Tarzan and the Lost Safari

by Frank Castle

An authorized edition. Adapted from the Tarzan Motion Picture. Apparently written by Frank Castle, although the author is not credited.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy

282 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Frank Castle wrote pulp crime novels and Westerns. He also used the pseudonyms Val Munroe and Steve Thurman.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads much like a book for fairly young kids, which I assume it is. It was apparently written by Frank Castle, although he is not credited in the book. It's closer to the movie Tarzan than to ERB's Tarzan. OK but nothing to write home about. It was actually adapted from the movie.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced adventure story featuring Tarzan on a quest to discover the truth about the mysterious barbaric city of Opar in the Eastern mountains of Africa. His quest, however, is soon interrupted by a plane crash, and Tarzan struggles to meet the urgent need to get the five survivors to safety.

This book is apparently a novelization of the 1957 movie of the same name. I've not seen that movie, but it looks like it plays on Turner Classic Movies from time to time, so maybe one day I'll get to see it.

While books based on movies are usually mere "guilty pleasures", I really enjoyed this one. Perhaps it's because I have no familiarity whatsoever with the film, and thus am able to accept the book on its own terms without any reference whatsoever with which to compare it to the movie.

I will say, however, that this Tarzan is not the over-simplified "movie Tarzan", and is more like the Tarzan Burroughs originally conceived, and that's evident from the first couple of chapters. He really could be any larger-than-life movie hero who just happens to have survival skills in (and respect for) the African jungle and veldt ecosystems, as he seems totally a product of western culture. In this book, his early history as being raised by apes is only briefly referred to, and luckily so, as it would be quite unconvincing based on his character in this book, where he comes across as quite Anglo-centric (comfortable with the language, customs, and ideas of those whom he's saving).

This book benefits from some interesting descriptions of wild Africa, many sequences of high action (described vividly and briskly), and some nice tension built up via the survivors, who range from unappreciative to perhaps even untrustworthy, making the story quite gripping.

If you can find a copy of this book to read for yourself, you'll find it is a nice YA novel that should certainly satisfy any reader who craves old-fashioned adventure.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written after Burroughs' death, this novel is based on the Tarzan film of the same name. However, the characterization of Tarzan is not the movie "Me Tarzan" version, but is more in line with Burroughs' original character. That said, it does have Cheeta, who never appeared in Burroughs' work, and this story's city of Opar is very different than Burroughs'. Still, it's a fun, action-packed read worth checking out if you are a Tarzan fan.

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whoever wrote this (the credit on Goodreads is unsupported, as far as I can tell) took great liberties with the filmscript presumably to pad the book up to the required word count. The liberties that hurt are of two varieties: adding scenes and incidents within scenes not in the script and changing the film narrative in ways that require explanation later in the book. In every case, the film's storytelling is cleaner, clearer, and more compelling. There are also passages of terrible writing, starting with the first sentence.

It is possible that some scenes preserve scenes in the original script that were either not filmed or that did not make the final edit, but reading the actual script is the only way to be certain of these, and I suspect the script would make better reading.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the time I read this edition, a birthday present from my grandmother, I would have rated this a 5. This book is a novelization of the 1957 movie starring Gordon Scott as Tarzan, which I remember seeing as a kid which I really liked, being a big Tarzan fan back in the day. Unlike so many of the old Tarzan movies, this one's portrayal of Tarzan more closely resembles Edgar Rice Burroughs' original character. However, Jane does not appear and this story's Opar is just another African village and not the lost colony of Atlantis of ERB's own Tarzan novels.

[John Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adaption (fairly loosely) of the movie "Tarzan And The Lost Safari", this book has Tarzan helping to rescue survivors of a plane crash deep in the jungle. They are being stalked by the savage natives of Opar, who want the survivors for their ritual sacrifice. Tarzan has to lead them to safety - if he can.

The author isn't credited, but he does an admirable job at keeping the excitement level high. A fun read.