A Princess of Mars

At the close of the Civil War, Confederate cavalryman John Carter found himself to be a man without a country -- and so he bid farewell to his native Virginia and headed west in search of gold. While attempting to save his prospecting partner from an Apache attack, Carter seeks refuge in a cave -- a cave with mystical properties as he soon finds himself transported to Mars, otherwise known as Barsoom. The variances in the Martian atmosphere gift Carter with a preternatural speed and strength. Carter's newly-discovered gifts allow him to survive among the Tharks, a nomadic, six-limbed tribe of fierce Martian warriors, winning him the hard-won respect of Tars Tarkas, one of the tribe's premiere chieftains. Carter gives little thought to his long-term future on Mars until the Tharks capture Dejah Thoris, the beloved Princess of Helium, one of the Red -- or humanoid -- Martians centers of power. In a life or death struggle to safeguard Dejah from the warlike Tharks and restore her to her people, Carter falls in love -- and in losing his heart finds a reason to fight for a future on this planet so different from his own. I cannot remember the last time I indulged in the luxury of re-reading a book, so to read A Princess of Mars twice in four months? That's something special indeed. A Princess of Mars is my first experience with early 20th-century classic pulp fiction, and it has proven to be a memorable one indeed. Burroughs's first drafted John Carter's first adventure after a series of failed business ventures. The behind-the-scenes featurette on the recently released film, "100 Years in the Making," posits that John Carter was birthed out of an existential crisis in the author's life -- and taken as such it is fascinating to watch Carter's journey from outsider to Martian hero unfold. A Princess of Mars is in many respects the first space western, with the arid Martian climate standing in for the American west. If Mars is the western frontier, the various tribes of warlike Tharks are stereotyped Native Americans -- but what is fascinating is that Burroughs does not rest on stereotypical divisiveness. Carter moves from an attitude of superiority and frustration with his Thark captors to respect and admiration from their battle prowess and code of honor exhibited by warriors such as Tars Tarkas. This eventually helps birth an unprecedented alliance between the once sworn Green and Red Martian enemies, perhaps pointing to Burroughs' own belief in the inherent possibility of new beginnings symbolized by wild frontiers. First published in 1912 in serial form, Princess is told wholly from John Carter's point-of-view. The first time I read the novel I was a bit put-off by the sheer amount of information "dumping," exacerbated by the fact that all of the action is related as Carter's reminiscences of his Martian adventures. For a good part of his time on Mars Carter is observing and learning, concealing the fact that he's learning the language and customs of the Tharks. This narrative style made the first third or so of the novel a bit of a slow-go on my first read-through -- but on my second, knowing what to expect, I couldn't put the book down. I relished Burroughs's imaginative world-building and richly-drawn characters. This is an intelligent adventure, articulately-told, with a cracking pace and a finely-honed sense of adventure and heart. While the non-stop action and breath-taking fight sequences make this a page-turning read, by far my favorite aspect of the novel is romance -- perhaps something I relish all the more because, in a novel of this ilk, a romance this passionate seems unexpected. I'm a complete and total sucker for an old-fashioned romance, and Carter's character possesses an inherent nobility and chivalry that I just adored. And while Dejah isn't quite the warrior the film version introduces (at least not yet), her nobility, self-sacrificing spirit, and intelligence mark her as a ground-breaking character -- every inch the lady, strong-willed, and willing to fight for what she believes. I loved the way Burroughs's develops their relationship. He seems to relish in their cross-cultural misunderstandings, but doesn't shy away from ages-old male/female archetypal behavior that lends their budding romance humor and spark. Princess is an old-fashioned adventure novel that becomes an increasing page-turner the more Burroughs lets us see Carter adapt to his new environment, gradually opening himself up to friendships and relationships with people whose appearance and customs are so different from his own at first blush. John Carter's first adventure on Mars is the rare type of novel that improves when revisited, giving me a deeper appreciation for Burroughs's work as a pioneer in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. A Princess of Mars is a ground-breaking, thoroughly entertaining adventure that holds up to this day -- a sterling example of Burroughs's imaginative prowess, a classic from the pen of a pulp fiction master. I adore this book. Bring on the sequels!

“As I gazed upon it I felt a spell of overwhelming fascination—it was Mars, the god of war, and for me, the fighting man, it had always held the power of irresistible enchantment. As I gazed at it on that far-gone night it seemed to call across the unthinkable void…” It seems quite a few readers have already plunged into the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs and are familiar with this series. I came into this one a rookie, this my first exposure to this author or series and can say after reading the first installment in the Barsoom series that it was an enjoyable ride. Burroughs creates an imaginative, exciting and engaging premise and plot with his lead hero, John Carter. I’m sure many are familiar with the basic outline and premise: John Carter, a gentleman from Virginia during the late 1800s is transported from Arizona to Mars, and once there, has to perform many heroic feats and encounters various battles and conflicts in order to survive, but protect those close to him that he becomes acquainted with or befriends on the red planet. During his experience, he becomes acquainted with Dejah Thoris, beautiful Princess of Helium, when the craft of her people is captured. Carter becomes transfixed with her, and many of his journeys and adventures concern saving her or trying to defend her or her honor. While maybe certain elements and scenes in A Princess in Mars fell in a little too favorably in place for our hero (as he is the nearly infallible physically) and there are some slightly favorable coincidences plot wise, I don’t think these sour what was otherwise a high-paced, enjoyable read. What Burroughs creates is a nice blend and balance of science fiction, romance (maybe slightly on the cliché side, but forgivable), fantasy, action and adventure. For some reason I was reminded quite a bit of both Flash Gordon and Star Wars while reading, and I think there are some similarities both visually and thematically. Through Carter’s quest, we see themes such as loyalty, honor, courage, struggle, friendship, and romance displayed. I also think that A Princess of Mars definitely ends with enough intrigue to whet the appetite for reading on and seeing what happens in the second installment in the series, The Gods of Mars. Over all, a very fun sci-fi and look forward to the next one.

Perfecto estado y envio

Tenía tres años buscándolo! Muchas gracias. Si tienen las demás novelas de la saga en físico, también las quiero 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Wer die etwas misslungene Verfilmung John Carter (2012) gesehen hat und nun in der Vorlage nach mehr Sinn sucht, sollte sich erst mal im klaren sein, dass sich in den 100 Jahren, in denen das Buch auf dem Markt ist, einiges in der Scifi-Literatur verändert hat und nicht nur was die "political correctness" betrifft, auf die hier natürlich keinerlei Rücksicht genommen wird. John Carter ist ein echter Pulp-Action Held. Stark, gewitzt, gut aussehend, ehrenhaft und auf dem Mars, auf dem er sich nach wenigen Seiten befindet, auch noch mit außergewöhnlichen Fähigkeiten gesegnet. Durch die geringe Schwerkraft und Luftdruck ist er schnell wie eine Kugel, stark wie eine Lokomotive, kann große Gebäude mit einem Satz überspringen und telepathische Fähigkeiten hat er auch noch. Und dafür muss er noch nicht mal seine Unterwäsche über der Hose tragen. Ein bedauerlicher Nebeneffekt ist, dass man um unseren Helden meist genauso viel Angst haben muss, wie um Superman, der von einer Gruppe Rentnerinnen mit Gehstöcken bedroht wird. Was an der Geschichte von Edgar Rice Burroughs besonders gefällt, ist nicht die geschliffene Wortwahl (wie gesagt es ist ein Pulp-Roman), sondern die große Fantasie mit der eine fremde Kultur beschrieben wird. Der recht kurze Roman enthält dazu auch mehr Handlung als heutzutage übliche 1000 Seiten-Trilogien. Oft wünscht man sich dabei , der Autor hätte sich etwas mehr Ruhe genommen, wenn Szene um Szene an einem vorbeieilt. Besonders das Ende vermittelt das Gefühl, das Burroughs irgendwie das Papier ausgegangen sein muss, soviel quetscht er auf ein paar Seiten. Etliche Nebenfiguren wie Dejah Thoris, Tars Tarkas, Sola und Kantos Kan sind trotz des teilweise hektischen Tempos aber erstaunlich gut ausgearbeitet. Urteil : Etwas gewöhnungsbedüftig, aber immer noch extrem lesenswert.

The film John Carter was a failure in terms of box office return to cost, but I really enjoyed it! I caught the source acknowledgement at the end and got hold of the book. All slipped into place - the Edgar Rice Burroughs of the film (who inherits Carters fortunes) is the author of the book (this one) which is, in the film, the one passed to Edgar which is the meat of the film. It remains pretty much as written by Borroughs over 100 years ago! A really good read! Then go get the film - you will enjoy!

Just started reading...forewords...and i felll in love with the writing of Edgar Rice....after reading so much sc-fi of various writers...i can easily compare his writing and imagination like...Jules verne...