The problem with Tarzan is you can’t read just one. So I continued on with the next book, Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. I was particularly wanting to read this because I can remember really liking Tarzan going to Opar, but I quickly realized I was thinking of his first excursion there in The Return of Tarzan.
This is the fifth Tarzan book, originally appearing in a weekly in 1916 and published as a book in 1918. Lord and Lady Greystoke (Tarzan and Jane) are hurting for money, so Tarzan decides to return to Opar to bring back gold that he had seen there before. He is followed by an outlaw Belgian army office, Albert Werper, who is working with an Arab, Achmet Zek, to try to destroy Tarzan. While recovering the gold, an earthquake strikes, and Tarzan is buried in the treasure room. Worse, he is hit in the head by falling debris and loses his memory. While he is away, Achmet Zek destroys the Greystoke farm and kidnaps Jane. The adventure goes from there. Tarzan eventually regains his memory, largely by coming across Jane, and they live happily ever after (sort of) while the bad guys get their comeuppance.
The memory loss gimmick is basically a way to revert Tarzan to his more beastly form, and to help the story go on a bit longer (it would have been much shorter if he knew who he was and how to resolve the kidnapping). Opar and the Oparians are barely in it (La, the high priestess in love with Tarzan, returns), the title refers to some jewels that Tarzan came across and they become a secondary device for the characters to fight over. In the end, it’s another solid story in the Tarzan line. Part of me wants to keep going, but I will be going elsewhere for my next book(s).
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