A Princess of Mars
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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Book Summary Information
Author: Edgar Rice BurroughsEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1985-12-12
ISBN: 0345331389
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Del Rey
Book Reviews of A Princess of Mars
Book Review: A GREAT STORY, BUT WITH CARELESS WRITING
Summary: 4 Stars
As most of the world already knows, "A Princess of Mars" is the first of 11 Burroughs novels that tell of John Carter's adventures on the planet Barsoom (Mars, to we Earthlings). This was Burroughs' very first novel, and one of the first books in the swashbuckling space-opera vein; perhaps the very first. It is a marvel of fast-moving action and imagination; indeed, practically every page offers some new marvel or piece of outrageous spectacle. Unfortunately, the book also displays some of the weaknesses of the novice author, but these weaknesses are more than counterbalanced by the pace, color and detail of the story. Burroughs' imagination seemed to be working overtime in this first book. The descriptions of alien life-forms, dead cities, Barsoomian customs and battles are very well drawn, although those battle scenes could have lasted a little longer, for me. (Burroughs might have learned a thing or two from, say, H. Rider Haggard about presenting detailed battle scenes.) There are occasional flashes of strangeness, too; e.g., the ability of Barsoomian psychologists to read the minds of murdered soldiers, and the celibate tax imposed by the Barsoomian government on confirmed bachelors! The book reads more like a fantasy/fairy tale than sci-fi, and the characters are pulpy in the extreme. There are hissable villains, noble warriors, a beautiful princess who needs saving, good and bad monsters, and the like. This book has been so influential that it is amusing, while reading it, to think of all the modern variations. For example, has anybody else been reminded of Princess Leia trapped by Jabba the Hutt of "Star Wars" fame, when reading of the beautiful Princess Dejah Thoris being leered at by the monstrously huge Thark jeddak, Tal Hajus? So many scenes resonate like that, and the book is almost prototypical in this respect. This is a true classic of the genre.However, like I said at the beginning, there are some problems. Besides the outrageous pseudoscience (I refer here to the "8th and 9th rays" that make possible antigravitation and oxygen manufacture), which I don't mind at all, there are some real discrepancies. For example, in one scene, Carter is said to be riding in his assigned position at the rear of a troop of Tharks; then he is mentioned as being at the very front! Carter is on Barsoom for only a few days before he picks up the Barsoomian vocabulary, which is said to be a simple one. However, he speaks very grandiloquently, as in this sentence: "I understand that you belittle all sentiments of generosity and kindliness, but I do not, and I can convince your most doughty warrior that these characteristics are not incompatible with an ability to fight." Pretty good talking, for one who has just learned "simple" Barsoomian a few days before!!! Another problem I had was the scene in which a body of 150,000 Tharks sneak up on the city of Zodanga, unnoticed and unheard. Does this seem possible? As for the scene in which Carter and Kantos Kan fight in the arena...doesn't all the fighting seem a wee bit too easily accomplished? And then there is the matter of Burroughs' writing itself. I mentioned the common mistakes of a tyro writer. By this, I mean repetitive phrases such as "I stole stealthily" and "essayed...to attempt," as well as endless mistakes of punctuation. I wonder if anybody ever copyedited this book. "A Princess of Mars" first appeared with the title "Under the Moons of Mars" in "All-Story Magazine" in 1912, and I'm not sure whether these magazine stories were edited and proofread or what. The book would not have suffered for a professional once-over. But you know what? In the end, all these little nitpickings matter not a whit, because all the minor problems, as I said, are swept away in the drive and excitement of the great story. And that story is as compelling as they come.
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