Today, September 1, marks the birth of two of the most influential adventure writers of all time, Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) and Harold Lamb (1892-1962).

Burroughs, of course, the creator of Tarzan, John Carter, Carson Napier, and numerous other characters. Of Burroughs, no other than Ray Bradbury said, ” Edgar Rice Burroughs never would have looked upon himself as a social mover and shaker with social obligations. But as it turns out—and I love to say it because it upsets everyone terribly—Burroughs is probably the most influential writer in the entire history of the world. By giving romance and adventure to a whole generation of boys, Burroughs caused them to go out and decide to become special.”

In spite of not being in favor with certain circles, Burroughs is one of the great writers of adventure. His work helped make Mars a place of romance and adventure, and our solar system is the poorer for reality not matching his vision.

Harold Lamb tended to restrict his adventures to historical periods and rarely ventured into the realms of the fantastic. That doesn’t matter. His influence on fantasy, though is hard to overstate.

Why do I say that? Well, besides the quote from L. Sprague de Camp on the Bison collections from a few years back (“They are tales of wild adventure, full of swordplay, plots, treachery, startling surprised, mayhem, and massacre, laid in the most exotic setting that one can imagine and still stay in a known historical period on this planet.”), there are quotes by S. M. Stirling and Robert Weiinberg on the books.

And let’s not forget Robert E. Howard.  The influence on Howard’s work, and I’m not just talking about Conan here, should be obvious to everyone who has read the works of both. The first time I read some of Lamb’s tales of Khlit the cossack, I felt like I was reading Howard. The story structure, the pacing, the tone, all were reminiscent of Howard.

So tonight I’ll raise my glass to the memory of both men. They were giants, and I am not aware of many who could compare with them and not be found wanting.