A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS [Paperback]

Edgar Rice Burroughs (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (1975)
• ASIN: B0018XWBKA
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,260,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books from a GREAT action series!!!, September 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fighting Man of Mars (Paperback)

Edgar Rice Burroughs went all out with this "John Carter of Mars" series! There's never a dull moment, with non-stop fight scenes and a lot of romance (every book has at least one beautiful "damsel in distress" who needs rescuing). This particular book was one of my favorites, as John Carter goes under-cover to defeat the assassins guild in Zodanga. The characters are many, and they're a colorful bunch (my favorite: Rapas the Ulsio, and enjoyably repulsive character who befriends Carter while at the same time trying unsuccessfully to kill him!) This book is sci-fi wild-west action at its best, with gorgeous women, evil mad scientists, brave heroes, and sword-fighting galore! A fun book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Power corrupts, even on Barsoom, December 15, 2000

By 

Michael Martinez - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fighting Man of Mars (Paperback)

A Fighting Man of Mars tells the story of Tan Hadron, a soldier of Helium who takes on the vicious Tul Axtar, a cowardly but power-mad Jeddak who has assembled the largest army Barsoom has ever seen. Caught between them is the beautiful but pretentious Sonoma Tora. Hadron finds a better companion in the brave and daring Tavia, an escaped slave girl who will do whatever it takes to avoid going back to the life she once knew.

One of the great things about this book is the fact that Burroughs believes strongly in character growth. But he also pioneered the strong female character in the adventure story format. There are always damsels in distress, but as the Barsoom series progresses the women become more active and determinate, equals or near-equals with the men. What is most astonishing is that Burroughs achieves this compelling parity without destroying the social fabric to which he introduced the reader in the earlier Barsoom novels.

All Barsoom hangs in the balance as Tul Axtar's plan for world conquest nears completion. And Axtar must act quickly as it requires immense resources to feed so many hungry warriors. The alternative is nearly unthinkable.

4.0 out of 5 stars More swashbuckling adventure, November 17, 2007

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Fighting Man of Mars (Paperback)

Burroughs found a winning formula and stuck to it. This is another example of his pulp fiction at its adventurous best. It follows our hero, Hadron of Hastor, across a Martian desert thick with lost cities, mad scientists, evil warlords, and flesh-eating whatevers. Lost princesses practically darken the dead sea floors with their numbers.

And everywhere he goes, Hadron meets men like himself: bold, chivalrous, scantily clad, willing to fight to the death at the drop of a plot mechanism, and utterly clueless about womankind and their own feelings toward same. The chaste romance builds conspicuously across the length and breadth of Mars, through pitched battles and covert rescues, obvious to everyone around except the oblivious guy in the middle of it.

If you like the swords'n'zapgun class of fantastic silliness, Burroughs's Barsoom is as good as it gets. Enjoy!

-- wiredweird