41/2022 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Actually more entertaining than I expected. While it certainly has a number of flaws by modern standards, it wasn’t as bad as I feared. The women, while often very damsel-in-distress being rescued by the heroic men, actually had a bit more agency and capabilities than I expected. The worst aspect, of course, is that the “evolution” from race to race is based in long-outdated theories with a lot of racist underpinnings (darker skin and African features are less evolved than lighter skin and European features). Still, it’s a fast-paced and consistently entertaining adventure in an improbable but enjoyably imagined land. Burroughs definitely had a knack for adventure stories!
