1963’s Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle is not as well-known as the movies that followed, but it counts as a minor classic of sci fi literature and an important book in the genre.
What Is It?
In the year 2500, two scientists and a journalist journey to the star Betelgeuse in a ship that travels near the speed of light. They land on the planet they call Soror and then set out to explore it where they meet humans whom they find to have minimal intelligence and who live like beasts off the land (one of whom they name Nova). This is followed by apes rounding up the humans and the protagonist (Ulysse Mérou) is captured and studied by the sympathetic apes Zira and Cornelius. The more skeptical Dr. Zaius doubts the intelligence of this human, but an eventual trip to a “forbidden zone” type area reveals some surprising truths about the history of humans on this planet. (The video below gives a more in-depth synopsis with plenty of spoilers.)
Author: Pierre Boulle
Originally Published: 1963
Legacy:
This book counts as a minor classic in science fiction literature while also providing the springboard for the well-known film franchise that has since mostly overshadowed the original novel.
A Closer Look:
Planet of the Apes is of course the seminal science fiction book that went on to launch the long-lived franchise that spread across the theaters, television, and comics. Boulle’s novel first came out in 1963 and he intended it to act as a social commentary on his world, not dissimilar to the films that would follow. Those familiar with the 1968 movie will notice that the synopsis above follows closely to the story from that film, but that only covers about a third of the book as I avoid some of the spoilers that follow from that point. And one of the biggest differences from the original films is that these apes have a level of technology similar to twentieth-century Earth, and the reason for that is explained in the book.
Interestingly, not only did Boulle’s book set up the first film in the movie series, but it also suggests what we would see later in the Escape from the Planet of the Apes film (though with role reversal between humans and apes) as Ulysse becomes a bit of a celebrity when introduced into ape society. It also lays the groundwork for some of the events we would later see from Conquest of the Planet of the Apes when the regressive memory of the native humans is explored. So the genesis of three separate movies can all be found in the original novel.
In general, Boulle’s Planet of the Apes is a good sci fi book and I would call it a minor genre classic, though not necessarily a must-read. It is well written and he tries to bring in as many science-based principles as possible, though at times he seems to veer into pseudo-science as this is more social science fiction than hard sci fi. But he does develop the characters well enough and presents an interesting setting that offers some biting social. One important thing that Boulle handles better in his book than the movies is the language barrier. Ulysse slowly learns the ape language and it eventually becomes part of the proof of his intelligence. In the movies, the apes speak English and the astronauts never wondered why despite the fact that they were allegedly on a planet thousands of light-years from Earth. Something that the book does not handle as well is the twist that comes at the end. Boulle’s ending seems kind of forced and is much less satisfying than the final scene from the first movie. But despite that, the book is worth seeking out as a notable work of genre literature and as the source material for the better-known film franchise.
Comments on the Audiobook:
The audiobook is narrated by Greg Wise and he does a very good job with the material, adding distinguishing voices to many of the characters. Interestingly, he gives the apes what sounds like a mid-west accent that seems a bit out of place at first, but I eventually got used to it and never found it distracting. Overall, his voice work carries the book along quite well, and makes this an enjoyable adaptation, and it is a quick listen and just under six hours. It is available from Audible.com.
The Story Continues:
And continues and continues and continues. The book was of course adapted into the classic 1968 film that launched one of the first sci fi franchises. Four big-screen sequels would follow along with a live-action TV series and an animated series. There were also novelizations of the films and the TV shows as well as two different comic book series that came out in the 1970s. In the 1990s, the franchise would get a reboot of sorts in comics and it would remain a mainstay in that medium into the 2000s. In 2001, Tim Burton’s reboot film hit the big screen but was mostly panned and that one has not even developed much of a cult following. in 2011, Rise of the Planet of the Apes would reboot the property on the big screen again, and that has led to three additional films with a fourth currently in the works. You can read more about the various iterations of the Planet of the Apes franchise at this link.
Interesting Facts:
In the 1970s, DC tried to get the license to the Planet of the Apes and failed. They asked Jack Kirby to come up with something similar and he created Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth (more on that one at this link). In the early issues, it had some similarities to the movie franchise but Kirby had previously worked with a similar concept. In 1957, he wrote a short for Alarming Tales #1 titled “The Last Enemy” which follows a man who travels into the future to find that animals have come to rule the world after the humans destroyed themselves in an atomic war (you can read the story online or download it at the Digital Comics Museum). It’s hard to say whether Pierre Boulle ever saw that or was influenced by it, but proves that Kirby did not completely copy Kamandi from the Planet of the Apes book and/or films.
While the 1975 animated series Return of the Planet of the Apes did not follow very closely to the original book, it is the only entry in the franchise where the apes have modern technology and societal structure similar to what we saw in Pierre Boulle’s story.
In the United Kingdom, the English translation of Boulle’s book was originally published under the title Monkey Planet.
Where Can You Find the Book?
The book is still widely available and you can buy it in paperback, eBook, and audiobook format.
