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Wild Adventures of Tarzan
Tarzan and the Lion of Judah
From the blazing skies of Cyrenaica to the ground war in Abyssinia to the jungles of occupied Malaya, World War II echoes from these eight stories of adventure featuring Tarzan and Korak. Most of the tales in Tarzan and the Lion of Judah revolve around the Second Italo-Abyssinian War of 1935–1936, when Emperor Haile Selassie, the Negus of Ethiopia, impressed the world by standing up with his native army against fascist Prime Minister Benito Mussolini’s mechanized forces. Selassie, known as the Lion of Judah, was one of the most significant African rulers of the twentieth century. Edgar Rice Burroughs was no stranger to this colorful figure, who appears under one of his ceremonial names in Tarzan the Invincible, and in Tarzan the Magnificent, the jungle lord undertakes a mission on the emperor’s behalf.
THE WILD ADVENTURES OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS
In the Wild Adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs series, today’s authors innovate and expand upon Burroughs’ classic tales of wonder in truly wild fashion, even moving his characters and storylines outside the bounds of canon to alternate universes!
℗ 2022 Oasis Audio and © 2021 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Trademarks Tarzan®, Tarzan of the Apes™, Edgar Rice Burroughs®, and The Wild Adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs™ Owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Associated logos, characters, names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of ERB, Inc. Used by Permission.
THE WILD ADVENTURES OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS
In the Wild Adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs series, today’s authors innovate and expand upon Burroughs’ classic tales of wonder in truly wild fashion, even moving his characters and storylines outside the bounds of canon to alternate universes!
℗ 2022 Oasis Audio and © 2021 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Trademarks Tarzan®, Tarzan of the Apes™, Edgar Rice Burroughs®, and The Wild Adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs™ Owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Associated logos, characters, names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of ERB, Inc. Used by Permission.
Audio CD
First published November 6, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 30, 2023
I give this book, Tarzan and the Lion of Judah, a five of five stars review. I am a recent friend of the author, Gary Buckingham. He did not ask me to write this review. Overall, I enjoyed the stories in this book quite a bit. What I most enjoyed was the combination of real African history with an accurate portrayal of the Tarzan character from when I first read the original stories as a teenager. In the details below I give a lengthy explanation of what I just stated in this summary.
Details… spoiler alert, below, I give away general information but no specific plot details to the stories in Tarzan and the Lion of Judah.
I discovered the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB) in my youth, in the mid 1970s and became an instant fan. Back then, within a span of about six years I had read almost every one of ERB’s stories. Now I am an avid reader of history and historical fiction, but have re-read some ERB stories throughout my life. I consider ERB to be my favorite author of all time. Burroughs wrote mostly contemporary tales to match the time frame he lived (1875-1950). In the past few years, I have become involved in Burroughs fandom activities and attended a few Burroughs conventions. I met author, Gary Buckingham in November of 2021 at an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan club convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My copy of Gary’s book Tarzan and the Lion of Judah was provided to me for attending the convention, which he was hosting. The book has a number of stories and I’ve enjoyed them all. I read most of the stories in May and June of 2022. I read the final three stories in October and November of 2022. I mention those details because it was also throughout that time that I’ve encountered Gary at other ERB- related activities and we have become friends, talked about the book and our shared interest in ERB and other literature. I’m going to explain what I like most about Gary’s stories…the combination of accurate wartime history with a great Tarzan adventure.
Wartime History:
I found the way Gary includes historical events, weapons, plants, animals, geography, and politics in his stories to be satisfying. I am very interested in, but know very little about, real African history and almost nothing about World War II in Africa. As I read along, I would think about how Gary had extensively researched the historical backdrop. I paid close attention to the historical details, knowing they come from historical records. Additionally, while reading, I would often pause and search the internet for history of the countries, terms, and geography referenced in the stories. I even got out my own relevant history books and an historical atlas, set them beside me, and referred to them frequently. For example, one of the settings is on the island of Fernando Po. I had never heard of the place so I googled it during the story and discovered interesting details about the island that concurred with Gary’s Tarzan adventure.
I remember, as I was reading, thinking to myself about how great it is that Gary puts Tarzan in more historical event settings than I recall Edgar Rice Burroughs did. But my memory of the original ERB stories has long ago faded. I wish I could remember them better (I am re-reading them at a slow pace). To my pleasant surprise, after I finished the last story in the book, I saw there was an Afterward. I read it and found it is a story-by-story summary of Gary’s historical research. Additionally, he surmises as to how Burroughs may have been thinking about and using contemporary events at the time he wrote some of the original stories. I recommend that after you finish reading each story in this book you read the corresponding Afterward section instead of waiting until you have finished all the stories like I did.
Gary also loads his stories up with era and location specific military history. He includes weapons such as U-boats, machine guns, bombers, fighter planes, and rifles. He also brings in famous wartime leaders. I love true military history in fictional stories and this book has it.
In addition to military history, I am fascinated by the history of exploration. One of Gary’s stories, that mentions Tarzan at the very end, touches on the 19th century’s European exploration of Africa. I found that especially interesting as I plan to someday read extensively about it. The true history elements help build credibility into the Tarzan stories. I find that to be fun and fulfilling.
Tarzan Adventure:
There are many elements in the original Tarzan stories I like. This book has many of them. Dinosaurs, hand to hand combat, brutality, war. I love it.
Burroughs’ most famous character, Tarzan, is also my favorite literary character. The original Tarzan is presented primarily in 24 books written by Burroughs. Why do I like them so much? Because most of the books are fantastically entertaining. Part of what makes the stories great to me is Tarzan’s character, he’s primarily a loner with savage instincts combined with above average intelligence. The other aspect I like is the fantastic settings Tarzan finds himself in. Some of the Tarzan movies are good entertainment, but none have portrayed Tarzan as I saw him in the original stories. It’s a common complaint from fans like me. So, when I see a new Tarzan pastiche like this one, I want to be taken back to the original character and get a sense of the fantastic settings. Gary successfully presents the original tough, smart, and deadly Tarzan along with a sprinkling of the fantastic story elements I love.
I found these well researched stories to be thoroughly entertaining and educational. I highly recommend this book especially for fans of military history, WWII adventure and Tarzan.
Rob Olsen
Review written in November/December 2022
Final version January 20, 2023
Details… spoiler alert, below, I give away general information but no specific plot details to the stories in Tarzan and the Lion of Judah.
I discovered the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB) in my youth, in the mid 1970s and became an instant fan. Back then, within a span of about six years I had read almost every one of ERB’s stories. Now I am an avid reader of history and historical fiction, but have re-read some ERB stories throughout my life. I consider ERB to be my favorite author of all time. Burroughs wrote mostly contemporary tales to match the time frame he lived (1875-1950). In the past few years, I have become involved in Burroughs fandom activities and attended a few Burroughs conventions. I met author, Gary Buckingham in November of 2021 at an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan club convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My copy of Gary’s book Tarzan and the Lion of Judah was provided to me for attending the convention, which he was hosting. The book has a number of stories and I’ve enjoyed them all. I read most of the stories in May and June of 2022. I read the final three stories in October and November of 2022. I mention those details because it was also throughout that time that I’ve encountered Gary at other ERB- related activities and we have become friends, talked about the book and our shared interest in ERB and other literature. I’m going to explain what I like most about Gary’s stories…the combination of accurate wartime history with a great Tarzan adventure.
Wartime History:
I found the way Gary includes historical events, weapons, plants, animals, geography, and politics in his stories to be satisfying. I am very interested in, but know very little about, real African history and almost nothing about World War II in Africa. As I read along, I would think about how Gary had extensively researched the historical backdrop. I paid close attention to the historical details, knowing they come from historical records. Additionally, while reading, I would often pause and search the internet for history of the countries, terms, and geography referenced in the stories. I even got out my own relevant history books and an historical atlas, set them beside me, and referred to them frequently. For example, one of the settings is on the island of Fernando Po. I had never heard of the place so I googled it during the story and discovered interesting details about the island that concurred with Gary’s Tarzan adventure.
I remember, as I was reading, thinking to myself about how great it is that Gary puts Tarzan in more historical event settings than I recall Edgar Rice Burroughs did. But my memory of the original ERB stories has long ago faded. I wish I could remember them better (I am re-reading them at a slow pace). To my pleasant surprise, after I finished the last story in the book, I saw there was an Afterward. I read it and found it is a story-by-story summary of Gary’s historical research. Additionally, he surmises as to how Burroughs may have been thinking about and using contemporary events at the time he wrote some of the original stories. I recommend that after you finish reading each story in this book you read the corresponding Afterward section instead of waiting until you have finished all the stories like I did.
Gary also loads his stories up with era and location specific military history. He includes weapons such as U-boats, machine guns, bombers, fighter planes, and rifles. He also brings in famous wartime leaders. I love true military history in fictional stories and this book has it.
In addition to military history, I am fascinated by the history of exploration. One of Gary’s stories, that mentions Tarzan at the very end, touches on the 19th century’s European exploration of Africa. I found that especially interesting as I plan to someday read extensively about it. The true history elements help build credibility into the Tarzan stories. I find that to be fun and fulfilling.
Tarzan Adventure:
There are many elements in the original Tarzan stories I like. This book has many of them. Dinosaurs, hand to hand combat, brutality, war. I love it.
Burroughs’ most famous character, Tarzan, is also my favorite literary character. The original Tarzan is presented primarily in 24 books written by Burroughs. Why do I like them so much? Because most of the books are fantastically entertaining. Part of what makes the stories great to me is Tarzan’s character, he’s primarily a loner with savage instincts combined with above average intelligence. The other aspect I like is the fantastic settings Tarzan finds himself in. Some of the Tarzan movies are good entertainment, but none have portrayed Tarzan as I saw him in the original stories. It’s a common complaint from fans like me. So, when I see a new Tarzan pastiche like this one, I want to be taken back to the original character and get a sense of the fantastic settings. Gary successfully presents the original tough, smart, and deadly Tarzan along with a sprinkling of the fantastic story elements I love.
I found these well researched stories to be thoroughly entertaining and educational. I highly recommend this book especially for fans of military history, WWII adventure and Tarzan.
Rob Olsen
Review written in November/December 2022
Final version January 20, 2023
February 25, 2026
This book was a collection of short stories all centered around Tarzan interacting with Haile Selassie of all people! It would be one thing if all of the short stories were interlocking, but instead they turn the novel into a giant, discombobulated mess. Worse, there is no point to Haile Selassie being placed into these stories, because he makes a cameo at best and is a McGuffin at worst.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews