Customer Reviews

Beyond the Farthest Star

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As is often with the case with many of these Edgar Rice Burroughs novels, "Beyond the Farthest Star" consists of two serialized novels, "Adventure on Poloda" and "Tangor Returns" (the combined title is certainly better than either of those). Although these stories take place on a world at war a half-million light years from Earth, you will find that there is an obvious subtext to this ERB yarn in terms of Josef Stalin's Soviet Union. The story was first published in "The Blue Book Magazine" in 1942 although the sequel was not published until 1964. Eventually both parts were collected in a paperback volume, complete with a Frank Frazetta cover as I recall. Burroughs wrote the first part in 12 days and the second in only five days, which makes them potboilers to be sure, but the political angle makes them interesting nonetheless.

The hero of this two part novel is Tangor, an American airman who managed to end up on the planet Poloda far, far away, after apparently being killed during World War II behind German lines (very reminiscent of how John Carter ended up on Barsoom). He wakes up in a garden on Poloda, which he soon learns is a world that has been at war for over a century. Given the name Tangor, he joins the fight of the Unis against the Harkases. ERB finds Tangor's story mysterious typed on his typewriter (ERB often presents himself as being merely the conduit for his pulp fiction yarns).

For all of his science fiction stories, Burroughs was at heart a telling of romantic adventures. However, in "Beyond the Farthest Star" he shows much more of an interest in forecasting what was to come. In this story you will find underground railroads, plastic airplanes, compact cards, uni-sex clothing, bullets that explode, and even solar energy. Burroughs is almost as interested in the strange animals of Poloda as he is in its advanced technology, going into lots of details on the strange fauna Tangor encounters. However, the most interesting prediction given the fact ERB was writing on the eve of World War II was his depiction of not only a world at war but the coming Cold War. People live in underground cities to be safe from the bombing, women work in the factories so that the men can fight the war, and that this state of constant war is just accepted as the way things are.

Whereas Burroughs authored an indirect attack on Nazi Germany and the Gestapo in his Carson of Venus series, "Beyond the Farthest Star" is clearly inspired by ERB's knowledge of what was happening in the Soviet Union under Stalin, a time of a one party system, show trials and purges. Anyone who was reading the newspapers as well as pulp fiction magazines at that time would have to be struck by the obvious similarities. Usually ERB wrote of wonderous world like Barsoon, but with Poloda he presents a relatively ruthless depiction of a totally repressive government that makes human existence a living nightmare. With these stories pay more attention to the setting than the romantic adventure to get the most out of this interesting "minor" ERB yarn.

Like all of Edgar Rice Burroughs' books, this story is full of adventure, fighting, and saving the damsel in distress. But the hero in this book is probably the biggest wimp of all of ERB's heros. John Carter could bench press him, Carson Napier could out shoot him, and Tarzan would just ignore him and leave him to the jungle. The hero never gives his name and the reason why is because he is embarrassed to be compared to ERB's other heros. If it wasn't for the superior storyline and abstract scientific facts that cause you to think, I would have rated this book a 2. This isn't his best, but it is one Burroughs fans shouldn't miss.

Another fun Burroughs romp, elsewhere than Earth. This time the main character is a pilot, and he ends up on an alien world (not a big suprise, eh?) and proceeds to go about having some Buck Rogers style adventures, getting involved in politics and war. This is made up of two different stories/novellas, or whatever you want to call them. If you like other Burroughs style books, no reason you won't like this.

Burroughs fan's will not be disappointed. This story was a fun read from beginning to end... if anything too short.