Burroughs Books

In "Beyond Thirty: The Lost Continent" Edgar Rice Burroughs provides an interesting combination of adventure and social commentary. The premise behind this novel is that the United States did not get involved in the "Great War" in Europe but instead followed its isolationist tendencies to such an extreme ("The East for the East...The West for the West") that no one from the United States has gone past 30 degrees or 175 degrees latitude for over 160 years. It is now 2137 and a raging storm has thrown the Pan-American aero-submarine "Coldwater" past the 30 degree mark. The damaged vessel under the command of Lt. Jefferson Turck lands in England and German helmet and Felis tigers. In time, the crew will discover what happened to "The Lost Continent" of the Old World. Of course, since this is a ERB novel we know that there will be a damsel in distress for Lt. Turck to save from the great evils that he finds.

One of the main strengths of Burroughs was his ability to create ancient civilizations. "The Lost Continent" is actually atypical for Burroughs who usually plunges his heroes into these strange new worlds a lot quicker than what happens in this novel, so this time around there is much more of a sense of mystery to the proceedings. Still, by the last half of the novel we are definitely on familiar and well-trod ground in terms of a ERB adventure story. Before World War II Burroughs wrote "Beyond the Farthest Star," about a distant planet that had been at war for centuries and where technological advances in warfare threatened to destroy all life, which makes it the other ERB novel to check out if you are interested in looking at another example of his rare attempts at social commentary. I do not think the payoff is worthy of the set up in "The Lost Continent," but it is intriguing to think that the United States completely cutting all ties with Europe was a viable basis for telling a futuristic adventure.

In "The Lost Continent" (a.k.a. "Beyond Thirty") Edgar Rice Burroughs provides an interesting combination of adventure and social commentary. The premise behind this novel is that the United States did not get involved in the "Great War" in Europe but instead followed its isolationist tendencies to such an extreme ("The East for the East...The West for the West") that no one from the United States has gone past 30 degrees or 175 degrees latitude for over 160 years. It is now 2137 and a raging storm has thrown the Pan-American aero-submarine "Coldwater" past the 30 degree mark. The damaged vessel under the command of Lt. Jefferson Turck lands in England and German helmet and Felis tigers. In time, the crew will discover what happened to "The Lost Continent" of the Old World. Of course, since this is a ERB novel we know that there will be a damsel in distress for Lt. Turck to save from the great evils that he finds.

One of the main strengths of Burroughs was his ability to create ancient civilizations. "The Lost Continent" is actually atypical for Burroughs who usually plunges his heroes into these strange new worlds a lot quicker than what happens in this novel, so this time around there is much more of a sense of mystery to the proceedings. Still, by the last half of the novel we are definitely on familiar and well-trod ground in terms of a ERB adventure story. Before World War II Burroughs wrote "Beyond the Farthest Star," about a distant planet that had been at war for centuries and where technological advances in warfare threatened to destroy all life, which makes it the other ERB novel to check out if you are interested in looking at another example of his rare attempts at social commentary. I do not think the payoff is worthy of the set up in "The Lost Continent," but it is intriguing to think that the United States completely cutting all ties with Europe was a viable basis for telling a futuristic adventure.

One of my favorites of ERB's stand-alone novels. The resemblance to The Prisoner of Zenda/Rupert of Hentzau is uncanny, even to the two part structure of the story; one could almost say they were twins. This version of the story, set to the backdrop of pre and early World War I, substitutes an American for an English imposter, but for all intents and purposes this is the same story told in Burrough's style.

American, Barney Custer, travelling in Europe visits, Lutha, the homeland of his mother, located near the border of Austria and Serbia. He is instantly caught up in the politics of the two factions within the nation. For those that have not read Prisoner of Zenda, the premise is that the main character bears an almost twin-like resemblance to the nation's king who is being menaced by a rival to the throne, the resulting confusion between the two men and love for the king's betrothed provide the meat of the story plot.

The original Prisoner of Zenda is by far the better adult read, as it incorporates more twists and deeper character development. However, for early teens, or just a fun read without the moral agonizing, this is the better choice. P-)

It's always amazed me how successful Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB) was at writing essentially the same book 70 or so times: in nearly every story you have the grey eyed, [usually] dark haired, intelligent, strong and chivalrous hero of unknown origins stumbling into a mysterious and far off land: then successfully battling a set of really nasty and malevolent bad guys to rescue a beautiful maiden from a fate worse then death, and so winning her hand, along with a position as the great hero of the realm. We then usually discover that the hero is also the product of "good breeding" in the Victorian sense - just as we'd been led to suspect all along, and that his conquest of the bad guys confirms his birthright as a Lord of the Realm.

In "The Mad King" the setting is a little kingdom between Serbia and Austria. The story begins in early 1914, just before the start of World War I.

Early in the book, our hero, Barney Custer, an American who has just arrived to visit his family's ancestral homeland of Lutha for the first time, is mistaken for the young King Leopold of Lutha. Leopold has not been seen since he was locked up one night ten years ago in the Castle of Baron Peter of Blentz, who, as Regent of the Realm, did so on the pretext that the then teenaged Leopold had been driven insane by his father's recent death.

The story is not that different from another ERB favorite of mine, The Outlaw of Torn: both are set within the context of historic European settings, both are Chivalric Knight rescues fair maiden sorts of stories - though, unlike the 13th century Outlaw of Torn, Barney drives motorcars and carries a hefty carbine in addition to riding madly galloping horses, conquering castles, and engaging in spectacular swordfights.

Of course, the story's fair maiden soon appears in the form of Princess Emma van der Tan, daughter of Prince Ludwig Van der Tan, who's family have been steadfast supporters and defenders of the Royal family and Lutha for centuries. After Barney rescues her, she is convinced he really is mad - for trying to convince her he is not the King. He in turn thinks she is mad for insisting he is the King, and things rapidly get more complicated (and entertaining) from there, as Barney becomes a hunted refugee, seeks to rescue the kidnapped princess, and seeks to restore the missing Leopold to the throne.

His other quandry is how, as a truly chivalrous and well bred gentleman, can he untangle the difficulties brought about by the love he and Emma feel for each other, since he (as he thinks) is only a low bred commoner, and not of Royal Blood?

Although this story is not one of the better known ERB novels, it is one of his best, despite the numerous inconsistencies in the story. It is clear it was written as a two part story, probably serialized in a magazine in 1914. The first half is set just before the war, and the second half is set in the early weeks of the war, featuring Barney being caught up in Lutha a second time: trying to rescue the Kingdom, King and Fair Maiden again as Austria conspires with Peter of Blentz to destroy the Kingdom.

One of the most glaring inconsistencies is that a major character, Captain Maenck - a real baddy - dies at the end of the first half of the story, but somehow miraculously returns at the beginning of the second half of the book, to try and assasinate Barney back at his home in Nebraska. But don't worry - he eventually gets his just desserts, again!

Despite the flaws, this story succeeds in its intent of being a rolicking and fun to read yarn. The book clicks along at a good pace, and will keep your attention as the story unfolds. You'll enjoy every page!

Although I always enjoy reading ERB novels, given the flaws in the story, and how formulaic ERB's stories were in general, I cannot give this story an unreserved recommendation. Even so, it is definitely a good Saturday afternoon diversion if you're in the mood to read about Victorian chilvary, good battle scenes and fair maidens who need rescuing... Four stars!

This is a hardcover book published for the Science Fiction Book Club in 1973. It contains the sixth and seventh books in Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Mars" series. The book has a great painted cover by Frank Frazetta.

The Mastermind of Mars is about an American soldier in WWII who gets transported to Mars. He ends up as the assistant to a Martian mad scientist. He falls in love with a beautiful girl whose body was stolen by an old hag. Naturally, he goes on a quest to get her rightful body back for her.

A Fighting Man of Mars is about a native Martian who goes on a quest to rescue a beautiful kindnapped woman that he loves. That is a typical Burroughs plot, but there are a few twists here that keep it from getting too formulaic. The most intriguing variation on the plot is that he meets a different woman along the way, who may be a better match for him than the woman he set out to save.

These are both good examples of pulp fiction that should appeal to fans of ERB.

It's like Shelley's Frankenstein, but with the standard ERB treatment - more excitement and less to think about. So, in addition to the mad scientist creating life (human life, of course, since there's no sense in creating anything else), we have the saveable maiden, the un-trustworthy henchman, many disposable characters of the lesser races, and the tall, heroic good guy. Of course, there is much chaste mooning around between the love interest that you just know has to work out some how. All that is set amid lots of exciting chases, bizarre coincidences, mind-bogglingly near misses, and multiple levels of misunderstandings and secrets that threaten the happiness of our love-struck couple. And, just for dramatic convenience, all of the undesirables are killed off by the end of the story, either in tragic acts of heroism or treacherous acts of murder, in ways that keep the good guys' hands free of their blood. All of those dead disposables don't really count, since they weren't all that important.

So, it's all here: heroic swashbuckling, romance that keeps its clothes on, chivalrous if condescending relations between the sexes, and a long-gone (I hope) kind of relations between Europeans and the peoples they see as inferior. It's an exciting chapter from a time gone by and, in many ways, good riddance.

//wiredweird

This is a fanciful tale about the inhabitants of a dollhouse and the owners. It is a book that I enjoyed reading once but not over and over like some of my other dollhouse fiction.

I bought the book as a gag gift for a grandmother who`s granddaughter couldn`t say grandmother so she called her Mucker. I don`t plan on reading it myself because it`s a gift. The shipping was fast and the book is in very good condition. The price was right

Tytell's book Naked Angels is divided into three sections, one each for Jack Kerouac, A. Ginsberg, and William Burroughs. Each section can be read independently of the others, for those just interested in one writer.

I was most interested in the chapter on Burroughs, and here is an appraisal:

A short introductory chapter on Burroughs gives biographical background. The Burroughs section of Naked Angels is entitled "The Black Beauty of William Burroughs," and is a 29-page exploration of Burroughs' writing, with useful comparisons to other writers, such as Poe, Baudelaire, and Nabokov. Tytell analyzes the work Burroughs published from 1953-1973, omitting or including only the slightest references to minor works. Early works which went unpublished for years, such as Queer and Interzone, are not discussed. The book has an index and bibliography. Tytell's book is not wholly given over to Burroughs, but as an introduction to the writer, it serves as well as any other.

If you have read the section on Naked Angels dealing with Burroughs, and you are eager for a more complete investigation of his life, turn to Ted Morgan's book LITERARY OUTLAW, which I believe to be the most thorough and fascinating biography of Burroughs.

ken32

A mystery/adventure novel that I found reminiscent of the work of Agatha Christi. I would call this a definite departure from the usual ERB fare in some ways, and in others more of the same. The style is much like everything else Burroughs wrote, however, rather than the exotic locales of Mars, Venus or the African jungle we are treated to a story from the American heartland.

Bridge from the Mucker returns, making this somewhat of a sequel or spin-off. The story is predictable, but still fun to read. This is a definite period piece, from the settings to the characters to the dialog. Burroughs even gives us a gypsy. This one is just fun to read.
P-)