N5: Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Book Review!

N5: Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

In “Appendix N” Gary Gygax recommended the Pelucidar series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which includes Tarzan. For the sake of this review I decided to focus on the first Tarzan book by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Tarzan of the Apes. Project Gutenberg hots a legal, free version of the book: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78

The Good

*The book remains much better than any of the film and cartoon adaptations.

*Burroughs created exciting and suspenseful fight scenes.

*The ending of the book feels more realistic and meaningful than a Hollywood-style “happy ending.”

The Bad

*Because the story presents itself as existing in the real world, some readers might criticize the impossibility of certain elements.

*The Pelucidar/Hollow World connection only comes in later in the Tarzan book series.

D&D Connections & Inspirations

*If someone wanted to play a jungle/survival game of D&D with cannibals and wild animals as threats, then this book could easily provide the inspiration.

*This book likely helped inspire Gary Gygax’s D&D module WG6: Isle of the Ape.

Overall

For my tastes, I give the work a 5/10 rating because the story entertains but fails to fully captivate me.