Tarzan the Magnificent – Edgar Rice Burroughs (1939)
In this 20th installment of the Tarzan series, Edgar Rice Burroughs crafts a riveting tale of justice and vengeance set against the stark beauty of the African wilderness. The novel opens with Tarzan witnessing the brutal murder of a native woman by the ruthless ivory poacher Bob “Killer” Orman. When Orman escapes custody, Tarzan pursues him into the untamed Ghenzi Mountains, where both hunter and hunted become entangled in a deadly game of survival.
The story escalates when Orman takes refuge in the lost valley of Ghenzi Mafu, a hidden realm ruled by the tyrannical Queen Atka and her all-female warrior caste, the Amazons of Ghenzi. These warrior women, who enslave male outsiders for breeding, add a provocative twist to Burroughs’ usual adventure formula. Tarzan must navigate their matriarchal society while evading Orman’s traps and confronting the valley’s monstrous fauna, including a prehistoric terror bird that stalks the cliffs.
What sets Tarzan the Magnificent apart is its moral complexity: Orman, though a villain, is given moments of vulnerability, while the Amazons’ cruelty forces Tarzan to question his own code. The novel’s climax—a volcanic eruption that reshapes the valley—serves as both literal and metaphorical purification.
“Not just a chase, but a reckoning—where the jungle’s law meets the heart’s justice.”
