Synthetic Men of Mars (Martian Tales, No. 9) [Mass Market Paperback]

Edgar Rice Burroughs (Author), Michael Whelan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 1980

John Carter desperately needed the aid of Barsoom's greatest scientist. But Ras Thavas was the prisoner of a nightmare army of his own creation -- half-humans who lived only for conquest. And in their hidden laboratory seethed a horror that could engulf all of Mars.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The first time I ever went to Tarzana, California, I walked down Ventura Boulevard, noticing that all of the buildings were really ugly. Then I arrive at my destination: a small house, set back from the street, with a beautiful tree shading the entire front yard. Inside, the air was cool and everything was polished wood, especially the incredible, gigantic desk. That's where he worked. It was awesome.

Edgar Rice Burroughs had a huge California ranch, and the land eventually became a town, named for Burroughs's most famous character. Burroughs created one of the few heroes everyone knows, and at that desk, he took Tarzan to exotic lands, had him face bizarre creatures and endless, exotic challenges. Those adventures spirit the reader away to a timeless time of action and heroism. And sitting in that office, I was a permanent convert. For me, and for countless others, the legend will never cease. And that's as it should be.
                        --Steve Saffel, Senior Editor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

John Carter desperately needed the aid of Barsoom's greatest scientist. But Ras Thavas was the prisoner of a nightmare army of his own creation -- half-humans who lived only for conquest. And in their hidden laboratory seethed a horror that could engulf all of Mars. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 12, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345278429
• ISBN-13: 978-0345278425
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the top three books in the series, December 15, 2000

By 

Michael Martinez - See all my reviews

This review is from: Synthetic Men of Mars (Martian Tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs) (Mass Market Paperback)

The incomparable Dejah Thoris is injured and only the dangerous scientist Ras Thavas (The Master Mind of Mars) can save her life. So John Carter, the Warlord of Barsoom, sets out with a single companion, Vor Daj, to bring Thavas back from the Toonolian Marsh in time to operate on the dying princess.

Alas! Nothing goes right, and Carter and Daj are forced to make the most difficult choices of their lives. All Barsoom is threatened by Thavas' latest mad scheme, and it falls to Vor Daj to keep a lid on things until Carter can bring all his power to bear against the threat. In one of the best race-against-time stories ever written, the reader is forced to turn page after page to keep pace with all the setbacks, double-crosses, and unbelievable strokes of good fortune.

Along the way, the author pokes a little fun at a few long-cherished social conventions and hooty-tooty groups. But the most resounding comment of all is the statement that true friendship knows no boundaries, and that love is solidly based in friendship. This is simply a great and thoroughly enjoyable book to read.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Despite the odd title, one of the best of the Mars novels, January 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Synthetic Men of Mars (Martian Tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs) (Mass Market Paperback)

I found this book very engaging. Of course, you have to make allowances for the writer's style-- the book was written in the late 1920's. Synthetic Men had some of the best (scariest) monsters and one of the best plots of the eleven Burroughs Barzoom (Mars) novels. Ras Tharvas, the wicked scientist, is always a hoot. But the story has a serious tone as a young man in love is desperately trying to save his sweetheart from a terrible fate -- marriage to a Hitler-like emperor-criminal. He becomes a monster to reach her and save her, but she's terrified of him, naturally. How he works all this out, stymies the wicked guys, and gets the girl, is quite a heck of a read!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An ERB Martian novel that synthesizes what came before, August 28, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Synthetic Men of Mars (Martian Tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ras Thavas, the Mastermind of Mars, returns in "Synthetic Men of Mars," the ninth Martian novel from pulp fiction master Edgar Rice Burroughs. Originally serialized in six-parts in "Argosy Weekly" in early 1939, this story brings together many of the characters in the series, which was ERB's best. When Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium, is seriously injured in a collision of two airships, John Carter seeks out Ras Thavas, the greatest surgeon on Barsoom, to repair her broken back. The story is told by Vor Daj, a young padwar who accompanies Carter when he goes to search for the scientist's former assistant, Vad Varo, in Duhor. This time around the framing device is that the story was translated into English by Ulysses Paxton (Vad Varo), who then sent it to Jason Gridley on Earth via the Gridley wave. At first it look like ERB is trying something different, and that instead of his hero searching Barsoom for his beloved, Carter is searching for someone to help his wife. But then Vor Daj is unattached, which means he is going to stumble across his own damsel in distress while accompanying the Warlord of Mars on his mission and take on the central role in the adventure.

The title of the story comes from the race of supermen that Thavas is creating when Carter and Vor Daj finally find him. The experiments are not going well, but no matter how deformed they are these creatures want to live. With World War II right around the corner there is obviously a sub-text for this novel that has to do with the rise of totalitarianism, especially when the synthetic men decide they would rather conquer Barsoom than be its slaves. But what readers of the Martian series will notice the most is that ERB is throwing in a little bit of everything into this novel from his previous efforts, such as assassins, a new race of living heads, escaping from a prison, and a big battle between the Jeds. However, with the growing mass of tissue in Vat 4 in Morbus, there are some actually horror elements in this ERB potboiler as well.

Consequently, "The Synthetic Men of Mars" is pretty much the generic Martian novel written by Burroughs, incorporating a little bit of everything from what has gone on before. That is right: this novel is essentially a synthesis of the previous eight volumes. The result is a standard Burroughs adventure and the last decent volume in the series.