Tarzan and the Castaways

Interesting. Now I realize why I remembered it so well. The action is very pulpy, but overall it's kind of the anti-pulp - despite the action scenes, 90% of the story and basically all the decision points are character studies. There are a few stereotypes (mostly the villains), a few characters playing against stereotype (the Colonel is kind and rather henpecked, despite his ferocious harrumphs), but mostly just individuals acting in accordance with their characters. Some of the characters are truly awful, though - I can take Krause a lot better than Penelope. Ugh. The action is almost a Tarzan pastiche - Tarzan gets captured, crisis and he (and allies) end up on top; deserted isle, lost civilization, riding elephants and fighting show more lions. One happy-ever-after romance, one (or two) cases of unrequited love, and rescue for all - though last seen, the ship had a prize crew from among the mutineers, wonder how that got fixed. Fun. 3.5. Then two short stories - Tarzan and the Champion: ugh. Nothing to it, and pure stereotype characters. One almost breaks stereotype for a little while, but end up pretty much where he started. Random slaughter of game animals, cannibals, and Ugly Americans. 3.0. The other story is Tarzan and the Jungle Murders: this one is trying to be a detective story, but doesn't succeed very well. Too much info not given - there was no mention of limping or a missing finger until it was needed to prove guilt, and the primary 'clue' was scent - which can't be expressed on the written page at all. Poor Cecil, though. 3.0. show less

This final "Tarzan" book actually consists of three novelettes. The first one, the title story, is the most interesting, in which Tarzan is (yet again) rendered unable to speak by a head injury, and is captured and caged by unscrupulous traders to sell in America to a circus. Here, Burroughs' examination of the relative merits of our cultural ideas and Tarzan's is at its peak. "Tarzan and the Champion" is a fascinating story of what transpires when the Heavyweight Champion of the World goes on a hunting trip to Africa and runs afoul of Tarzan. "Tarzan and the Jungle Murders" is not bad, but the least of the three and uses Tarzan's powers of scent to unlock a murder mystery.

The author closes the Tarzan series with an adventure in the Pacific. Tarzan had been amnesiac and captured for display as a wild man in a menagerie. When his memory returns, he saves the people on the boat with him and all is well. Maya descendants were the antagonists.