Customer Reviews

The Gods of Mars (Townsend Library Edition)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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This classic tale of high adventure from Edgar Rice Burroughs was one of the books I cut my reading teeth on at a very early age and have read it several times over the past 55 or so years. Of the pulp fantasy writers of the time, Burroughs, in my opinion was one of the best. His writing introduced many concepts, techniques and plotting which are still used to this day.

I must admit that I was quite leery of this particular work as it has been edited somewhat to make it more palatable to the young reader of today. The original was written in an almost Post Victorian style and to be honest, was difficult at times for young readers to connect with. I am normally very opposed to such changes, but it this case it actually works. Anything that can be done to introduce the younger generation to some fine story telling is worth the effort I suppose. Now this is not my cup of tea by any means as I absolutely delight in the original prose and feel it is one of the strengths of the story. The convoluted sentence structure is wonderful, but there again, unless you were raised with it, I can see where it would be a turn-off for many.

This of course is the story of John Carter's return to Mars in search of "the incomparable" Dejah Thoris and hopefully save her again from "a fate worse than death." John Carter who is the "greatest swordsman on two planets" lands in the wrong place. He ends up in Mars Heaven, so to speak, which is far from that he soon learns. And the adventure begins.

He is reunited with his friend the mighty Jeddak of Thark, the great green, four armed warrior and of course a plethora of bad guys and good guys. The action never stops and the sword play is never ending. Strange creatures abound and of course our hero overcomes all odds.

This is wonderful, action packed fantasy at its best. And does John Carter, greatest swordsman of two planets find and save the love of his life? Well, no spoilers here, so you have to read it for yourself.

All in all, despite the subtle changes, I have to give this one five stars. It is a great way to open up a whole new reading world to a new generation of readers.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
[...]

In "The Gods of Mars", the second of the John Carter of Mars books, we find Carter returned to Mars, and in the worst possible place ... the valley to which the dead go from which they may never return.

Here we find the race of Barsoom's priests, and the original black skinned race now known as pirates, who take slaves for themselves and for their cruel goddess, Issus. In a roller coaster ride of action and frustrating near misses, Carter learns more about the fascinating planet as he hastens to save friends and loved ones. In the process Edgar Rice Burroughs gives you yet another example of world building on a grand scale.

Almost one hundred years after this book was written, I could hardly put it down, reading it in only three sessions. As flawed as Burrough's plotting is in some respects, he overcomes those failings with a rare sense for drama and the potential of grand conflict for majesty. His battle descriptions never feel repetitive, and you always get a sense of the toil and the toll it takes.

We last left John suffocating and wondering if we will ever see him again (except for those few intrepid people that dare to read ahead)

"Twelve years passed since I laid the body of my great-uncle, Captain John Carter, of Virginia, way form the sight of men in that strange mausoleum in the old Cemetery at Richmond."

John returns to a Mars he never saw before yet soon finds old friends and new adventures. Once again, we get to kibitz.

A Princess of Mars

More great pulp fun. Anyone who likes the first in this series (A PRINCESS OF MARS) will certainly enjoy this second entry, with the caveat that this ends on a cliffhanger. If you read this book you have to read THE WARLORD OF MARS to find out how the arc begun in this book finishes. I have read a variety of pulp authors. ERB is the best of them, and this is his best work.

We last left John suffocating and wondering if we will ever see him again (except for those few intrepid people that dare to read ahead)

"Twelve years passed since I laid the body of my great-uncle, Captain John Carter, of Virginia, way form the sight of men in that strange mausoleum in the old Cemetery at Richmond."

John returns to a Mars he never saw before yet soon finds old friends and new adventures. Not everything is black and white as in the Saturday morning cowboys. The story is a never-ending series of last minute escapes until the very end when, well read the book and find out. Once again, we get to kibitz.

A Princess of Mars

A fine example of ERB at his best! Never a dull moment, a true page turner full of ERB's trademark out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire, manic prose. As with almost everything he wrote, Burroughs only slows down the action from one scene to set it up for the next. Never a dull moment and never any page skimming monotony. Burroughs sets his scenes up with admirable clarity and brevity. Where others might take a dozen pages to describe some strange and wonderful setting, Burroughs does it in a paragraph, maybe two if he's in between action scenes.

This is a true classic of pulp fiction, seldom equaled, and certainly never surpassed, an action extravaganza. Truly a classic of the genre.

WARNING!!! RANT:
Many fantasy writers take 600 pages to produce less action and drama than Burroughs does in a single chapter. His prose is direct, his heroes heroic, and his villains vile and despicable. Maybe its just me, but, I can think of some long-winded tomes I have read of late that could do with the sort of clear and concise writing the is Burroughs' trademark. If you've been reading the likes of Robert Jordan or George R.R Martin and have never read any of Burrough's work, you need to read this story. Ten pages into this story and our hero is off and running, literally, for his life, and he doesn't stop moving until the last page.

This is only the second book written by Burroughs but if you have read the first book the improvement is terrific. However there is much to be said about both Burroughs and the book; it is unfortunate that he is dead and his writing has not changed with the times. He is a pulp fiction writer, yes, but he is one of the great ones. Essentially he established several genres; his action stories are incomparable, non-stop from the start of the book to its ending which is not necessarily its conclusion. A slight hyperbole here but you get the idea. In "The Gods of Mars" he starts off with John Carter seeking a return to Mars, We all know it is going to happen.But when he does return he is returned to somewhere in Mars, he does not know where in Mars. When he had first entered Mars he only spent ten years there, we are not informed as to whether it is earth reckoning or Martian, and he does not have time nor excuse for exploring Mars. Now he has a good excuse, even though he does not know how or why he is transferred between planets. Still, it does make for a good story and it lets us know how his time in either place is traceable back to Carter's own telling of it.
What happens in book two is foreshadowed in book one, something he is informed of is only information in book one, now in book two it looms large, being the whole plot. In this case it is the religion on Mars and whereas in book one we only know the outlines, in book two the flip side is revealed as well as the need for revealing the true state of its being in order to advance the Martian civilization. Here Burroughs skips all he has put in his books about the Martian scientific advances, how they can spy upon earth, forget all that, Barsoom is a primitive society and has a primitive religion. After all, this is only his second book and he is still full of action. Fighting occurs, after all Mars is the Roman God of War; Martian society is dedicated to fighting, and it is still primitive enough to have tournaments and sacrifices. Still, if you want action even after 100 years Burroughs is the man to read and "The Gods of Mars" helps prove it.

After reading the oringal Princess of Mars I was immediately pumped to finish the John Carter trilogy. I'm aware there are more books after the John Carter books, but as far as I know only the first three are from the first person view of John Carter.

The Gods of Mars pretty much starts where A Princess of Mars leaves off. John travels back to Mars 10 years later, only to discover his love, Dejah Thoris, is again left in dire straights. He is transported to the Valley of Dor where he fights his way into the bowels of Mars so he can rescue his princess. Here he also discovers the truth behind the Martian religous beliefs.

Like the first book the writing here is fast-paced, full of action and just darn fun. Sure, the story is predictable but I still couldn't help but find myself cheering Carter on through every step of the way. You should definitely read the first book (A Pricess of Mars) before reading this, just for maximum enjoyment.

In "The Gods of Mars", the second of the John Carter of Mars books, we find Carter returned to Mars, and in the worst possible place ... the valley to which the dead go from which they may never return.

Here we find the race of Barsoom's priests, and the original black skinned race now known as pirates, who take slaves for themselves and for their cruel goddess, Issus. In a roller coaster ride of action and frustrating near misses, Carter learns more about the fascinating planet, hastens to save friends and loved ones, and gives you yet another episode of world building on a grand scale.

Almost one hundred years after this book was written, I could hardly put it down, reading it in only three sessions. As flawed as Burrough's plotting is in some respects, he overcomes those failings with a rare sense for drama and the potential of grand conflict for majesty. His battle descriptions never feel repetitive, and you always get a sense of the toil and the toll it takes.

Note: This book is in the public domain. You should either obtain the free Kindle version on this site, or get the book from the Project Gutenberg download.

I loved The Princess of Mars and was very anxious to read the next book in the series. I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed. I would suggest, though, that if you are like me and hate cliffhanger endings, make sure you have The Warlord of Mars available before you finish the book. There are lots of exciting new types of people and situations in this book which left me amazed at the scope of Burroughs' imagination along with some old friends. This is an altogether a great adventure story and I am happy to recommend that you read this book.