Title: A Princess of Mars and Gods of Mars
Publication Year: 1912 and 1913
Plot: A Princess of Mars is the first of eleven thrilling novels that comprise Edgar Rice Burroughs’ most exciting saga, known as The Martian Series. It’s the beginning of an incredible odyssey in which John Carter, a gentleman from Virginia and a Civil War veteran, unexpectedly finds himself on to the red planet, scene of continuing combat among rival tribes. Captured by a band of six-limbed, green-skinned savage giants called Tharks, Carter soon is accorded all the honor of a chieftain after it’s discovered that his muscles, accustomed to Earth’s greater gravity, now give him a decided advantage in strength. And when his captors take as prisoner Dejah Thoris, the lovely human-looking princess of the city of Helium, Carter must call upon every ounce of strength, courage, and ingenuity to rescue her-before Dejah becomes the slave of the depraved Thark leader, Tal Hajus!
Miscellaneous: Burroughs’ Barsoom series was extremely popular with American readers and many scientists who grew up reading the novels, and helped inspire public support for the US space program. Readers included some of the first space pioneers and those involved in the search for life on other planets. Scientist Carl Sagan read the books as a young boy, and they continued to affect his imagination into his adult years.
Although we were down in numbers this week, we had a lively discussion around the first 2 John Carter novels. Readers quickly identified them as being similar to western novels they’ve read. They also said it was quite the gear shift after reading “Dune.” There isn’t a ton of philosophical depth in these novels, especially in the first book. But Burroughs does a great job of building a fun world (where science is on the back burner).
We talked about who the target audience was for these novels. They are filled with adventure and classic fights of good vs. evil, so it’s tempting to think these were for young boys. But perhaps adults read them as well. They are simplistic and fun.
However, we did get into some the Christian overtones in the novel. John Carter? J.C. Jesus Christ? Certainly there’s no mistake in many of the references to “First Born” and the cleansing of sins, the Tree of Life, and other allusions to Christian theology. One reader even read Tars Tarkas as Peter, as he continues on with John’s mission after John is gone.
The novel is Victorian in its values, which, with John being a man from the 1860s, makes some sense. We talked about Burrough’s role of race in these novels, as he clearly states that black men are the superior human on Barsoom. Was Burroughs trying to shift thinking in the impressionable minds of the 1910s? As we’ve discussed in previous book clubs, science fiction is a great way to tackle issues without dealing with them in the world of the reader. Yet, the ideas carry weight.
Overall, we acknowledged the fun of these novels, and we ended up talking a lot more about the 2nd novel than the 1st. And a few readers yearn for the remaining 9 novels in the series.
Leave any comments regarding John Carter or Burroughs below.
Join us next week as we read Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.
Until next time,
E.
If you’d like to purchase A Princess of Mars, you can do so here: