The Mucker (The Mucker #1) (1914)

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by Edgar Rice Burroughs


Billy Byrne transforms from a tough Chicago lowlife to an honorable man of action during a series of adventures in which he is shanghaied by pirates, battles samurai headhunters, and hides out from the law in Mexico, earning the love of a beautiful society woman in the process. 


The edition I read included both “The Mucker” and its sequel, “The Return of the Mucker.”
 

The first story is actually pretty interesting, with some good interactions among characters and an unusual Burroughs hero. 


He is an uncivilized brute who gradually questions his behavior by observing the actions of others.
 
"Billy Byrne" (Czech)

The second story features Burroughs’ penchant for depending on coincidence at its worst.

Edgar Rice Burroughs


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