The Return of Tarzan, Vol. 2

Started out a little boring, but picked up pace and excitement

"The Return of Tarzan" by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the second volume in the Tarzan series. First published in 1913, this book is a work of genius. There is something about Burroughs' writing that is captivating, and this book is no exception. "The Return of Tarzan" is a highly entertaining volume. The book first starts with Tarzan on a ship going from New York to France. On this trip, he makes friends with a Countess and makes an enemy with her brother, a Russian. The Russian will attempt to cause Tarzan problems for the following months. After growing tired of France, Tarzan decides to return to Africa. However, his journey is beset with adventures in desert and wilderness. The story leads to Tarzan finding Opar, the lost outpost of Atlantis, in the heart of Africa. Although both the men and women of Opar are white, the women retained their beauty, while the men are more ape-like in appearance. From here, there are more adventures and peril.For great adventures, as you may have come to expect from Edgar Rice Burroughs, "The Return of Tarzan" will meet your needs.

This is, to my mind, the best of the Tarzan series. If you like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" then you'll love this sequel to "Tarzan of the Apes." Like "Raiders," "The Return" is chalk full of adventure. You name it, it's got it: desert adventure, ocean cruises, spy stuff, lost cities, beautiful women, Paris, jungle adventure (naturally), evil Russian villians, etc., etc. Okay, I admit that some of the coincidences in the story are quite unbelievable, but the writing and story are so captivating that you tend to pay it no mind. "The Return" is definitive proof of why Tarzan is perhaps the greatest adventure hero of all time! I would love to see this story made into a movie!

That's not the whole story of course but it's an impressive part of it. Tarz renounces his family name,fortune and the woman he loves, giving it all to his cousin, and he does it all in Wisconsin! Yup, Wisconsin. Hurting from the ordeal, he heads off to Paris to forget about Jane. Wow, the Apeman in the City of Lights! So he spends time in Paris, almost has an affair with a Russian noblewoman, whups on her brother(an evil Russian spy), hangs out in art galleries and operas and eventually joins the French Secret Service out of boredom. All this is just the set-up for the rest of the novel. The book does seem to end too quickly but I think that has more to do with the serial/pulp nature of the story's publication deadline than any fault of the author. Tarzan and The Return of... are an entertaining 0ne-Two punch. Anyone who reads #1 should finish the experience by reading #2. I wish someone would make a film of this book, it's more interesting than the first one.

Tarzan is back in an adventure more in tone with the remainder of the series than the original Tarzan novel. Sinister villains, lost races and beautiful priestesses are a mainstay of the series and this book introduces the best of all. Sinister villain-Nikolai Rokoff who would compromise his own sister's honor for money. Lost City-Opar, the remnant of sunken Atlantis. Beautiful priestess-La of Opar, who passionately chases our man Tarzan through several adventures.Tarzan is marooned near his jungle home and gravitates from civilized man to savage man to ape man over the course of the story. His realization that not all Arabs are sneering villains and not all blacks are cannibalistic headhunters is a welcome relief from the stereotypes that are usual in the series.

I had started out saying "I'll just read one for a laugh," after going to the library with a friend on my way home from seeing Disney's new cartoon. My mom told me start with the first one but I could NOT stop there. I didn't think it was fair! Book #2 doesn't give everyone a happy ending but doesn't leave you complaining for the next month. After #1 leaves you with Jane engaged to Tarzan's cousin who now has his title, woman, and inheritance. This may sound odd but Tarzan also joins the French Secret Service! I may still laugh at the movies but I will never again laugh at the "real" Tarzan of the books! I don't think of Disney's show as Tarzan. It was fun, but it wasn't Tarzan.