Summary
John Carterand theBarsoomseries is an iconic masterwork of pulp science fiction action, but author Edgar Rice Burroughs didn’t create each novel equally. Named after the word native Martians use to refer to the famous red planet in-universe, theBarsoomseries chronicles the adventures of John Carter, a simple Earthling soldier who is mysteriously teleported to Mars only to become a great hero. The series was unsuccessfully adapted into a film by Disney in 2012, becoming one of theworst box office flops ever.
In truth,the series reads more like what would be considered fantasy literature today,far removed from the hard rules of modern science fiction. Barsoom is a wondrous world full of evil, scheming scientists, deadly warriors, fantastic technology and numerous alien races, each with their own unique biology and cultures. Despite the ubiquity of the character within the setting, not everyBarsoomnovelstars John Carter, with later books instead exploring his ancestors or other transported Earthlings.
10 Books That Perfectly Blend Sci-Fi & Romance
Science fiction and romance can be difficult to combine, but there are several books that perfectly blend the sci-fi and romance genres.
11John Carter Of Mars
1943
Sadly, the last book in theBarsoomseriese ended John Carter’s tale on a low note.The final officially published book in the franchise,John Carter of Marsis a collection of two short stories,John Carter and the Giant of MarsandSkeleton Men of Jupiter.Just as was done withFrank Herbert’sDuneseries, Edgar Rice Burroughs passed his writing on to his son, John Coleman Burroughs, who was better known for illustrating theBarsoomcomic strips.
Skeleton Men of Jupiteris a much more entertaining beginning of a saga, but ends abruptly, as Burroughs clearly passed away before he could elaborate on the new narrative.
John wrote the first tale in this duology, and he appears to have a sadly tenuous grasp of his father’s magnificent world.He struggles to emulate his father’s prose, frequently contradicting consistent details in Edgar’s world, such as the characters referring to their flying machines as “planes” rather than “fliers” as was previously consistently done, or the very name of Barsoom itself.Skeleton Men of Jupiteris a much more entertaining beginning of a saga, but ends abruptly, as Burroughs clearly passed away before he could elaborate on the new narrative.
10Llana Of Gathol
1941
LikeJohn Carter of Mars,Llana of Gatholis an anthology collection of short stories set within theBarsoommythos.Here, there are four previously-published tales presented, being titledThe Ancient Dead,The Black Pirates of Barsoom,Escape on Mars, andInvisible Men of Mars. Curiously, Llana of Gathol has perhaps the single most light-hearted and comedic tone of the entire series, bordering on parody.
The overarching story centers around John Carter’s granddaughter, the titular Llana of Gathol.
Each story is loosely strung together in a paper-thin plot that quickly introduces new villains, only to discard them just as fast when John Carter invariably cuts through them. John Carter’s swordsmanship is the ultimate problem solver, and many of the interconnected stories follow an incredibly similar formula ending in a battle that clearly proves as much. To that end,Llana of Gatholat least features one of the best-written swordfights in the entire series, with the final duel against the villain Motus.
9Thuvia, Maid Of Mars
1919
The fourth entry in theBarsoomseries,Thuvia, Maid of Marsmade the bold decision to be the first book to step away from John Carter as a protagonist. Instead, the novel breaks the mold by being written in the third person, which allows the book to shift perspectives.The plot revolves around John Carter’s son, Cathoris, trying to save Barsoom’s most sought-after bachelorette,the titular Princess Thuvia, who gets kidnapped by a brand-new race, the mysterious Lotharians.
By this point in the series, the well-worn formula of princess-saving adventures strung along by a series of lucky coincidences has begun to overstay its welcome, with Burroughs applying his same winning strategy to new characters. The telepathic Lotharians are a fascinating, if silly new villain, and while this entry does a great deal to further flesh out the world of Mars by exploring the lives of its native inhabitants, it doesn’t present enough new material to inspire.Thuvia, Maid of Marscould be seen as somewhat phoned-in for Burroughs' writings.
8Synthetic Men Of Mars
1939
Towards the end oftheBarsoomseries, Edgar Rice Burroughs simultaneously began introducing more and more wild science fiction elements while reprising familiar territory with his characters and narratives.EnterSynthetic Men of Mars,which features John Carter prominently enough, but uses native Barsoomian sidekick Vor Daj as the main perspective character.The story revolves around Carter and Daj going on a journey to find the infamous scientist Ras Thavas, who returns fromThe Master-Mind of Mars.
Synthetic Men of Mars has some fascinating science fiction elements, including Daj’s struggle with surviving in a horrific monstrous body while simultaneously trying to pursue his love interest. The book contains some gripping and varied action scenes that introduce new aspects of Barsoom, such as the swamps of Toonol and a Martian zoo. However,Synthetic Men of Marsstruggles with handling its expansive cast,with multiple characters inexplicably having their backstories changed or being forgotten entirely.
7The Master-Mind Of Mars
1927
In many ways the precursor toSynthetic Men of Mars,despite publishing three books earlier,The Master-Mind of Marsrepresents many firsts in the series. The book is the first novel to feature someone other than John Carter or his offspring, the first appearance of the mad surgeon Ras Thavas, and offers a return to first-person narration after several installments.The plot centers around a new Earth man mysteriously transported to Mars in the same fashion as John Carter, Ulysses Paxton, who quickly falls in with Thavas making a living off of brain transplants.
The story has a ho-hum lack of stakes as Paxton and his alien buddies stroll in and out of enemy territory with no consequences, making the plot seem much more trivial than it sounds on paper.
The Master-Mind of Marstakes the series in some bold new directions, injecting the first of the body horror that would later become commonplace.However, the story has a ho-hum lack of stakes as Paxton and his alien buddies stroll in and out of enemy territory with no consequences, making the plot seem much more trivial than it sounds on paper. There’s also something to be said about the loss of Burrough’s stylized archaic writing, which the author seems to give up on in this installment.
6The Warlord Of Mars
The conclusion of the originalBarsoomtrilogy featuring John Carter,The Warlord of Marsgets off to a ferocious start, picking off right where the previous novel left off.Here, John Carter is once again off on a never-ending quest to rescue his beloved Dejah Thoris from vile captors. This time around, Burroughs introduces yet another primary-colored Martian race, the yellow Martians, joining the ranks of the previously-mentioned red, green, black and white Martians.
John Carter’s efforts to save Dejah Thoris here become something a frustrating exercise in patience, with more close calls, lucky coincidences, and false endings to count. Burroughs doesn’t do enough to distinguish the yellow martians from his other fantastical species, amounting to a lackluster villain in one of his most fast-paced and action-packed books whose relentless conflict-oriented narrative never lets up. Essentially one big chase scene,The Warlord of Marsis something of a disappointing ending to the original trilogy, though it’s a shameDisney never adapted the John Carter sequels.
5A Princess Of Mars
1912
The first-ever book in theBarsoomseries,A Princess of Marsrevolutionized pulp fiction and helped to cement Edgar Rice Burroughs as one of the greatest science fiction authors of all time. The first book offers the series' original damsel-in-distress story, introducing John Carter as a Civil War soldier who is suddenly teleported to Mars.Once there, he meets the red and green Martians, using his enhanced physiology, increased to superhuman levels thanks to Mars' decreased gravity to become a Martian legend.
Of course, it’s the classic fairy-tale plight of Carter to rescue the beautiful princess Dejah Thoris from the vicious leader of the green Martians before it’s too late that drives the intrigue of the originalBarsoomnovel. The simple story is effective enough for what it is, though it’s clear that Burroughs' prose is still a little shaky this early on into his career. While it deserves credit for starting theBarsoomseries in the first place and having an undeniable impact on literature,A Princess of Marssits in the middle-of-the-pack in quality among its fellow books.
4Swords Of Mars
1935
InSwords of Mars, Carter returns as a narrator for the first time since the third book,marking his reprisal of the role with a shockingly original plot. In addition to once again chasing a damsel in distress, it’s now Carter’s mission to eliminate the deadly Martian assassin’s guild.
Carter must actually take his adventures off-planet and travel to Mars' moon in order to intercept the assassins at their home base in the city of Zodanga.
Bringing John Carter back to the spotlight so many books later after spending years mythologizing him as a legendary hero in Barsoom lore was a stroke of genius on Burroughs' part, and it plays off in a big way inSwords of Mars.This book in particular manages to present Burrough’s best handle on Martian politics, as well, with a surprising amount of subtle subterfuge and espionage sprinkled within the typical bombastic action of the series.If one can forgive some of Burroughs’most preposterous science fiction ideasyet,Swords of Marsis an incredible read.
3The Chessmen Of Mars
1922
The Chessmen of Marsfeatures some of Burroughs' most creative ideas yet, opening with a hilarious meta-contextual prelude that explains that theBarsoomtales were told to him by John Carter himself, Burroughs being merely a Martian historian. With this bit of housekeeping out of the way that absolves Burroughs of his famous continuity errors,the story begins in earnest, featuring Carter’s daughter, Tara of Helium, and her lover Gahan ending up in the clutches of a terrifying new villain.
Burroughs introduces one of the most creative Martian races yet inThe Chessmen of Mars,the crab-like Kaladanes and their headless mounts that form together to create a single humanoid being.The book gets its name from the finger-biting climax, which features Gahan playing a literal game of chess for Tara’s life using living beings as pieces that live or die by his decisions.It’s one of the most clever and well-written novels in theBarsoomseries, held back only by some very awkwardly hand-waived depictions of slavery.
2A Fighting Man Of Mars
1930
In a rare turn of events,A Fighting Man of Marsupends Burroughs' formula by taking the perspective of a totally native Martian, one Tan Hadron of Hastor.Hadron is a minor warrior who seeks the hand of, who else, a beautiful princess, named Sanoma Tora.When Tora is kidnapped by a rogue malevolent red Martian faction with advanced technology known as the Jaharians, it’s up to Hadron to charge into the fray, winning glory, accolades, and Tora’s hand in marriage.
The surprising conclusion to Hadron’s affections for Tora also puts the book ahead of the pack.
Despite the plot being as bog-standard for theBarsoomseries as any of the novels have,A Fighting Man of Marsenjoys a notable increase in writing ability from Burroughs followingThe Master-Mind of Mars.The Jaharians insidious cloaking ships and disintegration rays may not be the most creative science fiction weaponry, but Burroughs makes them feel properly threatening, with several ominous fight scenes that keep Hadron on the backfoot. The surprising conclusion to Hadron’s affections for Tora also puts the book ahead of the pack.
