Tarzan and the Ant Men (1924) is the tenth novel in Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan series. Disillusioned with civilization, Tarzan returns to the African jungle in search of adventure. In an unexplored region, he first encounters the Alali, a tribe of stone-age giants ruled by women, and is then captured by the Minunians—a fierce race of eighteen-inch-tall "ant men" who dwell in walled cities. Enslaved in Veltopismakus, Tarzan endures gladiatorial combat, befriends the unusually tall warrior Zuanth, and plots escape. Woven with intrigue involving the magician Mafka and a fabled emerald, the novel explores matriarchy, slavery, and the eternal pull of the wild.
