The Chessmen of Mars (Martian Tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs, N0 5) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Edgar Rice Burroughs (Author)
Key Phrases: ancient taxidermist, great jed, spiral runway, Tara of Helium, Gahan of Gathol, Djor Kantos (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Held captive by grotesque bodiless heads, Princess Tara of Helium was rescued by a warrior who dared not reveal his name. But escape led the daughter of the Warlord of Mars into even more loathesome peril -- as the prize in a bloody game of living chess.

From the Publisher

This book is a standard print version using a minimum of 10 point type in a 6 by 9 inch size and perfect bound - a paperback. As with all Quiet Vision print books, it use a high grade, acid free paper for long life. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (April 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345350383
• ISBN-13: 978-0345350381
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,426,623 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burroughs' Best Martian Tale, July 8, 2000

By	George R Dekle "Bob Dekle" (Lake City, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Conventional wisdom has it that the first three books of Burroughs' Martian series, "A Princess of Mars," "The Gods of Mars," and "The Warlord of Mars" form an excellent trilogy and all the rest of the Martian tales are quite poorly done in comparison. I disagree.

I will cite two examples as to why "Chessmen" is Burroughs' best work in this series.

[1] You can hardly conceive of a more ghastly creature than a spider-being who lives as a parasite on headless human bodies, but that is a perfect description of Ghek the Kaldane, one of the central figures of the book. Burroughs takes this repulsive monstrosity and makes him such a loveable character that you cannot help but like him.

[2] Burroughs not only wrote a good yarn, he wrapped his tale around a striking boardgame that he had invented--jetan, or Martian chess.

It's no real trick to invent a chess variant. There are thousands of them, and most of them are rubbish. What is so singular about jetan is that it is a good chess variant. I read "Chessmen" as a child, and after reading it, the first thing I had to do was make a jetan set and play the game. I whiled away several enjoyable hours with the game. John Gollon, a noted authority on chess variants, had a similar experience when he was writing "Chess Variations." He thought he'd include a chapter on jetan for some comic relief, so he made a jetan set and played a few games. He found jetan "quite good--very playable and interesting." He then pronounced jetan "not a mere novelty, but ... a respectable game."

These two singular achievments (Ghek & jetan) are not the only details that make "Chessmen" so enjoyable. Gahan of Gathol (aka Turan the Panthan) makes for a satisfying hero, and Tara of Helium fills the bill quite nicely for a damsel in distress.

The heros are noble, the villians are wicked, the cause is just, and the action is nonstop. Great escapist reading.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Original and Authentic Magical Adventure, November 27, 1999

By	William Barton (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

The Chessmen of Mars is, I think, the pinnacle of Burroughs career, and certainly the best of the Barsoom series. It's also one of the great science fiction romances of the Twentieth Century. As a boy, reading the typical John Campbell-influenced SF of the 1950s, nothing prepared me for finding this book (and about 30 other moldy Burroughs hardcovers) in my grandmother's attic. There's not an alienated child in the world who could read this book and not be struck deeply by the pathos and courage of Ghek the Kaldane, whose the real hero of the tale, rather than Gahan of Gathol, the golden boy who gets the girl.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WORTH NOT FORGETTING, October 2, 2004

By	D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Chessmen of Mars (Paperback)

Burroughs' Martian Series is worth remembering and rereading from time to time. I first read these books well over 50 years ago and they, and this book, have lost none of their charm. For the student of SiFi and S&S, these are a must read. Granted, the style is certainly different than todays books, but this is a plus. We need to read and remember it. That being said, these books are just simply fun to read. Recommend them highly.