A Princess of Mars

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Well, that was really pretty good. Aside from some stupidity about how the Tharks became more bestial because of owning property in common (a fairly obvious reference to then current socio-economic theories advanced to explain why some people were "lower" on the scale of civilization) and talking about "savages" (aka Apaches) in the first part, the book was incredibly imaginative and so far ahead of its time it's a wonder that it hasn't been directly adapted into a movie until now. It's fairly obvious, however, that it inspired a lot of the sci-fi that came after it.

Burroughs may not have known that there was no possibility of life on Mars (or at least, nothing of that high an order), but he certainly didn't limit himself to what he thought might be possible. This is wildly speculative sci-fi here, and it's all the better for it. The story is not incredibly deep, nor is John Carter a very deep character. He's no cardboard hero though. What's surprising is how amorally he approaches just about any situation. Burroughs obviously wasn't concerned with character development, just a rip-roaring adventure story. In my eyes, he succeeded admirably at that.

Of course, this may not be enough for other readers, especially those who aren't fans of the adventure genre. I am, admittedly, a fan of things like Conan the Barbarian and Solomon Kane, so this book is definitely aimed at readers like me. It's certainly not high literature. The prose is never the kind of writing that would win awards. It's not awkward either, though, just serviceable.



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