So, just how was Tarzan created? Eager to know the inside story about the legendary John Carter and the amazing cities and peoples of Barsoom? Perhaps your taste is more suited to David Innes and the fantastic lost world at the Earth’s core? Or maybe wrong-way Napier and the bizarre civilizations of cloud-enshrouded Venus are more to your liking? These pages contain all that you will ever want to know about the wondrous worlds and unforgettable characters penned by the master storyteller Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Richard A. Lupoff, the respected critic and writer who helped spark a Burroughs revival in the 1960s, reveals fascinating details about the stories written by the creator of Tarzan. Featured here are outlines of all of Burroughs’s major novels, with descriptions of how they were each written and their respective sources of inspiration. This Bison Books edition includes a new foreword by fantasy writer Michael Moorcock, a new introduction by the author, a final chapter by Phillip R. Burger, as well as corrected text and an updated bibliography.
Richard A. Lupoff is a critic and an author of speculative fiction. Michael Moorcock is the author of the Elric saga and other works. Phillip R. Burger is a freelance writer, a consultant to Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., and a contributor to the Bison Frontiers of Imagination series.
“Required reading for Burroughs fans.”—Analog
“Excellently researched by a recognized authority.”—Chicago Tribune
“Lupoff's lucid, occasionally wry recappings make one want to scour second-hand bookshops for Burroughs's back catalog in a quest to find out more.”—Times Literary Supplement
“Lupoff’s thoughtful insights and thorough examination of each facet of Burroughs’ work enriches what was already enjoyable reading.”—The Barbarian Chronicles
“Lupoff, who’s now a senior author of speculative fiction. . . . makes shrewd observations about the Tarzan character, Jack Layton, son and heir of Lord Greystoke.”—George Fetherling, The New Brunswick Reader
“This well-paced book is sort of a biography of Burrough’s writing. While it does not go into detail on all 75 of Burroughs’s books listed in its bibliography, it does examine a good many of the most important works. Well-written by a working novelist, Master of Adventure is a good read for anyone interested in escapism and a must-read for all Burroughs fans.”—Statesman Journal
“Packaged in a nice, sturdy edition and still the first book I think of when I have a Burroughs question.”—Science Fiction Chronicle
“Master of Adventure: The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs is as much a time capsule of the state of science-fiction scholarship in 1965 as it is of Burrough’s own life and times, chronicled in lively detail by Lupoff. . . . He chases Burroughs through the printed page, through ups and downs of his life, and chronicles both Burroughs’s literary predecessors and his descendants. It is a remarkable achievement from the dawn of sf scholarship.” —Jacob Weisman, Science Fiction Studies