Jongor Fights Back
Series: Jongor 3
Reviewed date: 2021 Feb 28
Rating: 1
128 pages
Jongor is back but this time the author forgets what he named the villains. The Muros are now the Murtos.
The sloppiness extend even to the chapter titles. Chapter II is titled Captives! and chapter IX is titled Captives.
Chapter I: The Murtos
Page 7: Wait, suddenly in this book the descendants of the Murians are called Murtos. In the prior two books they were Muros. I know this is cheap pulp fiction but come on!
As Ann, Alan, and Jongor are making their way out of Lost Land a nine foot tall giant steps out of the jungle. Jongor greets him in peace, but it’s a trap. While the giant draws their attention, Murtos swarm down. Alan gets off one shot and is overrun. Ann sees the giant swing his axe at Jongor before she is knocked down by a Murto.
Chapter II: Captives!
Jongor dodges the giant’s axe, then runs away to fight another day. The Murtos capture Ann and Alan. Umber, one of the Murtos, makes clear he desires Ann. The Murto leader Orbo and the giant Calazao talk philosophy; Orbo tries to explain the Great Lost God to Calazao, but the giant is stupid and has no head for spiritual matters. Orbo says Ann will be sacrificed to the sun god.
Chapter III: Jongor in a Strange Land
Jongor has been hit on the head and has partial amnesia: he has forgotten Ann and Alan and a year’s worth of memories. He is hungry so he hunts. He hears a noise and investigates. He finds Gnomer and Rouse, who have come to Lost Land seeking something. They take Jongor prisoner and demand that he lead them to the ancient city of the Murtos. They are excited when Jongor tells them of the gold and jewels in the city.
Chapter IV: Among the Murtos
Alan and Ann escape from the Murtos in the night. Umber sees them leave and follows them, thinking to kill Alan and take Ann for himself. Ann takes refuge in a tree. Alan and Umber fight. Umber wins.
Chapter V: An Old Friends from the Swamp
Jongor uses his crystal to summon a dinosaur, which chases Gnomer and Rouse off. Jongor retrieves his bow and arrows and returns to his life as a jungle man in Lost Land. He sees Alan and Ann from a distance but does not recognize them, and steers clear of them; after Gnomer and Rouse he has had enough of humans.
Chapter VI: Battle in the Tree
Umber climbs a tree to catch Ann. She knocks him down and escapes into the jungle. The next day Umber and the Murtos recapture her. Jongor watches from a distance. He is regaining bits of memory. The memories implore him to rescue Ann, though he does not remember her.
Chapter VII: Alliance Between Enemies
The Murtos meet Gnomer and Rouse, and Orbo strikes a deal with them. The men will kill Jongor with their rifles and the Murtos will give them gold and diamonds. The ambush almost works but Ann shouts a warning for Jongor.
Chapter VIII: In the Murto City
The Murtos take Gnomer, Rouse, and Ann back to their city. Gnomer reveals that he and Rouse are after the ancient Murian technology in the old Murto city. Jongor attacks them with three dinos, scattering the Murtos, but Gnomer and Rouse catch Jongor and force him to send the dinos away. They tie Jongor and Ann together and discuss turning them over to the Murtos.
Chapter IX: Captives
Gnomer and Rouse take Jongor and Ann to the Murto city where Orbo locks them in a cell. Kego guards them. A howl comes from deep in the mines; Kego calls it the voice of the Great Unknown God and says that a sacrifice must be made to the god. The howl repeats. The Murtos fall flat on the ground in worship. Gnomer and Rouse are uneasy. Orbo and the Murtos, with Gnomer and Rouse, take Jongor and Ann to be sacrificed.
Chapter X: The Horror Below
Murtos leap to their deaths into the ancient mineshaft. The Great Unknown God is an atomic-powered laser digger with floating anti-gravity minecarts left behind by the ancient Murians. Gnomer and Rouse turn the machine on. A cart floats up from the mineshaft floor. Inside the cart, driving it, is Alan. Upon seeing him Jongor regains his full memories.
Chapter XI: Battle to Death
Page 118: I like how Jongor takes the English phrase that Alan taught him and makes it his battle cry. The idea of a bronzed jungle warrior yelling "Give 'em hell, Yale!" cracks me up.
Jongor fights. The Murtos fight. Gnomer and Rouse fight. With Alan's help Jongor turns on the digger. The atomic-powered machine melts the rock. Gnomer and Rouse die in the machine's furious energy discharge. Orbo dies. Umber dies. Many Murtos die. Jongor, Alan, and Ann escape. They meet the giant Calazao who is killing Murtos in revenge because Orbo cheated him. Calazao lets them pass. They are safe. The end.