Customer Reviews

John Carter of Mars (Barsoom Series, #11)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Other reviews appear to be speaking of the first book in the series, A Princess of Mars. John Carter of Mars is the 11th and last book of the Barsoomian adventure stories. In fact, this book is a combination of two stories: "The Giant of Mars", actually written by John Coleman Burroughs, and "The Skeleton Men of Jupiter", the first of a four-part series that was never finished.

"Giant of Mars" has long confused ERB fans, many of whom have wondered whether he actually wrote this story. The truth has been circulated for years but somehow doubt and literary legend seem to overwhelm it. John Coleman Burroughs did indeed write this story, and he admitted as much publicly.

"The Skeleton Men of Jupiter" is pure ERB space opera and it restores Barsoom's chapion to his former glory. This tale had the potential to become one of the all-time greatest ERB adventures, but he never wrote more than the first of four installments. Our hero resolves a major conflict and the reader is not left wondering if John Carter and Dejah Thoris survive, but their adventure is nonetheless incomplete.

Fans eager to read more about Carter's adventures need to get this book, but let the reader beware, it can only be unsatisfying. One is left with a sense of wonder, for Burroughs is said to have been burned out near the end of his life, but there is much about this story which is fresh and engrossing.

For some reason, Amazon has mixed in reviews here that have NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS VOLUME. All the talk about "the 11th book" in the series pertain to another volume altogether. I hope someone from Amazon reads this and finds the mistake.

That said . . .

The Mars series by ERB is excellent. I've read each book half a dozen times over the course of my life. Burroughs had an amazingly fertile imagination, but the Tarzan movies his mind look vapid.

But these books are his masterworks.

If you like adventurous science fiction you should love these.

This is the 11th and final volume in the celebrated Martian series by Edgar Rice Burroughs has a couple of shorter stories featuring John Carter. "John Carter and the Giant of Mars" first appeared in the January 1941 issue of "Amazing Stories," and was written by Burroughs and his youngest son John Coleman Burroughs. The story was originally intended for a Whitman Big Little Book, which meant the story had to be 15,000 words long and have facing pages illustrating the action. The younger Burroughs was also the illustrator. At some point 6,000 words were added to the story and it was published in "Amazing," with no one ever knowing for sure how much ERB actually wrote of this story, which was the final complete John Carter tale. As you would expect when ERB was writing for children, he goes back to his standard formula. John Carter and Dejah Thoris are having a nice ride of a thoat when they are attacked and his beloved princess is once again captured. Carter is off to the rescue with help from his old friend Tars Tarkas. Along the way they encounter Joog, a 130-foot tall giant, and a city of rats; just the sort of fantastic characters kids would be looking for in a story. Beyond sticking to the standard Burroughs formula, there is not much here of interest.

"Skeleton Men of Jupiter" was originally published in "Amazing Stories," and was intended to be the first of a four-part story, but ERB died before it could be completed. Since then it has been, by several pastiche writers. John Carter is called away from his beloved princess Dejah Thoris to meet with Tardox Mors in the Hall of Jeddaks, when he is captured by men that look like human skeletons speaking a strange language. It turns out the Morgors are from Sasoom, the Barsoomian name for Jupiter, which is where our hero ends up. ERB has to play fast and loose with science, arguing that Jupiter rotates fast enough that Carter is not crushed by the gravity. Still, he has lost the advantage he had on Barsoom with its lower-than-Earth gravity. Anyway, it would not be a Burroughs Martian novel if the hero did not have to rescue his beloved, and it turns out Dejah Thoris has been captured as well. Consequently, Carter has to escape and tracked down his princess. Slightly better than "The Giant of Mars," the story is hurt by the lack of an ending. Fans will read these stories out of a sense of completeness, but clearly ERB's Barsoom series went out with a whimper.

"John Carter of Mars" is the 11th and final volume in Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic John Carter series, and is comprised of two novellas of varying quality. The first, "John Carter and the Giant of Mars," first appeared in "Amazing Stories Magazine" in January 1941; the second, "Skeleton Men of Jupiter," first appeared in that same publication in February 1943. (For full details on the complicated publishing histories of these tales, I refer all interested parties to the ERB List, one of the best Burroughs Websites on the Net.) As most people seem to know by now, the first of these tales was NOT written by ERB himself, but rather by his son, John Coleman Burroughs, who illustrated 13 of his father's books and drew the John Carter comic strip from 1941-43. In this tale, Carter is captured by Pew Mogel, a synthetic man who is bent on conquering Barsoom with his intelligent apemen and flying malagors. The tale is an important one in the Carter saga, in that his city of Helium is almost sacked and captured at the end of a tremendous battle. Sad to say, however, Burroughs Jr.'s writing style is not up to the task of depicting such colossal doings. So this pastiche of a tale comes off like the work of a talented amateur, even though Burroughs Sr. supposedly did assist in the writing. Burroughs Jr. makes many mistakes in his writing; internal inconsistencies and inconsistencies with previous Carter books abound. For example, the characters refer to Barsoom as "Mars" in this book, and the two moons, Thuria and Cluros, are for the first time given their Earth names of Deimos and Phobos. These moons are said to travel quickly across the sky, whereas in every other Carter book, it has been said that Cluros is a very slow mover. Pew Mogel slaps Tars Tarkas, Carter's Tharkian buddy, in one scene, yet in previous books, it has been established that Tarkas is around 15 feet tall! One of the intelligent apemen falls out of a high window to his death in a courtyard in one scene, even though the characters are in an underground laboratory! The Martian rats that play such a central role in this story are made to appear similar in size to the Earth variety, whereas in previous volumes, they were said to be as big as Airedale terriers! For the first time in the entire series, the men of Barsoom are shown using radios, TV sets and visiscreens; a rather surprising advent, given all that has come before. I could go on, but you get the point. Anyone who has read the previous 10 Carter books will immediately notice the difference in style and content, and that difference is very jarring. Still, the story moves along very briskly, and the action IS relentless.
The "Skeleton Men..." tale is much better. This novella was written by ERB himself, and is a real return to form. In this one, Carter and his mate are kidnapped by the Morgors of the planet Jupiter, who intend to study them preparatory to their invasion of the Red Planet. This is the first Carter tale to take place on a planet other than Earth or Mars, and so Burroughs is given free rein to let his imagination fly. This story features some good scientific speculation on what that giant world might be like, and for once Burroughs makes no slips as far as inconsistencies are concerned. However, the story ends right in the middle of Carter's adventure; apparently, Burroughs intended this to be a multipart saga, but never did get around to finishing it. Talk about leaving the reader wanting more! But at least the story of John Carter ends on a high note here, bringing to a conclusion one of the best swashbuckling fantasy series of all time.
Perhaps this is as good a place as any to note that the 11 Carter books that I have just read were the Ballantine/DelRey paperbacks of the late '70s to early '80s. These are the ones that feature beautifully imaginative yet faithful-to-the-story cover art by Michael Whelan. Sad to say, these paperbacks are quite a mess. I have never seen books with more typographical errors in my life. It is painfully obvious that these books were never proofread. This is surprising, given the sterling job that Ballantine/DelRey did with their "Best of" series of 21 great sci-fi authors around that same time. Still, the power of Edgar Rice Burroughs' vision shines through, so that even in these poorly put-together editions, the saga of John Carter on the planet Barsoom manages to captivate the reader, even after all these years.

"A Princess of Mars" began for me a journey which will last a lifetime. I lost myself as a youth and young adult, in first, the Martian series, then enumerable other Edgar Rice Borrough's tales. I have now begun the journey again with my 9 and 11 year old sons. The stories endure the test of time, impart lessons in life, and entertain in an unparalled fashion. Oh yes, Borrough's unique usage of descriptive vocabulary prompted my early fascination with the English language. Borrough's novels, and in particular the Martian series, has had a profound inpact on my life, and that of many of my family members. It is more entertainment than I had a right to expect, and I am thankful for the experience. Please read my favorite series chronicling the adventures of John Carter of Barsoom. You will not regret it.

I have read every martian tale that Edgar Rice Burroughs has written. When I came to this segment of the saga I was greatly dissapointed. As it was, Edgar Rice Burroughs did not actually write the last book, as it can be obvious be reviewing the writing style. Because Edgar Rice Burroughs did not write the story there is something left missing while reading it. But this book should be read if if one wishes to completely finish the entire martian saga.

Leonaur Ltd. is publishing the definitive Edgar Rice Burroughs 21st century editions. These usually contain 2 books of the different ERB major series in order - thus far John Carter, Pellucidar, and Carson of Venus. In the future, possibly Tarzan!

These books are handsome and my rating is mainly based on this - the ERB fan knows best about the rest of it.

This volume contains the 3rd part of the John Carter of Mars trilogy as it brings the saga of John Carter and Dejah Thoris' romance, marriage, dissaperances, et al to a close. It also contains "Thuvia, Maid of Mars", the adventures of Carthoris, JC and DT's son. It should be acquired by ERB fans.

Alot of reviews are saying the Edgar Rice Burroughs did not actually write "John Carter and the Giant of Mars". The truth is that he did. This is what happened and what causes confusion: a childrens publisher wanted a short version of a Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel. Mr. Burroughs was concerned that he could not keep it short enough for the publisher so he asked his son to help craft a shorter story. At the same time, Amazing Stories asked Edgar Rice Burroughs for another Mars novel. A full lenght one to serialize. Edgar took the short story and stretched it to a full novel. This is confirmed by several sources and by Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. It explains why some of the novel strays from the rest of the series. So, yes his son was involved, but it is wrong to say that Edgar Rice Burroughs did not write it. He did. Especially the novel version.

Anyway, all of the Mars books are exciting and I recomend all the books in the series.

With her slim dagger she fought at her husband's back when they were outnumbered. No victim women in these books. This was one of the few adventure-sci fi series with interesting worthwhile women.

John Carter, a gentleman from Virginia, late of the War between the States, finds himself adrift with no war to fight and goldpanning in the West. Beset by Indians, he turns to Mars, the god of War, the red planet and cries out for help. He awakes on the red planet, and his adventures there with the green men, Woola, and Dejah Thoris are that of which mere mortals may only dream. Burroughs concocts a Saturday morning movie serial that still has real heart - John Carter is noble without being foppish and Dejah Thoris is regal and beautiful and worthy of his love. These are not books for people who have forgotten the lure of reading under the sheets after "lights out" have been called, nor are they books for the serious self-help addict. But for those of us that still enjoy curling up with a bona-fide page turner, John Carter of Mars is it....