Edgar Rice Burroughs thrusts his immortal jungle hero into the chaos of World War II in this gripping late-series adventure. Assuming his wartime alias as Colonel John Clayton, Tarzan finds himself stranded in Japanese-occupied Sumatra after a plane crash, leading a ragtag group of Allied survivors—American pilots, a Dutch submarine commander, and a British spy—through enemy territory.
Blending wartime realism with classic Tarzan tropes, the novel pits the Lord of the Jungle against both human foes and primal dangers. With no weapons but his wits and wilderness skills, Tarzan organizes guerrilla resistance among native tribes, stages daring rescues, and engineers explosive sabotage missions. Burroughs, drawing from his own Pacific War correspondence, grounds the fantastical hero in historical conflict while delivering relentless pulp action: jungle ambushes, prisoner interrogations, and a climactic aerial showdown.
The story crackles with wartime urgency, yet preserves Tarzan’s mythic grandeur—his communion with animals, mastery of languages, and moral code. A unique entry in the canon, it transforms the vine-swinging adventurer into a modern warrior, proving even global war cannot tame the wild at heart.
“Burroughs plants his jungle legend firmly in the soil of history—with thrilling results.”
