King Kong vs. Tarzan - Will Murray

Okay, picture this: Tarzan . . . riding an elephant . . . leading a herd of elephants . . . fighting King Kong.

If that doesn't get your blood racing, you're probably not the target audience for Will Murray's excellent new novel, KING KONG VS. TARZAN. This top-notch adventure yarn fills in a gap in the original King Kong movie and tells the story of how Carl Denham, Jack Driscoll, Ann Darrow, Captain Englehorn, and the crew of the Wanderer get the captured King Kong from Skull Island back to New York. Turns out they have to stop in Africa along the way to take on supplies, and Kong escapes, and Tarzan shows up to help corral the big ape.

This is a great idea, and Murray tells the story in his usual fast-paced, exciting prose. There are some spectacular scenes in this one. Murray does a fine job of capturing the characters. I really hope there are more Tarzan novels to come from him. For me, a book like this really makes me feel like I'm back on my parents' front porch on a warm summer day with nothing to do but read. Well, maybe a break to play baseball later, but most of the day I'd spend happily lost in Africa with the Lord of the Jungle and the King of Skull Island. Highly recommended.

Doc Savage: Skull Island - Will Murray

To Will Murray: You had me at "Doc Savage meets King Kong."

Seriously, that pairing of two of the most iconic characters in adventure fiction is irresistible. The set-up is great, with Doc, Monk, and Ham arriving back in New York City right after Kong has taken his plunge off the Empire State Building. When they go to see the body and Doc says, "I know this creature," . . . well, maybe it didn't send quite as much of a shiver through me as "They were the footprints, Mr. Holmes, of a gigantic hound!", but it's still a great line.

From there we're off to a flashback that reveals not just how Doc first met King Kong in the days soon after he returns from World War I, it also lets us get to know Doc's father Clark Savage Sr., who is a rather shadowy figure in the original novels, plus Doc's grandfather, the sea captain Stormalong Savage (a great name if there ever was one).

Once Doc and his dad, sailing on the ship Orion (the same schooner on which Doc was born) reach Skull Island in search of old Stormalong, the action is almost non-stop. Headhunters, dinosaurs, and Kong himself provide formidable obstacles for the Savages. This story takes place before Doc adopted his no-killing policy, like the first few novels in the pulp series, so the violence is pretty graphic. But there are quieter, more poignant moments, too, that are very effective.

One of the most appealing things about this novel for long-time Doc Savage fans such as myself is seeing the early, developmental stages of things that will figure prominently in the series later on, such as Doc's superfirer machine pistols and some casual mentions of Doc's uncle Alex Savage, whose daughter Pat becomes a major supporting character. There are also hints of much more Savage family history to be uncovered later on, as well as an explanation of how Doc's father came up with the idea of training him to be an adventurer. (It's not one that I would have suspected.)

If you've never read Doc Savage before, SKULL ISLAND would make a good starting point, although it is considerably different from the other novels in the series. If you're a long-time fan like me, it's even better. Will Murray's done a spectacular job here, the cover by Joe DeVito is breathtaking, and SKULL ISLAND gets the highest recommendation from me. It's currently available in e-book and trade paperback editions, with a limited edition hardcover on the way.