And as he explores the ways in which the Martians are different from humans, Burroughs produces some very heartfelt, emotional moments, such as Sola telling Carter about her mother. He spends too much on analyzing the green Martian culture, but he also splatters the story with plenty of big acrobatic fight scenes, high-speed battles, and evocative descriptions of the wild, desertlike world of Barsoom and how very strange it is. It takes awhile for the plot to get revved up (seriously, it takes FOREVER for them to leave Thark), but once it does, it's quite brilliant.Īnd Burroughs writes in a solid pulp style. A good chunk of the book is devoted just to showing Carter (and us) its cultures, flora, fauna, mores, mythology and a history that Burroughs clearly spent a lot of time on. While "A Princess of Mars" is a fun sci-fi adventure, the real draw here is Barsoom - a wild, cruel world filled with fantastical beasts and colorful flora. But escape turns out to be the least of his problems when he becomes embroiled in the complex politics of two different Martian races. As their safety is threatened by a small conspiracy of extra-cruel Tharks, Carter starts plotting to escape to the Red Martian city of Helium. But thanks to gravity and his own skills, John Carter is able to gain the respect of the Tharks, and even becomes a chieftain.īut the Tharks capture Dejah Thoris, a princess of the more humanlike red Martians. He soon discovers that he's somehow been transported to the planet Mars (or Barsoom), and is apprehended by the barbaric green Martians of Thark, who do not understand love or friendship. Buttkicking ex-soldier John Carter is a bit of a Gary Stu, but at least he's a pleasant one - and Burroughs fleshes out his imaginary Mars with loving skill, coming up with alien fauna and cultures that really resemble nothing on Earth.ĭuring an Apache attack, ex-Confederate soldier John Carter takes shelter in a cave. So Burroughs came up with his own elaborate fantasy world, populated by green barbarians, airships, multi-legged beasts and giant hairy white apes. When Edgar Rice Burroughs began writing his Barsoom series, people didn't know a lot about Mars except that it seemed to have canals.
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