In the end, the baddies are all fodder and John Carter lives to fight another day, and another, and another. Back and forth across the room we surged, until the floor was ankle deep in blood, and dead men lay so thickly there that half the time we stood upon their bodies as we fought. What fun!
Better judgment has no place in this review. Four stars. View all 7 comments. Apr 07, Lyn rated it liked it. Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a fun book.
Entertaining, imaginative and even a little allegorical it also displays Burroughs knack for weaving a cliffhanger, as every other chapter finds the characters in some trouble they cannot get out of. Even the ending is designed to make the reader want to bu Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a fun book. Even the ending is designed to make the reader want to buy the next installment. View 2 comments. Apr 30, mark monday rated it liked it Shelves: scifi-classic , rain-man-reviews.
John Carter returns to Mars after a mysterious year absence! John Carter wears an excited yet contemptuous expression while slaughtering his en the further adventures of John Carter on Barsoom! John Carter wears an excited yet contemptuous expression while slaughtering his enemies!
John Carter spends some time with a princess of the White Men named Phaidor, but she turns out to be a bloodthirsty bitch! John Carter describes the Black Men as having features that are "handsome in the extreme" and says "their bodies are divine"! John Carter makes two new friends! Thuvia the Red Maid, who loves him so much she wants to be his slave!
John Carter has a year old son! Edgar Rice Burroughs got a little giddy while writing this one! Edgar Rice Burroughs must have really hated organized religion! Phaidor describes her White religion and it is totally repulsive and offensive and moronic! Xodor describes his Black religion and it is totally absurd and bizarre like out of some classic pulp scifi novel!
Burroughs sure had an axe to grind and i loved watching him grind it! View all 11 comments. Dec 02, Bradley rated it really liked it Shelves: shelf , sci-fi.
Have no doubts. It's a PURE adventure. If the first book was more cowboy meets indians, the second is lambasting the elites in usual old-school American take-no-shit from anyone. Of course, the action progresses nicely from exploration to getting entangled with "godlike" "noble" aliens with plenty of commentaries to grand escapes, an even grander WAR that was frankly ki Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am that I actually LIKE the Barsoom books so far and I'm warming even more to them.
Of course, the action progresses nicely from exploration to getting entangled with "godlike" "noble" aliens with plenty of commentaries to grand escapes, an even grander WAR that was frankly kind of awesome. Of course, the opposite is more true. Feb 12, Adam rated it really liked it Shelves: scifi. Fun, a whole lot of heroic, cheesy fun. This is not great literature and there are some attitudes towards women and minorities that need to be overlooked as a sign of the times.
But there is also adventure and thrills on almost every page and John Carter is a larger than life good guy.. I didn't like this quite as much as the first one, in part because they are structured almost the same and so a bit of t Fun, a whole lot of heroic, cheesy fun. I didn't like this quite as much as the first one, in part because they are structured almost the same and so a bit of the newness has worn off. I still really liked it and plan on reading more of the series. Shelves: books-i-own , science-fiction.
Although I've reviewed Burroughs' series opener, A Princess of Mars , here on Goodreads, I've never reviewed this sequel; and the recent John Carter movie and resulting uptick of interest in the series suggested to me that I ought to. And the first book should definitely be read before this one; you need the gras Although I've reviewed Burroughs' series opener, A Princess of Mars , here on Goodreads, I've never reviewed this sequel; and the recent John Carter movie and resulting uptick of interest in the series suggested to me that I ought to.
And the first book should definitely be read before this one; you need the grasp of the characters and setting that comes from the first one to fully appreciate the sequel.
Also, one of my Goodreads friends suggests that book 3 of the series, The Warlord of Mars Barsoom, 3 , is virtually the second half of this book, and that you shouldn't read the one unless you can start the next one immediately.
Of course, I've never read book 3; but from my general reading about the series in secondary sources before reading even this one, I already knew how the cliffhanger ending here is resolved. But if you don't, the advice to have book 3 handy is well taken; no spoilers here, but the cliffhanger is a MAJOR one!
Obviously, this volume begins with John Carter returning to Mars astral projection is utilized yet again.
Plenty of the author's trademark action adventure ensues. One plot development here stretches the long arm of coincidence unbelievably drastically, even for Burroughs; and there are again details to his world building that aren't particularly credible. But his strong points are in evidence as well, and some of these are particularly notable for the period in which he wrote.
For one thing both here and elsewhere in his work Burroughs is not a sexist writer; several of his female characters are strong, proactive personalities, and his Martian women can be fighters just as much as the males. He's also not racist or at least not nearly as racist as many of his contemporaries, if at all. Here, we encounter a couple more of the Martian races, a white and a black one. The white race is not a collectively noble and benign apex of virtuous civilization; and the black race isn't depicted as inferior in its moral and intellectual attainments to any of the other Martian races.
Xodar, one of the black leaders, is definitely a strong sympathetic character. The implications of this, in , are fairly obvious, and to Burroughs' credit. Burroughs explains the origins of the Martian races in Darwinian terms; this isn't, in the context of his times, when belief in theistic evolution was more common among both Christians and non-Christians than it is now, necessarily to be regarded as an attack on Christianity.
Burroughs' own attitude to origins was probably at least compatible with that of his geologist character in the Pellucidar series, Abner Perry, who's both a Darwinist and described as a devout Christian. Some readers might read the basic theme of this book, however, as more directly anti-Christian since Carter discovers the pagan religion of Mars to be a sham, manipulated by a clerisy of charlatan priests and a bogus goddess for personal power and profit.
But that reading, IMO, would be equally misguided; Burroughs' message doesn't come across to me as being blanket anti-religion or anti-theistic propaganda in general, nor anti-Christian in particular. The Martian cult as he depicts it has no recognizable similarities to Christianity, unless one assumes that any and all "religions" are essentially similar and vile just because they're religions --sort of a "Mother Teresa, Aztec human sacrifice, whatever, same thing" fallacy.
There's really nothing to suggest that this is an assumption Burroughs makes, however, much less argues for. To the extent that he consciously intends to send a message for this-world application, I think he's simply warning and validly so! Those are actually points the Biblical writers would have been comfortable with --and sometimes make as well. Dec 19, Jim rated it liked it Shelves: 2fiction , sword-sorcery , fantasy , 3series , 1paper. This is only half of the 2d book in the Barsoom series.
Yes, I know the next one is called book 3, but he cliff hanger that this book leaves us on should be a shooting offense.
If not, you will almost certainly die of massive frustration. You really should read A Princess This is only half of the 2d book in the Barsoom series. You really should read A Princess of Mars first. Aug 19, K. Weiland rated it liked it. Burroughs, to our modern eyes, is a mixed bag. On the one hand, his stuff is blatant sensationalism, complete with purple prose, laughable melodrama, and cliched plots and characters. On the other, his work offers an astoundingly fresh creativity - even after all these years.
His worldbuilding is beautiful and detailed and just plain fun. This may be pulp, but it's good pulp. Feb 23, Michael P. Most of the first three-quarters of this book are one exhausting battle scene after another or the capture of the protagonist and his friends and their escaping.
They battle, they are captured, and escape several times. That is the basic plot. In the last quarter, they really do escape and there is a tiny amount of plot development that results in, yes, their captivity again. The ending is another big battle. There is some relief when protagonist John Carter meets a character who he Most of the first three-quarters of this book are one exhausting battle scene after another or the capture of the protagonist and his friends and their escaping.
There is some relief when protagonist John Carter meets a character who he has not met before but with whom he has a deep connection. This connection is apparent from their first page together, but it occurs to neither of them until several chapters later when it is treated as a big revelation.
Thus the author makes these two characters much dumber than the readers. There is also a Martian character who knows nothing of earth who compares a Martian animal to an earth animal. Let's not get started on the coincidences. These are examples of the author being dumber than the reader. His arcane style, not his typical style, feels phony too.
This is a tedious and terrible book. Cast your eyes elsewhere. This one picks up from the cliffhanger that ended the first book of the series. John Carter returns to Mars after being on Earth for 10 years. Eager to be reunited with his Martian princess assuming she still lives and moreover hasn't moved on romantically , he unexpectedly finds himself transported to the Martian version of the Garden of Eden And there Carter immediately faces the proverbial "trouble in paradise.
The ride is a lot of fun. Some of the action sequences epitomize the pulp genre; suspenseful, imaginative, and described with a flair for the dramatic "my seething blade wove a net of death around me".
The same could be said for the book as a whole. Just when things are looking up for our hero John Carter, there's a twist and all seems lost. And just when all seems lost, by chance things begin to look up. It's not unpredictable, but it's fast-paced pulp-ish fun. I really enjoy Burroughs's world-building, with fleets of flying battleships floating above the alien Martian landscape "under the glorious rays of the two moons we sped noiselessly across the dead sea," and, "Below us lay a typical Martian landscape.
Rolling ochre sea bottom of long dead seas In a few sentences Burroughs can paint an alien vista that's a feast for the imagination.
Admittedly his prose is wordy, but then like other pulp authors he was being paid by the word. There may not be a lot of deep literary value here Burroughs himself admitted as much but the influence of the Barsoom series can't be disregarded. Barsoom inspired young readers like Bradbury, Clarke, and Heinlein, all to later become science fiction luminaries. Barsoom even has the dubious distinction of being one of the first sci-fi stories with its own alien language i.
And although the hallmarks of Barsoom -- like other pulp series -- may be action sequences and two-dimensional characters, it doesn't lack for social commentary. On Mars the races are divided into four classes: red Martians, white Martians, black Martians, and green Martians. The whites are the holy leaders that live in the Garden of Eden, the reds are the more ordinary folk builders, scientists, craftsmen, soldiers , the greens are a four-armed "savage" tribal race, and the blacks are the pirates of the skies that "pride themselves upon their idleness" and prey on the lower orders "who live merely that [the black pirates] may enjoy long lives of luxury" and whose leader is feared throughout Mars as a vindictive goddess.
Add to this bisexual, mindless, man-eating plant men and the giant white apes and you have a panoply of colorful races via which Burroughs is able to draw his analogies concerning skin color and racism.
As an example, John Carter amasses a team of sidekicks of a variety of races, about whom he says, "In that little party there was not one who would desert another; yet we were of different countries, different colours, different races, different religions -- and one of us was of a different world.
These are some progressive ideas for Mars, as Burroughs defines it, is a dying world and its social fabric is shaped by the existence of very limited resources that rest in the hands of a very few. This of course lends itself to further socio-political commentary although this occurs more overtly in the first book of the series, A Princess of Mars. As one example, the green Martians have set up a communal society in which everyone owns an equal share in everything, and concerning this Burroughs expresses via the voice of his narrator doubts about the efficacy of a Marxist system.
More than anything else, however, this entire novel is a parable about the dangers of corruption within organized religion. Please do read the novel to see why, but here are a few quotes about the religion of Mars which obviously describe Burroughs's sentiments about religion in our own society.
Speaking of the black Martians the "idle elite" and white Martians aka, the "Holy Therns" , one of John Carter's Martian companions has the realization that, "The whole fabric of our religion is based upon a superstitious belief in lies that have been foisted upon us for ages by those directly above us, to whose personal profit and aggrandizement it was to have us continue to believe as they wished us to believe.
I'm looking forward to reading the third in the John Carter trilogy. Finally, I should mention that this book, as well as those immediately preceding it and following it in the series, are available for free in electronic form on Amazon thanks to a team of volunteers that have transcribed it to ebook format for all of us to enjoy. Aug 13, C. Powell rated it really liked it. John Carter goes on a further adventure to Barsoom. He is in the land at the end of the River Iss where Barsoom people go to die.
A sort of Elephant's graveyard. A place from which no one returns. Land of the dead. A world Barsoom people believe the afterlife continues with renewed splendour. It all sounds wonderful and fine. When the people of Barsoom decide they are too old, the pilgrimage along the River Iss begins. They will never be seen again once entering the Valley Dor. Edgar Rice Burroughs novels are pulp fantasy adventure stories.
But pulp adventure done right is breathtakingly addictive and wonderful escapism. This second John Carter of Mars story is a real roller coaster adventure of damsels in distress, noble heroes and colourful villains. It is glorious to be John Carter with his black and white simplistic rules of honour.
Plus his superhuman strength on Mars. This enables him to be a warrior of distinction. When Carter touches it, he finds himself in a place where he can leap incredible heights, among other things. He later encounters beings he has never seen before. He meets a woman who helps him to discover that he is on Mars, and he learns there's some kind of unrest going on.
Lost in Our World. Found in Another. Rated PG for intense sequences of violence and action. Did you know Edit. Trivia While filming at Big Water in Utah, the crew accidentally discovered a 60 foot long sauropod dinosaur skeleton.
The state's land management bureau took over. Goofs When John Carter is trying to pull the chain out of the rock in the arena, the ring fastening the chain has an obvious gap for him to unhook it easily.
The gap disappears in the next shot. Quotes John Carter : Stand behind me, this might get dangerous. When he loses his sword, Dejah takes it and kills the remaining enemies] John Carter : Or maybe I ought to get behind you Crazy credits The Disney castle logo at the beginning and end is tinted a deep blood red.
User reviews Review. Top review. Becoming John Carter of Mars The man in question is John Carter from Virginia, ex-Civil War soldier who lost his family and is now gold prospecting.
Proceedings are rather slow-going in the beginning of the film, although it's necessary set-up for what's to come. Things don't really get interesting until Carter's transported to Mars, which is known as Barsoom by the inhabitants there, who are 9 to 15 foot tall four-armed green aliens with tusks called Tharks. Thanks to the lower gravity of Mars, Carter has enhanced strength and can leap great distances.
We even get a montage devoted to him discovering as much. Some Tharks discover him, the least hostile of which is one named Tars Tarkas voiced by Willem Dafoe , who winds up thinking Carter's name is Virigina due to miscommunication.
Subtitles are used up until Carter is eventually able to understand the Tharks and we hear them speaking in English. Carter also finds an ally in Sola Samantha Morton. Eventually he meets the Princess of Mars herself, Dejah Thoris, after having rescued her it's what he does.
And this is where the real story begins. Kitsch fits the role of the long-haired hero well although he is saddled with some rather dodgy dialogue at times. His reactions to the bizarre situations, customs, etc that he finds himself having to deal with are pretty good.
He is well-paired with Lynn Collins, who manages to make Dejah actually very human like when she's nervous about the presentation she's about to give when we first meet her in the city-state of Helium She's certainly the prettiest thing on Mars, but she's also very smart, as well as able to handle herself in a fight.
She's equal parts scientist and action heroine. Kitsch and Collins play off each other very well, sharing both humorous and touching moments between them. Also good is James Purefoy as Kantos Kan. Although it's not a big role, he manages to make the most of it and is easily likable, as well as amusing at times. When he returned home he discovered that his wife and daughter had died in a house fire.
After burying them, Carter left for Arizona in search of gold in the hills. However, he was arrested by Colonel James K. Powell in an attempt to sway Carter in assisting with the local Apache. Carter escaped his jail with Powell and company chasing close behind. Unfortunately, Carter ran into a group of Apache warriors, and a firefight broke out between the Army men and the Apache, wounding Powell as he and Carter ran away.
Forced into a last stand, Carter and Powell took refuge in the mouth of a cave, which the Apache dared not come close to. Investigating the cave, Carter found the gold he was looking for, and accidentally met his first Thern , whom he killed in self defense. The Thern started mumbling unknown words with his dying breath, holding a medallion in his hand.
Carter took it away from him, and unknowingly finished the action, teleporting him to Barsoom. John Carter is portrayed by Taylor Kitsch in this movie adaption who is the second actor to play John Carter on screen. This John Carter is portrayed as a hardened, cynical man who has lost everything, and his hero's journey on Barsoom revolves around finding something new to fight for and live for, with slight comedic relief relating to his adaptation to his new, alien world.
One major change to the original story is the explanation of Carter's transmission to-and-from Mars through means of a mysterious, alien technology. Encyclopedia Barsoomia Wiki Explore. The Universe. Heroes Worlds Species Creatures. Real World. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account?
John Carter. View source.
0コメント