"Young Tarzan and the Mysterious She" is a story by Michael Teirney developed from a fragment left behind by Edgar Rice Burroughs himself. The story appeared in Cirsova Magazine of Thrilling Adventure and Daring Suspense in early 2019. The fragment by ERB was thought lost for a time but this tale of a young Tarzan trying to figure out who he is did survive and was expanded by Teirney into a touching tale of awakening and death.
Tarzan is depressed because his differences from his peers is becoming more and more evident as they age and become adults. His white skin is a bane to him, and his delicate features bring him shame. Then he hears of a woman who seems to have white hair and white skin like himself. He treks to the Gomangani village and sure enough he spies such a woman, a witch of sorts. The truth of her I will not reveal, but know also that Tarzan is greeted by visions of a blonde woman which serve both as a sweet memory and something of a prophecy.
This is a tender story (a third of which was written by ERB himself) but also a ruggedly brutal one. Tarzan lived a life in which death was a commonplace, a daily occurrence requiring only a moment's distraction to invite the last visitor. There is tragic death in this small story, and secrets which reveal a great deal about ERB's legendary Ape Man. It was thought that Tarzan encountering a blonde before he met Jane was a problem and so the fragment was dismissed, but Tierney has cleverly solved that dilemma.
Rip Off
No comments:
Post a Comment