Otis Adelbert Kline Books In Order

Publication Order of Dr. Dorp Books

Publication Order of Jan of the Jungle Books

Publication Order of Robert Grandon Books

Publication Order of Swordsman of Mars Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Anthologies

Otis Adelbert Kline was a famous adventure novelist and literary agent. Kline grew to popularity during the pulp era with much of his work appearing in the magazine Weird Tales.

His writing career began with the sale of his serialized series “The Thing of a Thousand Shapes” that appeared in the pages of Weird Tales. During this time, he would also publish genre stories in The Argosy.

Kline is perhaps best known infamously for his feud with Edgar Rice Burroughs. He often wrote in the style of planetary romance which was what Burroughs was known for and it was argued that the two were competitors. Donald A. Wollheim wrote an article titled “The Kline-Burroughs War” in a November 1936 Science Fiction News issue which really set off this feud in the eyes of critics and readers. Sam Moskowitz later followed up on the story, but much of this has lost credence in recent years. While this has mostly been proven to be untrue it has remained in the public eye and overshadowed some of his work.

Kline is best known for writing three main series: Venus/Robert Grandon, Mars, and Jan of the Jungle. The first two were planetary romances and featured the heroes switching minds with inhabitants of different planets. The Venus series sees an Earthman named Robert Grandon exchanging his mind with someone on Venus where he goes on adventures and eventually has a romance. The Mars books are similar, but the books feature two different protagonists in each of the first two books. There has long been a rumor that Kline actually wrote a third Mars book, but it was never published. This book has since been lost and will likely never be found.

Otis Adelbert Kline is best known as the author of the Jan of the Jungle series which was adapted into a serial called The Call of the Savage. The story focuses on a white man named Jan that has been raised by a chimpanzee in the jungle. The backstory on this one is truly crazy as the man responsible for him growing up in the cage is Dr. Bracken who did it just because Jan’s mother spurned his advances years earlier. The series focuses on Jan’s escape along with his chimpanzee foster mother, Chicma, and him heading to the jungles of Venezuela where he meets a girl named Romana who helps to civilize him.

The adventures of Jan of the Jungle is part of the feud with Burroughs as the story is thought to have a lot of similarities to the classic Tarzan series. While the Venus/Robert Grandon series is said to have resembled Burroughs’ Mars series. While this feud was pushed in the press, neither author never mentioned it publicly in their lives and the family of both authors say they never heard them speak of it. Later, Wollheim would be asked his source about the feud and he would admit that he made the whole thing up.

Kline would become better known in his career outside of writing. He was an editor for Weird Tales throughout it’s run in addition to the amount of stories that he contributed to the magazine. He also edited a single issue of Weird Tales. The issue in question was the May-July 1924 issue that also contained his short story “The Malignant Entity”.

He would later leave his writing career behind to start a new career as a literary agent. One of his most famous clients was Robert E. Howard, a fellow Weird Tales writer, who is best known as being the creator of the legendary Conan the Barbarian. He would work as his agent for the final three years of Howard’s life and then continue in the role on behalf of the Howard estate.

Planet of Peril is the first book in the Robert Grandon series. The story begins when Grandon switches bodies with a prince on the planet Venus. When he first arrives he is mainly concerned with adventure and the thrill of being on a different world. He’d like to explore the different world, but he found himself in the body of someone who couldn’t do such things. He takes over the body of a prince and finds himself in captivity. Grandon has skills though and ends up getting out, but he ends up in a world of semi-barbaric nations, ferocious beasts, gigantic reptiles, and maidens in distress.

Kline is also the author of Jan of the Jungle. The book introduces us to a young boy who is kept in a cage and raised by a chimpanzee. Jan is meant to believe that this chimpanzee is his mother, as strange as that sounds. He is kept in this cage by Dr. Bracken who put him here as a way to get revenge against his mother because she spurned his advances years ago. Jan is on the move when the ship he is on ends up shipwrecked off the coast of Venezuela. Jan and his surrogate mother, Chicma the chimpanzee, end up escaping into the jungle and find that it is inhabited by dinosaurs and primitive monsters. Jan ends up meets a beautiful girl named Ramona who helps him to learn the ways of civilization.

The Swordsman of Mars is the first in Kline’s Mars series. Harry Thorne is an outcast in his rich family and is excited for the opportunity to switch bodies with a Martian noble. The switch brings him to a strange and vibrant world filled with strange creatures and people. The most important thing in this world is strength and skill with a sword. Harry is given the job to track down and neutralize another Earthman who is attempting to establish a corrupt empire. If Harry didn’t have enough problems, he’s torn between the love of two beautiful and dangerous women. Harry will need to fight to survive and claim his destiny as the swordsman of Mars.