Review by The Mole
First I must hang my head and admit that I have never read Tarzan - the original stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Andy Briggs here has set about updating the stories and making them relevant to today's young readers.
Jane's mother has run off leaving her father, a respected doctor, with a pile of debt and loan sharks on his tail. He has decided to go to Africa, taking Jane with him (kicking and screaming by all accounts!), to take up logging exotic woods and make a fortune. Amidst the unrest and turmoil that is in the jungle, things start to go wrong for Jane but she meets and makes friends with Tarzan. A time of chaos is coming caused by the rebels in the jungle which threatens Tarzan's and Jane's very existence.
It only occurred to me as I really got into this book that ERB, in creating Tarzan, not only created the icon of a perfect character in an idyllic setting but also perhaps the first 'Super Hero'. No man, or beast, could ever succeed in doing half of what Tarzan achieves/achieved, however we never challenge this, instead we cheer him on - if Tarzan thinks it's right to do it then it must be right! Andy Briggs has captured all of that and successfully brought Tarzan to the age of the iPhone - even if there is no signal for it to work!
I have to be honest and say that I found the early part of the book a little 'rigid' and forced, although totally readable. But when the plot picks up, the action and story are delivered with a speed and ferocity that drags you along cheering on the home team (or is it the away team in this case? Read it to find out.)
I did enjoy this book and I'm sure that many younger readers will love this story.
Publisher - Faber Kids
Genre - Children's 9+, Adventure
Buy Tarzan: The Greystoke Legacy
from Amazon
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