![]() At the end of the first book, A Princess of Mars, John Carter is unwillingly transported back to Earth. The protagonist, John Carter, with his proficiency in hand-to-hand combat and flirtations with beautiful alien women, could be said to have set the mold for later influential icons like Captain James T. While Burroughs no doubt borrowed liberally from the pulp fiction of his day, particularly westerns and swashbuckling tales, the pacing and themes set the tone for the soft science fiction genre. Its influence can clearly be seen in franchises such as Star Trek and Farscape. This book should be on every science-fiction/fantasy lovers bookshelf, and probably the rest of the Barsoom Series as well.The Gods of Mars is a 1918 Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the second of his famous Barsoom series.It can be said that the novel set the tone for much science fiction to come. Yes, I like shades of gray in the stories I read too, but sometimes it’s fun to go back to the old black and white worlds once in awhile. The villains are despicable, evil and loathsome. The characters are captivating and outstanding. The locales are beautiful, exotic, and breathtaking mountains made of gold and gemstones, strange and opulent cyclopean temples, elaborate ancient cities in the subterranean depths, skies filled with the roar of cannons from massive battle fleets of airships. The writing is absolute pulse-pounding blood-and-thunder prose. ![]() It’s clear to see why Edgar Rice Burroughs was such a big influence on sword and sorcery grand master Robert E. Imagine the Errol Flynn and Pirates of the Carribean films only with airships involved and you’ll get the idea. The swashbuckling/battle scenes are some of the most breathtaking I’ve seen in science fiction or fantasy. Burroughs took the literary knob and turned it up all the way to 11. So I decided to give it another swing, and damn was I glad I did!Įverything is amped-up in this sequel to “A Princess of Mars. But the more I talked with my fellow sword and sorcery fantasy enthusiasts online, the more I was drawn back to the genre of planetary romance/sword and planet science fiction, which practically all started from this series. Couple that with the somewhat-unfaithful film Disney made based off of it entitled “John Carter of Mars” and I really was reluctant to return to this series. The only other book I had read in Burrough’s “Barsoom Series” was “A Princess of Mars,” the first installment, and it honestly left me rather disappointed and underwhelmed. Let me be completely honest here going in I did not know what to expect. This is the book by which all sword and planet/planetary romance-style science fiction should by judged. I was completely awed by this book! It is an absolute masterwork of pulp science fiction. ![]() ![]() With a fire of indignation in his heart, Carter, the former Prince of Helium, sets out to set things to rights again…. Upon his return, he finds his old comrade, Thark chieftain Tars Tarkas, and they both uncover that the religion that the whole of Mars embraces is a lie a total falsehood perpetuated by the elite races of the Therns and the Firstborn to drive the “lesser races” into subjugation and death. The legendary hero John Carter of Virginia has returned to Mars after what seems like an eternity away from his beloved princess Dejah Thoris. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |