The Eternal Savage [Mass Market Paperback]

Edgar Rice Burroughs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 1992

On vacation in Africa, Nebraskan Victoria Custer is swept back in time by Nu, a mighty hunter from the Niocene Age, and together they fight the treacherous beasts and brutal men of the Stone Age, forging a love to outlast the millennia. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Time travel, a millennium-spanning romance, and rousing action in modern African jungles and the untamed prehistoric wilderness ignite this classic adventure tale from the pen of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Nu, a warrior from the Stone Age, is buried alive in an earthquake while stalking a saber-toothed tiger. Awakening thousands of years later on Tarzan’s estate in Africa, he gives his heart to Victoria Custer of Nebraska, a visitor to the estate, who is the reincarnation of Nu’s Stone Age love, Nat-ul. But other men treacherously compete for the love of Victoria in modern Africa and for the heart of Nat-ul in the distant past. Set in both a terrifyingly dangerous primeval setting and the beloved world of Tarzan, The Eternal Savage movingly reveals whether eternal love is strong enough to triumph over undying adversity. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Edgar Rice Burroughs is the acclaimed author of dozens of influential science fiction and fantasy tales, including Tarzan of the Apes, and, available in the Bison Frontiers of Imagination series, Under the Moons of Mars (2003), The Moon Maid (2002), Beyond Thirty (2001), Pirates of Venus (2001), The Land That Time Forgot (1999), At the Earth’s Core (2000), and Pellucidar (2002). Tom Deitz is a noted writer of speculative fiction whose many books include The Gryphon King, Bloodwinter, Warautumn, and the Soulsmith series.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Del Rey; Reprint edition (September 23, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345378350
• ISBN-13: 978-0345378354
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,446,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So-So, February 20, 2007

By 

Anne-Marie Gilliland (Near D.C., USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eternal Savage (The Eternal Lover) (Mass Market Paperback)

Not my favorite Burroughs book to date at all. Nu the son of Nu, while hunting to prove what a man he is to the woman he loves manages to get stuck inside of a cave--that has chryogenic properties. Fastforward to the present (ERB's not ours).

Virigina Custer, and her brother Barney along with a potential suitor, Curtiss, are staying with Lord and Lady Greystoke. Yes, indeed, that Lord Greystoke. The only way I can explain the way that he behaves in the book (never using his Tarzan powers to track things down, he seems to get sent on very slow and unsuccessful rescue missions and hunting parites) is the plot device....

(SPOILER)

At the very begining Virigina faints due to her life long fear of earthquakes. She wakes up m oments later....but before she does the novel takes place and we as readers aren't clued into that until the very end. I got stuck up on Tarzan not acting like himself (even though he isn't the main character) so I got rather frustrated with the book. Since it was all in Victoria's mind it can be excused to her ignorace of his jungle prowess.

However, not everything was totally in her mind. It does seem that she is infact the reincarnation of Nat-ul, Nu's intended mate. So we get to see their adventures together, interesting, but repetative--every ugly brute wants Nat-ul so poor Nu is forever having to rescue her.

An alright story, but, eh. Not one I am compelled to shout out my love for.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ERB tries a bit of O. Henry twist in this early pulp yarn, September 25, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Eternal Savage: Nu of the Neocene (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) (Paperback)

"The Eternal Savage" is an interesting off shoot by Edgar Rice Burroughs of his most famous creation, Tarzan. "The Eternal Savage" was originally published in two parts, "The Eternal Lover" in "All-Story Weekly" and "Sweetheart Primeval" in "All-Story Cavalier Weekly." "Nu of the Neocene" was ERB's original working title for the first part of the story, which does have John Clayton (Tarzan), his wife Jane, and infant son Jack as part of the story, but do not try to make it fit into the chronology of the Tarzan series because Jack's age is going to mess things up when it comes to being of age during World War I.

Nu, son of Nu, is a troglodyte who is out hunting a sabre tooth tiger in order to prove himself as being worthy of Nat-ul, the daughter of Tha. But during an earthquake Nu is buried alive in a cave and then a hundred thousands years pass. At that point, Victoria Custer and her brother Barney are visiting Lord and Lady Greystoke at their African estate, where they are enjoying a big game hunt. Victoria has a fear of earthquakes, even if she sees signs of one that happened a long time ago. She has also been having dreams of a strong manly figure that has captured her imagination. She is about to accept a proposal of marriage from William Curtiss, who has traveled halfway around the world to propose, when there is an earthquake and she faints. Of course, the earthquakes opens up the sealed cave and Nu comes walking out to find things have change (the monkeys do not know his tribe). At this point the only other thing you need to know to have a good idea of where this one is going is that Victoria looks exactly like Nat-ul.

Actually, what will come to mind when you read "The Eternal Savage" is going to be the O. Henry type-twist that ERB springs on his readers halfway through "The Eternal Savage." At that point the title will actually start to make sense to you. The twist is what elevates this pulp fiction yarn to at least average potboiler status. You have to keep in mind that this is still early Burroughs and that he is still trying to find a way of getting beyond his basic primal male going after the civilized female plotline. It is in his science fiction series, especially the John Carter Martian novels, that ERB is his most imaginative, but there is a touch of that here. "The Eternal Savage" is a minor Burroughs novel, but worth a look at for his fans.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Eternal Lover, March 26, 2006

By 

Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eternal Savage: Nu of the Neocene (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) (Paperback)

This book by Edgar Rice Burroughs was originally published in two parts, in 1914 and 1915. It is about a caveman named Nu. In the first story, Nu time travels to the early 20th century and meets a girl who is the reincarnation of his old girlfriend. Tarzan actually appears as a minor character in this story. In the second story, Nu ends up back in his own time period. This being Burroughs, Nu goes through various hardships before he ends up with his lady love. This is a minor Burroughs book, but it's fairly entertaining.