Lord of the Spiders/Blades of Mars (Planet Stories Library) [Paperback]

Michael Moorcock (Author), Roy Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2008 | Series: Planet Stories Library

Once more into the matter transmitter for an unforgettable journey to ancient Mars! Pulled back to earth on the eve of his marriage to the beautiful Princess Shizala, brilliant physicist Michael Kane must once again journey to the Red Planet to reclaim a life of swordplay and high adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs! Kane finds himself on a different Mars, a place of blue giants and red revolution that ultimately leads to a ruined obsidian city inhabited by savage spider-men.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Paizo Publishing, LLC. (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601250827
• ISBN-13: 978-1601250827
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,017,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in London in 1939, Michael Moorcock now lives in Texas. A prolific and award-winning writer with more than eighty works of fiction and non-fiction to his name, he is the creator of Elric, Jerry Cornelius and Colonel Pyat, amongst many other memorable characters.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure on Mars, September 28, 2011

By 

R. Daniels (Maryland, United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lord of the Spiders/Blades of Mars (Planet Stories Library) (Paperback)

This trilogy, of which Lord of the Spider is the second book, are just fun reading. I have always like Burroughs John Carter series on old Mars. Moorcock's series which takes place on mars in the distant past is just awesome. If you like these types of sword and adventure stories then I recommend all of the Michael Moorcock Mars stories and the Planet Stories Series that have brought them back to print. To the publisher I have one word for you, Kindle.

Book 1 - City of the Beast
Book 2 - Lord of the Spiders
Book 3 - Masters of the Pit

Enjoy.

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Planetary Pastiche, September 12, 2010

By 

John Middleton (Brisbane, QLD, AUST) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lord of the Spiders/Blades of Mars (Planet Stories Library) (Paperback)

Lord of the Spiders is the second in the "Kane of Old Mars" trilogy that Micheal Moorcock apparently banged out over a few weeks back in 1965. Sequel to City of the Beast, and followed by Masters of Pit, its original title was Blades of Mars. Kane is an earthman seeking to return to Mars, to marry his beautiful Shizala. He reconstructs his transporter machine, makes careful calculations - and gets it wrong. He is either in the wrong place, or the wrong time, or both. Luckily though, he is still on Mars, so he shrugs his shoulders and sets off in search of adventure. He meets Hool Hazi, a blue giant - but a friendly one - whose taste in women leads to disaster, and Kane and Hool Hazi must flee for their lives from a despotic tyrant.

All kind of events then ensue, including a run in with the surprisingly sporting titular villian. After that, the tyrant is vanquished, Hool Hazi asssumes his rightful throne and Kane sets off once again, only to met old friends and old enemies both.

Like the other Kane books, this is straight-up old-fashioned sword and planet tale with despicable villians, sturdy heroes, and beautiful women. Its brevity is an asset in this age of doorstop tomes, a breathless breakneck story that hurries to its satisfying end.

3.0 out of 5 stars Jhaeman's Review, June 16, 2010

By 

Jeremy (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lord of the Spiders/Blades of Mars (Planet Stories Library) (Paperback)

Michael Moorcock's Kane of Old Mars trilogy continues in the eighth Planet Stories book, under the name Lord of the Spiders.* After his untimely departure from Mars, Kane enlists a wealthy benefactor to help him recreate the machine that sent him to the red planet. The device works, but Kane finds himself in an area of Mars far removed from where he was before--and this time, he's caught up in a war between rival sects of the Argzoon, the blue giants he fought in the previous book. Kane becomes the battle-tactician for one of the factions, and discovers that an old enemy is responsible for the war. And will he ever see his beloved Shizala again? (sigh . . .)

Not surprisingly, this book is very much in the same vein as the first one. It is fast-paced, heavy on the action, and light on the exposition. More time, however, is spent on the history of Old Mars and the ancient beings responsible for the amazing technological advances present (probably my favorite part of the book is when Kane leads an Argzoon expedition to survey a lost city of the ancients). At 132 pages, this is another quick and mildly enjoyable read--it won't transcend any stereotypes, but it's fun for what it is.

* The original title of the book is Blades of Mars. I'm not sure why Paizo titled the book Lord of the Spiders, as there's only one brief chapter involving the man-spiders depicted on the book's cover.