Forgotten Books: Ki-Gor: The Beast-Gods of Atlantis - John Peter Drummond

Art by George Gross

Since I’ve finished with the Altus Press volumes reprinting the Ki-Gor series in order that have been published so far, it’s time to start skipping around in the series. I just read an e-book version of THE BEAST GODS OF ATLANTIS, the 47^th novel in the series, originally published in the Summer 1950 issue of the pulp JUNGLE STORIES. That entire issue can be found for free on-line.

This one begins in the middle of the action, with Ki-Gor, his wife Helene, and their friends Tembu George (the chief of the Masai tribe) and the pygmy warrior N’Geeso in a canoe, fleeing down a river gorge from a couple of boats full of river pirates. They have to shoot a rapids between two high stone walls, and when they come out on the other end they find themselves in an even worse fix, because they’re trapped by the survivors of a colony from ancient Atlantis. Before you know it, they’re enmeshed in some dangerous political intrigue involving the beautiful empress, a stalwart (but possibly scheming) soldier, an evil high priest and his minions, and another soldier who’s definitely a craven plotter.

This yarn moves like the wind. Admittedly, the whole colony-from-ancient-Atlantis setup is overdone and already was even in 1950, but whoever was behind the John Peter Drummond house-name this time around takes that stale concept and springs a few welcome surprises along the way in terms of both plot and character development. And he does so in tough, lean, hardboiled prose that delivers with a vivid setting and plenty of gritty, brutal action. Ki-Gor is almost Conan-like in places in this novel. Helene doesn’t have a lot to do, but the author keeps Tembu George and N’Geeso busy being the fine sidekicks they are. By this time in the series, George’s origin as an American from Chicago seems to have been completely forgotten, but he’s still a good character. No mention of Marmo the elephant.

The author crams so much into this tale that he sets up a few things and then never gets back to them, but that’s all right in a story that has so much else going for it. THE BEAST-GODS OF ATLANTIS is regarded by some Ki-Gor fans as one of the best in the series, and I can see why: good writing, good characters, plenty of action, and an epic ending. It’s certainly one of the best I’ve read so far, and as always, I’m looking forward to reading more Ki-Gor novels in the near future.

Forgotten Books: Ki-Gor: The Cannibal Horde - John Peter Drummond

It had been a while since I read a Ki-Gor novel, so I figured it was time I got back to the series. “The Cannibal Horde”, originally published in the Fall 1942 issue of JUNGLE STORIES, is a bit of a letdown from the excellent yarn in the previous issue, “Blood Priestess of Vig N’Ga”. In this one, Ki-Gor and Helene are traveling with their friend Hurree Das, the Hindu doctor who appears occasionally as reluctant villain/comedy relief, when they find themselves in the middle of a war instigated by an old enemy of Ki-Gor’s from an earlier adventure. This would-be potentate has assembled an army of cannibals, aided by warriors from some other tribes, and is out to conquer a neighboring kingdom. Ki-Gor, of course, sets out to stop this.

That’s all there is to it, which results in kind of a thinly plotted tale. There are a few battles, a lot of running around, and a nicely suspenseful sequence toward the end when Helene is captured and seems destined to wind up in the cannibals’ stew pot. Ki-Gor is off-screen quite a bit. All in all, “The Cannibal Horde” is a little bit lackluster, but still a readable yarn.

As usual, we don’t know who was behind the John Peter Drummond house-name, but I got the feeling this story was by either an author who was new to the series or at least one who hadn’t contributed much to it. Hurree Das is the only member of the regular supporting cast to appear, and his characterization seems a little off to me. There’s no mention of Tembu George, N’Geeso, or Marmo the elephant.

This is the last story in the third and at least for the moment final collection of Ki-Gor stories from Altus Press. I don’t know if more collections are in the works, but I hope so. In the meantime, I have quite a few other novels from the series in various reprint editions, so I’ll be moving on with them and probably skipping around some instead of reading them in order. But I’ve really enjoyed reading the first fifteen stories like this and look forward to the rest of the series.

Forgotten Books: Blood Priestess of Vig N'Ga - John Peter Drummond

For the final Forgotten Books post of the year, we return to a series I’ve really enjoyed: the fourteenth Ki-Gor novel, BLOOD PRIESTESS OF VIG N’GA, from the Summer 1942 issue of JUNGLE STORIES.

This is generally regarded as one of the best yarns of the entire series, and I can see why. It begins with Ki-Gor and Helene searching for an anthropologist friend of theirs, David Gray, who has gone missing. (Gray previously appeared in the novel KI-GOR—AND THE PARADISE THAT TIME FORGOT.) They have received word of Gray’s disappearance through the secret society to which Ki-Gor belongs, the Brotherhood of the Dog (a reference to KI-GOR—AND THE TEMPLE OF THE MOON GOD). After a dangerous encounter with a gorilla, they run into a native who tries to kill them, a fracas that alerts them to a possible uprising led by a fanatic known as El Hakim. This is going to complicate their search for David Gray, and so will their discovery of the remains of a 900-year-old Viking ship in a dry riverbed.

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that from that point, BLOOD PRIESTESS OF VIG N’GA turns into a Lost Race novel, and of course we all know from reading Edgar Rice Burroughs that Africa is just teeming with lost races and civilizations. With a plot like this, a story’s appeal depends almost entirely on the author’s skill in executing it, and the unknown pulpster responsible for BLOOD PRIESTESS OF VIG N’GA does a great job with it, keeping the action moving at a very satisfying pace and providing some epic action scenes along the way, especially when Ki-Gor battles his enemies using one particular weapon retrieved from that old Viking ship . . .

I have no idea who wrote this story. The references to those earlier entries in the series might indicate that the same author did all three, or it might not. Whoever wrote this one might have just read those earlier stories. There’s no mention of any of the regular supporting cast, only Ki-Gor and Helene. But the author does a very good job of capturing their characters. Helene’s no dummy in this one; for the most part, she’s smart and competent, although she does wind up getting captured and having to be rescued. That was just standard pulp plotting, though. My only real complaint is that the ending seemed a little rushed, as if the author realized that the story was getting too long. I also have a hunch that the cover was done before the story was written, because while the fight with the gorilla depicted on the cover does take place in the story, it’s a throwaway scene that doesn’t really have anything to do with the rest of the novel.

Although I missed Tembu George, the writing in this story is good enough that I have to say it’s the best Ki-Gor yarn I’ve read so far. I’m looking forward to continuing with the series.

Forgotten Books: Slaves for the Renegade Sultan - John Peter Drummond

Continuing in my reading of the Ki-Gor series in order, I’m up to “Slaves for the Renegade Sultan”, which originally appeared in the Spring 1942 issue of JUNGLE STORIES, with a cover by George Gross, one of my favorite pulp and paperback cover artists. This one doesn’t have a very high reputation among Ki-Gor fans, and I thought it was kind of a step back in a steadily improving series, too.

First of all, I suspect this is another case of the cover being done, title and all, before the story was ever written, because while the villain is a slave trader, no actual slaves appear and that activity plays no part in the plot. Who’s the renegade sultan? Don’t know, because no such character appears in the story or is even mentioned.

What drives the plot of this yarn is a drought, and the clashes over land and water in such extreme circumstances could have produced a good story. It’s an interesting set-up, and I’ll give the author credit for that. I’m almost certain this is a totally different author from the one who wrote the past few stories. Ki-Gor’s pygmy sidekick N’Geeso and the loyal elephant Marmo are nowhere to be found. Tembu George, the American-born leader of the Maasai, is back after being missing in the previous story, and although his stereotypical dialect is overdone, he’s still a great character, smart and brave and funny. Ki-Gor himself is as stalwart as ever.

Where the author really misses badly is his characterization of Helene, Ki-Gor’s beautiful redheaded wife and partner in adventure. Occasionally, the authors have had her do something dumb in the past, but without getting into spoilers, she’s an absolute idiot in this one, a far cry from the badass who mowed down bad guys with a Thompson submachine gun in an early novel in the series.

Having said all that, the story moves along fairly swiftly and features several good action scenes. I found it entertaining in some parts and annoying in others, and the ending is a bit of a letdown. However, the next story in the series is supposed to be a really good one, so I’m looking forward to reading it and will report back here on it in due time.

Forgotten Books: Tigress of T'Wanbi - John Peter Drummond

I’m moving on to the third volume in Altus Press’s complete reprinting of the Ki-Gor novels from the pulp JUNGLE STORIES. The first story in this volume is “Tigress of T’Wanbi” from the Winter 1941-42 issue. That scene on the cover actually happens in the novel, except for maybe the belt the ape is wearing, I don’t recall any mention of it. But there’s Helene in the background (oh, man, Helene! Be still my heart!) and the babe in the blue bikini is Queen Julebba, also know as the Tigress of T’Wanbi (she refers to herself that way exactly once and the name is never explained or has anything to do with the plot, which makes me suspect the cover was done first and handed to the author).

Speaking of the author, although we don’t know who he is, I’m convinced he’s the same guy who wrote the previous few entries in the series. The clean, fast-moving prose is the same, and the colorful Hindu physician and Ki-Gor’s reluctant ally, Hurree Das, make a return to the series after last being seen in “Lair of the Beast” from the Spring 1941 issue. Ngeeso the pygmy puts in an appearance, as does Marmo the elephant, but Tembu George is only mentioned.

As for the plot, a mysterious army is making bloody, no-quarter raids on border villages belonging to a tribe friendly to Ki-Gor, so he and Helene go along when the chief sends an expeditionary force against the invaders. This doesn’t go well. Ki-Gor and Helene are both captured (at different times), Ki-Gor is badly wounded, and Queen Julebba, who claims to be descended from the Carthaginians in northern Africa, comes up with a daring plan that, if it succeeds, will make her the ruler of a vast swath of Africa. Oh, and she wants Ki-Gor to marry her, too, and doesn’t mind at all getting rid of Helene to make that possible.

There’s not an abundance of action, but the battle scenes that do take place are really good and the author creates some genuine suspense more than once, even though we know Ki-Gor and Helene are going to survive. Hurree Das is a great character, shady and conniving and no better than he has to be, but he usually winds up on the right side, anyway. In his introduction to this volume, Howard Andrew Jones has good things to say about “Tigress of T’Wanbi”, and I agree with him. It’s one of the best Ki-Gor novels I’ve read so far, and the series has hit its stride.

Forgotten Books: White Savage - John Peter Drummond

WHITE SAVAGE may be my favorite of the Ki-Gor novels so far. Originally published in the Fall 1941 issue of JUNGLE STORIES, this yarn finds Ki-Gor and his beautiful redheaded American wife Helene affected by the spread of World War II into Africa, as they encounter some sinister Italians before running afoul of an even more dangerous lost race. It’s difficult to explain too much about the plot of this one without venturing too far into spoiler territory, so I’ll just say that this is easily the creepiest Ki-Gor novel yet.

It’s pretty well written, too, by an unknown author with a smooth, fast-paced, evocative style. The way it’s structured is a bit of a problem, because it comes across like one novelette crammed into the middle of another novelette to make a full-length novel, but the author handles this deftly enough that it works.

Ki-Gor’s sidekick Tembu George, who has become one of my favorite pulp characters, makes a brief but important appearance, as does good old Marmo the elephant. Best of all, Helene, while not quite the badass of the early books, is much tougher and competent in this story and actually has stuff to do, instead of just standing around looking beautiful and getting kidnapped, as she does in some of the other novels.

With this novel and the previous one, KI-GOR—AND THE TEMPLE OF THE MOON GOD, I get the feeling that this series is starting to hit its stride. The next volume in the reprint series from Altus Press is on its way to me, and I’m looking forward to it. In the meantime, I’d recommend WHITE SAVAGE to anyone looking for an exciting jungle pulp yarn.

Forgotten Books: Ki-Gor--and the Temple of the Moon-God - John Peter Drummond

Some minor spoilers ahead.

A legal thriller isn’t exactly what you’d expect to come across in the pages of a Ki-Gor novel, but that’s kind of what KI-GOR—AND THE TEMPLE OF THE MOON-GOD, from the Summer 1941 issue of JUNGLE STORIES, turns into at times. This one finds Ki-Gor and his beautiful redheaded wife Helene visiting with a friendly tribe of natives. Ki-Gor agrees to help them hunt down a giant killer leopard that’s been plaguing the village. The chief’s son accompanies the hunting party, and when a tragic accident leaves him dead, Ki-Gor finds himself accused of murder and put on trial in the Temple of the Moon-God, which is the center of the tribe’s rather elaborate legal system.

The proceedings end in what we would call a mistrial, and Ki-Gor’s fate is left to the Priestess of the Moon-God, who decrees that he must go on a quest to determine his guilt or innocence. He has to accomplish two things: he has to find a place where the stars shine at midday, and another place where the sun’s rays are cold instead of hot. If he fails to complete this quest, he will be judged guilty and executed by being put in a crocodile pit, but if he doesn’t get back in time, the sentence will be carried out on Helene instead, who will remain a prisoner until then.

All this is pretty interesting and handled well, and that continues as Ki-Gor sets off on his quest to prove his innocence and save Helene. KI-GOR—AND THE TEMPLE OF THE MOON-GOD is a little low on action, but the author keeps the pace moving right along anyway and gives us more of an effective suspense novel, with a hint of mystery, rather than a slam-bang yarn.

I suspect that the unknown author of the previous novel, LAIR OF THE BEAST, wrote this one as well. The smooth prose style is very similar, and there’s a colorful supporting character in this one as well, a brash young native named Ekka who attaches himself to Ki-Gor during the quest and proves to be helpful as well as being a huge annoyance and providing some comedy relief. Best of all, Ki-Gor’s main sidekick Tembu George returns and is, as always, a fine character, smart and brave and likable. I really enjoyed KI-GOR—AND THE TEMPLE OF THE MOON-GOD and look forward to continuing with the series as it seems to be hitting its stride.

Forgotten Books: Lair of the Beast - John Peter Drummond

“Lair of the Beast”, from the Spring 1941 issue of JUNGLE STORIES, may be the best Ki-Gor novel I’ve read so far. It seems to be the work of yet another author who’s new to the series, although the style does remind me a bit of “Ki-Gor—and the Paradise That Time Forgot”. [Minor spoilers ahead.] In this one, Helene is taken captive by a gang of slavers who operate out of an ancient Moorish castle in the middle of the jungle. Ki-Gor, badly wounded in a battle with a vicious baboon, willingly becomes a prisoner because that’s the only way he can get to Helene. Then he has to recuperate, find a way for both of them to escape, and come up with a plan to destroy the evil slavers.

It won’t come as a surprise to anybody that he does so, but along the way the author comes up with some nice twists and dangers and a good supporting character in a somewhat shady Indian doctor who has thrown in with the slavers but isn’t as evil as they are. And he does redeem himself to a certain extent.

Whoever the author behind the John Peter Drummond house-name is for this story, he puts words together well and keeps this yarn moving along at a satisfying pace. The bloody, harrowing battle at the end is well-done, but again, it might not be exactly what the reader expects. A few things keep “Lair of the Beast” from being the top-notch pulp adventure tale it might have been. There’s no sign, not even a mention, of Ki-Gor’s sidekicks Tembu George and N’Geeso, and I’ve grown fond of both of them. The plot is a little thin, and the story tends to be bland in places, especially in the first half. A little more blood and thunder might have helped, although to be fair, there’s plenty of that later on. At one point, Ki-Gor does something really dumb. But he’s very clever later on. This sort of inconsistency is another reason I think this may have been a new author just getting his feet wet in the series.

All that said, I enjoyed “Lair of the Beast” quite a bit. It lacks the over-the-top goofiness of the earliest Ki-Gor novels but is a considerable improvement over the few right before it. I expect to continue enjoying this series for a good long time.

Forgotten Books: The Empire of Doom - John Peter Drummond

I continue to be stubborn and read the Ki-Gor stories in order, which brings us to "The Empire of Doom" in the Winter 1940 issue of JUNGLE STORIES. I'm convinced that the same author who wrote the previous installment, "Ki-Gor—and the Paradise That Time Forgot" turned out this one as well. The style is the same, and Ki-Gor and his beautiful redhead American wife Helene still live on the same fortress-like island in the middle of a river and hang around with their Pygmy buddy N'Geeso and Marmo the elephant.

Ki-Gor's other main sidekick, Tembu George (really former railroad porter George Spelvin, who's now the chief of the Masai), shows up as well, and it's a welcome return. George is a great character: smart, brave, funny, loyal to his friends, and just an all around great guy. He has as much or more to do with saving the day than Ki-Gor does in this one.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of plot. Ki-Gor, Helene, and George get involved in the power struggle between the ruler of a neighboring kingdom and his ambitious nephew. That's about it. There are a couple of decent battles, one early and one late, and not much in between to amount to anything. The writing is okay for the most part, there's just not enough story.

So far the tone of this series has varied from goofy super-science to Nazi-fighing action/adventure to the more mundane fare of the last few stories. I like all three protagonists, though, and that's been enough to keep me going. Better stories will be coming along soon.

Forgotten Books: Ki-Gor--and the Paradise That Time Forgot - John Peter Drummond

KI-GOR—AND THE PARADISE THAT TIME FORGOT, from the Fall 1940 issue of JUNGLE STORIES, seems to mark the arrival of yet another new writer behind the John Peter Drummond house-name, especially during the first half of the novel, which is more low-key and realistic than the volumes that have come before. Ki-Gor and Helene come across an expedition led by three Americans: a brutal, alcoholic doctor; his meek, long-suffering wife; and an equally meek anthropologist who is the couple's friend. They're supposed to be in Africa to hunt gorillas, but really the wife and friend are trying to force the doctor to dry out from his booze binges. This domestic drama is a decidedly odd fit for a jungle adventure story.

Then part of the way through, everything lurches sideways and this becomes a lost race yarn, and one with a fairly interesting and plausible basis, too. Naturally, Ki-Gor, Helene, and the bickering Americans get trapped in the hidden valley where the lost race lives and wind up in danger. Then another abrupt shift in the plot and danger from another source rears its head. This story gets a little schizophrenic after a while.

There's no Tembo George, no Bantu tribesmen. Ki-Gor's sidekick is a pygmy named Ngeeso, and he's a pretty good character. Ki-Gor and Helene now live on an island in the middle of a river, something I don't remember from previous stories. But overall, KI-GOR—AND THE PARADISE THAT TIME FORGOT is well-written other than not being able to make up its mind what sort of story it's going to be. It has just enough going for it to be readable and entertaining, in a very minor way. At the very least, it's an improvement over the previous novel in the series.

Forgotten Books: Ki-Gor--and the Secret Legions of Simba - John Peter Drummond

KI-GOR—AND THE SECRET LEGIONS OF SIMBA takes up right where the previous entry in the series, KI-GOR—AND THE GIANT GORILLA MEN, left off. In this story that originally appeared in the Winter 1939 issue of JUNGLE STORIES, Ki-Gor (Lord of the Jungle), Helene Vaughn (beautiful redhead American aviatrix), and their friend George Spelvin (former railroad porter from Chicago who has become the chief of an African tribe) are about to leave Africa for England and eventually America, where Helene will be reunited with her family after crashing in Africa, being rescued by Ki-Gor, and having several adventures with him. At the last minute, though, Ki-Gor decides he doesn't want to leave Africa after all, even though he's curious about his real family. (He knows by now that he's actually Robert Kilgour, the son of a Scottish missionary.)

It's a good thing Ki-Gor backs out on the trip, because before you know it, he's being recruited by British Intelligence to investigate a plot by an old enemy of his who's working with the Nazis to stage a continent-wide uprising that will leave the villain as the dictator of all Africa. This story soon turns into a hardboiled espionage yarn, the sort of menace that would be tackled a couple of decades later by fictional secret agents such as Sam Durell or Joe Gall. How it all plays out is still pretty pulpish, of course, but still, there are no fantastical elements at all and it's a significant departure from previous stories in the series.

The style is different, too, more realistic and almost literary in places. All this leads me to conclude that a different author penned KI-GOR—AND THE SECRET LEGIONS OF SIMBA, the second or possibly third writer to contribute a story to the series. I've enjoyed all of them, but this is probably my favorite so far because it's better written. Although, admittedly, it does lack some of the goofy charm of the earlier ones. It's still a good jungle adventure novel and left me eager to read the next one.

Forgotten Books: Ki-Gor--and the Giant Gorilla Men - John Peter Drummond

Okay, I'll admit that the author of this third entry in the Ki-Gor series had me at "Giant Gorilla-Men". From the Fall 1939 issue of JUNGLE STORIES, this yarn finds Ki-Gor and the beautiful redheaded aviatrix Helene Vaughn making their way across Africa toward the east coast, where Helene hopes to find an outpost of civilization so she can return to America and Ki-Gor can be restored to his rightful family in England. Of course, Ki-Gor isn't sure if he really wants to go. I mean, he is the Lord of the Jungle, after all. He's really just going along to humor Helene, who he rescued after her plane crashed.

Their journey is interrupted by a clash with some gorillas who are far from their usual hunting grounds and who seem more man-like than regular gorillas. One of them carries off Helene, and Ki-Gor sets out to rescue her yet again. Then he encounters a native tribe led by a former American sailor from Chicago named George Spelvin. I don't think this is the same character who's later known as Tembu George, but he's an excellent sidekick for Ki-Gor and not as stereotypical as you might expect. The gorillas have been plaguing George's tribe, too, so he and Ki-Gor team up and invade a lost valley known as the Land of the Living Dead, where the gorillas have been coming from.

Yep, it's another lost civilization of sorts, with an evil ruler, some pseudo-science, and plenty of danger for Ki-Gor, Helene, and George. It's all pretty silly, but I was raised on this sort of stuff and still love it. I don't know who wrote this one. It's similar but a little different from the second novel in the series, just as that one was similar but a little different from the first. I really don't feel like this is the work of John Murray Reynolds, who wrote the first novel, but at this late date it's hard to say for sure. Helene is less competent in this one and doesn't have much to do. George is a great character, though, and I hope he hangs around for a while in the series. The gorilla men turn out to be a little disappointing, but overall this is still a pretty entertaining yarn for an old pulp fan like me. If you fit that description, you might enjoy it, too.

Forgotten Books: Ki-Gor--and the Stolen Empire - John Peter Drummond

Man, if I had the attention span of a six-week-old puppy, I might be dangerous. This observation is prompted by the fact that I posted a JUNGLE STORIES cover here on the blog a couple of weeks ago, as part of the Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp series, which led to a discussion in the comments about the Ki-Gor novels featured in that pulp. I recalled reading the first one in the series a while back, liking it, and blogging about it, a post that concluded with my stated intention to read the second novel “soon”.

Well, that was more than five years ago.

But better late than never, or so they say, which brings us to “Ki-Gor—and the Stolen Empire”, from the Summer 1939 issue of JUNGLE STORIES. As you may recall, the blond giant Ki-Gor is really the son of English missionary Robert Kilgour, who grew up in the jungle after his father’s death. In the previous story, Ki-Gor met and rescued beautiful, redheaded American aviatrix Helene Vaughn, who was captured by Arab slavers after her plane crashed. The second story picks up pretty much where that one left off. Helene wants to get back to civilization, but Ki-Gor has more in mind that she’ll stay and live with him in the jungle. To help convince her that’s a good idea, he builds her a treehouse in a giant baobab tree. Before anything can get settled between them, though, they encounter a sinister American who’s trying to set up his own little empire in the middle of equatorial Africa. There’s also a lost city, a remnant of an ancient Egyptian colony, involved in the story. (Africa, as we all know, is lousy with lost cities.)

Clearly, the Ki-Gor stories are imitations of Tarzan, although they seem to me to be influenced more by the Johnny Weissmuller movies than by Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels. The first one was published under the author’s real name, John Murray Reynolds, while this one appeared under the house-name John Peter Drummond. However, while there are some stylistic differences, my hunch is that this one is Reynolds’ work, too. It’s rather sloppily written in places with a number of continuity errors, and some of the action is described so sketchily that it’s really lacking in drama. The villain is woefully underdeveloped.

However, there are some interesting things in “Ki-Gor—and the Stolen Empire” as well. Helene is a great character. She’s not as much of a bad-ass as Ki-Gor, of course, but that doesn’t stop her from trying. She gets right in the middle of some of the fights, mowing down bad guys with an Enfield rifle. The relationship between her and Ki-Gor is a little odd, too. There’s no real chemistry, no passion between them. I suspect that will change as the series goes on, but at this point they’re more comrades-in-arms than anything else. The climax of this story tries to be big and dramatic and almost succeeds, and the sacrifices made by some of the characters are genuinely touching.

From what I’ve read, this series gets wilder—and better—as it goes along. While I’m tempted to skip ahead, I think I’ll continue reading them in order for now. I have the first dozen stories in reprint editions from Altus Press. I just hope it won’t take me five years to get to the next one. At that rate I’ll never even make it to the crazy stuff! (Although the next one is called “Ki-Gor—and the Giant Gorilla Men”. That sounds promising . . .)

Forgotten Books: Ki-Gor, King of the Jungle - John Peter Drummond (John Murray Reynolds)

I admit, I’m fudging a little by doing this as a Forgotten Books post. At 20,000 words or so, “Ki-Gor, King of the Jungle” can’t really be called a book (although many a pulp editor cover-billed stories of that wordage as “full, book-length” novels). But I enjoyed reading it and think it deserves having a few things said about it.


First of all, the Ki-Gor series was one of the longest-running Tarzan imitators, appearing in the pulp JUNGLE STORIES from the Winter 1938 issue to the Spring 1954 issue. The first story, “Ki-Gor, King of the Jungle” was published originally under the name of the actual author, John Murray Reynolds, and reprinted later under the house-name used for most of the stories in the series, John Peter Drummond. Other authors who contributed to the series included Dan Cushman, Robert Turner, Wilbur S. Peacock, and James McKimmey, best known now for the hardboiled crime novels he wrote for Dell during the Fifties and Sixties.

Ki-Gor himself is the typical big, bronzed jungle hero swinging through the trees and fighting with natives and wild animals, although he’s blond rather than having dark hair like Tarzan. In the course of this first entry in the series, it’s revealed that he’s really Robert Kilgour (see where the name Ki-Gor comes from?), the son of a missionary who was murdered by warriors of the Wunguba tribe when Robert was a little boy. Growing to manhood in the jungle, he almost forgets who he really is and his command of the English language starts to slip away from him, too, at least, that is, until he rescues society aviatrix Helene Vaughn, whose plane crashes while she’s trying to fly across Africa.


Reynolds doesn’t make any secret of the fact that this story is influenced heavily by Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan novels and even more so by the Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller. There’s even a “Me Ki-Gor, you Helene” line of dialogue. The plot is fairly skimpy in this first yarn. Ki-Gor meets Helene, his back-story is revealed, and he battles some natives and then rescues Helene from Arab slavers when she’s captured by them.


So why read such a blatant imitation? Well, for one thing, it’s pretty well-written. I’d never read anything by John Murray Reynolds before, but his prose flows nicely and the story has a good pace to it. Helene turns out to be a surprisingly good character, too. She’s not there just to look pretty and get captured by the bad guys (although she does perform both of those functions). She’ll get right in there and fight alongside Ki-Gor. Also, for a story published in 1938 featuring African natives, there’s not much at all of the casual racism you sometimes encounter in such stories. The warriors of the Wunguba are villains, sure, but they’re presented as formidable enemies and Ki-Gor obviously has plenty of respect for them.


A number of pulp fans have mentioned that the Ki-Gor series is really better than they expected, and based on this first story, I think they may be right. I plan to read more, and luckily I can because the great small press publisher Altus Press has plans to reprint the entire series. The first six stories are available now in a single volume, which is where I read “Ki-Gor, King of the Jungle”. That’s another thing weighing against calling it a Forgotten Book, but since I imagine the Ki-Gor series is pretty far off the radar for most modern readers, I’m going to justify it that way. I liked this story, and since it ends without much of a real resolution, I’m looking forward to getting back to the series soon.