The Gods Of Mars [Hardcover]

Edgar Rice Burroughs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2003

#2 IN THE CLASSIC SF SERIES In The Gods of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter returns to the Red planet in search of Dejah Thoris, the Martian princess he loves but has been separated from by a cruel twist of fate. But, he has arrived in the deadliest spot on Mars, the Valley of Death, from which no one has ever returned in all the long history of the red planet. Forty-three million miles from earth, Carter experiences a succession of weirdest and most astounding adventures ever imagined. First, he must battle the unkillable plant men, blood-thirsty strange creatures evolved from vegetable matter. Then he must penetrate the secrets of the mysterious, all-powerful Gods of Mars, and defy the immortal Issus, Goddess of Death. Afterward, he must battle his way free from captivity by the fearsome Black Pirates of Barsoom, and past the deadly manapes of the north. And even if he survives to find his beloved Dejah Thoris, John Carter will be executed immediately any where he is found on the red planet for blasphemy and sacrilege against the Gods!

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Quiet Vision Pub (April 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576465004
• ISBN-13: 978-1576465004
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #736,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars John Carter returns to Barsoom to find his beloved Dejah Thoris, February 24, 2006

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Gods Of Mars (Hardcover)

At the end of "A Princess of Mars," the first in the Martian series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter got the factory that produced oxygen for Barsoom (the Martian name for Mars) working again, but had collapsed. When he revived he found himself back on Earth, separated from his beloved Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Helium. Originally published in 1913 as a serial in "All-Story Magazine," this story finds John Carter returning to Mars and setting off to find his woman. Knowing that it was originally published as a serial is useful because Burroughs loads on the cliffhangers throughout the novel.

When John Carter returns to Barsoom a decade has passed and he finds himself in that part of the planet that the natives consider to be "heaven," which proves to be a more ironic idea indeed. Carter first reunites with his friend the fierce green warrior Tars Tarkas, fights with the great white apes of Barsoom and plant men, violates some significant religious taboos, survives the affections of an evil goddess, helps with a slave revolt, fight in an arena, and stills manages to save Dejah Thoris in the middle of a giant air battle between the red, green, black and white people of Barsoom.

"The Gods of Mars" is an early Burroughs novel, which means it is high on action and low on details. ERB would set his adventures in strange worlds such as Barsoom, Venus, Pellucidar, etc., but beyond the basic idea of it being a strange world he was content for such places to be the settings for this stories. The writing is a bit stilted and ERB likes to mix cliches and ponderous phrases that make the narrative seem dated, but "The Gods of Mars" meets his basic criteria of providing a ripping pulp fiction yarn for his readers. The best thing you can say about this novel is that the action never stops from start to finish.

The worst thing you can say about it is that Burroughs puts off reuniting our hero with his beloved, but if you have read many of ERB's novels, Tarzan or otherwise, you know that once his happy couple is back together the story is pretty much over. However, even at the end there is another cliffhanger that will make you track down "The Warlord of Mars," the next installment in what is clearly the best Burroughs series. ERB milked the Tarzan character dry and still produced another dozen novels in that series, while the Mars books (sorry, the Barsoom series) remained relatively fresh. With the long awaited "John Carter of Mars" movie finally in production it looks like ERB's hero will finally make it to the big screen before we get to the centennial for "A Princess of Mars," at which point this series should enjoy a well deserved revival.