Tars Tarkas, once his captor, becomes his friend. His superhuman abilities are seen as something of great prowess by the war-like Tharks, and Carter is soon made to be a chieftain.

On his arrival to Mars he is taken captive by Tharks, green-skinned, six-limbed creatures. He can hop hundreds of feet into the air and strike killer blows, thanks to the lower gravity and thinner atmosphere. There he finds that his Earth-based muscles allow him to do strange things in the Martian environment. The plot – John Carter, a Confederate soldier from Western Virginia, finds himself mysteriously transported to the planet Barsoom, which we know as Mars.

Would a book, much beloved by many, still hold up 110 years after it’s initial publication?Ĭertainly if my view was based on the majority of comments made about the Disney movie of 2012, it would not be good (although I liked the movie myself.) (I’m sure that there are many others.) Scientists such as Carl Sagan have said how much the books inspired them when they read as a child.īut I was intrigued. Whilst aware of the dated nature of stories from a similar age – racism, sexism, gender bias, etc – what else is there to say on a book which has influenced so many classic science fiction writers?Īfter all, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Jack Vance, Arthur C Clarke, and George Lucas have all been influenced by this series.

I approached it with some caution, admittedly. Recent comments in the SFFWorld Forums coincidentally led to this omnibus tome arriving on my desk.

1912 novel by edgar rice burroughs