Customer Reviews

Warlord of Mars (Martian Series #3)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Suffice it to say that I very much enjoyed reading all 11 of the ERB John Carter of Mars books as evidenced by my rating. That's right, eleven. I am not sure why two previous reviewers referred to a `trilogy'. There are, in fact, seven more volumes in the original series and an additional volume published posthumously from manuscripts obtained through Burroughs' estate. The remaining books, in order, are:

4 Thuvia, Maid of Mars
5 The Chessmen of Mars
6 The Master Mind of Mars
7 A Fighting man of Mars
8 Swords of Mars
9 Synthetic Men of Mars
10 Llana of Gathol
11 John Carter of Mars

The Warlord of Mars is significant to ERB fans in that it concludes his original Martian Trilogy. The story itself is a step down from the adventure that is The Gods of Mars and fails to come close to the excellence of A Princess of Mars. That being said, this is still a fun story.

Burroughs concludes his trilogy with a chase across Mars. The story picks up 6 months after The Gods of Mars. John Carter follows the kidnappers of his wife across river, desert, jungle, fortress and ice. The story itself is, as with all the Martian Trilogy, quite entertaining. However, this book cuts almost all the human interaction out that made the first two books the classics they are.

I have read this book some ten times, and I still enjoy it. As I've grown older I have discovered many Sci Fi authors and stories, but none that enrapture my imagination like the original Martian Trilogy by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This is a must read for anyone who enjoyed the first two books, as it actually has a final conclusion.

Edgar Rice Burroughs did not intended to write a trilogy, but his 1914 pulp novel "The Warlord of Mars" completes the story begun in "A Princess of Mars" and continued in "The Gods of Mars" and finally brings John Carter and his beloved Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium (i.e., no cliffhanger this time around, boys and girls). The story picks up six months after the conclusion of "The Gods of Mars," with our hero not knowing whether she is dead or alive in the Temple of the Sun of the Holy Therns where he last saw here with the blade of Phaidor was descending towards her heart as the evil Issus, queen of the First Born, had locked his mate in a cell that would not open for another year. However, it turns out that the exiled leader of the Therns has reached the trapped women to rescue his daughter and to seek revenge on Carter for exposing his evil cult.

The focus of "The Warlord of Mars" is on Carter's relentless pursuit of the villainous Thurid who have taken his beloved princess from the south pole of Barsoom across rivers, desert, jungles, and ice to the forbidden lands of the north in the city of Kadabra where the combined armies of the green, red and black races attack the yellow tribes of the north, thereby justifying the book's title. It is interesting to note that Carter's heroics in this novel have the same sort of over the top implausibility we find in contemporary Hollywood blockbusters as ERB pours on the action sequences one on top of another. Whether he is scaling towers in the dark of night or surviving in a pit for over a week without food and water, John Carter is a manly hero in the great pulp fiction tradition of which ERB was an admitted master. Overall, the Martian series is Burrough's best work, avoiding the repetition that overwhelmed his Tarzan series and providing a lot more creativity (ever play Martian chess?). There is also, Dejah Thoris, one of the great names in science fiction history.

If I had to be stuck on a desert island with only ten books, the Barsoomian trilogy (Princess of Mars, Gods of Mars, and Warlord of Mars) would be three of them. Warlord wraps up the tale as Carter takes up the trail of the incomparable Dejah Thoris, following her captors to the hidden cities of the polar regions, culminating in a battle that settles the future of Barsoom. All the breathless adventure, daring swordplay, hairsbreadth escapes, and dry humor you could ask for. Even more in control of his material than in the other two excellent volumes, Burroughs challenges himself both to keep in the established material about Barsoom and still invent new elements. If you have not read the Barsoomian trilogy, and you love SF adventure, buy it NOW! You will re-read it with delight the rest of your life.

"Psychologists tell me that... too close a scrutiny of my mental activities might prove anything but flattering; but be that as it may, I have often won success while the thinker would have been still at the endless task of comparing various judgements."
Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Warlord Of Mars
1914

"Burroughs [was] no one's candidate for Great World Writer, but [was] a man who understood story values completely."
Stephen King
Foreward to Night Shift
1977

Was Edgar Rice Burroughs a man of towering intellect? No - I doubt even his most devoted fans would say so. Was he, in Mr. King's amusing phrase, a "Great World Writer"? Again, no - even the most forgiving literary critic probably wouldn't bestow that title upon him. Was he, however, a born storyteller with a (literally) wonderful imagination? That I don't think anyone would seriously argue.

Burroughs' Martian novels, as I have said elsewhere, are great fun for both the the young and young at heart. Think Errol Flynn in outer space and you've got the basic idea. Escapist fiction doesn't get much better than this.

I will be 70 in three weeks and in that time I have never read any book or books by any writer that has ever held me " in the ready to defend myself while reading ". I have many times while reading ERB books found myself at a point of feeling the excitement and the emotion of the moment, to the extent of having my hand knotted-up as if I were holding a sward and fighting for my life. He has such a way with words that he brings the moment alive in your mind. I love to read any of his books above any other writer. I have many other writers in my collection, but ERB is FIRST in my opinion. Now my opinion and $.50 might get you a cup of coffee don't you know.

Sometimes the first three books are referred to as a trilogy as the first two books have cliff hangers. Of course we know this is not the end due to the number of book written.

In this part of the story we left John waiting at the Temple of the Sun. Everyone knows that he as not long to wait until his old nemeses' devise a plot of revenge. Soon John, while in the process of chasing the capturers of Dejah Thoris, will come up against untold and unfathomed barriers to the end of the world. Luckily he has old Woola at his side.

Reading this make you want to get out you sward and join in.

Still as with all places ruled by law, John will have to meet with the Judges of the Temple of Reward ad face the consequences of returning from the Valley of Dor and the Lost Sea of Korus. As no one can escape judgment.

I loved this book. I loved the first three books. Yeah you wonder why they don't just shoot each other instead of swordfights to the death and the whole backdrop of how he gets to mars is odd today but the sense of wonder and the audacity of the ideas he keeps throwing at you page to page is just fantastic. The tech is odd but must have seemed astounding at the time. Kept in context this book is truly amazing. Compared to today the descriptive tech and the swordfights are odd but the rush of ideas, cliffhangers and all make this the King of cliffhangers.
I AM SURPRISED HOW MUCH I REALLY RECCOMMEND THIS BOOK TO OTHERS. THANKS TO DAD FOR RECOMMENDING IT TO ME.

I must admit to having sort of cut my teeth on the stories of John Carter and this author. Here the tale continues. I enjoy SiFi and enjoy pulp fiction. Here we have some of the best of both. The author's imagination is without match and his characters truely jump off the page. I first started reading the John Carter series well over fifty years ago, and must admit to going back ever few years and rereading the entire group. This is one of my favories. Recommend this one highly.

Yes, the books (all 11!) are great works, despite the quaint narrative in use at that time.

I would like to take (small) issue with the remarks of "_Vegas_" though. The first three books were indeed intended as a trilogy, and were marketed as such in the early part of the 20th cenury, in "THE ALL-STORY" magazine. The fact that the first three books cover a continuous story, with a definite conclusion in this third book, also points to it being written a true trilogy. Please do not allow yourself to be confused by the fact that 7 (or 8) more "John Carter" novels succeeded this one.