A Princess of Mars

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Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Princess of Mars (EBook, 2009, The Floating Press)

eBook

English language

Published April 29, 2009 by The Floating Press.

ISBN:
978-1-77541-116-1
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3 stars (3 reviews)

A Princess of Mars is the first in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series. This science fiction planetary romance, packed full of dangerous feats and swordplay, is set on a dying Mars. It went on to inspire some of the great imaginations, among them Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury and Carl Sagan. Civil War veteran John Carter is unexpectedly transported to Barsoom, the planet we call Mars, and finds with the weaker gravity that he has super-human strength. In combat he finds respect and belonging with the Tharks, an aggressive race of green four-armed nomads. But when the Tharks capture the human-like Dejah Thoris, Carter feels the need to help this beautiful princess of Mars."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....Her face was oval and beautiful in the extreme, her every feature …

33 editions

Review of 'A Princess of Mars' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Originally parceled out as a serial, this pulp novel has many cliffhangers - including the book itself. Many indicate this is really the first book of a trilogy, with eight more sequels after those.

Despite gaping plot holes, the story works. It rushes at times, dispatching whole armies in a few short pages. It was written during Taft administration, more than 100 years ago, and originated many of today's standard tropes.

The introduction has Burroughs finding this story and publishing it, framing as a story within a story and providing a convenient excuse for any poor writing. This framing device was used by Verne as well, to better effect - his narrator wasn't the main character. John Carter comes across as a braggart, and it is painful to read his descriptions of his actions. I wonder if anyone has analyzed this in light of Carter being an unreliable source?

It …

reviewed A princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Mars novels / Edgar Rice Burroughs -- #1)

Review of 'A princess of Mars' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I first read A Princess of Mars about 30 years ago. It's easy to see why I rated it highly back then - for a ten-year-old, it had just enough technology and awe and plenty of adventure and swashbuckling.

Reading it now, though, also shows some basic flaws. The characters are paper-thin: John Carter is a gentleman from Virginia who's much loved by his distant relatives. Dejah Thoris is a swooning beauty whose only features seem to be her looks, aristocratic lineage and the pride that comes with it. Tars Tarkas is the only character who actually seems to develop over the storyline, all other Tharks - not to mention Warhoons - are just undeniably barbaric and often downright evil.

There's plenty of exposition, some of it regarding technology. Radium was pretty recent discovery when the book was originally published, and it shows: it's used in ammunition, pumps, engines... The …

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4 stars