Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
John Carter first meets Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, 16 Jun 2003
Edgar Rice Burroughs will always be remembered first and foremost for his creation of Tarzan, but it was the character of John Carter, who first appeared in "A Princess of Mars" who truly served as a template for other science fiction writers. From Lin Carter's "Green Star" series to John Norman's "Gor" novels there are tales of the man from Earth traveling to a strange new world and having wondrous adventures. John Carter was a gentleman of Virginia and Civil War veteran who finds himself looking down at his dying body in an Arizona cave. Opening his arms to the planet Mars, Carter is suddenly whisked to the Red Planet, where rival tribes battle while the planet's atmosphere continues to dissipate. Captured by a band of six-limbed giants, Carter soon earns their respect for his prowess as a warrior and forges a lasting friendship with Tars Tara's of the Tharks. But then the Tharks attack a fleet of airborne vessels and capture Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Helium, the greatest city on Barsoom (as the Martians call Mars). Of course, they get off on the wrong foot, since Carter knows nothing about the culture of the red humanoid race. But the lovely Princess of Mars has captured the Virginian's heart. Abandoning dreams of returning to Earth, he wants nothing better than to win her love. In the meanwhile, he has to protect her from the amorous attention of the depraved ruler of the Tharks, bring some semblance of civilization to the barbarian tribes, and stop all out war between the green men and red men from ending Barsoom's last chance for survival."A Princess of Mars" is the first of eleven novels in the Martian Series by Burroughs, most of which seemed to avoid the pitfalls of some of ERB's lesser Tarzan novels. If Dejah Thoris is not the most beautiful woman in the history of fantasy and science fiction, then she certainly has the all-time best name. John Carter is able to take advantage of the Red Planet's lesser gravity to do great feats of leaping about, but it is his innate intelligence and intense sense of personal honor that make him almost idealistically noble. When I first read every ERB novel I could get my hands on in Middle School, Tarzan was always Tarzan, but there was something about John Carter that somehow made him the greater hero in my eyes. Maybe it was the way he handled a sword or how he was always determined to make Barsoom a better place that made him seem Burrough's finest creation while Tarzan was finding lost civilizations in the interior of Africa. Certainly you will find ERB's most imaginative work, including the great game of Martian Chess, in this series. Do not stop at the first book, because while these novels are fast approaching being a century old, they hold up much better than the writings of Jules Verne or H. G. Wells. Not in terms of science, of course, but rather in terms of adventure fantasy.
|
|
|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Edgar Rice Burroughs - Grandfather of Modern Science Fiction, 22 Feb 1999
By A Customer
The first Burroughs book I ever read, _A Princess of Mars_ still has the same power over me now that it did fifteen years ago. John Carter is the perfect hero, Dejah Thoris the perfect princess, and Tars Tarkas is the perfect loyal friend. Edgar Rice Burroughs rightly deserves the title of grandfather of modern science fiction. This is one truly magnificent, timeless adventure.
|
|
|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I think this is the greatest book ever written!, 16 Jun 1998
By A Customer
I can't even begin to count the number of times I have read Burrough's Mars series, and this is the greatest of them all. It has everything: swordfights, a love story, high adventure, ancient, advanced civilizations, and a naked princess who has no qualms about revealing her love for a man she hardly knows but loves with all her heart. No one other than Burroughs could have written a novel like this, and I'm glad no one else did. If you want to have a great read, I highly recommend this book.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Show more editions and formats
Show fewer editions and formats
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home