The Eternal Lover!

This Edgar Rice Burroughs story is marketed as The Eternal Savage these days but its original title was The Eternal Lover and I frankly prefer that, though I admit I might not have bought under that title years ago. I only now just got around to reading it under the name The Eternal Savage and Nu of the Neocene. It's the story of a caveman named "Nu the Son of Nu" and comes from a tribe of prehistoric "Cliff Dwellers" and ends up in the modern world (more or less) on the estate of one Lord Greystoke. Yep, that's right this is a story which has continuity with ERB's most famous character of all Tarzan of the Apes. 

Nu is out hunting one fine prehistoric day for the head of a sabre-tooth tiger and is successful, but an earthquake causes him to be buried alive and by means unexplained become transported to the twentieth century on the grand estate of Lord Greystoke. He is confused by his new surroundings and even more confused when he spies a lovely young woman named Victoria Custer from Nebraska who is visiting the Greystokes with her brother after events in ERB's The Mad King. She is his lost love Nat-ul reincarnated. For her part, she dreams of a lusty ancient lover who just happens to look just like Nu.

After much folderal with wolfhounds, frustrated modern beaus, and some Arab slavers the couple are hooked up in the original cave when another earthquake erupts. In part two of this tale we along with Nu are transported back to the Stone Age where he pursues his lost love Nat-ul when a tribe of Boat Builders hold her captive. 

It's a vintage ERB yarn with mighty-muscled heroics and fantastic coincidences but true to his style it never lags. After the two are again reunited another earthquake strikes destroying much of the world that Nu knew and a deadly secret is uncovered by Victoria Custer.  

The thing about ERB tales is the sheer propulsion of the storytelling. In grand pulp style he never allows the story to slow much, nor does he allow it to overleap necessary details. After casting about for many years in many trades we are all immensely lucky that the natural storyteller Burroughs at last found his calling. This story, his tenth overall to see publication is a delightful example of his pulse-pounding art. For continuity buffs it falls between The Return of Tarzan and The Beasts of Tarzan and features the first appearance of baby Korak. I was also struck by how much the general scenario of the last half of the story set in the prehistoric era reminded me of movies like One Million B.C. Coincidence? I wonder. 

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