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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
This sequel to A Princess Of Mars continues the story of John Carter, Civil War soldier, who finds his way back to the red planet ten years after the original story. Without the need of a setup, Burroughs digs right into the action. It is dumb fun with an emphasis on the type of square-jawed heroics that seem almost more comical than cliche, but I can excuse the shallowness of the action for the sheer creativity that Burroughs brings to the story, such as it is. This is similar to watching the 1930s Flash Gordon serial, cliffhanger included, and if you like that sort of thing you would probably like this as well. Warning: you do have to wade through stiff dialogue lines, like this exchange between John Carter and the Black Pirate Xodar:
"Can you swim?" I asked him.
"No slimy silian that haunts the depths of Korus is more at home in water than is Xodar," he replied.
"Can you swim?" I asked him.
"No slimy silian that haunts the depths of Korus is more at home in water than is Xodar," he replied.
I found this to be the finest of John Carter's adventures on Barsoom, by far.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have to say that Edgar Rice Burroughs has done it again. When I read the first "A Princess of Mars" a couple of months ago I was completely blown away at how good the book was. The series here, in "The Gods of Mars" was carried so well and the story and characters are just a strong as before. Even better, is that as readers we get an even strong sense of who John Carter is as a man.
You do have to remember though that going into this story, it is written as pulp fiction. With that in mind you have a story that is wrought with adventure, chivalry and courage. Because of this you are not going to get a super complex or damaged character in John Carter. He is one sided, and the story has a definite clear path, but it is almost refreshing to have such a strong character to follow and admire in light of the way many stories are written these days. This is truly a hero story and it is told completely with that intention.
It makes its way right onto my favorites list.
You do have to remember though that going into this story, it is written as pulp fiction. With that in mind you have a story that is wrought with adventure, chivalry and courage. Because of this you are not going to get a super complex or damaged character in John Carter. He is one sided, and the story has a definite clear path, but it is almost refreshing to have such a strong character to follow and admire in light of the way many stories are written these days. This is truly a hero story and it is told completely with that intention.
It makes its way right onto my favorites list.
Ten years (at least on Earth) after the events of [b:A Princess of Mars|3623775|A Princess of Mars (Barsoom, #1)|Edgar Rice Burroughs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1215042438l/3623775._SX50_.jpg|1129624], John Carter returns to Mars and discovers new places to journey to and new enemies to fight. He soon runs into his Green Martien friends Tars Tarkas who is under attack by the white apes and the planet me. Through Tarkas, we learn that the Red Martians and Green Martians, especially John's beloved Dejah Thoris, how long mourned John's disappearance from Barsoom. John desperately wants to see Dejah again, however the therns of the White Martians and Issus, deranged pretend goddess of the First Born Black Martians seek John's head on a platter. Both use their own religious beliefs to decide a pecking order among all Martians and both will not stop till John is dead. Hopefully, John's newest allies, even those most unlikely to be allies, can help John save the day.
Much like A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars is a fun old sci-fi adventure, though it is burdened by some uncomfortable things. Edgar Rice Burroughs' eugenics can be seen here; the divisions between each of the Martian races becoming more and more palpable and the description of the Black Martians' antagonism being quite vicious. Nonetheless, there is a continued theme of all the races coming together despite their differences, and as John points, both the White Martians and Black Martians are equally terrible here. Issus, the Black Martians' goddess, has White Martians enslaved and tortured and sacrificed to her, however, when Phaidor a princess of the White Martians describes how awful this is John points out that the Black Martians are only responding to the violence and slavery the White Martians initially inflicted on them. It's still a messy and problematic thing, but by the end of the book the Black Martians end up being more virtuous than the White Martians, especially John's new friend Xodar. Still, I'd refrain from calling Burroughs progressive of any form.
That aside, I do think that this book was an improvement upon A Princess of Mars. The flow of the writing is much better and less clunky, especially the battle scenes. The pacing towards the end of the book gets much faster too. I also enjoyed the newer characters that The Gods of Mars brought with it. Thuvia, a young Red Martian woman, had some spunk with her; she was able to control the various creatures within the thern prison, allowing her and John to best the White Martians. Like I said, I love her spunk, just wish we saw more of her. Xodar, a Black Martian who starts out as John's enemy but then becomes his ally, was also a welcome cast member. Through him, John learns just how different Mars is for some other people. There's also Carthoris, John's son who he never got to see be born (or hatched rather) after the events of the previous book. A good kid with a good heart, much like his dad. Wish we could've seen more of him too.
One of my favorite things from the previous that still remains is John's gentleman behavior. Once again, despite the outdated parts of the book, I am surprised at the depiction of masculinity in these books. Yes, the story is still one of those macho adventures and every woman falls for John though his one true is still Dejah whom he never cheats on, but it is still so surprising to see how soft (for a lack of a better term) John is. When he hugs his son, he cries but does not care that he cries. He even cries in front of Dejah and doesn't feel shame that a woman is seeing him cry (I know that sounds ridiculous, but that was a thing men were expected not to do). He admires the courage, strength, and fighting abilities of those around him, even his enemies. Most strikingly, he platonically admires the muscular bodies of his fellow men. Like, not throughout the entire book, but still, it happens quite a bit. Given this was written in 1913, I guess there was no anxiety over doing that yet--I assume, at least. John only kills when absolutely necessary; thanks to this ideal, we get to see him and Xodar become friends. John also cannot bring himself to kill women, even when they're someone as vile as Issus. Which...I respect the ideal, but she was literally torturing and sacrificing people, so I think chivalry could've taken the bench on that one.
The battles flow a lot better in The Gods of Mars and go by so quick. Seriously, the ending snuck up on me. Speaking of the ending, I did not expect a cliffhanger. After going through so much--fighting so many people, going to new places, being imprisoned--John and Dejah are briefly only to be separated again. I'm kind of peeved, but I guess Burroughs had to shake it up a bit.
Anyway, fun story.
Much like A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars is a fun old sci-fi adventure, though it is burdened by some uncomfortable things. Edgar Rice Burroughs' eugenics can be seen here; the divisions between each of the Martian races becoming more and more palpable and the description of the Black Martians' antagonism being quite vicious. Nonetheless, there is a continued theme of all the races coming together despite their differences, and as John points, both the White Martians and Black Martians are equally terrible here. Issus, the Black Martians' goddess, has White Martians enslaved and tortured and sacrificed to her, however, when Phaidor a princess of the White Martians describes how awful this is John points out that the Black Martians are only responding to the violence and slavery the White Martians initially inflicted on them. It's still a messy and problematic thing, but by the end of the book the Black Martians end up being more virtuous than the White Martians, especially John's new friend Xodar. Still, I'd refrain from calling Burroughs progressive of any form.
That aside, I do think that this book was an improvement upon A Princess of Mars. The flow of the writing is much better and less clunky, especially the battle scenes. The pacing towards the end of the book gets much faster too. I also enjoyed the newer characters that The Gods of Mars brought with it. Thuvia, a young Red Martian woman, had some spunk with her; she was able to control the various creatures within the thern prison, allowing her and John to best the White Martians. Like I said, I love her spunk, just wish we saw more of her. Xodar, a Black Martian who starts out as John's enemy but then becomes his ally, was also a welcome cast member. Through him, John learns just how different Mars is for some other people. There's also Carthoris, John's son who he never got to see be born (or hatched rather) after the events of the previous book. A good kid with a good heart, much like his dad. Wish we could've seen more of him too.
One of my favorite things from the previous that still remains is John's gentleman behavior. Once again, despite the outdated parts of the book, I am surprised at the depiction of masculinity in these books. Yes, the story is still one of those macho adventures and every woman falls for John though his one true is still Dejah whom he never cheats on, but it is still so surprising to see how soft (for a lack of a better term) John is. When he hugs his son, he cries but does not care that he cries. He even cries in front of Dejah and doesn't feel shame that a woman is seeing him cry (I know that sounds ridiculous, but that was a thing men were expected not to do). He admires the courage, strength, and fighting abilities of those around him, even his enemies. Most strikingly, he platonically admires the muscular bodies of his fellow men. Like, not throughout the entire book, but still, it happens quite a bit. Given this was written in 1913, I guess there was no anxiety over doing that yet--I assume, at least. John only kills when absolutely necessary; thanks to this ideal, we get to see him and Xodar become friends. John also cannot bring himself to kill women, even when they're someone as vile as Issus. Which...I respect the ideal, but she was literally torturing and sacrificing people, so I think chivalry could've taken the bench on that one.
The battles flow a lot better in The Gods of Mars and go by so quick. Seriously, the ending snuck up on me. Speaking of the ending, I did not expect a cliffhanger. After going through so much--fighting so many people, going to new places, being imprisoned--John and Dejah are briefly only to be separated again. I'm kind of peeved, but I guess Burroughs had to shake it up a bit.
Anyway, fun story.
Plenty of action in this one, though more interesting still are the anti-religion and racial aspects. Seems pretty bold considering it was written pre-1920's.
While enjoying the series overall, the writing is so old and cumbersome sometimes it is difficult just to lose myself in the story. And I'm getting a little irritated with Mr Burroughs and his cliffhanger endings.