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3.0 out of 5 stars
Lieutenant Jones Takes A Vacation, Sep 29 2008
"Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation" is the last fictional book from Edwin Lester Lindon Arnold (1857 - March 1, 1935). The book is also known as "Gullivar of Mars", and in both cases there are editions of the books using the alternate spelling "Gulliver". Along with his book "The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phaenician" he appears to have greatly influenced Edgar Rice Burroughs with regards to his Barsoom series, though some people dispute this. Phra is seen as similar to John Carter, and of course the setting of Mars as well as some story points coming from this book.
This book is much different than the earlier Phra, which is to say that this one is readable. The problems with wordiness and pace have gone away. In the first chapter, he gets his hero to Mars, and in the second, he quickly disposes of such problems of language as well as why a quick return to Earth is not possible. This would easily have taken four times as much space using the style of writing which Arnold used in writing about Phra. That is not to say that he completely avoids the prior issue, just that it doesn't prevent the reader from enjoying the story.
This relatively fast pace continues, as our hero saves the Martian Princess (Heru) when meeting her, and learns a lot about the culture of the Martian society in which he finds himself, and then ends up saving Princess yet again again. However, what makes this book much more entertaining, is that the hero also blunders several times. Succumbing to drink and losing the Martian princess to an act of betrayal after she appears to have become his. Often others have to save him from his ignorance, and many times his attempts at heroism fail.
Several times he fails to take the advice of his companions, leading him to adventures down the River of the Dead, and to the ghost-haunted city of Queen Yang. He persists in his quest to free Princess Heru, though he has no idea how to accomplish that, given that her own people are so peaceful they will not fight for her. In the end, his bumbling and misadventures pay off. It is a bit too convenient of an ending, but one shouldn't expect too much from a light adventure story.
The recovery of Princess Heru is not the final challenge for our hero, as what he believes to be a comet is causing a great distress on Mars. Incredible heat and a lack of rain is killing the people, and Gullivar is prevented from returning with Princess Heru until it passes. There is nothing for Gullivar to do in this case though, other than try to help Princess Heru survive, while also being concerned that once the danger passes, their freedom which he had won will not be honored. The story ends with an escape, and a chase, and a final confrontation, which results in yet one more amazing coincidence to complete the tail.
This was not a great book, but it was a reasonably fun read, full of the characters from a classic fantasy tale. Much better than "Phra", this one is actually worth a read, especially for those who like Burrough's Barsoom series who might be interested in a possible influence. This is easily the best of the three books by Arnold that I have read.
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