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Barsoom #1-3
The Martian Tales Trilogy
When it rains in a Burroughs novel, the reader gets wet." -- Science-fiction writer Jack McDevitt
Combining otherworldly adventures with elements of classical myth, fast-paced plots with cliffhanging tension, and imaginative fantasy with vivid prose, Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Martian Tales Trilogy helped define a new literary genre emerging in the early twentieth century that would become known as science fiction.
Hero John Carter proves himself against deadly foes in The Martian Trilogy. In the first installment, Carter wins the affections of the "princess of Mars" and the respect of the Martian warlords whom he befriends. The excitement continues in The Gods of Mars when Carter engages the Black Pirates in airborne combat above the dead seas of Mars and leads a revolt to free the Martian races from a religion that thrives on living sacrifices. In the third book, Warlord of Mars, Carter overcomes the forces of evil that would destroy the planet. By the end of the trilogy the Martians all clamor for a triumphant John Carter to be their king.
Combining otherworldly adventures with elements of classical myth, fast-paced plots with cliffhanging tension, and imaginative fantasy with vivid prose, Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Martian Tales Trilogy helped define a new literary genre emerging in the early twentieth century that would become known as science fiction.
Hero John Carter proves himself against deadly foes in The Martian Trilogy. In the first installment, Carter wins the affections of the "princess of Mars" and the respect of the Martian warlords whom he befriends. The excitement continues in The Gods of Mars when Carter engages the Black Pirates in airborne combat above the dead seas of Mars and leads a revolt to free the Martian races from a religion that thrives on living sacrifices. In the third book, Warlord of Mars, Carter overcomes the forces of evil that would destroy the planet. By the end of the trilogy the Martians all clamor for a triumphant John Carter to be their king.
About the Author:
Born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 1, 1875, Edgar Rice Burroughs grew to maturity during the height of the Industrial Revolution and witnessed the emergence of the United States as a twentieth-century world power. Hailing from a well-to-do family, Burroughs was given an aristocratic education steeped in Latin and Greek, but he was drawn more to an itinerant life of adventure than to a life in the boardroom. The author of Tarzan of the Apes (1912), Burroughs did not confine himself to a single genre; he also wrote medieval romances (The Outlaw of Torn, 1914), westerns (The War Chief of the Apaches, 1927), and mainstream novels (The Girl from Hollywood, 1922).
617 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
Edgar Rice Burroughs
2,228 books2,648 followersEdgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 547 reviews
August 24, 2019
The angel at my right peers over my shoulder to see what I'm reading and says, "Christ on a bike, this shit is really racist."
The devil at my left shoulder says, "Yeah, but it's got loads of cool aliens and sword fights and weird palaces and stuff."
The angel says, "No but seriously, I'm not kidding. Even before he gets to Mars, the whole shtick with John Carter is that he's a proud soldier of the Confederate Army."
The devil says, "Yeah, I know, but he can jump really high. Plus there are evil pirates that live beside an underground sea and go on the rampage in flying ships."
Angel: "Evil pirates with black skin. You're kind of proving my point here."
Devil: "And warriors with six limbs and green skin and no emotions that go around killing everyone."
Angel: "Still racist."
Devil: "Carter gets to ride through the desert on an eight-legged thoat."
Angel: "These books are all horribly sexist as well, by the way."
Devil: "He fights plant-men that eat people."
Angel: "Also, the prose is very bad."
Devil: "He has a telepathic ten-legged dog!"
They're still arguing when I finish the book.
The devil at my left shoulder says, "Yeah, but it's got loads of cool aliens and sword fights and weird palaces and stuff."
The angel says, "No but seriously, I'm not kidding. Even before he gets to Mars, the whole shtick with John Carter is that he's a proud soldier of the Confederate Army."
The devil says, "Yeah, I know, but he can jump really high. Plus there are evil pirates that live beside an underground sea and go on the rampage in flying ships."
Angel: "Evil pirates with black skin. You're kind of proving my point here."
Devil: "And warriors with six limbs and green skin and no emotions that go around killing everyone."
Angel: "Still racist."
Devil: "Carter gets to ride through the desert on an eight-legged thoat."
Angel: "These books are all horribly sexist as well, by the way."
Devil: "He fights plant-men that eat people."
Angel: "Also, the prose is very bad."
Devil: "He has a telepathic ten-legged dog!"
They're still arguing when I finish the book.
May 5, 2022
3.5
Libro letto per curiosità e perchè volevo chiarire alcuni dubbi nati dopo aver visto il film; scopo parzialmente raggiunto.
Tre romanzi figli del loro tempo e la loro età si vede tutta.
Partiamo dai difetti: i personaggi sono piuttosto superficiali, basta, per esempio, una sola parola per convincere anche il tizio che fino a cinque minuti prima era super cattivo e spregevole a diventare un eroe santo e a rinnegare tutti i suoi (sbagliati) ideali.
Le situazioni sono molto inverosimili, John Carter (guerrafondaio assettato di sangue) si butta nei conflitti senza porsi il problema di chi abbia ragione e ovviamente finisce dalla parte dei buoni (o meno cattivi); c’è un concentrato di eventi favorevoli che capitano al momento giusto per salvare il nostro eroe da situazioni più che disperate.
Ci sono descrizioni (soprattutto quelle delle battaglie) lente, lunghe e noiose.
E i pregi? Beh, superate le lungaggini, rimangono comunque storie appassionanti, dove il classico eroe è insuperabile, proprio perché gli eventi girano sempre a suo favore, che fa di tutto per proteggere la donna amata, super indifesa e preda di tutti i cattivi a cui capita a tiro; è pieno d’inventiva (ad un certo punto è descritto quello che potrebbe essere considerato il prototipo di un navigatore).
Ti fa rivivere quella splendida ingenuità che si prova solo da bambini, rivivi i tempi di quando ancora non si sapeva nulla dell’effettivo aspetto di Marte e quindi si potevano creare scenari fantasiosamente spettacolari. Mi ha dato le sensazioni dei vecchi fumetti/film tipo Flash Gordon o Superman; questo mi ricorda che il film è stato ingiustamente criticato perché, a detta di molti, proponeva situazioni già viste, appunto, in Superman, Flash Gordon, Guerre stellari, Avatar e altri film del genere, la verità è che sono questi film che si sono ispirati a John Carter ^^
Premio per il miglior personaggio (anche nel film) a Woola ♥
Libro letto per curiosità e perchè volevo chiarire alcuni dubbi nati dopo aver visto il film; scopo parzialmente raggiunto.
Tre romanzi figli del loro tempo e la loro età si vede tutta.
Partiamo dai difetti: i personaggi sono piuttosto superficiali, basta, per esempio, una sola parola per convincere anche il tizio che fino a cinque minuti prima era super cattivo e spregevole a diventare un eroe santo e a rinnegare tutti i suoi (sbagliati) ideali.
Le situazioni sono molto inverosimili, John Carter (guerrafondaio assettato di sangue) si butta nei conflitti senza porsi il problema di chi abbia ragione e ovviamente finisce dalla parte dei buoni (o meno cattivi); c’è un concentrato di eventi favorevoli che capitano al momento giusto per salvare il nostro eroe da situazioni più che disperate.
Ci sono descrizioni (soprattutto quelle delle battaglie) lente, lunghe e noiose.
E i pregi? Beh, superate le lungaggini, rimangono comunque storie appassionanti, dove il classico eroe è insuperabile, proprio perché gli eventi girano sempre a suo favore, che fa di tutto per proteggere la donna amata, super indifesa e preda di tutti i cattivi a cui capita a tiro; è pieno d’inventiva (ad un certo punto è descritto quello che potrebbe essere considerato il prototipo di un navigatore).
Ti fa rivivere quella splendida ingenuità che si prova solo da bambini, rivivi i tempi di quando ancora non si sapeva nulla dell’effettivo aspetto di Marte e quindi si potevano creare scenari fantasiosamente spettacolari. Mi ha dato le sensazioni dei vecchi fumetti/film tipo Flash Gordon o Superman; questo mi ricorda che il film è stato ingiustamente criticato perché, a detta di molti, proponeva situazioni già viste, appunto, in Superman, Flash Gordon, Guerre stellari, Avatar e altri film del genere, la verità è che sono questi film che si sono ispirati a John Carter ^^
Premio per il miglior personaggio (anche nel film) a Woola ♥
April 15, 2012
Whatever you do, do not read all three books one after the other without pause. I did and by the end had developed an overwhelming urge to punch a certain Virginian gentleman in the face.
Yes, the writing is from a different time when attitudes were substantially different to what they are now. Yes, these novels are an early example of the sci-fi genre so we can expect them to be a bit formulaic.
But after a while the whole "supremacy of man" schtick, (particularly white anglo-saxon man) gets a little bit tiresome. And it's made worse by the complete and utter lack of suspense. It becomes remarkably apparent very early on that Messr Carter and his friends are all but invulnerable while those who play the role of the villains will meet a messy, and terminal, end.
Yes, the writing is from a different time when attitudes were substantially different to what they are now. Yes, these novels are an early example of the sci-fi genre so we can expect them to be a bit formulaic.
But after a while the whole "supremacy of man" schtick, (particularly white anglo-saxon man) gets a little bit tiresome. And it's made worse by the complete and utter lack of suspense. It becomes remarkably apparent very early on that Messr Carter and his friends are all but invulnerable while those who play the role of the villains will meet a messy, and terminal, end.
July 26, 2016
Where's the pulp ? Apparently, all the pulp is right here in this early going scifi pulp fiction. Early example? Burroughs's work is pretty much seminal. This has inspired countless twentieth century original works like Star Wars and Superman which borrowed heavily from this .
Basically, what I did was I read A princess of Mars which was a bonus feature in this edition. While the novelization of John Carter itself? Not so much.
July 22, 2011
This edition collects the first three books from the Barsoom series featuring John Carter's adventures on Mars. With an attractive cover, occasional illustrations within and an introduction by James P. Hogan, this is a fine, although somewhat bulky volume. Here follows my thoughts on each of the stories as I read them.
A Princess of Mars
This is an epic, science-fantasy adventure as John Carter is introduced to Mars and the variety of strange creatures and civilizations that inhabit it. For some reason, I couldn't help comparing it to E.R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros. Here the narrator is magically transported to another world in which he finds races of warring tribes with larger than life characters, noble warriors and fiendish villans. Unlike Lessingham though, who remains an unnoticed observer to the events that unfold, John Carter becomes himself embroiled and soon finds himself at the center of world-changing events. Both these books are simply stories designed to immerse and entertain the reader. They are to be read in and off themselves, multiple layers of meaning not to be looked for.
Don't think too much about the technological flights of fancy, the incredulous plot developments nor the underdeveloped characters. Just revel in the lush landscapes, the epic story and high-octane action and you will not be disappointed.
Gods of Mars
In this book, John Carter finally manages to return to Mars and desperately seeks to be reunited with his beloved whom thinks him dead. Instead he uncovers secret cults that manipulate and exploit the superstitions and religious beliefs of the other races on Mars for their evil pleasures. Our illustrious protagonist once again rips through the established orders in Barsoom like a typhoon, swashbuckling and rescuing hapless maidens on the way.
Once again we are bombarded with ludicrous pseudo scientific ideas, probability defying coincidences and John Carters's puffed up sense of self-worth as he regales us with tales of his prowess. All in all it is quite humorous which I can only assume was intentional but it's hard to know for sure. In any case, don't take it seriously and you should enjoy it.
This was another breathtaking, relentless adventure that barely lets up for a minute. Individually they are not particularly long books but they are exhausting. There is very little time left for dilly dallying and we can only hold on to the edge of our seats as we follow John Carter with his seemingly boundless energy in the pursuit of his goals.
Warlord of Mars
After the cliff hanging conclusion to the last book, this book pretty much picks up where that left off. We follow Carter in a desperate pursuit of his beloved across the planet, once again tearing through tyrannies and tyrants on his way.
For some reason, John Carter seemed particularly dense and slow on the up take in this book. I found myself screaming mentally at the page for him to wise up to the plainly obvious. Entertaining as ever though, I ripped through the story in no time, finding myself laughing at what I can only assume wasn't inadvertent humour. It definitely feels tongue in cheek although it's so old that it's difficult to tell any more.
Finishing this book it feels like the story has reached a natural conclusion. Yes, one might decide to read on but it is not necessary to gain a sense of completion. As such, I think I'll leave this series here and won't seek out any of the other books that follow on. I'm sure I'll read something else by Burroughs but I think I've had my fill of John Carter!
A Princess of Mars
This is an epic, science-fantasy adventure as John Carter is introduced to Mars and the variety of strange creatures and civilizations that inhabit it. For some reason, I couldn't help comparing it to E.R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros. Here the narrator is magically transported to another world in which he finds races of warring tribes with larger than life characters, noble warriors and fiendish villans. Unlike Lessingham though, who remains an unnoticed observer to the events that unfold, John Carter becomes himself embroiled and soon finds himself at the center of world-changing events. Both these books are simply stories designed to immerse and entertain the reader. They are to be read in and off themselves, multiple layers of meaning not to be looked for.
Don't think too much about the technological flights of fancy, the incredulous plot developments nor the underdeveloped characters. Just revel in the lush landscapes, the epic story and high-octane action and you will not be disappointed.
Gods of Mars
In this book, John Carter finally manages to return to Mars and desperately seeks to be reunited with his beloved whom thinks him dead. Instead he uncovers secret cults that manipulate and exploit the superstitions and religious beliefs of the other races on Mars for their evil pleasures. Our illustrious protagonist once again rips through the established orders in Barsoom like a typhoon, swashbuckling and rescuing hapless maidens on the way.
Once again we are bombarded with ludicrous pseudo scientific ideas, probability defying coincidences and John Carters's puffed up sense of self-worth as he regales us with tales of his prowess. All in all it is quite humorous which I can only assume was intentional but it's hard to know for sure. In any case, don't take it seriously and you should enjoy it.
This was another breathtaking, relentless adventure that barely lets up for a minute. Individually they are not particularly long books but they are exhausting. There is very little time left for dilly dallying and we can only hold on to the edge of our seats as we follow John Carter with his seemingly boundless energy in the pursuit of his goals.
Warlord of Mars
After the cliff hanging conclusion to the last book, this book pretty much picks up where that left off. We follow Carter in a desperate pursuit of his beloved across the planet, once again tearing through tyrannies and tyrants on his way.
For some reason, John Carter seemed particularly dense and slow on the up take in this book. I found myself screaming mentally at the page for him to wise up to the plainly obvious. Entertaining as ever though, I ripped through the story in no time, finding myself laughing at what I can only assume wasn't inadvertent humour. It definitely feels tongue in cheek although it's so old that it's difficult to tell any more.
Finishing this book it feels like the story has reached a natural conclusion. Yes, one might decide to read on but it is not necessary to gain a sense of completion. As such, I think I'll leave this series here and won't seek out any of the other books that follow on. I'm sure I'll read something else by Burroughs but I think I've had my fill of John Carter!
September 26, 2017
Nutrivo curiosità per questo personaggio che conoscevo vagamente di fama (e per il film) ma di cui non avevo mai letto niente.
Dopo aver letto i primi tre libri delle avventure di John Carter posso dire di essere rimasto favorevolmente stupito.
Certo, il secolo abbondante di vita di questi libri (pubblicati tra il 1912 e il 1914) si sente tutto, nella scarsa introspezione psicologica, nella piattezza dei personaggi, nei buchi logici, nell'ingenuità che permea bene o male tutta l'atmosfera.
Ma probabilmente è proprio questa ingenuità ad aprire le porte anche al punto di forza di queste storie. L'avventura, pura e semplice.
John si ritrova "sdoppiato" dal proprio corpo, lasciato come cadavere sulla Terra, e catapultato su Marte. Dove c'è vita, la vita crudele e feroce che ci si può aspettare su un pianeta in declino, morente.
E se anche non ci verrà fornita una spiegazione a questo evento (almeno, non nei primi tre libri), se il personaggio risulta troppo superumano e intriso di retorica (lo straniero americano che arriva su un mondo alieno, e grazie alla sua costituzione si erge una spanna sopra gli indigeni, ammirandone la fierezza ma dominandoli, conquistando i cuori degli elementi migliori delle specie native e rivoltando il mondo intero come un calzino in pochi anni), se sopratutto andando avanti con le storie le "coincidenze" diventano numerosissime e imbarazzanti, e i colpi di scena quasi nulli... malgrado tutto questo, l'avventura sognata agli inizi del secolo scorso avvince.
Ogni volta ci chiediamo con quali altri orrori l'autore avrà popolato il pianeta rosso, cosa inventerà per mettere i bastoni tra la ruote alla felicità del capitano John Carter, quali civiltà e tradizioni macabre scopriremo al fianco del Principe giunto dalla Terra.
E senza perderci in lunghe spiegazioni né in chissà quali descrizioni o analisi, si segue l'azione pura di Carter, l'uragano che sconvolge Marte e distrugge ogni suo nemico, che non si arrende mai ed emerge sempre vincitore da ogni conflitto. Un'azione che procede quasi sempre con un ritmo martellante e una prosa semplice, facendo scorrere naturalmente una pagina dopo l'altra, finché non ti ritrovi a notte fonda, stupito per l'ora che si è fatta.
Dopo aver letto i primi tre libri delle avventure di John Carter posso dire di essere rimasto favorevolmente stupito.
Certo, il secolo abbondante di vita di questi libri (pubblicati tra il 1912 e il 1914) si sente tutto, nella scarsa introspezione psicologica, nella piattezza dei personaggi, nei buchi logici, nell'ingenuità che permea bene o male tutta l'atmosfera.
Ma probabilmente è proprio questa ingenuità ad aprire le porte anche al punto di forza di queste storie. L'avventura, pura e semplice.
John si ritrova "sdoppiato" dal proprio corpo, lasciato come cadavere sulla Terra, e catapultato su Marte. Dove c'è vita, la vita crudele e feroce che ci si può aspettare su un pianeta in declino, morente.
E se anche non ci verrà fornita una spiegazione a questo evento (almeno, non nei primi tre libri), se il personaggio risulta troppo superumano e intriso di retorica (lo straniero americano che arriva su un mondo alieno, e grazie alla sua costituzione si erge una spanna sopra gli indigeni, ammirandone la fierezza ma dominandoli, conquistando i cuori degli elementi migliori delle specie native e rivoltando il mondo intero come un calzino in pochi anni), se sopratutto andando avanti con le storie le "coincidenze" diventano numerosissime e imbarazzanti, e i colpi di scena quasi nulli... malgrado tutto questo, l'avventura sognata agli inizi del secolo scorso avvince.
Ogni volta ci chiediamo con quali altri orrori l'autore avrà popolato il pianeta rosso, cosa inventerà per mettere i bastoni tra la ruote alla felicità del capitano John Carter, quali civiltà e tradizioni macabre scopriremo al fianco del Principe giunto dalla Terra.
E senza perderci in lunghe spiegazioni né in chissà quali descrizioni o analisi, si segue l'azione pura di Carter, l'uragano che sconvolge Marte e distrugge ogni suo nemico, che non si arrende mai ed emerge sempre vincitore da ogni conflitto. Un'azione che procede quasi sempre con un ritmo martellante e una prosa semplice, facendo scorrere naturalmente una pagina dopo l'altra, finché non ti ritrovi a notte fonda, stupito per l'ora che si è fatta.
September 30, 2022
Love your woman whilst you may, sell your life dearly if you must. Meet man of action, John Carter. Skilled swordsman, knightly prince, and original space cowboy, this well-muscled Earth hottie is a warrior by trade, leader by wit, and lover by luck. The luck of meeting his Martian soulmate — tho he did have to travel about a billion miles by shaman to get into her non-existent pants. Anyhoo, this erstwhile gentleman of Virginia rises like a meteor from the bottom to the top of Martian society, seemingly in a single bound. But actually, by way of many, many athletic bounds all over the damned planet. With slashing sword, trickster mentality, and chivalric code at the ready, Carter fells foes, wins friends, and influences people everywhere he goes. White savior narrative par excellence, this guy's sincere and sweaty masculinity proves irresistible to Martians of all colors and stations. Be they lizardly green, coppery red, pirate black, dead white, or lemony yellow, they’re drawn to Carter's cause of brotherly love like moths to a manly flame. We get to know Tars Tarkas and Sola, Dejah Thoris and Carthoris and Thuvia, Kantos Kan, Xodor, and more macho men — plus my fave dog-thing, Woola! — across countless adventures. TBH, it's a rollicking good time. By dint of his dauntless aid to any underdog, our thoroughly American hero manages to teach us the cowboy code, debunk a couple of religious cults, and reveal the dark and disturbing consequences of communism along the way. And it's nonstop action. I mean, for John Carter, to think is to act and to fight is to live. Our wiley, wild-west strategist is usually brilliant, except when he's not! But I get it. A diet of pure adrenaline mixed with periodic fasting, dehydration, physical and psychological torture, frequent manacling, freezing temps, flood and/or fire, and chronic brushes with death can do a number on the brain. So, he sometimes falls prey to spies, forgets he's in disguise, fails to recall key info until well after we do, walks into obvious traps, or otherwise gives his enemies huge openings to make mischief. He's only HUMAN! It's Burroughs who may be superhuman. Written in 1912, the year my formidable matriarchal grandmother was born, Edgar did pulp fiction one better by perfecting the recipe for suspense — and thereby making life easy for generations of action film screenwriters to come. Grinned to note Edgar’s influence over countless television scenes from my 1970s era childhood. Hell, saw Die Hard in my mind's eye as our John Carter climbed to a rooftop by way of iffy rope and slippy anchor. And like John McClain, this wholesome, hot-blooded, monogamy-minded American mancake is inspired by the love of his woman, his son, and his bros in arms. In other words, by all that is good and true in this world — no matter what world you happen to be on. Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker to that. I have spoken.
December 12, 2011
A series of rip-roaring, thigh-slapping, red-blooded (and sometimes green-blooded) pulp adventure yarns within Burrough's vividly imagined Martian setting of Barsoom. It's astonishing to think that Burroughs wrote the first of these highly imaginative tales in 1911. The plots get a bit samey after a while - let's face it there's only so far you can stretch the 'impossibly muscular, combat-worthy rough-diamond hero chases across half the world to rescue his impossibly-beautiful-but-feisty princess' theme before it gets a bit tired. But the thing that keeps you reading is Burrough's raw, unrestrained creativity, and the passion and excitement that comes through in his writing.
These stories straddle the boundaries between science, fantasy and weird fiction in their flavour, but never lack a healthy dose (some might say an overdose!) of good old-fashioned swashbuckling romance. On Barsoom, men are real men, women are real women, and giant green four-armed people with antennae and eyes on the sides of their heads are real giant green four-armed people with antennae and eyes on the sides of their heads. (Well, OK, so I only added that sentence to qualify for a super review!)
These stories straddle the boundaries between science, fantasy and weird fiction in their flavour, but never lack a healthy dose (some might say an overdose!) of good old-fashioned swashbuckling romance. On Barsoom, men are real men, women are real women, and giant green four-armed people with antennae and eyes on the sides of their heads are real giant green four-armed people with antennae and eyes on the sides of their heads. (Well, OK, so I only added that sentence to qualify for a super review!)
January 7, 2024
Just finished the second "John Carter" book (which I will review separately), but while I'm mainly listening to those during my too-short daily commute, I then come home and continue by reading along in this volume as well - the most recent (and probably last) addition to my thankfully small "ridiculously thick book bookshelf" (see below) - because seriously, who really reads those things? They're unwieldy and probably too heavy for their binding, and while it's nice to have "seven H.G. Wells novels in one 'convenient' book," if I actually want to read one of them, I'll probably just borrow a much more handy paper or audio version from the library.
But…in this case I'm actually using and enjoying this, as it not only has a very nice introduction to both Burroughs and Barsoom, but also a handy glossary of all the Martian names and titles from the first five books…and THAT is indispensable.
But…in this case I'm actually using and enjoying this, as it not only has a very nice introduction to both Burroughs and Barsoom, but also a handy glossary of all the Martian names and titles from the first five books…and THAT is indispensable.
May 9, 2011
I don't see how Tarzan became more popular than any of the John Carter stories. Maybe Tarzan was more adaptable as the John Carter series are far more complex. Either way I loved all three of the books and plan on reading the rest of the Barsoom series in the future.
August 1, 2014
I don't remember if I read all 7 novels in this book collection, but I know I've at least read several. Fun series. Some of it's a bit tough to relate to since it was written 100 years ago. Well, 97 years ago as of my writing this.
Still, very creative and enjoyable read. One of the coolest parts is that while reading John Carter's talk of his experiences in American of the late 1800's, I realize that the author himself is drawing on his own personal experiences, having been born in the 1870's.
With the first book having been published in 1917, this is very early science fiction and very little SciFi had been written to that point (mostly Verne's works).
Very creative for such an early effort and important work that has inspired hundreds of authors and filmmakers since.
Still, very creative and enjoyable read. One of the coolest parts is that while reading John Carter's talk of his experiences in American of the late 1800's, I realize that the author himself is drawing on his own personal experiences, having been born in the 1870's.
With the first book having been published in 1917, this is very early science fiction and very little SciFi had been written to that point (mostly Verne's works).
Very creative for such an early effort and important work that has inspired hundreds of authors and filmmakers since.
April 3, 2015
(This review is for the first two books in the series).
"...There is no other mortal on Barsoom who would have done what you have for me. I think I have learned that there is such thing as a friendship, my friend." (Tars Tarkas on pg 123).
When you ask people who have read the John Carter series what they think of the character, you'll most likely get a response along the lines of "masculine and steamy" from women, "heroic and bada**" from men, and "brave and courageous" from everyone. What most readers see in this character is what Edgar Rice Burroughs placed upfront, and that is everything that was previously described. But Burroughs also put another element upfront that most don't remember John Carter for: Love. Sure, it does get steamy after he and Deja Thoris become twitterpated, and even though that kind of love is obvious in the series with Deja always slipping out of his hands, Burroughs does a golden job sculpting one other form of love into this character.
We all become hooked after reading the first two chapters and the story is faceted with many likable characters on a dangerous, colorful scale of pragmatism. But the gracious love of loyalty and kindness stands out the most as we follow John Carter through the series. The love I'm talking about is Ahava, which is the Hebrew definition of the love of will. This love urges you to join your life with another. It's an emotion that leads to commitment.
When John Carter first arrives on Barsoom, he finds that the Thark race is a violent and brutal one devoid of love, friendship, and even simple kindness. John Carter, who is a born human, slowly teaches the Tharks that kindness gains trust and dedication. But they are slow to accept any terms of real love or friendship because of their ruthless leader Tal Hajus. But Carter gains many followers including Tars Tarkas who becomes his most loyal and trusted friend on all of Barsoom. He also gains friendship with Woola, a six-legged dog alien; Kantos Kan, a general for Helium's forces; and Xodar, a black pirate of mars, along with many others. Carter expresses himself through ahava love and kindness to all he meets, becoming a king of mars because of it.
It is unclear if Burroughs' cause of this was to show how kind in nature our race can really be, or if Carter is how Burroughs wanted all of humanity to act. Either way, this message of love and companionship is presented openly and was intended for us as readers to learn something from it.
When John Carter of Mars was first published, I don't think anyone expected an epic masterpiece. In fact, at the time, it was probably seen as a child's fantasy. I paraphrase C.S. Lewis when he said, "Fantasy is the best art form to represent what you have to say." In this case, as in many others, he was 100% right.
"...There is no other mortal on Barsoom who would have done what you have for me. I think I have learned that there is such thing as a friendship, my friend." (Tars Tarkas on pg 123).
When you ask people who have read the John Carter series what they think of the character, you'll most likely get a response along the lines of "masculine and steamy" from women, "heroic and bada**" from men, and "brave and courageous" from everyone. What most readers see in this character is what Edgar Rice Burroughs placed upfront, and that is everything that was previously described. But Burroughs also put another element upfront that most don't remember John Carter for: Love. Sure, it does get steamy after he and Deja Thoris become twitterpated, and even though that kind of love is obvious in the series with Deja always slipping out of his hands, Burroughs does a golden job sculpting one other form of love into this character.
We all become hooked after reading the first two chapters and the story is faceted with many likable characters on a dangerous, colorful scale of pragmatism. But the gracious love of loyalty and kindness stands out the most as we follow John Carter through the series. The love I'm talking about is Ahava, which is the Hebrew definition of the love of will. This love urges you to join your life with another. It's an emotion that leads to commitment.
When John Carter first arrives on Barsoom, he finds that the Thark race is a violent and brutal one devoid of love, friendship, and even simple kindness. John Carter, who is a born human, slowly teaches the Tharks that kindness gains trust and dedication. But they are slow to accept any terms of real love or friendship because of their ruthless leader Tal Hajus. But Carter gains many followers including Tars Tarkas who becomes his most loyal and trusted friend on all of Barsoom. He also gains friendship with Woola, a six-legged dog alien; Kantos Kan, a general for Helium's forces; and Xodar, a black pirate of mars, along with many others. Carter expresses himself through ahava love and kindness to all he meets, becoming a king of mars because of it.
It is unclear if Burroughs' cause of this was to show how kind in nature our race can really be, or if Carter is how Burroughs wanted all of humanity to act. Either way, this message of love and companionship is presented openly and was intended for us as readers to learn something from it.
When John Carter of Mars was first published, I don't think anyone expected an epic masterpiece. In fact, at the time, it was probably seen as a child's fantasy. I paraphrase C.S. Lewis when he said, "Fantasy is the best art form to represent what you have to say." In this case, as in many others, he was 100% right.
February 15, 2010
Interesting because it is early, EARLY sci-fi (same guy who wrote Tarzan), but the writing and story are absolutely awful. In fact, the book is fun on a so-bad-it's-good level. Written first person style, John Carter is a Civil War veteran magically plucked from Earth and dropped into the middle of warring nations on Mars. John Carter is stronger, braver, smarter, and more humble (as he tells us unironically)than any other creature on the exotic planet. Every Martian man wants to be him, will follow him into battle. Every Martian woman (naked, according to custom) wants to be his devoted slave. John Carter wins every fight, out-maneuvers every foe on the battlefield, and tames every wild Martian beast. Does he eventually save every single Martian life and unite all four Martian peoples into a thousand year era in which he is King of the world? You'll have to read the book to find out. Or you can probably guess.
September 22, 2014
Stories are fun but get a little redundant, princess in danger...save princess...think princess is safe only to lose princess while fighting off attackers...princess in danger...save princess - repeat this cycle a few times and you get the picture of life on Barsoom
June 15, 2022
300615: this is edgar rice burroughs's first published work, the first three mars (barsoom) books, A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, The Warlord of Mars, combined in one, collecting his serials in 1912. i read one lit crit that declares it is barsoom and john carter that burroughs loved most, began with, figured out plot before it became formulaic...
i am trying to read this as if the intervening century of pop culture did not exist, but this is not possible. this work, this pattern, this mythic resonance, is everywhere, and too much of our familiarity is with degraded iterations, film, copies. according to some critics, burroughs was somewhat consciously devising mythology, built out of his familiarity with greek and latin sources, combining this with particularly modern, deliberately american, myths of the early 1900s... and somehow, after less than success in many many jobs: he caught lightning in a bottle and knew how to make it pay...
burroughs had no artistic pretensions, much of his concerns seem to have been monetary, much of his work was built out of worlds someone previously invented, much of his work was eventually repeating itself... on the other, other authors of his time might have done, thought, written, work that is similar: but he is the one we remember... and this is where it all began. barsoom. john carter. as a child, as a youth, i had never read burroughs, read comics, saw films, inspired by him- at least until one called 'greystoke, the legend of tarzan'- so i have only ever gone on received wisdom...
this is a mistake, mostly. this is where those cliches come from, before they were cliche. i remember years ago reading 'princess of mars' and thinking- 'this would make a great movie!'. hollywood made a not-very-good-version a few years ago, but that is not the one i imagined, mostly i thought in animated terms. vibrant, colourful, extravagant, all of this in costume, production design, plots, acting... the mistake denigrating burroughs might come true later, in next volumes, in other series, if you have expectations of character growth or innovative plots. here, in 'princess of', after a somewhat realistic, western us desert setup, we get to barsoom by simple fantastic desire, and without much intro meet both the noble savages he can so impress, and the love object, the Girl, that our first person will love, fight for, rescue over and over, first in this trilogy in some great adventures, later, in further books i understand less interesting ways...
fun, without qualifiers, this. i wonder why john carter's amazing capabilities, his fighting skill, his honour, his way with animals- his idealized, self-declared wondrous self- does not bother me as much as those of more recent noxious super heroic characters. i can think of a few books unfinished or even just barely begun, where the narrator is insufferably conceited, too perfect for words. probably i can read this because it is fun, not rounded characters, not meaningful politics, not realistic, in any manner. this is a long collection, i did not skip, i did lose track sometimes, but the order of action, the goals to achieve, the result, does not seem to matter, and i think it is very much a waking dream, a birth (starts naked, stays naked), adventures (default mode of life), love and hate (immediate, absolute, consistent), death (but not fear of), the desire and love for the Girl (despite how many other Girls want him) ... makes me not want to break the spell cast by reading other ERB, but too late, this was not the first of his series read, this is a three, glad to read it, now have a better idea what fantastic pulps were...but not likely to ever read it again...
this would make a great movie...
i am trying to read this as if the intervening century of pop culture did not exist, but this is not possible. this work, this pattern, this mythic resonance, is everywhere, and too much of our familiarity is with degraded iterations, film, copies. according to some critics, burroughs was somewhat consciously devising mythology, built out of his familiarity with greek and latin sources, combining this with particularly modern, deliberately american, myths of the early 1900s... and somehow, after less than success in many many jobs: he caught lightning in a bottle and knew how to make it pay...
burroughs had no artistic pretensions, much of his concerns seem to have been monetary, much of his work was built out of worlds someone previously invented, much of his work was eventually repeating itself... on the other, other authors of his time might have done, thought, written, work that is similar: but he is the one we remember... and this is where it all began. barsoom. john carter. as a child, as a youth, i had never read burroughs, read comics, saw films, inspired by him- at least until one called 'greystoke, the legend of tarzan'- so i have only ever gone on received wisdom...
this is a mistake, mostly. this is where those cliches come from, before they were cliche. i remember years ago reading 'princess of mars' and thinking- 'this would make a great movie!'. hollywood made a not-very-good-version a few years ago, but that is not the one i imagined, mostly i thought in animated terms. vibrant, colourful, extravagant, all of this in costume, production design, plots, acting... the mistake denigrating burroughs might come true later, in next volumes, in other series, if you have expectations of character growth or innovative plots. here, in 'princess of', after a somewhat realistic, western us desert setup, we get to barsoom by simple fantastic desire, and without much intro meet both the noble savages he can so impress, and the love object, the Girl, that our first person will love, fight for, rescue over and over, first in this trilogy in some great adventures, later, in further books i understand less interesting ways...
fun, without qualifiers, this. i wonder why john carter's amazing capabilities, his fighting skill, his honour, his way with animals- his idealized, self-declared wondrous self- does not bother me as much as those of more recent noxious super heroic characters. i can think of a few books unfinished or even just barely begun, where the narrator is insufferably conceited, too perfect for words. probably i can read this because it is fun, not rounded characters, not meaningful politics, not realistic, in any manner. this is a long collection, i did not skip, i did lose track sometimes, but the order of action, the goals to achieve, the result, does not seem to matter, and i think it is very much a waking dream, a birth (starts naked, stays naked), adventures (default mode of life), love and hate (immediate, absolute, consistent), death (but not fear of), the desire and love for the Girl (despite how many other Girls want him) ... makes me not want to break the spell cast by reading other ERB, but too late, this was not the first of his series read, this is a three, glad to read it, now have a better idea what fantastic pulps were...but not likely to ever read it again...
this would make a great movie...
Want to read
February 8, 2012Hey people! I just stumbled across this Kindle book at Amazon for 99 cents! It contains the first three books in the John Carter of Mars series, a terrifically fun bunch of books that serve as the spiritual ancestor iof any number of fantasy-adventure books, including (ahem) my own Gamble of the Godless, but also plenty of others. ERB was the creator of Tarzan, so there you go. I plan to reread these ASAP, but in the meantime you could do a lot worse than this series for some mid-winter pick-me-up reading. Check it out, I heartily recommend it.
Oh and there's a movie coming soon. Which will probably be lame.
Oh and there's a movie coming soon. Which will probably be lame.
July 1, 2021
If they had been published today (or even in the last 60 years), the John Carter stories would be fairly underwhelming—maybe 2.5 or 3 stars. But considering that Princess of Mars was published over 100 years ago, and was one of the first books, if not the very first, to be set on another planet. These stories inspired and influenced countless scifi authors over the last century. So four stars for originality!
May 28, 2008
Cheesy as only early 20th century adventure fiction could be, but riveting nonetheless. Absolutely mesmerizing storytelling, set on a fantastic Mars that could never exist in real life, but one that's more vivid than reality.
September 17, 2012
Pretty manly. John Carter is a warrior James Bond where every woman he meets falls in love with him and every man pays him homage for his man-skills. If I'd read this before the movie came out, I might have headed to the theater.
December 8, 2023
Is there life on Mars? And if so is everyone naked except for a leather harness? According to Burroughs the answer is a resounding yes.
The legendary Barsoom series, the thing that inspired all your favorite sci fi authors and also one of the biggest movie flops in history. So is it actually worth reading? Well if you are interested in sci fi history and can stand cliched storylines then yes. But if you’re looking for some undiscovered Star Wars that’s stood the test of time this ain’t it.
This volume contains the first three Barsoom novels. Book one tells of John Carters inexplicable transportation to Mars, his acclamation to Martian culture, and his romance with the Martian princess Dejah Thoris. Adventure ensues. While it’s not exactly up to date in the science department it definitely still fits the sci fi category. There’s aliens, advanced technology, a dying planet, and flying vessels.
In the second book John Carter returns to Mars, wakes up in Martian Mt. Olympus, discovers the Martian religion is a total sham, has to escape from Sky pirates and evil bald dudes. Adventure really ensues. The first book established the world, then this book takes the established world throws in a bunch of new aliens, new settings, and cranks the daring-do to 11. Make no mistake all three books are action packed, but this one really lays it on.
In the third book some minor character John Carter clocked in the last book kidnaps his girl and Johnny chases him round the globe. Adventure kinda ensues. Even by the second book the story beats get repetitive and this book feels like a greatest hits of the first two books. Still if you’ve made it through the first two books might as well finish this one as it has an ending despite the 8 books that followed.
There’s quite a bit of good in these. Adventure abounds. The Martian world is pretty enticing and the aliens are memorable. Through the trilogy John Carter gains a literally colorful crew of allies. His romance with the Martian princess is cheesy but endearing. There’s a lot of memorable settings such as the abandoned ancient cities, underwater cities, and a mryiad of underground labyrinths.
I think Burroughs settings work so well because he gives the reader just enough to get the sense of what it’s like but much of it is left to the reader’s imagination. I’m not a very imaginative reader but it was easy to conjure the Martian world, and probably everyone who’s read this over the past 100 years has imagined it a little different.
Now to the bad. As mentioned earlier the stories are repetitive. The action is especially repetitive as John is either fighting one guy and Burroughs says “He was the best swordsman I’ve ever faced and he almost had me” or when there’s a big battle he says “It was a big bloody battle and lots of people had died and I was fighting really hard.” Rinse and repeat. The books are not particularly gory or detailed but they are filled with constant bloodshed.
Also the series is definitely a product of its time with racist and sexist attitudes. The second book almost seems to have an anti-racist allegory but maybe I read too much into it or it was an accident on Burroughs part.
At its best it’s explosively imaginative, adventurous, and action packed. At its worst it’s outdated, repetitive, and shallow. There’s a reason these books have stayed influential for 100 years, but no one is going to read them and not realize it’s old.
The legendary Barsoom series, the thing that inspired all your favorite sci fi authors and also one of the biggest movie flops in history. So is it actually worth reading? Well if you are interested in sci fi history and can stand cliched storylines then yes. But if you’re looking for some undiscovered Star Wars that’s stood the test of time this ain’t it.
This volume contains the first three Barsoom novels. Book one tells of John Carters inexplicable transportation to Mars, his acclamation to Martian culture, and his romance with the Martian princess Dejah Thoris. Adventure ensues. While it’s not exactly up to date in the science department it definitely still fits the sci fi category. There’s aliens, advanced technology, a dying planet, and flying vessels.
In the second book John Carter returns to Mars, wakes up in Martian Mt. Olympus, discovers the Martian religion is a total sham, has to escape from Sky pirates and evil bald dudes. Adventure really ensues. The first book established the world, then this book takes the established world throws in a bunch of new aliens, new settings, and cranks the daring-do to 11. Make no mistake all three books are action packed, but this one really lays it on.
In the third book some minor character John Carter clocked in the last book kidnaps his girl and Johnny chases him round the globe. Adventure kinda ensues. Even by the second book the story beats get repetitive and this book feels like a greatest hits of the first two books. Still if you’ve made it through the first two books might as well finish this one as it has an ending despite the 8 books that followed.
There’s quite a bit of good in these. Adventure abounds. The Martian world is pretty enticing and the aliens are memorable. Through the trilogy John Carter gains a literally colorful crew of allies. His romance with the Martian princess is cheesy but endearing. There’s a lot of memorable settings such as the abandoned ancient cities, underwater cities, and a mryiad of underground labyrinths.
I think Burroughs settings work so well because he gives the reader just enough to get the sense of what it’s like but much of it is left to the reader’s imagination. I’m not a very imaginative reader but it was easy to conjure the Martian world, and probably everyone who’s read this over the past 100 years has imagined it a little different.
Now to the bad. As mentioned earlier the stories are repetitive. The action is especially repetitive as John is either fighting one guy and Burroughs says “He was the best swordsman I’ve ever faced and he almost had me” or when there’s a big battle he says “It was a big bloody battle and lots of people had died and I was fighting really hard.” Rinse and repeat. The books are not particularly gory or detailed but they are filled with constant bloodshed.
Also the series is definitely a product of its time with racist and sexist attitudes. The second book almost seems to have an anti-racist allegory but maybe I read too much into it or it was an accident on Burroughs part.
At its best it’s explosively imaginative, adventurous, and action packed. At its worst it’s outdated, repetitive, and shallow. There’s a reason these books have stayed influential for 100 years, but no one is going to read them and not realize it’s old.
March 24, 2021
Tre stelle e mezza.
Ero molto curioso di leggere il romanzo John Carter di Marte di Edgar Rice Burroughs avendolo visto in molte librerie di amici e conoscenti appassionati del genere.
Diciamo subito che il protagonista è capace di attirarsi subito la nostra simpatia, rappresentando bene l’eroismo tipico dello spirito del tempo nel quale fu scritto. Impossibile quindi non empatizzare con l’avventuriero ed ex soldato John Carter, sempre pronto a mettere a repentaglio la propria vita per l’onore proprio e dei propri protetti, o della donna che ama.
Burroughs è molto abile nel tratteggiarne gli atteggiamenti rendendolo ben più reale dello stereotipo che potrebbe far immaginare. Quindi il protagonista è decisamente buono, l’ambientazione anche, seppur non più di tanto particolareggiata, ciò che invece devo notare è che la trama presenta parecchie ingenuità che alcuni giustificano con l’età del testo risalente a oltre un secolo fa.
In generale alcune trovate per far uscire i protagonisti da situazioni spiacevoli mi sono parse un po’ troppo artificiose, di certo inadatte agli smaliziati occhi dei lettori moderni. Così come alcuni incontri/salvataggi/interventi talmente pilotati da render impossibile sorreggere la sospensione dell'incredulità. Recensione completa su: https://www.scrittorindipendenti.com/...
Ero molto curioso di leggere il romanzo John Carter di Marte di Edgar Rice Burroughs avendolo visto in molte librerie di amici e conoscenti appassionati del genere.
Diciamo subito che il protagonista è capace di attirarsi subito la nostra simpatia, rappresentando bene l’eroismo tipico dello spirito del tempo nel quale fu scritto. Impossibile quindi non empatizzare con l’avventuriero ed ex soldato John Carter, sempre pronto a mettere a repentaglio la propria vita per l’onore proprio e dei propri protetti, o della donna che ama.
Burroughs è molto abile nel tratteggiarne gli atteggiamenti rendendolo ben più reale dello stereotipo che potrebbe far immaginare. Quindi il protagonista è decisamente buono, l’ambientazione anche, seppur non più di tanto particolareggiata, ciò che invece devo notare è che la trama presenta parecchie ingenuità che alcuni giustificano con l’età del testo risalente a oltre un secolo fa.
In generale alcune trovate per far uscire i protagonisti da situazioni spiacevoli mi sono parse un po’ troppo artificiose, di certo inadatte agli smaliziati occhi dei lettori moderni. Così come alcuni incontri/salvataggi/interventi talmente pilotati da render impossibile sorreggere la sospensione dell'incredulità. Recensione completa su: https://www.scrittorindipendenti.com/...
April 10, 2022
Part 1: A Princess of Mars
Recent comments in the Forum I help run coincidentally led to this tome arriving on my desk. I approached it with some caution, admittedly. Whilst aware of the dated nature of stories from a similar age – racism, sexism, gender bias, etc – what else is there to say on a book which has influenced so many classic science fiction writers?
After all, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Jack Vance, Arthur C Clarke, and George Lucas have all been influenced by this series. (I’m sure that there are many others.) Scientists such as Carl Sagan have said how much the books inspired them when they read as a child.
But I was intrigued. Would a book, much beloved by many, still hold up 110 years after it’s initial publication?
Certainly if my view was based on the majority of comments made about the Disney movie of 2012, it would not be good (although I liked the movie myself.)
Ok. To business. The plot - John Carter, a Confederate soldier from Western Virginia, finds himself mysteriously transported to the planet Barsoom, which we know as Mars. There he finds that his Earth-based muscles allow him to do strange things in the Martian environment. He can hop hundreds of feet into the air and strike killer blows, thanks to the lower gravity and thinner atmosphere.
On his arrival to Mars he is taken captive by Tharks, green-skinned, six-limbed creatures. His superhuman abilities are seen as something of great prowess by the war-like Tharks, and Carter is soon made to be a chieftain. Tars Tarkas, once his captor, becomes his friend.
When Dejah Thoris, red-skinned Princess of Helium, is captured by the Tharks, Carter returns her to her people and eventually manages to get the Tharks and people of Helium to work together, leading a horde of Tharks against the city-state of Zodanga, the historic enemy of Helium. Carter and Dejah fall in love. Carter becomes Prince of Helium, and the two live happily together for nine years.
All seems good, but when the Atmosphere Plant that sustains Mars’s air supply breaks down and endangers all life on Barsoom, Carter, with the aid of an engineer, fixes it but falls unconscious in the process to find himself awake and back on Earth, left to wonder what has become of Barsoom and Dejah.
As you might expect, the science is pretty improbable, even allowing for what Mars was thought to be like in 1912. We have weapons designed to impress - rifles that, unrestricted by atmospheric friction or gravity, can fire bullets that can travel for hundreds of miles, for example.
There’s mentions of the actions of blood-thirsty Indians in Arizona that would not sit well with a modern audience, although the Tharks are perhaps more so. The good manners of southern gentleman Carter and the aristocratic mannerisms of Dejah Thoris read rather like a Martian version of Gone With the Wind – totally polite and rather archaic today, but their romance has charm.
The chivalrous male defending a female’s honour still has a place in Edgar’s tale.
As I rather suspected it would be, the body count is large, although graphic details are thankfully few. And whilst Martians seem to be dispatched with relative ease and rapid regularity, there is no consideration of the moral consequences of such actions. This is not that kind of story. The actions of the characters are clear with little ambiguity, and their behaviours match the sense of adventure. There’s little time for contemplation here. The lack of ambiguity was actually quite refreshing.
Perhaps most of all, I liked the sense of antiquity that the story has. There is a sense that Mars is an age-old planet with a long history, both physical and social. The vivid images of Martian plains, ancient canals and historical cities make this a Mars I’d like to see. I can see why such creative descriptions have remained in the imagination.
As such examples show, Rice Burroughs’s prose is rather purple in its vibrant descriptions. It is ERB’s first story published, before the more famous creation of Tarzan, and it does show. It feels like it is written in a proto-Weird Tales style (even though the magazine is not due until 1922-23!) that is readable, if not quite as verbose as say Clark Ashton Smith or Lovecraft.
A Princess of Mars may not be the greatest literature ever, but then it has never claimed to be. It is from an age of innocence – before the First World War, don’t forget, from the same year as Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and Zane Grey’s western, Riders of the Purple Sage, to which it clearly owes a common heritage in pulp fiction. If further context was needed, Robert E Howard (Conan) was six and HG Wells’ War of the Worlds was less than fifteen years old when this was first published.
With this context, it is easy to see why A Princess of Mars was written in this way. It is a pulp adventure story, designed to sell to the magazines but also to spur the imagination and entertain – which it still does.
I can see the influence it has had on successive science fiction writers and stories, and fans of those other books and films would do well to recognise the source material. There are connections I can see to Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, to Mike Moorcock's Kane of Old Mars trilogy, Heinlein’s “World as Myth” multiverse and even Lucas’s Star Wars*, as well as others besides. The origins of science fantasy, as opposed to science fiction, and sword and sorcery are evident here too.
In summary, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the story, and I will read further. For all of its age, there’s a lot that still holds up, although its weaknesses to modern readers are noticeable. (I suspect with the later books that Dejah Thoris needs a lot of rescuing, although she can fight her own corner when she needs to!)
Recent comments in the Forum I help run coincidentally led to this tome arriving on my desk. I approached it with some caution, admittedly. Whilst aware of the dated nature of stories from a similar age – racism, sexism, gender bias, etc – what else is there to say on a book which has influenced so many classic science fiction writers?
After all, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Jack Vance, Arthur C Clarke, and George Lucas have all been influenced by this series. (I’m sure that there are many others.) Scientists such as Carl Sagan have said how much the books inspired them when they read as a child.
But I was intrigued. Would a book, much beloved by many, still hold up 110 years after it’s initial publication?
Certainly if my view was based on the majority of comments made about the Disney movie of 2012, it would not be good (although I liked the movie myself.)
Ok. To business. The plot - John Carter, a Confederate soldier from Western Virginia, finds himself mysteriously transported to the planet Barsoom, which we know as Mars. There he finds that his Earth-based muscles allow him to do strange things in the Martian environment. He can hop hundreds of feet into the air and strike killer blows, thanks to the lower gravity and thinner atmosphere.
On his arrival to Mars he is taken captive by Tharks, green-skinned, six-limbed creatures. His superhuman abilities are seen as something of great prowess by the war-like Tharks, and Carter is soon made to be a chieftain. Tars Tarkas, once his captor, becomes his friend.
When Dejah Thoris, red-skinned Princess of Helium, is captured by the Tharks, Carter returns her to her people and eventually manages to get the Tharks and people of Helium to work together, leading a horde of Tharks against the city-state of Zodanga, the historic enemy of Helium. Carter and Dejah fall in love. Carter becomes Prince of Helium, and the two live happily together for nine years.
All seems good, but when the Atmosphere Plant that sustains Mars’s air supply breaks down and endangers all life on Barsoom, Carter, with the aid of an engineer, fixes it but falls unconscious in the process to find himself awake and back on Earth, left to wonder what has become of Barsoom and Dejah.
As you might expect, the science is pretty improbable, even allowing for what Mars was thought to be like in 1912. We have weapons designed to impress - rifles that, unrestricted by atmospheric friction or gravity, can fire bullets that can travel for hundreds of miles, for example.
There’s mentions of the actions of blood-thirsty Indians in Arizona that would not sit well with a modern audience, although the Tharks are perhaps more so. The good manners of southern gentleman Carter and the aristocratic mannerisms of Dejah Thoris read rather like a Martian version of Gone With the Wind – totally polite and rather archaic today, but their romance has charm.
“And the sight which met my eyes was that of a slender, girlish figure, similar in every detail to the earthly women of my past life. She did not see me at first, but just as she was disappearing through the portal of the building which was to be her prison she turned, and her eyes met mine. Her face was oval and beautiful in the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and exquisite, her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass of coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming coiffure. Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against which the crimson glow of her cheeks and the ruby of her beautifully molded lips shone with a strangely enhancing effect.”
The chivalrous male defending a female’s honour still has a place in Edgar’s tale.
As I rather suspected it would be, the body count is large, although graphic details are thankfully few. And whilst Martians seem to be dispatched with relative ease and rapid regularity, there is no consideration of the moral consequences of such actions. This is not that kind of story. The actions of the characters are clear with little ambiguity, and their behaviours match the sense of adventure. There’s little time for contemplation here. The lack of ambiguity was actually quite refreshing.
Perhaps most of all, I liked the sense of antiquity that the story has. There is a sense that Mars is an age-old planet with a long history, both physical and social. The vivid images of Martian plains, ancient canals and historical cities make this a Mars I’d like to see. I can see why such creative descriptions have remained in the imagination.
“The remainder of our journey to Thark was uneventful. We were twenty days upon the road, crossing two sea bottoms and passing through or around a number of ruined cities, mostly smaller than Korad. Twice we crossed the famous Martian waterways, or canals, so-called by our earthly astronomers. When we approached these points a warrior would be sent far ahead with a powerful field glass, and if no great body of red Martian troops was in sight we would advance as close as possible without chance of being seen and then camp until dark, when we would slowly approach the cultivated tract, and, locating one of the numerous, broad highways which cross these areas at regular intervals, creep silently and stealthily across to the arid lands upon the other side. It required five hours to make one of these crossings without a single halt, and the other consumed the entire night, so that we were just leaving the confines of the high-walled fields when the sun broke out upon us.”
As such examples show, Rice Burroughs’s prose is rather purple in its vibrant descriptions. It is ERB’s first story published, before the more famous creation of Tarzan, and it does show. It feels like it is written in a proto-Weird Tales style (even though the magazine is not due until 1922-23!) that is readable, if not quite as verbose as say Clark Ashton Smith or Lovecraft.
A Princess of Mars may not be the greatest literature ever, but then it has never claimed to be. It is from an age of innocence – before the First World War, don’t forget, from the same year as Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and Zane Grey’s western, Riders of the Purple Sage, to which it clearly owes a common heritage in pulp fiction. If further context was needed, Robert E Howard (Conan) was six and HG Wells’ War of the Worlds was less than fifteen years old when this was first published.
With this context, it is easy to see why A Princess of Mars was written in this way. It is a pulp adventure story, designed to sell to the magazines but also to spur the imagination and entertain – which it still does.
I can see the influence it has had on successive science fiction writers and stories, and fans of those other books and films would do well to recognise the source material. There are connections I can see to Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, to Mike Moorcock's Kane of Old Mars trilogy, Heinlein’s “World as Myth” multiverse and even Lucas’s Star Wars*, as well as others besides. The origins of science fantasy, as opposed to science fiction, and sword and sorcery are evident here too.
In summary, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the story, and I will read further. For all of its age, there’s a lot that still holds up, although its weaknesses to modern readers are noticeable. (I suspect with the later books that Dejah Thoris needs a lot of rescuing, although she can fight her own corner when she needs to!)
September 2, 2011
Looking forward to the movie. The first book in the series is amazingly imaginative, with pretty good action throughout, though slower paced than some of the others? (Can't remember all of them :) Just started the second book, "A Fighting Man of Mars," which is bound together with "A Princess of Mars" in this volume.
I love it when sci fi writers predict future inventions. For example, a throwaway line in the second book predicts xerox copies: "By an ingenious photostatic process, a copy of this illustration was made for me in a few seconds...." First published in 1930 - 31.
Save you googling it: "The process of Xerography upon which the photocopier is based was first successfully demonstrated by Chester F. Carlson in Astoria, Queens, New York City on 22 October 1938. He was seeking a better means of reproducing drawings for use in patent applications, which until that time had to be reproduced by hand or through a costly and time consuming photographic process. It was another 20 years before the first fully automated photocopier was offered for sale by the Xerox Corporation of Rochester, NY."
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_was_th...
I love it when sci fi writers predict future inventions. For example, a throwaway line in the second book predicts xerox copies: "By an ingenious photostatic process, a copy of this illustration was made for me in a few seconds...." First published in 1930 - 31.
Save you googling it: "The process of Xerography upon which the photocopier is based was first successfully demonstrated by Chester F. Carlson in Astoria, Queens, New York City on 22 October 1938. He was seeking a better means of reproducing drawings for use in patent applications, which until that time had to be reproduced by hand or through a costly and time consuming photographic process. It was another 20 years before the first fully automated photocopier was offered for sale by the Xerox Corporation of Rochester, NY."
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_was_th...
February 6, 2012
I think the series lost something when the main character changed for the last two books in this five book collection. We go from a character that has a view point closer to that of the reader, in that they're both new to the setting of the story, to two different characters that have been raised in the setting. Also the fourth and fifth books just end. It's like the author hit a word count and then wrapped up the rest as quickly as possible in the last two pages. Of the five books, the fifth is I think the weakest of the set, in that it contained alot of the problems as the fourth book, and gave us a main character that was such a departure from the ones in what came before hand. The main characters of the first four books were active; they looked to do things when put in the situations they encountered. In the fifth book, the main character was very passive. When something happened, the character's response was often to have a positive outlook based on the fact that they were still alive and to do nothing that would actually improve the situation.
Given that I feel there was a definite decline in the series as it went along, I don't see myself seeking out and reading any of the other works that take place in this setting at any time in the near future.
Given that I feel there was a definite decline in the series as it went along, I don't see myself seeking out and reading any of the other works that take place in this setting at any time in the near future.
April 16, 2010
Favorite line so far:
"I verily believe that a man's way with women is in inverse ratio to his prowess among men. The weakling and the saphead have often great ability to charm the fair sex, while the fighting man who can face a thousand real dangers unafraid, sits hiding in the shadows like some frightened child."
This book is FUN. John Carter has got to be the least flawed hero ever, but I'm seeing the whole book as one big juicy Frazetta painting in my mind, and I'm loving that.
More later.
**I was really burnt out by the time I finished this collection of the first 3 Barsoom books. Lots of cool imagery and neat ideas, but the endless cycle of chase/fight/capture/escape became a chore.
Inclusion of a son was NOT welcome.
I can see the importance of this book, but can't see myself reading anymore Burroughs any time soon.
"I verily believe that a man's way with women is in inverse ratio to his prowess among men. The weakling and the saphead have often great ability to charm the fair sex, while the fighting man who can face a thousand real dangers unafraid, sits hiding in the shadows like some frightened child."
This book is FUN. John Carter has got to be the least flawed hero ever, but I'm seeing the whole book as one big juicy Frazetta painting in my mind, and I'm loving that.
More later.
**I was really burnt out by the time I finished this collection of the first 3 Barsoom books. Lots of cool imagery and neat ideas, but the endless cycle of chase/fight/capture/escape became a chore.
Inclusion of a son was NOT welcome.
I can see the importance of this book, but can't see myself reading anymore Burroughs any time soon.
February 20, 2014
Ohhh, it was so good! OK, it's not highbrow literary fiction, but it was such a page turner. Even though each novel has essentially the same plot--John Carter or Heliumite hero finds forgotten society ruled by evil Jeddak, overthrows Jeddak, installs popular and good-hearted rival to throne--I never got tired of it. I never got tired of the accolades piled upon John Carter, either. Slim-hipped, broad-shouldered fighting Virginian. Prince of Helium. Jeddak of Jeddaks. Warlord of Barsoom. I never got tired of two dudes shoulder to shoulder versus endless hordes. I just never got tired of the non-stop action.
If you want to read five books all about the same thing all at the same time without having to think about a single thing, then let me recommend this collection wholeheartedly.
If you want to read five books all about the same thing all at the same time without having to think about a single thing, then let me recommend this collection wholeheartedly.
September 22, 2014
Very enjoyable stories. The first three are about John Carter directly. They tell of his travel to, discovery of, and adventures on Mars. Well rounded novels and I really got into them. The fourth and fifth books ("Thuvia, Maid of Mars" and "The Chessman of Mars") are about ***SPOILER*** his children. And I have to agree with another reviewer that said the last two books just stopped dead. I found the fourth didn't simply stop before the end, but seemed to have been amputated - as if there were 3 or 4 more pages that had been lost. By the fifth book I may have been growing a little tired of women who show bravery but can never get themselves out of a complicated situations without the help of a man - which is why I've rated this as 3 stars instead of 4. If I'd just read the first 3 books it probably would have got 5.
May 16, 2017
Burroughs would seem to be a misogynist and a racist, his science is awful (though I got the impression that that's more because he doesn't want the science to interfere with a good story—every now and then he seems downright prophetic) and he's predictable too.
And yet, I find these hugely entertaining! You have to read it with all critical faculties turned off (egg-laying women? with breasts? An atmosphere that will disappear in days if the 'atmosphere plant' is turned off—and mysterious saboteurs who exist for no reason except to turn it off: we never find out why!) but if you can ignore all that, it's a fun romp.
June 3, 2010
I always heard the name Edgar Rice Burroughs but never read anything by him until I heard this first book on Books on Radio and fell in love with the characters from the book. I am now reading the next in this series. There was a total of 11 books on the life of John Carter and I am sure I will enjoy each one and the only sad part is that there will be no more!
December 5, 2010
Haven't read these books since - well a long time ago. Still one of the giants of early science fiction.
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