Book Review: The Savage Lands

Let's just jump in shall we?

While Tarzan attempts to find a new home for the Mangani, he's being pursued by both his cousin William Greystoke and a fortune hunter, Albert Werper. However both men have an ulterior motive: to find the mythical "savage land" of Opar. With Jane and Robbie trying to warn Tarzan, a bounty hunter on the trail of Robbie and a race of apes known as the Targani the quest is more perilous than anyone thought. Especially when they meet the ruler of Opar, Queen La...

With his third entry in the series Andy Briggs has crafted probably the best one yet. Moving quickly through its 188 page length the book features the sort of action that fans of the pulps will enjoy while at the same time evoking Edgar Rice Burroughs' standard plots of greedy hunters, lost cities and Tarzan in savage action. Briggs also comes up with ways to update Burroughs' characters to modern times without losing their original purpose, even Welper and La that makes it fun for ERB fans.

Not to say it was all perfect. The subplot of the bounty hunter after Robbie was dispatched just as quickly as it was introduced, making me wonder why it was even included. Some of the plot contrivances also wear thin, like the constant volcano and earthquakes that threaten the characters every time there is trouble. And while Jane is more action oriented sometimes she does things that make you wonder if she ever thinks things through.

That said this is still a fun read and leaves an open for another book. I just wonder where Briggs will take Tarzan from here. Rating ***1/2 out of four.