by Duane Spurlock
Polaris—of the Snows by Charles Stilson (Detroit: BEB Books, 2003)
Despite the Burroughs boom and the wide availability of Burroughs-inspired novels from Ace and other paperback publishers during the 1960s, I hadn’t read this story until recently. Many thanks to Brian E. Brown for making an inexpensive reprint available — apparently the first complete-in-one publication edition of this novel, which first was published in All-Story Weekly December 18, 1915 thru January 1, 1916. (It's interesting to note that three installments of the serialization of Burroughs' Son of Tarzan appear in in these same issues with Stilson's tale.)
Certainly influenced by Tarzan’s popularity, Polaris isn’t quite such a polished accomplishment as Burroughs’ breakthrough novel. The characters move from event to event, deal with deadly incidents as they occur, then move on. Burroughs gives us more meat on the characters’ fictive bones than Stilson, whose characters are a fraction of an inch thicker than cardboard.
However, there are some pulp goodies evident here.
First, there is the polar setting — adventures get good marks for exotic locales.
Second, there is a lost race, which always provides some adventurous fun as cultures clash and evil kings are thwarted in their desires for fair maidens who pine for the hero. In Polaris we encounter some Greeks who strayed far off the map many, many generations ago.
Third, Stilson gives us one of those temperate valleys tucked into a polar wasteland, so not only is the tribe lost, but so is the land.
Fourth, and linking this tale to Verne, is the presence of an active volcano, which helps provide the warmth for the hidden valley, and also is a threshold to the god the lost race worships. A narrow path within the crater provides a means of escape for Polaris and his friends from the evil and lustful king.
Despite some lapses in logic, the novel provides some welcome entertainment in an exciting setting. I may track down more stories by Stilson now.
LINKS:
To find out more about purchasing a copy of BEB Books' edition of Polaris of the Snows, send Brian E. Brown an email by clicking here.
A note at Bill Hillman's expansive ERBzine site features an alternate ending to Tarzan of the Apes written by Charles Stilson. Click here to learn more.
Author James Reasoner includes a brief review of a Stilson novel, A Man Named Jones, in his Sunday, August 28, 2005 entry for his Rough Edges blog. Click here to check it out.
Stilson gets a mention in the SF Timeline pages of the Magic Dragon site. (But he hasn't cracked Wikipedia yet.) Click here for info.
Posted by ds at April 6, 2007 06:31 PM
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