursions through Peru or Chile or the Middle East, taking selfies with locals while traveling with their trophy girlfriends on a very expensive motorcycle--you know, to blend in. And while London's experiences certainly broadened his mind about the human condition, he died too young from his alcoholism and hard lifestyle, so he never matured beyond his colonial attitudes.

Though published posthumously, "The Red One" is a glaring example of his racist attitudes while he desperately tried not to be. This is because he fetishized "brown people" and saw his travels as adventures in exoticism. All through his life, he liked to "slum it," which itself implies that he always thought himself superior to the people with which he associated. The more he drank, the less inhibited he was to pursue his next thrill. Robert Louis Stevenson he was not.

And so "The Red One" is loaded with exoticism, observations colored not by deep empathy or emotional maturity, but by a thinly disguised contempt for "savages." His descriptions of the indigenous tribes exaggerate their ignorance, superstitions, and brutality. He focuses on their "repugnant" physical characteristics as atavistic or as the unadulterated inheritance of our prehistory. One might argue that these attitudes are those of the character he created, not those of the author himself. But the more I study Jack's life and work, the more the pattern points to the fact that he was a product of his time.

Also, I am not a huge fan of cannibal fiction. That includes the subgenre of Italian cannibal exploitation films. If you like things like "Green Inferno" or "Cannibal Holocaust," you will have more mileage with this story. It is surprisingly dark, tense, violent, and gruesome.

At the same time, these elements are important to remember, a poignant reminder of the legacy of imperialism. For this alone the novella is historically important.

And as much as it is a product of its time, as a work of science fiction, it was way ahead of its time. This is Lovecraftian fiction before there was a Lovecraft, and is one of the best.

So though this is not something I care to revisit, I'm certainly glad to have read it, and I do think it should be read by all fans looking for that singular feeling that comes from weird fiction. Therefore, this story ends up getting a high rating despite it rubbing me the wrong way.

SCORE: 4 shrunken heads out of 5

[Marco Beneventi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un naturalista impegnato nello studio della fauna di Guadalcanal viene incuriosito da un suono celestiale che percorre tutta l’isola e spinto dalla voglia di conoscerne l’origine si addentra nel folto della foresta dove inizierà per lui la fine, i cacciatori di teste e la malaria lo attendono ma con sè anche la scoperta del sapere totale.
Di ció parla questa breve novella di appena 62 pagine che racchiude un London che non avevo mai “incontrato”.
Cupo, lugubre, disperato, dai toni mesti, questo racconto di fantascienza si avvicina molto di più alla scrittura Lofcraftiana che alla classica a cui ci ha abituato London.
Un racconto piacevole che scivola via sotto gli occhi e che verso il finale non tralascia di proporre anche piccoli spunti di riflessione, peccato solo la sua brevità, una storia come questa si sarebbe prestata con piacere a sviluppi molto più articolati.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story will not come as a surprise to anyone who has read London's classic "To Build a Fire." (I don't think I'm giving too much away by stating that.)

I chose to read this because I had been led to believe it was a "lost world" story, but in fact I wouldn't classify it as such. There is a cannibalistic tribe cut off from all outside contact with the world, sure, and there is a supernatural element, but it doesn't build enough of a "lost world" to qualify as such in my book. But then again, after reflection, the story was much more in keeping with Jack London's usual plot and philosophy, so I really can't fault it.

Read this story, along with a number of other pulp fiction works written in 1918 that had 'lost world' themes' for a meeting of the Reading Genres book club. This meeting was devoted to the theme "1918" -- books written about events in 1918 or written in 1918.

[Clare · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I read this because "enigmatic science fiction by Jack London" is one hell of an intriguing description, but turns out this short story is mostly just a garbled mess. Also it is really, really racist.

*Spoiler Alert* The plot: White dude goes to the Solomon Islands to do research of some type, hears a celestial ringing emanating from deep within the jungle, gets attacked by local tribe, runs away, finds another tribe, gets sick, hangs out dissing on them while they attempt to nurse him back to health, sneaks away to find the source of the ringing noise, finds a red orb the tribe worships, decides it's aliens, decides that being a superior white man means he has more in common with super advanced aliens than he does with his fellow humans here on the island, formulates plan to escape from the tribe caring for him so he can bring back an army of white people to take possession of the orb (even if that means slaughtering everyone on the island), but then instead gets sicker, dies. The end.

The most generous interpretation of this story is that the main character is supposed to be held in contempt -- that he is intentionally flawed and morally bankrupt -- making this a sort of morality play about the folly of hubris, about the limits of so-called "civilization." It could also be read as a cynical and nihilistic tale about death inevitably putting an untimely end to all human endeavor.

But honestly? This didn't come across as that nuanced to me. This read like a straight bushwhacking adventure, making all the racism and misogyny just... racism and misogyny.

And to be clear, this is some Nazi-level racism. London describes the Solomon Islanders as sub-human, as apes, as deformed half-men with the intelligence of beasts. The misogyny? Well women are the "inferior sex," stupid, and naturally inclined by nature to be subservient to man's will. The main character spends the majority of the story intentionally lying to and manipulating a woman -- who he describes in grotesque terms -- convincing her that he loves her and will marry her in order to get what he wants from her. He also refers to her as a dog and beats her.

At some point, even if this is supposed to be ironic, or cynical, or condemnatory of the evils it depicts, the depiction itself becomes so vile, it risks spreading the very poison it (supposedly) seeks to denature.

It is, regardless, a deeply unpleasant experience to be forced to witness the internal monologue of a racist woman-beater for 40-odd pages.

I know I take a lot of authors to task over sexism and racism, misogyny and xenophobia. I know it probably gets old when the same critiques get leveled time and again. But I think it's important to point out that these attitudes were ubiquitous for a very, very long time. And that everyone who was not white, who was not male, had to suffer through the most horrendous degradation if they wanted to read books. Because the marketplace of ideas has never been a free market; it has always been an oligopoly. Literature has been a means of production held by the powerful elite of society, which, for the majority of history, has been white males. It is only now, in the 21st century, that others are starting to have a say in what's valuable in literature. And what's not.

Personally, I could leave this shit in the past.

[James Blakley · Rating 4 out of 5]

You finally set eyes upon your destination after months at sea: The island of Guadacanal. A lush, green paradise--or so it seems. For as you and your party leave the beach and broach the "jungle heart", in search of the source of an alluring yet alien melody, suddenly your guide falls to the ground. You look down and see that he has lost his head! You swing your shotgun around, but the attacker isn't around. Was it man or beast? Or perhaps it was inspired--maddened--by the unseen sound: Something so beautiful yet it emanates from a force so fearful and awesome that the natives you soon encounter speak of it barely; and when done so, in cautious reverence. But, as a scientist, you must discover the source (no matter the cost). Thus begins the grizzly hunt for...THE RED ONE.

Though actually a short story anthology that includes "The Hussy"; "Like Argus of the Ancient Times"; and "The Princess," the book bears the name of its lead story--and rightfully so--"The Red One." It's an exotic blend of horror and sci-fi that isn't at all one of Jack London's better known works. It has the definite feel of Joseph Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness" and H.G. Wells's "The Island of Dr. Moreau," with a pared down amount of Lovecraftian surrealism. The introspection and observation that exists in "The Red One" is survivalist in tone--no surprise, coming from Jack London--and centers upon Bassett: A white explorer-scientist who combs the Pacific jungle wilds. His unintentional "discovery" comes rather late, but it's an interesting journey to it. There is lush imagery throughout and decent secondary character development (although it exhibits a rather racist, sexist strain that fits much of the turn-of-the-century mindset). And, the ending will probably come as a shock to fans of modern sci-fi and horror, but will be par for the course for London aficionados.

So while this anthology's other stories are comparatively the unspectacular, ramblings of mostly landlubbers turned hard-bitten sea-farers or prospectors, "The Red One" veers off course for a fairly suspenseful excursion that twists and turns into sci-fi and horror. A nice antique for fans of both genres who might be pleasantly surprised by Jack London's ability to occasionally broach the other-wordly.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This consists of four short stories, told in the form of "tall tales". I read this as part of "Works of Jack London" from MobilReference, distributed by Amazon, Kindle edition.

The Red One: An explorer follows strange sound into the African jungle, becomes lost. Meets up with savage tribes, and finds a strange alien artifact. (*** = three stars)

The Hussy: A man goes to Ecuador to work on the railway, and ultimately seek a huge "nugget" of gold, guided by a beautiful, enigmatic Indian maiden. (** = two stars)

Like Argus of the Ancient Times: Grandfather Tarwater, viewed as doddering and senile by his family, takes off the rigors of the Klondike goldfields to seek his fortune. This is a charming and humorous story, the best one of the four. (**** = four stars).

The Princess: Three hobos brag about how they left a privileged upbringing, lost their arm in South Seas, and married a princess. Racist language is a bit jarring to the modern reader. (** = two stars)

What's in common with the stories: They feature men off to exotic dangerous places to seek adventure and wealth or fame. Two of the tales (The Hussy, and The Princess) are being recited by the characters in the story.

[Brandon Swarrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

So strange, and bizarre especially coming Jack London, The Red One is an intriguing a little story about sacrifice. It was somewhat vague, but very imaginative and mystical. I enjoyed it, as I have many other tales by this great American author.

[Brendan Jure · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very unlike any Jack London works I've ever read.

Has a lot of elements of sci-fi (mostly in the titular The Red One) that make it unique to the rest of the London catalogue but it makes the collection of 4 short stories all that more interesting.

[Tim Addison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read for a Novella.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple more rule of three stories. Not his best work, but better than many in the past 150 years.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a few tries to get into it, but I was well rewarded with great imagery when I did.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for AP English III

[Robert Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an entertaining short story that I didn't expect from Jack London. It had some definite Lovecraftian moments to it, with a mixture of horror and beauty

[Sam Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard one to rate. It has all the classic, vivid natural descriptions of Jack London, and even a bit of sci-fi thrown in. But it’s also deeply, horribly racist and very in your face about that. The Red One is a tough read for anyone with modern sensibilities, but on balance I enjoyed the vivid prose enough to say it was worthwhile.

[Charles Sheard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this brief collection of four stories written by London in the final year of his all-too-short life (two written in May and two in September, before his November 1916 death at age 40). The first story, for which the collection is named, is often referenced as early science fiction. It is also often criticized as presenting a cliché colonialized view of the natives of the Solomon Islands, but I think those comments are somewhat misplaced. The intent of the story appears to be along the lines of "what if an advanced alien communication/information device landed in such a remote, primitive, undeveloped society that it could not be understood for what it was and instead simply perverted into some local primitive place of worship?" And so London picked what he felt would be an appropriate setting for such a plot, and to be fair to London he did have an informed (if not a scientific anthropological) knowledge of the south Pacific of the day. In fact his non-fiction work The Cruise of the Snark was published just five years earlier, detailing his own 1907 adventures in the area aboard a ship that was active in the south Pacific slave-trade (called blackbirding at the time) which had been attacked only months prior in retribution by islanders from one of the Solomons who apparently afterwards still wanted a few more heads before things were even. There were also reports in 1901 of up to 10,000 skulls discovered on Gaoribari Island (in nearby Papua New Guinea). So, just to supply some context, whether or not it was highly fictionalized, or warped as seen through the lens of a Western Superiority Complex, his portrayal does reflect a prevailing view at the time. And even with respect to such then-current views, London was self-aware that they may have been "a product of Western race-egotism, urged by our belief in our own righteousness and fostered by a faith in ourselves which may be as erroneous as are most fond race fancies."

That said, I actually enjoyed the three following stories more, as ultimately the descriptions of the alien sphere were not entirely clear or convincing. The other tales, one set in London's tried and true Klondike, and one told by the most down-trodden form of hobo (see his memoir The Road for his own experiences among them), are right in London's wheelhouse. They are like comfortable old yarns, told by a fire (as in fact, the final story was actually set), where part of the enjoyment is the adventurous plots, and part is pretending to be the listening character, determining how much might have been true and how much was exaggerated for effect, but enjoying it all regardless.

[Sookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where does this story take place anyway? It starts off on an interesting premise - an Englishman from the Empire lost in an island where there are bounty hunters, devil devil house, a red sphere of sorts (there is nothing redder than that in this world) and strange island politics.
There is a racial and misogynistic undertone that runs through the course of novel when the main character explains how horrendous the woman he is looking at, is. Though to his credit he does say he doesn't like women in general.

Apart from this its quite enjoyable story, the character who is a scientist or clearly has exposure to science is rendered helpless in this island. There is a lot of things happening around him and in privacy of his mind he observes people. Most part of the story is main character talking about people or the red one.

For a story written in 1916 (though it was published in 1918), the elements of science fiction is astounding. Its a compelling read, motifs galore and speculative setting. Can't get better than that!

[Julia Schwartzova · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion this short story (“The Red One”) is a very nice representation of the Naturalist writing, it was very easy to analyse and depict the different aspects of the Naturalistic writing. I am sure that Jack London has many different stories that represent this literary era in American literature, but this one is not that long and you can easily spot the characteristics of Naturalism. I've read this story as a part of a mandatory reading list for my exam in American literature and it showed many aspects of Naturalism, which in my opinion prepared me for the exam very well. It helped me understand Naturalism, and the story and the different distinctive features were very easy to remember.

[Nate · Rating 1 out of 5]

At first I was intrigued by the sound of this book. Aliens in the Solomon Islands? And written by a famous American novelist? Let's check it out!

It turns out this book really just a bloviating spew of racism and misogyny, with any trace of science fiction being a minuscule afterthought. Seriously, Jack London spends more time body-shaming the native women then actually describing the extraterrestrial object for which the story is named.

This was really just a piece of prejudiced garbage. Fairly articulte garbage, I'll admit, but still garbage.

[Karen K - Ohio · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hauntingly great read. First published in 1918 it makes reference to the Robert Browning poem “Childe Roland to The Dark Tower Came". And that poem references a line in Shakespeare’s 1607’s play “King Lear”. Amazing how so many artists have been inspired by Childe Roland and his quest for The Dark Tower. Instead of a desolate wasteland the injured wanderer of this story is in a thick dank jungle tormented by bugs and stalked by cannibals.

[Forked Radish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guadalcanal's Red One is a giant radish!
Interestingly, Jack London died exactly 6 months after completing this story.

[Станислав · Rating 5 out of 5]

Здесь только о рассказе "Красное Божество" (хотя надо бы просто "Красный" или "тот Красный"). Это оказался несравненный по силе рассказ ДжекЛондона, незадолго до смерти он ешё мог прибавить. По силе впечатления сопоставим с рассказом "Мексиканец".
Рассказ быстро погружает нас в мрачные, жаркие, душные, болезненные джунгли

Соломоновых островов, а именно острова Гуадалканал. Они же "Каннибальские острова", названные так за пристрастие местного населения к человечине. Поход за бабочками быстро становится бегством из кишащих каннибалами джунглей к спасительному морю через малярийные болота. Ощущение внутренней тьмы, безумия, болезни, жары и влаги создают ощущение как от фильма ("Сердце тьмы" я ещё не читал) "Апокалипсис сегодня" с отвратительными сценами из лагеря Куртца. Спасенный туземной женщиной (здесь должны быть прекрасная экзотическая принцесса. Нет. Уродливой, грязной и глупой.) и напугав членов одно из племён дробовиком (один получил прикладом, второму разнес голову), учёный сталкивается с загадкой таинственного звука в джунглях, который туземцы приписывают своему кровожадному и таинственному богу - "Красному". Здесь я всё таки ожидал какого-то реалистического ответа, скажем редкой геологической аномалии или пещеры, которая издаёт странные звуки. Но нет здесь в сочетании малярийного бреда повествователя, мерзостной жизни звероподобных аборигенов, таинственного божества и фантастического проявления - у меня тоже возникло чувство, что я читаю Г.Ф. Лавкрафта. Здесь оказывает, что реалистического объяснения нет: аборигены действительно отрыли в джунглях потрясающий гигантский металлический шар. Потрясающее произведение инопланетного ума, неизвестно доброго или злого, таящее в себе тайны покорения космоса. Умственных способностей аборигенов хватает толь��о на постоянные кровавые жертвоприношения представителей соседних племён своему Богу-Шару. В общем вся жизнь аборигенов сводится к жертвоприношениям, каннибализму и изощрённым пыткам ради удовольствия. Здесь некоторое ощущение как в знаменитом фильме (который я сильно не люблю) "Космическая одиссея 2001 года", только там Монолит мутировал жестоких обезьян в людей, а здесь скорее наоборот. Единственный более-менее осмысленный представитель племени: шаман, но он не собирается раскрывать свои секреты чужаку, зато очень хочет закоптить его голову, п��скольку копчение голов и разговоры с ними составляет его основное занятие. Нет, не будет Хэппи-энда, не придут белые люди, чтобы убить жестоких людоедов и извлечь секреты инопланетного шара - перед загадками космоса мы все оказываемся сушёными головами.
Учитывая, что после смерти ДжекЛондона Гуадалканал станет полем битвы японцев и американцев - не есть ли здесь какое-то пророчество? Во всяком случае - это отличный рассказ, который, мне кажется, отражает мысли ДжекЛондона по поводу бездны над головой.

[Luismi]

I have read in a pocket edition of the 90s with another short stories: 'Semper Idem', 'State of War' and 'The dominant primitive beast'

[Z. R. C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, racism/ anti indigenous. Interesting story and well written, but really rough. What an Incel

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ends too suddenly, and is filled with prejudiced observations and description of almost everything except the 'Red One' in question.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was... something.

And my suspicion that I really, really do not like Jack London and his racist and misogynist short stories was confirmed.

[August :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

what the actual fuck. i was supposed to read the scarlet plague, but my professor mistyped the name and i ended up reading this weird bullshit instead. good god, what the fuck did i just read.

[cypher · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting work, not really what i expected from Jack London, considering i only know his wolves-and-the-wilderness books. i liked the themes.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story is available in'HorrorBabble's Ultimate Weird Tales Collection: Volume 2, Audible version narrated by Ian Gordon. According to Bassett, the protagonist of the story, the people of the Solomon Island, Guadalcanal are on par with beasts. They have the intelligence of imbeciles and look like monkeys. Their language is more a series of 'uncouth sounds than a language', but Bassett being the amazing white guy that he is picks up this uncouth language in no time, therefore demonstrating his superiority. After escaping one group of cannibals he is rescued by a woman from another group of cannibals. She is hideous to look upon, but Bassett is a curious fellow so he decides to take one for the team and have sex with this woman repeatedly even though he finds her uncouth. The woman for some reason doesn't find him and his pasty whiteness repugnant. He does all this in order to gain some knowledge about 'The Red One'. He doesn't care who he endangers in this endeavor, because hey, they are just a bunch of savages who happened to take him in and have been nursing him through his protracted bout of malaria. Beyond all the hatefulness, the story is just so-so. It has an interesting sci-fi aspect that is underwhelming, and it starts out slowly. Bassett's dripping contempt for the people who he is living with for several months is not unrealistic, just unpleasant. What a disappointing story. It was first published in the October 1918 issue of The Cosmopolitan, two years after London's death.

[Sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il destino di Bassett, naturalista inglese, è segnato nello stesso momento in cui, nell'isola di Guadalcanal, sedotto da un suono misterioso e intrigante che giunge da un punto indistinto dell'isola, decide di volerne scoprire l'origine. Venuto a conoscenza che la vista dell'oggetto che produce quel suono possente è soggetto a un culto sanguinoso che ne vieta l'accesso ai non adepti, Bassett va coscientemente incontro al suo destino pur di placare la sua ossessione. Un racconto che parla dell'animo umano, della sua capacità di scendere a compromessi e a bassezze pur di raggiungere i suoi scopi

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An effectively brutal and unsettling piece about the precariousness of perceived superiority/civilisation, and the sf elements are surprisingly strong and overt for a work of this vintage. Yes the protagonist's attitudes are barbaric and savage, but if anything that adds a layer to the story from a modern vantage. Overall dark and nasty and effective but also full of moments that pull the modern reader out. Interesting though not essential.