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Dec 09, 2018IndyPL_SteveB rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Burroughs’s first published story. Burroughs was not a great writer; but he was an energetic storyteller with an imagination that could fire a boy’s brain, with blood-thirsty warriors, aliens of every stripe and limb-count, and a heroine in danger where a boy dreaming of being a hero could – via reading – rescue her from “a fate worse than death” at least once per book. John Carter, an ex-Confederate officer after the Civil War, goes gold prospecting with a friend in the mountains of Arizona. The friend is killed by Indians and Carter is somehow transported to Mars. As an earthling on Mars he has super jumping ability and super strength which makes him a highly coveted warrior in the wars taking place among the several intelligent species of the planet. It is a strange brew of medieval attitudes and hand to hand fighting, along with anti-gravity flying machines and atmospheric science. And of course John Carter falls in love with the beautiful Martian princess, Dejah Thoris. It is, of course, scientifically laughable and silly, with stiff dialogue; but I still found myself hooked by the story in this re-reading. With this book, Burroughs basically invented the science fiction subgenre of the “planetary romance.” These books influenced many people who developed the space program and, not surprisingly, many later science fiction writers like Ray Bradbury and Frank Herbert. It’s worth reading for the perspective, at least, and you may find it fun.