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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An ERB Martian novel that synthesizes what came before, 28 Aug 2003
Ras Thavas, the Mastermind of Mars, returns in “Synthetic Men of Mars,” the ninth Martian novel from pulp fiction master Edgar Rice Burroughs. Originally serialized in six-parts in “Argosy Weekly” in early 1939, this story brings together many of the characters in the series, which was ERB’s best. When Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium, is seriously injured in a collision of two airships, John Carter seeks out Ras Thavas, the greatest surgeon on Barsoom, to repair her broken back. The story is told by Vor Daj, a young padwar who accompanies Carter when he goes to search for the scientist’s former assistant, Vad Varo, in Duhor. This time around the framing device is that the story was translated into English by Ulysses Paxton (Vad Varo), who then sent it to Jason Gridley on Earth via the Gridley wave. At first it look like ERB is trying something different, and that instead of his hero searching Barsoom for his beloved, Carter is searching for someone to help his wife. But then Vor Daj is unattached, which means he is going to stumble across his own damsel in distress while accompanying the Warlord of Mars on his mission and take on the central role in the adventure. The title of the story comes from the race of supermen that Thavas is creating when Carter and Vor Daj finally find him. The experiments are not going well, but no matter how deformed they are these creatures want to live. With World War II right around the corner there is obviously a sub-text for this novel that has to do with the rise of totalitarianism, especially when the synthetic men decide they would rather conquer Barsoom than be its slaves. But what readers of the Martian series will notice the most is that ERB is throwing in a little bit of everything into this novel from his previous efforts, such as assassins, a new race of living heads, escaping from a prison, and a big battle between the Jeds. However, with the growing mass of tissue in Vat 4 in Morbus, there are some actually horror elements in this ERB potboiler as well. Consequently, “The Synthetic Men of Mars” is pretty much the generic Martian novel written by Burroughs, incorporating a little bit of everything from what has gone on before. That is right: this novel is essentially a synthesis of the previous eight volumes. The result is a standard Burroughs adventure and the last decent volume in the series.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
These John Carter books are non-stop action!!!, 1 Sep 1999
By A Customer
If you enjoy books where there's never a dull moment, with lots of fighting & romance, then you've GOT to read the John Carter series! This particular book isn't really about John Carter, but one of his friends. It's about these ugly, artificial "people" who overthrow the "mad scientist" who created them. An exciting, fun story, with a large cast of characters complete with good guys, bad guys, weird guys, and (as always with Burroughs), at least one hot babe!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Despite the odd title, one of the best of the Mars novels, 29 Jan 1999
By A Customer
I found this book very engaging. Of course, you have to make allowances for the writer's style-- the book was written in the late 1920's. Synthetic Men had some of the best (scariest) monsters and one of the best plots of the eleven Burroughs Barzoom (Mars) novels. Ras Tharvas, the wicked scientist, is always a hoot. But the story has a serious tone as a young man in love is desperately trying to save his sweetheart from a terrible fate -- marriage to a Hitler-like emperor-criminal. He becomes a monster to reach her and save her, but she's terrified of him, naturally. How he works all this out, stymies the wicked guys, and gets the girl, is quite a heck of a read!
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