Tarzan and The Leopard Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan and The Leopard Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Ballantine Edition 1975 Copyright 1935

"Let the white man be broken," growled the leopard man, "and on the third night let my children return that each may be made wise by eating the flesh of a white man. When you have eaten of it the white man's weapons can no longer harm you. Let the white man be broken!"

I started reading ERB in my early teens, and I'm pretty sure I read all 24 Tarzan books. (I may have missed one or two, but I don't think so) But I am sure that I truly enjoyed reading them; and growing up I loved to escape behind the pages and become engulfed in the dark jungle, with it's mysterious adventures.

The majority of true ERB devotees believe that after the first 8 0r 10 Tarzan books, the stories became mediocre. And I am not one to doubt the judgment of people who know more about a subject than I, but my favorite always has been "Tarzan and The Leopard Men" -number 18 in the book series.

The adventure starts with Tarzan caught in a violent storm and a large tree crashes down on him. Knocked unconscious and trapped, he awakes with his memory completely lost. He is freed by Orando, the son of a tribal chief, who believes the giant white man is his muzimo-his protective spirit. Villages are being ravish by a secret cult called the leopard men, who perform hideous things to the people, like maiming, killing and eating them. The Muzimo believes his call is to end the terror of the leopard men for the villagers, and along the way save a beautiful, young white woman and members of her safari.

I liked the idea of Tarzan having total amnesia, and using his physical powers in the mindset of some other being. ERB provides fine "dialog" between the Muzimo/Tarzan and Nkima, his simian companion in the story. This helps the reader understand our hero's state of mind while he is the Muzimo. The leopard men are brutal and there are traitors within the safari group that bring more of the evil element into the story. Danger awaits around every jungle vine-with witch doctors, pygmies, and ferocious jungle beasts. Eventually the Muzimo receives another blow to the head and his memory returns-back to Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle. Where he brings down the ritual leopard men cult and save the tormented white skinned maiden.

"She was thrown upon one of the filthy sleeping mats, an earthen jar was dragged to the side of the mat, and two young women proceeded to anoint her with the vile smelling oil. This was rubbed in by rough hands until her flesh was almost raw..."

What I liked best about this Tarzan story was there are no lost empires or ancient medieval cities that time forget, its just a jungle adventure. Even with the story's standard elements that are in every Tarzan book, it is the amnesia bit (Tarzan being the Muzimo) that makes it special and sells it for me.

Back when these stories were first published, the general public knew very little about Africa. How wonderful it must of been to those readers decades ago, as the Tarzan stories first came out in print, and go on a jungle adventure to the mysterious unknown Dark Continent. They must of experienced ten times the awe and exhilaration that we in later generations felt. Like I said before, most ERB readers like the earlier number books, but for me I like "Tarzan and The Leopard Men." And if I am the only one out there that calls this Tarzan adventure his favorite ... well it's nice to be standing alone once in awhile.

The white man turned to Orando. "I am not Muzimo," he said: "I am Tarzan of the Apes" He touched Nkima, "Now I remember everything."

The Mucker by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Mucker by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
ACE Edition 1974 Copyright 1914

To many ERB aficionados, "The Mucker" is regarded to be Burroughs' best work. So, when I saw it in the used book store discount bin for a dime, I grabbed it. Could of been the best dime I spent.

Eighteen chapters of high adventure, which was originally published serially in 1914 by All-Story Cavalier Weekly. Each chapter a story in itself. Billy Byrne is a tough, slum-punk, hoodlum from Chicago. Far from the ERB hero type, he ends up kidnapped aboard a ship and fighting everything from pirates, samurai, headhunters, thugs, etc... As Byrne goes on his violent adventure, the good that is in him slowly evolves. He realizes the needs of others and uses his brawn to help them. We see Byrne's development through the girl (Barbara Harding) in the story, who first sees Byrne as vulgar and vile, and at the end- loyal, brave and honorable.

To me it wasn't the best ERB novel, my personal favorite is "Tarzan and the Leopard Men," but it is definitely up there. A fun read, that is packed with action and adventure as these serialized stories were intended to be. After almost 100 years, Edgar Rice Burroughs and "The Mucker" can still entertain readers today.

Note: Besides the fine story, the dime was worth it for the Frank Frazetta cover. There is a second book, "The Return of The Mucker" with another Frazetta cover. I'll keep a dime in my pocket for that one.