Andronicus
Mongoose
Dear Barbarian Hordes
This is the second in a series of posts that I am putting out, on how use to non-REH works of fiction to enhance your Conan game. For more details, look at the first one about Kane (Recommended Reading V 1-Tales of Kane).
Honestly, Edgar Rice Burroughs was not at the top of my list. Frankly, he's the King of Formula with laughable character development and it can be pretty silly. The latter is especially true whenever ERB plays armchair philosopher and gives long speeches about how war is better than peace or tries to "explain" the totally preposterous science he's got going on.
Still, you guys demanded it and it's not too big a stretch. So here we go.
I should inset a disclaimer. The ERB heirs who control the rights to his stuff try very hard to project the image that ERB's stuff, especially Tarzan, are appropriate for kids. This is a total hoax. The original Tarzan material had plenty descriptions of graphic death (most notoriously Tarzan likes to bite out the jugular vein). The other series are no less gruesome, and they all have scantily clad chicks running around. Whenever you read ERB try to make sure you don't have one of the kids censored ones.
ERB was extremely prolific, and a complete listing of his stuff would be too long to discuss. I intend to focus on his three main series, and extract the best from each.
Tarzan-English lord running around in a polka dot loincloth. The average plot of each novel is Tarzan (despite being a master of the wildnerness) gets lost in the jungle. He stumbles across a lost civilization and whackiness begins. There's always a damsel in distress too.
This is extremely easy to replicate in a Conan setting. The characters are lost in a jungle in the Black Kingdoms, Khitai or Vendhya and they run into something weird. ERB liked to use lost civs like Rome, so feel free to stick in an Acheronian city or some other throwback.
Everyone has their favorites, but I think the two best Tarzan books are Tarzan and the Lion Man and Tarzan at the Earth's Core. Tarzan and the Lion Man is about a movie crew that goes deep into the jungle to film. They run into a civilization of super-smart apes made by an exiled mad scientist who styles himself as their God. This one has a great Planet of the Apes meets the Island of Dr. Moreau vibe to it. There is even a jungle full of failed semi-human experiments running amok. The last two chapters suck, as Tarzan returns with the movie crew and tries to be a Hollywood star. The heck?
Tarzan at the Earth's Core is a crossover with another series (discussed below). Tarzan gets to fight dinosaurs, cavemen and other monsters. Most of the book is him wandering around getting into fights, and the "plot", such as it is, is resolved on literally the last page.
John Carter Warlord of Mars-A Virginian fighting Indians falls asleep in a cave and wakes up on Mars. No it makes no damn sense, and he changes explaination more than once in the series. Summoned by the god Mars, clairvoyance etc. Most of the time he doesn't even bother.
Well, he wakes up, is super strong and of course Mars is FULL of things that he needs to fight. I like this a good deal more than Tarzan. It's pound for pound more creative and it's got plenty of action. It's got a very swashbuckling feel, as John Carter needs to swordfight against space pirates, crash the wedding of his biggest rival and save his beloved five or six times a book.
One of the high points of the series is with the Mastermind of Mars. It's got a classic mad scientist who almost transforms the series. This guy experiments for the sheer joy of it, and thanks to him you got things like armies of synthetic men and four-armed albino apes with the brains of men inside them. Depending on the circumstances, he's a great ally or a terrible foe. Awesome.
At the Earth's Core-This is my personal favorite. David Innes uses a tunneling machine and gets trapped inside a giant prehistoric world along the inside of the world (the Earth is hollow you see). It's filled with dinosaurs, angry cavemen and more. The horrible Mahars are pterodactyls who control their beast men slaves the sagoths with telepathy. This setting is easily the most savage of his settings, with plenty of barbaric brutality. I'll never forget the tribe of minotaurs getting high on "sacred fumes".
Later, he even introduces pirates. Pirates fighting wars with cavemen? if that ain't Conan material, I don't know what is.
Instant classic.
If you are looking to get the hook up with some ERB, it should be easy. Most libraries will have at least a few, if not a lot. Even if you have to buy them, they are small books and not too pricey. If you wanna buy some big honking fancy new rerelease, knock yourself out.
Next time I think I'll do Clark Ashton Smith, barring requests to the contrary.
This is the second in a series of posts that I am putting out, on how use to non-REH works of fiction to enhance your Conan game. For more details, look at the first one about Kane (Recommended Reading V 1-Tales of Kane).
Honestly, Edgar Rice Burroughs was not at the top of my list. Frankly, he's the King of Formula with laughable character development and it can be pretty silly. The latter is especially true whenever ERB plays armchair philosopher and gives long speeches about how war is better than peace or tries to "explain" the totally preposterous science he's got going on.
Still, you guys demanded it and it's not too big a stretch. So here we go.
I should inset a disclaimer. The ERB heirs who control the rights to his stuff try very hard to project the image that ERB's stuff, especially Tarzan, are appropriate for kids. This is a total hoax. The original Tarzan material had plenty descriptions of graphic death (most notoriously Tarzan likes to bite out the jugular vein). The other series are no less gruesome, and they all have scantily clad chicks running around. Whenever you read ERB try to make sure you don't have one of the kids censored ones.
ERB was extremely prolific, and a complete listing of his stuff would be too long to discuss. I intend to focus on his three main series, and extract the best from each.
Tarzan-English lord running around in a polka dot loincloth. The average plot of each novel is Tarzan (despite being a master of the wildnerness) gets lost in the jungle. He stumbles across a lost civilization and whackiness begins. There's always a damsel in distress too.
This is extremely easy to replicate in a Conan setting. The characters are lost in a jungle in the Black Kingdoms, Khitai or Vendhya and they run into something weird. ERB liked to use lost civs like Rome, so feel free to stick in an Acheronian city or some other throwback.
Everyone has their favorites, but I think the two best Tarzan books are Tarzan and the Lion Man and Tarzan at the Earth's Core. Tarzan and the Lion Man is about a movie crew that goes deep into the jungle to film. They run into a civilization of super-smart apes made by an exiled mad scientist who styles himself as their God. This one has a great Planet of the Apes meets the Island of Dr. Moreau vibe to it. There is even a jungle full of failed semi-human experiments running amok. The last two chapters suck, as Tarzan returns with the movie crew and tries to be a Hollywood star. The heck?
Tarzan at the Earth's Core is a crossover with another series (discussed below). Tarzan gets to fight dinosaurs, cavemen and other monsters. Most of the book is him wandering around getting into fights, and the "plot", such as it is, is resolved on literally the last page.
John Carter Warlord of Mars-A Virginian fighting Indians falls asleep in a cave and wakes up on Mars. No it makes no damn sense, and he changes explaination more than once in the series. Summoned by the god Mars, clairvoyance etc. Most of the time he doesn't even bother.
Well, he wakes up, is super strong and of course Mars is FULL of things that he needs to fight. I like this a good deal more than Tarzan. It's pound for pound more creative and it's got plenty of action. It's got a very swashbuckling feel, as John Carter needs to swordfight against space pirates, crash the wedding of his biggest rival and save his beloved five or six times a book.
One of the high points of the series is with the Mastermind of Mars. It's got a classic mad scientist who almost transforms the series. This guy experiments for the sheer joy of it, and thanks to him you got things like armies of synthetic men and four-armed albino apes with the brains of men inside them. Depending on the circumstances, he's a great ally or a terrible foe. Awesome.
At the Earth's Core-This is my personal favorite. David Innes uses a tunneling machine and gets trapped inside a giant prehistoric world along the inside of the world (the Earth is hollow you see). It's filled with dinosaurs, angry cavemen and more. The horrible Mahars are pterodactyls who control their beast men slaves the sagoths with telepathy. This setting is easily the most savage of his settings, with plenty of barbaric brutality. I'll never forget the tribe of minotaurs getting high on "sacred fumes".
Later, he even introduces pirates. Pirates fighting wars with cavemen? if that ain't Conan material, I don't know what is.
Instant classic.
If you are looking to get the hook up with some ERB, it should be easy. Most libraries will have at least a few, if not a lot. Even if you have to buy them, they are small books and not too pricey. If you wanna buy some big honking fancy new rerelease, knock yourself out.
Next time I think I'll do Clark Ashton Smith, barring requests to the contrary.
I re-read it earlier this year. Good swash-and-buckling adventure. Although radium rifles would not be suitable for Hyboria. 
