Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom [Hardcover]

Peter S. Beagle (Author), Jonathan Maberry (Author), Catherynne M. Valente (Author), Tobias S. Buckell (Author), Joe R. Lansdale (Author), Robin Wasserman (Author), Austin Grossman (Author), Garth Nix (Author), John Joseph Adams (Editor), various artists (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: February 7, 2012

Celebrate 100 years of John Carter of Mars with this all-new collection of original stories and art!

Readers of all ages have read and loved Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series since the first book, A Princess of Mars, was published in 1912. Now, in time for the 100th anniversary of that seminal work, comes an anthology of original stories featuring John Carter of Mars in brand-new adventures. Collected by veteran anthology editor John Joseph Adams, this anthology features stories from titans of literature such as Peter S. Beagle and Garth Nix and original art from Mark Zug, Charles Vess, and many more—plus an introduction by Tamora Pierce and a glossary of Mars by Richard A. Lupoff.

Illustrations are by prominent artists Meinert Hansen, Charles Vess, John Picacio, and more.

Don’t miss Mars Trilogy, the companion bind-up of three classic John Carter of Mars stories!

This book has not been prepared, approved, licensed, or authorized by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. or any other entity associated with the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The works closely honor Burroughs's own, with self-assured characters, concrete storytelling, high adventure, and touches of tongue-in-cheek humor. A worthwhile introduction (or, for adult readers, a return) to one of Burroughs's most imaginative universes." --Publishers Weekly

"Absolutely must have!" --The John Carter Files

"A collection filled with creative fun, fast-paced action, and even a speculative philosophical moment or two. [...] Thanks to collections like this, and the imagination of its diverse contributors, John Carter and Barsoom might be around to entertain and inspire readers for another 100 years." --Bookgasm

"A collection of 14 stories set in the world Edgar Rice Burroughs created, the mysterious, slowly dying red planet of Barsoom (Mars to you and me). Written by some of today's most adventurous talent, these new tales fit quite well into the world of John Carter. All the classic characters from the incomparable Dejah Thoris to the mighty Thark Jeddak Tars Tarkas, and even Carter's faithful Woola appear, as fresh as when they were first written." --SF Site

"A volume to cherish." --Open Letters Monthly

"Plenty of sword work and old-style action-adventure, with the occasional clever spin."--Kirkus Reviews

"It's inconceivable that this volume won't send readers back to the original novels."--Booklist

"An excellent collection that sci/fi adventure fans will enjoy, and it may guide a new generation of readers to Barsoom."--School Library Journal

From the Inside Flap

Table of Contents

Foreword by Tamora Pierce
Introduction by John Joseph Adams
The Metal Men of Mars by Joe R. Lansdale
Three Deaths by David Barr Kirtley
The Ape-Man of Mars by Peter S. Beagle
A Tinker of Warhoon by Tobias S. Buckell
Vengeance of Mars by Robin Wasserman
Woola's Song by Theodora Goss
The River Gods of Mars by Austin Grossman
The Bronze Man of Mars by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
A Game of Mars by Genevieve Valentine
Sidekick of Mars by Garth Nix
The Ghost of the Superstition Mountains by Chris Claremont
The Jasoom Project by S. M. Stirling
Coming of Age in Barsoom by Catherynne M. Valente
The Death Song of Dwar Guntha by Jonathan Maberry
Appendix: A Barsoomian Gazetteer, or, Who's Who and What's What on Mars by Richard A. Lupoff

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (February 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442420294
• ISBN-13: 978-1442420298
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #623,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A let down March 25, 2012

By Javier C. Gomez

Format:Hardcover

Somewhat let down by this book. I am a Longtime fan and generally found that the stories could have been much better. They played up the authors so much that I kind of was expecting much better. There were some exceptions, but generally I felt the stories were poor. There were 14 stories and about 4 or 5 were entertaining to varying degrees. The rest not so much. Here are my thoughts:

One of the editorial quotes caught my eye:

"It's inconceivable that this volume won't send readers back to the original novels."--Booklist

For me I had hoped these authors would have gone back to the books themselves, to at least understand what they were writing about. For most of the stories I was reading I just kept shaking my head whenever I read something that was incorrect. Some were little things like Deja Thoris being the daughter of Tardos Mors (who is her Grandfather) or of John carter being the Jeddak of Helium (he is Prince and Jeddak of Jeddak of Barsoom. Tardos Mors is the Jeddak of Helium). Some however were far worse such as going so far as to re-write the story of what happened in the original ERB story such as "Chessmen of Mars" incorrectly. The Kaldanes were NOT the rulers of Manator. Manator was run by Red men. The Kaldanes had nothing to do with the live Jetan game, yet in this story they rewrite the original story to say this is how it was. I wont even get into how some of the stories were about portraying John Carter as a Jerk. I dont mind if they did this as part of some Magazine as a farce. But here they change JC's personality simply to create a conflict. It was not funny. They did the same with Tarzan. He would not have acted as they portrayed him in the Ape man of Mars....

Aside from the lack of adherence to ERB's barsoom, quite a number of the stories to be honest were just lame. For soem it seems they inserted stories simply due to who the author was instead of whether the story was any good. There is a higher quality of fan fiction to be found for free on the internet. "Woola's song" feels like it was written for a 5 year old.

Not all of the stories were bad, I thought Chris Claremonts story was very nice and I wish there was more of it. In fact the last two or three stories were good.

But overall I was somewhat unsatisfied. Avoid if you are a fan of the original Barsoom series Read more ›

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars New Barsoom stories. Some better than others... March 1, 2012

By General Aldo

Format:Hardcover

I'm not much of a short story fan. Just as you get invested in a character the story is over. This collection of short stories is passable and will probably sell well in light of the Disney/Pixar movie coming out soon. My main reason for this review is "The Ape-Man of Mars by Peter S. Beagle ." It's dreadful. I hated everything about it. I've been reading Edgar Rice Burroughs for close to 40 years and continue to buy them when I see an edition I don't have. I know John Carter. Peter S. Beagle does not. It's as if he has never read and ERB John Carter book and just starts writing about who he thinks Carter may be. He was so off base with all of the characters it was hard to read. I found myself saying "Carter would never act like that" way too many times. This John Carter was childish, pouty and downright unlikable. Everything Carter is not. Hopefully this will not be someones introduction to the world of Barsoom. Because if it is, they may never pick up the original books, which would be a travesty...

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Dead Planet Rising February 12, 2012

By The Ginger Man VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

2012 is an important year for fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs. It marks the hundred year anniversary of the sale of ERB's first story and will feature the release of Disney's movie version of John Carter of Mars. Three comic book series have been issued during the build up to these events. Under the Moons of Mars continues this pulp deluge with a collection of new stories and illustrations by prominent SF contributors all set in the Martian landscape created by Burroughs a century ago.

ERB wrote 95 books according to the official web-site. Although his most famous creation was Tarzan of the Apes, his first character and hero of 11 books was John Carter of Mars. In this work, named after Burroughs' first published fiction, there are 14 contributions featuring characters from the Barsoom series. A couple are straightforward
Carter adventure stories such as Metal Men of Mars and River Gods of Mars. There are 3 stories which are written from the point of view of the alien race conquered by Carter: Three Deaths, Vengeance of Mars and Coming of Age on Barsoom. There is even a weak entry told from the viewpoint of Carter's pet: Woola's Song.

My favorite selections are those which portray the Martian Warlord in unfamiliar and not always flattering light. In the Ape-Man of Mars by fantasy master Peter S. Beagle, Tarzan meets John Carter and finds our hero an arrogant, boorish bully who resents the fact that England did not aid the Confederacy during the American Civil War and persists in viewing that conflict as a battle for states rights. A Sidekick of Mars by Garth Nix is told by another Earthman who meets Carter on the red planet and quickly learns his place: "Carter had his honor instead of God, and that honor only had room for Virginia gentleman and Martian princesses.... Everyone else was pretty much window-dressing, providing a pretty frame for him and his lady to stand in the sunlight." Carter is more of his usual noble self in the American West with Dejah Thoris and Tars Tarkas trying to return to Mars in The Ghost That Haunts.

The longest entry, The Jasoom Project, manages to cover almost all the Martian locales from Burroughs' series before mixing in elements from Tarzan, the Moon books and Pellucidar. It is, as a result, a bit rushed.

Overall, the entries, as might be expected in a compilation from various authors, are uneven. Most are worth reading especially the final 2 entries from Catherynne Valente and Jonathan Maberry. I'm a bit torn on my rating. For fans of ERB, I would give a solid 3 stars. If the reader does not know the characters, that rating is probably inflated. In any case, the first return to Barsoom after more than a half century is a successful one and enough to hold the reader over until the movie debut the following month. Read more ›

1.0 out of 5 stars Pathetic Adventures on Barsoom June 5, 2013

By R Anderson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

For the most part this is a jumbled collection of stories that make you wonder if the authors actually read Burrough's original series. Most of these authors take liberties to make major deviations from original character profiles. Or maybe it is supposed to be an alternate universe collection. Many are poor short story structures that start then leave you wondering where the end is at. Some of the stories make you wonder if the authors are actully using them to bash the series. The Barsoom stories deserve better treatment than this hodgepodge collection. Save your money. But if you still want a copy mine will be donated to the local Goodwill store.