Customer Reviews

A Princess of Mars (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In this--Edgar Rice Burroughs' first tale of life on Mars (Barsoom to its inhabitants)--we see a brilliantly conceived world featuring titanic green monsters and gorgeous red princesses battling forever across a dying landscape. From the opening set in the American southwest to the deserted cities on Mars to great battles between balkanized nations, this is brilliant adventure fiction. John Carter, the hero, is just standard enough in the pulp vein for readers to identify with him, even as his agelessness and ability to defy Death make him truly intriguing. Even though Dejah Thoris--the princess from whom the novel takes its title--really does very little, her beauty and intelligence are more than enough to convince any man to do as Carter does to make her love him. All this fantastic adventure in a wonderful dream-world leaves the reader panting for more after the last page has been turned. Fortunately Burroughs delivered. I can not recommend this work more highly.

There's no question that "A Princess Of Mars"--the first in the eleven book series--is brilliant. In fact, the first three volumes of ERB's Mars are arguably the best. (By "Thuvia, Maid Of Mars" and "Chessmen Of Mars" the series starts to drag a little bit, but "Llana Of Gathol" and "Synthetic Men Of Mars" are superb!)

One piece of advice: Skip John Seelye's bitingly pretentious "introduction".

If this is your first ERB Mars experience, enjoy your sojourn on the Red Planet! Adventure and Romance await!

--Robert Carter

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was a prodigy of imagination. He started his writer career quite late; his first work was published in 1912. From that point on a ceaseless flow of imaginary worlds & heroes poured from his pen: John Carter of Mars, Carson Napier of Venus, David Innes and Abner Perry on Pellucidar at Earth's center and the most famous of them all Tarzan of the Apes.
As many reviewers of this and other ERB stories point out, do not expect "politically correct" tales, they are the product of a society still torn by racial prejudices.

"Princess of Mars" is an astounding piece of fantasy. First story of ERB to be published it contains the seeds of lots of sci-fi and Fantasy novels to come in the following years. Also we may detect some traits of Tarzan in John Carter character.
It's a pleasure to read so "fresh" adventures depicting a whole planet culture, ecology, interaction between different races, monsters, and inventions far ahead of ERB real world, as "rifles with explosive bullets guided by wireless sensors".

It amazes me how ERB can master in a rather short text (for our standards); a high paced action story. Even if this book is more than 90 years old, you will enjoy it from the first to the last page and possibly continue reading all Carter's series.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

I was SO looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with the old-timey but not campy hero John Carter of Mars... only I sure won't be doing it via this Kindle book! The chapters in this Kindle version are in a totally haphazard order and virtually impossible to follow. Somebody was asleep at the switch or maybe the scanner got tired. I am SO disappointed.

I'm not one to give up, so I'll find this and the other Barsoom books for Kindle elsewhere here. Better luck next time, Vook classics. I will be waiting for you to fix this so I can try again.

The book; classic (intelligent) pulp action/drama, one of the best. Edgar Rice Burroughs works are a joy to read and this book is no exception, the introduction however... so self-indulgent I had to write a comment! It was written by John Seelye who is the general editor of the Penguin Classics line. The piece is a rambling soapbox that goes on for twenty pages! It made me wonder whose book I was reading. John Seelye gives away endings to other great fiction, (War of the Worlds being one, another reason to skip the intro) he insults E.R.B.'s intelligence at least twice and for no reason his piece opens and closes with an attack on George Bush?! It was so nonsensical it was funny. Seriously, it doesn't matter which side of the isle you're on, is the intro to a Sci-fi book from 1912 the place for personal political views? Probably not. So skip the ranting, Tourette-like intro and enjoy one of E.R.B.'s most unique works (and the lovely Dejah Thoris, recommendation; Google search Adam Hughes, Dejah Thoris; wow). And Mr. Seelye, please, come on down from the box. ;)

It can never be said that Edgar Rice Burroughs lacked for imagination. Best known as the creator of Tarzan, before the King of the Apes was born ERB wrote this first adventure of John Carter, a Southern gent who emigrated to the wild west, only to find himself, by mysterious means, transported to Mars. There, John Carter finds himself amid great green, four-armed, 14-foot aliens, savage beasts, forbidding landscapes, ancient civilizations, and damsels in distress. The book is fast-paced, adventurous, and never dull. While written in a bit of an antique vocabularly, it is still wildly accessible and has lost none of its charm. John Carter is a true hero in the old selse of the word - undaunted, able, and always honorable; his enemies are nothing if not sinister, his perfect opposites. I heartily recommend this work both to fans of science fiction and fantasy, as well as those who have newly come either to the genre or to ERB himself. It will no doubt leave you thirsty for the additional installments (which are also worth reading).

This is claimed to be an enhanced version of the book by Vook I am not sure what the enhancement is but it would be better to have included the last pages of chapter 15 as they are important to the story and without these the beginning of chapter 16 will make little sense (This book was free at the time of downloading but still no excuse). Although this version does have original illustrations I would avoid this version and download the "Project Gutenberg" version which although missing the illustrations is at least complete.
Moan over back to the story:-
This is the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars series all featuring the adventures of John Carter. When you consider this was his first book originally published in 1917 it is truly remarkable in how he portrays so vividly the Martians, although the style of writing seems dated the story holds its own against modern stories. I am not sure if I would call this more fantasy than science fiction as where the author has no way of explaining something with the understanding of the 1900s he does not worry about it, it just happens. For example early in the story John Carter is overcome by "fumes" in a cave on Earth and wakes up on Mars (problem solved). This is I believe one of the first stories where a determined attempt to describe aliens has been made and it is very successful.
A five star story hidden under a one star implementation.

A hero who thinks with his muscles, is a little scared of women, and exemplifies valor without reflection. But in a good way.

John Carter is Civil War (U.S. not English) veteran who has struck out for the West to find his fortune. He's snatched from death at the hands of some very irate locals in a mysterious fashion, and finds himself on Mars facing four armed green monsters (who turn out to be pretty good folks in their own fashion). As he's accepted into their band, in part by killing a few of them, he meets the stunning Dejah Thoris, a red skinned and sophisticated native of Mars and rescues her from the Green Men. And then in the second chapter...

Well, a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea. Feats of courage and recklessness, non-stop action, cliff hangers, and a complete absense of political correctness.

Dated, but first rate fun.

E. M. Van Court

"I have never told this story nor shall mortal man see this manuscript until I have passed over for eternity. I know that the average human mind will not believe what it can not grasp......"

Written in 1912 this book is well written for its time and has intrigued countless generations of readers. I get the feeling that this story is being told over a campfire.

Captain Carter is telling the story form memory as an old man of his adventures here on earth and on the planet of Barsoom (Mars). There are encounters with many strange creatures, situations, and yes even a "Princess of Mars." The forward to the book alone will capture your imagination.

John Carpenter states "In one respect at least the Martians ae happy people; they have no lawers."

This is a part is a series by the writer that brought us "Tarzan." The intro to the book alone will capture your imagination.

The Great Book of Tarzan

I just loved this book. The author takes you on a journey through the eyes of John Cartar in such a way that you feel like you are actually reading a his diary and experiencing all about Barsoom (Mars). Cant wait to see the movie on March 9, 2012.