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The Master Mind of Mars

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For "The Mastermind of Mars," the sixth volume in his Martian series, Edgar Rice Burroughs introduces another new hero as American Ulysses Paxton crosses the void between Earth and Barsoom to become the chief assistant to the red planet's greatest scientist. Original published in the first "Amazing Stories Annual" in 1927, the story again begins with a letter, from Paxton, a Captain in the U.S. Army, to ERB in which he tells how he was fatally injured on a World War I battlefield and was transported to Barsoom, in the same way John Carter made the trip in "A Princess of Mars." Paxton has sent the author the manuscript, which allows Earthmen to "become better acquainted with the manners and customs of Barsoom." In what strikes me as an attempt to further explore the brain switching from previous novel, "The Chessmen of Mars," with the Kaldanes and Rykors, ERB's pulp fiction story has to do with human brain transfers performed by the title character, Ras Thavas.

Early in the novel Paxton witnesses the scientist transferring the brain of Xara, Jeddara of Phundahl, in the body of a young girl. Now called Vad Varo, Paxton becomes the bodyguard and assistant to Ras Thavas in the city of Toonol, and falls in love with Valla Dia, the young girl whose mind is now in the ancient body of Xara. Our hero helps Ras Thavas transfer his brain to a younger body as well, but extracts a promise from the scientist to help restore Valla's body. Of course, just to make things interesting, Valla is the daughter of Kor San, Jeddak of Duhor, so once again ERB's damsel in distress is Barsoomian royalty (that is to say, yet another princess of Mars). The remainder of the novel follows Vad Varo's attempt to restore his beloved to her own body, which is complicated by a series of brain transplants that alternately help and hinder his effort.

The brain switching angle is rather interesting, and actually makes more sense than your standard "strange alien device transfers consciousness between bodies" that we usually find in such science fiction stories (I just saw that on an old "Farscape" episode), but "The Master,ind of Mars" is pretty much an ERB potboiler where everything is resolved in the final chapter. The novel also has his standard indictment of the futility of war and a rather humorous little attack on false religions, as well as a rather confusing roster of characters. After the classic "Chessman" this next Martian yarn is a bit of a disappointment, but it is still at least an average offering in what is ERB's best series.

This is the sixth novel set upon Barsoom, and it finds a second American making the fateful crossing to the red planet during the first World War. This time, it is Ulysses Paxton, and he arrives upon a thus unmentioned area of Mars, the city of Toonol. Here he meets Ras Thavas, the greatest physician upon the planet and becomes embroiled in his grisly and amazing experiments.

Thavas has discovered how to transfer not only organs from body to body, but brains as well. He proceed to train Paxton, now known as Vad Varo, in this discipline, with the objective of achieving immortality for them both. The plan runs astray though, when Vad Varo falls in love with a beautiful woman whose body has been sold to an evil Jeddara, leaving her a wrinkled old husk. What follows is the rather standard "chase the princess across Barsoom (or at least the body of the princess) that has been the mainstay of the Series thus far, with the new added wrinkle of having bodies change hands with regularity. There is, of course, the obligatory meeting with John Carter at the end where everything is wrapped up quite succinctly.

Like all of his martian novels, "Mastermind of Mars" is a fast moving easy to read and enjoy adventure. There's nothing horribly new here, but any chance to walk again upon Burrough's red planet is a delight, and most fans will be thorougly pleased with the visit.

As one review stated the mars books are superior, I have to agree. I accidently picked up a paperback copy of JOHN CARTER OF MARS and I could not put it down,at age 16.I am almost 60 now and only wish the movies could capture the same intelligent wit of all the volumes! There would be a collection to have!All 11 volumes on film. There is so much in the books that it would be hard to transfer the feeling to film, but still it might get some people to resd the books to see.

I've tried to read a few novels in this famous SF series, but I just could not finish most of the books that I started. I'm not sure if the fault is mine, or the author's.

"The Mastermind of Mars" is the exception to the above. Once I started reading I could not stop until the story was finished.

Simply put, this is Golden Age high-quality space opera.

Maybe I'll try again with the other books in the John Carter series.

Highly recommended.

Wounded in battle in trenches of France in WW I, our hero is called to the Red Planet. Ulysses Paxton, Captain, U.S. Army Infantry, a life long follower of the tales of John Carter of Mars, transits the void to arrive on Barsoom. He finds himself in the company of Ras Thavas, the brilliant but aging surgeon and scientist. Re-named Vad Varo, Paxton becomes the champion of a stunningly beautiful martian woman whose body has been stolen by the aging and ugly ruler of another city. Our hero vows to get the brains back into the correct bodies so he can have the girl with the looks AND the personality he loves (and give the cruel and oppresive queen her due). He finds allies, undoes injustice, fights bad guys, sneaks in, abuses the religion of a people, saves the day, gets the girl, and becomes an ally of John Carter, Warlord of Mars. All possible because he was a loyal fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs' (ERB) books.

If nothing else, this book deserves kudos for recognizing fan loyalty. But there are other great aspects of this one. With Paxton, ERB was able to shift perspectives more than in other books. In this one, Mars is given a breath of fresh air, as a new set of eyes tries to describe it. ERB takes on some fairly heavy philosophy, addressing the relationships between atheism, religious fundamentalism (as demonstrated by the Phundahl...), obsessive and ammoral persuit of science, and the need for a balance between rational thought, faith, integrity, honor, sentimentality, and objectivity. His take on religious fundamentalism was insightful, thought provoking, and fairly funny. The discussion of the pursuit of science without morals was equally insightful and thought provoking but much more sober and at times disturbing.

The usual Barsoomian heroic fun, but with layer of more nuanced reflection. ERB pulled it off brilliantly.

E. M. Van Court