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Barsoom #7
A Fighting Man of Mars
Tan Hadron from the realm of Gathol encounters a wide range of enemies in this science fiction thriller of the 1930's. He fends off green men, mad scientists, cannibals, spiders and white apes. The main character, Tan Hadron, finds himself an unlikely hero in this pulp fiction classic. "A Fighting Man of Mars," is the seventh book in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian series.
239 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1930
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About the author
Edgar Rice Burroughs
2,717 books2,714 followersEdgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
July 19, 2023
A dying world getting dryer every year , deserts spreading in arid terrain, numerous wars destroying the planet and life ending in a hostile atmosphere abruptly for little reason, no not Earth but our neighbor Mars. In the series of eleven volumes written, this the seventh by Edgar Rice Burroughs an icon in science-fiction and adventure books the former John Carter, the latter Tarzan. Like ancient Greece city states, here too they continue a relentless battle for supremacy never mind the cost. Tan Hadron a low ranking warrior in the Martian nation of Helium falls madly in love with no less than the princess Sanoma Tora don't have to say beautiful, arrogant and conceited it comes with these tales. A minor noble himself Hadron lacks the prerequisite for success in wooing the daughter of the ruler. Things change when the lady is abducted by a rival city on Mars Jahar. Tor Hatan the king and father informs the warrior he can marry Sanoma if she is returned safely back home by him . Well his motivation has increased greatly if that was possible and the very night of the trouble after receiving a clue from a slave about the culprit flies off in a small aircraft to a remote distant land not before seeing strange colorful creatures both animal and human. Meeting the vicious males, adoring women , a particular female makes the hero think and in the underground tunnels fighting an enormous beast and on the surface of the planet grotesque specimens thrive. As the majestic twin reddish moons streaking high above in the dark sky and illuminating his path to the unknown territory. In prison Hadron becomes friends with Nur An (don't you like these names? ) another innocent man jailed for dubious crimes. Action is constant and escapes frequent, never boring in the book and a pleasure to read as for the unbelievable plot it carries the narrative to its satisfactory conclusion though the detours add to the interest of the contented reader and the evil genius Phor Tak and wicked Tul Axtar give it spice. The author writes with confidence and knows what his many fans enjoy me being of that group. When modern science revealed a sphere lacking life, extensive craters everywhere, a thin poisonous atmosphere and no structures seen, the magic of the Red Planet diminished, and previous hopes were smashed however the superlative books remain...
August 12, 2024
This was actually a very fun and sometimes (probably unintentionally) goofy book. Real good fun!
A Fighting Man of Mars follows Hadron of Hastor, a padwar who is of lower rank and class than our previous heroes. He's not the working or lower class, although that would've been an unique twist on things, and his mother is a former princess of Gathol, however he does not value material wealth over honor. John Carter, Cathoris, and Gahan of the previous books were honorable men, but they never really questioned their higher pedigrees (John eventually gained higher status after marrying Dejah Thoris and Cathoris and Gahan were born into it). Now, don't get too excited, this isn't a book about the struggles of the middle class or any such (again, that would've been a cool book), and perhaps given the length limitations of publishing in a pulp magazine Edgar Rice Burroughs wouldn't have had the time or space if he was concerned with such matters, but there are some points where you realize that Hadron's reactions to certain things is probably formed by his lower status.
Anyway, Hadron is enamored by Sanoma Tora, the daughter of richer noble, however, she is always cold and haughty to those around her, especially Hadron. But then one night, she's kidnapped by the men of Tul Axtar! Hadron makes it his sworn duty to rescue the Red Martian maiden. His journey will have him encountering cruel jeddaks, weapons of literal mass destruction, cannibals, a woman just a strong as any man he's known, a mad scientist, and a bloody good time.
A Fighting Man of Mars is probably the most refreshing book of the Barsoom series thus far. It could've done more, but it was still a fun time. I stated in my review of The Chessmen of Mars that because of Burroughs' prose the books work the best when they have a shorter page length. A Fighting Man of Mars is the longest book to date and while I do believe it overstayed its welcome just a bit, it is a much stronger book than The Chessmen of Mars and actually has more room to breath thus utilizing its longer length more successfully. I do feel that there are parts where Burroughs is padding the book out, but even during and around those moments some important development for either the plot or Hadron's interiority is going on, so it's not entirely fruitless. What's also refreshing is that story seems to more a general adventure. There's no other Martians trying to impose their superior worldviews on others going here; Sanoma's abduction is the result of a cruel, greedy man with unsavory desires and Hadron needs nothing more than that--other than his unrequited love for Sanoma--to go to the rescue.
In The Chessmen of Mars, I had stated that Burroughs improved on writing the women. Here, it's much better, but once again Burroughs does that thing that keeps it from being totally great. Sanoma is a damsel in distress, though she is not a one note character. She clearly has a small devious and disloyal side, which results in Hadron ending up in more hot water. And by the end of the book, Hadron learns that all the glitters is not gold. A wealthy woman who uses her wealth as a bargaining chip or soothing agent is not necessarily the one to love. There is also Phao, a servant girl of Tul Axtar. Again, somewhat of a damsel in distress, though is sneaky and knows how to manipulate Tul Axtar nad his servants. Most importantly, is Tavia, a slave girl whom Hadron befriends. Like Hadron, she is from a lower position in Barsoomian society. She considers Hadron her master after he rescues her, but he does not want this and considers her a friends.
Interestingly, after my criticisms of the descriptions of the slaves in The Chessmen of Mars, Burroughs writes all this. Huh...
Anyway, what makes Tavia so great, is that she's not a dainty princess. She actually wears the clothing of Red Martian men, has her hair cut short like a man's, and can fight! She's the closest thing to a genuine action girl we have in this series. Granted, she does get Hadron's help in a scenes, however, she's always adamant about fighting to her last breath even when she can't. But then there's those frustrating parts about her...Oh, Burroughs.
Tavia believes it's her duty as a slave to serve Hadron. Thankfully, Hadron constantly rejects that idea, though Tavia believes she is merely fulfilling Barsoomian custom. The other frustrating thing is that, at the end of the book, Hadron accepts that he is in love with Tavia and accepts her pining love too. Tavia is reunited with her father who was once a jeddak himself before becoming a slave. According to Hadron, this makes Tavia a princess. This is frustrating, because the idea of a lower class warrior freeing and falling and love with a slave, the two lowest members of Barsoomian society, gets kneecapped somewhat by the reveal of this formal royal status. Granted, Hadron does not say that Tavia and her father are restored to their former status, no idea if the future books will, and perhaps it is merely an ironic ending that Hadron really did fall in love with a princess of sorts. But it feels like a weak ending to me.
The final battle of the book is also weak to me, as it's over quite quickly. Hadron encounters so much danger and violence in this book and he fights with Tul Axtar, or at least his men, a few times before the final battle. Most incredible is the disintegrating rifle that he uses, made by a mad scientist who was ultimately tortured and twisted by Tul Axtar. There are some amazing battles with that rifle and Hadron's realization that such a thing shouldn't exist. However, the final confrontation is over just as quickly as it started. Fans of the video game Dishonored will know what I'm talking about.
Still, a fun read.
A Fighting Man of Mars follows Hadron of Hastor, a padwar who is of lower rank and class than our previous heroes. He's not the working or lower class, although that would've been an unique twist on things, and his mother is a former princess of Gathol, however he does not value material wealth over honor. John Carter, Cathoris, and Gahan of the previous books were honorable men, but they never really questioned their higher pedigrees (John eventually gained higher status after marrying Dejah Thoris and Cathoris and Gahan were born into it). Now, don't get too excited, this isn't a book about the struggles of the middle class or any such (again, that would've been a cool book), and perhaps given the length limitations of publishing in a pulp magazine Edgar Rice Burroughs wouldn't have had the time or space if he was concerned with such matters, but there are some points where you realize that Hadron's reactions to certain things is probably formed by his lower status.
Anyway, Hadron is enamored by Sanoma Tora, the daughter of richer noble, however, she is always cold and haughty to those around her, especially Hadron. But then one night, she's kidnapped by the men of Tul Axtar! Hadron makes it his sworn duty to rescue the Red Martian maiden. His journey will have him encountering cruel jeddaks, weapons of literal mass destruction, cannibals, a woman just a strong as any man he's known, a mad scientist, and a bloody good time.
A Fighting Man of Mars is probably the most refreshing book of the Barsoom series thus far. It could've done more, but it was still a fun time. I stated in my review of The Chessmen of Mars that because of Burroughs' prose the books work the best when they have a shorter page length. A Fighting Man of Mars is the longest book to date and while I do believe it overstayed its welcome just a bit, it is a much stronger book than The Chessmen of Mars and actually has more room to breath thus utilizing its longer length more successfully. I do feel that there are parts where Burroughs is padding the book out, but even during and around those moments some important development for either the plot or Hadron's interiority is going on, so it's not entirely fruitless. What's also refreshing is that story seems to more a general adventure. There's no other Martians trying to impose their superior worldviews on others going here; Sanoma's abduction is the result of a cruel, greedy man with unsavory desires and Hadron needs nothing more than that--other than his unrequited love for Sanoma--to go to the rescue.
In The Chessmen of Mars, I had stated that Burroughs improved on writing the women. Here, it's much better, but once again Burroughs does that thing that keeps it from being totally great. Sanoma is a damsel in distress, though she is not a one note character. She clearly has a small devious and disloyal side, which results in Hadron ending up in more hot water. And by the end of the book, Hadron learns that all the glitters is not gold. A wealthy woman who uses her wealth as a bargaining chip or soothing agent is not necessarily the one to love. There is also Phao, a servant girl of Tul Axtar. Again, somewhat of a damsel in distress, though is sneaky and knows how to manipulate Tul Axtar nad his servants. Most importantly, is Tavia, a slave girl whom Hadron befriends. Like Hadron, she is from a lower position in Barsoomian society. She considers Hadron her master after he rescues her, but he does not want this and considers her a friends.
Interestingly, after my criticisms of the descriptions of the slaves in The Chessmen of Mars, Burroughs writes all this. Huh...
Anyway, what makes Tavia so great, is that she's not a dainty princess. She actually wears the clothing of Red Martian men, has her hair cut short like a man's, and can fight! She's the closest thing to a genuine action girl we have in this series. Granted, she does get Hadron's help in a scenes, however, she's always adamant about fighting to her last breath even when she can't. But then there's those frustrating parts about her...Oh, Burroughs.
Tavia believes it's her duty as a slave to serve Hadron. Thankfully, Hadron constantly rejects that idea, though Tavia believes she is merely fulfilling Barsoomian custom. The other frustrating thing is that, at the end of the book, Hadron accepts that he is in love with Tavia and accepts her pining love too. Tavia is reunited with her father who was once a jeddak himself before becoming a slave. According to Hadron, this makes Tavia a princess. This is frustrating, because the idea of a lower class warrior freeing and falling and love with a slave, the two lowest members of Barsoomian society, gets kneecapped somewhat by the reveal of this formal royal status. Granted, Hadron does not say that Tavia and her father are restored to their former status, no idea if the future books will, and perhaps it is merely an ironic ending that Hadron really did fall in love with a princess of sorts. But it feels like a weak ending to me.
The final battle of the book is also weak to me, as it's over quite quickly. Hadron encounters so much danger and violence in this book and he fights with Tul Axtar, or at least his men, a few times before the final battle. Most incredible is the disintegrating rifle that he uses, made by a mad scientist who was ultimately tortured and twisted by Tul Axtar. There are some amazing battles with that rifle and Hadron's realization that such a thing shouldn't exist. However, the final confrontation is over just as quickly as it started. Fans of the video game Dishonored will know what I'm talking about.
Still, a fun read.
June 7, 2023
Either this or Chessmen is probably my favorite non-original-trilogy Barsoom book. In this case, Burroughs mixes up the formula a little -- it's first-person narration but from the point of view of a native Barsoomian. Tan Hadron of Hastor is, of course, tall, clean-limbed and a dab hand with a sword; he's also, in some aspects of interpersonal relationships, dumb as a box of hammers.
The set-up is pretty much what you'd expect -- a search to far corners of Mars for a kidnapped woman, during which he has all manner of adventures, including a visit to Ghasta, one of the more horrifying interludes in one of these books. There's also again more of a science fictional element to the story, with a genuine mad scientist on stage at various point.
The set-up is pretty much what you'd expect -- a search to far corners of Mars for a kidnapped woman, during which he has all manner of adventures, including a visit to Ghasta, one of the more horrifying interludes in one of these books. There's also again more of a science fictional element to the story, with a genuine mad scientist on stage at various point.
February 3, 2023
Another great action packed story from the master of adventure. Always a fast paced ride with an ERB book. Recommended
June 25, 2008
'A Fighting Man of Mars' is the longest, and probably the best, of Edgar Rice Burroughs classic 'Barsoom' science fiction sword operas.
In this story, John Carter takes a back seat to an ordinary martian soldier. The story just gets better for it. This is the high water mark of the series, both in terms of imagination and the sophistication of the story telling.
The villain of this story is a power mad tyrant who plans to conquer all of Mars using a combination of super science and an uncountable teeming horde he has built up through a program of forced breeding. As usual, his plans are overthrown because they come between the love of a man and a women, because real men will sacrifice everything and endure any hardship for the sake of those who they love.
And, as we will see in this book, so will real women.
As usual, the text is littered with Burroughs admonishments for what it means to act manly and noblely, and the story is a mixture of orthodox morality and deeply subversive jibes at what was politically correct in his day. Burroughs goes after class consciousness, sexism, statism, militarism, hedonism and any number of other things with a concealed but earnest and deadly vengence which is somewhat reminiscent of his stories heroes. He also manages while writing in the early '30's to foresee many of the questions and difficulties which will be raised by the super weapon driven WWII still more than a decade a way at the time. And, as usual, he manages to do this while writing an entertaining, easily readable adventure story filled with wonder and imagination.
In this story, John Carter takes a back seat to an ordinary martian soldier. The story just gets better for it. This is the high water mark of the series, both in terms of imagination and the sophistication of the story telling.
The villain of this story is a power mad tyrant who plans to conquer all of Mars using a combination of super science and an uncountable teeming horde he has built up through a program of forced breeding. As usual, his plans are overthrown because they come between the love of a man and a women, because real men will sacrifice everything and endure any hardship for the sake of those who they love.
And, as we will see in this book, so will real women.
As usual, the text is littered with Burroughs admonishments for what it means to act manly and noblely, and the story is a mixture of orthodox morality and deeply subversive jibes at what was politically correct in his day. Burroughs goes after class consciousness, sexism, statism, militarism, hedonism and any number of other things with a concealed but earnest and deadly vengence which is somewhat reminiscent of his stories heroes. He also manages while writing in the early '30's to foresee many of the questions and difficulties which will be raised by the super weapon driven WWII still more than a decade a way at the time. And, as usual, he manages to do this while writing an entertaining, easily readable adventure story filled with wonder and imagination.
August 22, 2011
"A Fighting Man of Mars" is book 7 of 11 John Carter novels that Edgar Rice Burroughs gave to the world. It first appeared serially in "The Blue Book Magazine" from April-September 1930, and, at almost 250 pages, is the longest of all the Carter novels. As in the previous three books in the series, Carter himself only makes a few token appearances, the action mantle this time falling on a distant relation of his, Tan Hadron. As Carter did for Dejah Thoris in books 1-3, and Carthoris did for Thuvia in book 4, and Gahan did for Tara in book 5, Hadron in book 7 goes on a quest to save a woman who has initially spurned him. This IS a big book in the Carter series, as I have said, and Burroughs throws in everything but the proverbial kitchen sink to entertain the reader. Whereas previous books generally featured two or three enemy nations and their leaders, this book has a full six: the dead city of Xanator, with its fierce green warriors; the city of Tjanath, with its despotic ruler Haj Osis; the volcanic realm of Ghasta, with its bestial ruler Ghron; the castle of Jhama, home of the mad scientist Phor Tak; the province of U-Gor, with its cannibal inhabitants; and last but certainly not least, the nation of Jahar, led by the power-crazy Tul Axtar. Instead of one woman that needs saving, and one romantic subplot, this book offers up a full three. The book also lays claim to being the most sci-fi oriented of the lot so far, what with the use of metal-, wood- and flesh-disintegrating weapons, invisibility paint, guided ground-to-air torpedoes and so on. Throw in a scene with a crazed white ape on top of a tower, a humongous killer albino lizard, poison spiders, mucho swordplay, and the mother of all air battles at the book's end and you've got quite a hefty load of fantastic entertainment in your hands. Burroughs certainly gives the reader value for [money] in this one, no doubt. The novel moves breathlessly along from one set piece to the next, never pausing for breath. There are even nice touches of humor to be had; for example, the fact that the scientist, Jason Gridley, at the novel's opening, is from TARZANa, California, of all places! Much as I enjoyed the book, however, I did have some problems with it; numerous problems, actually....
By now, any reader of this series will be resigned to the unwelcome intrusion of what I like to call I&I: inconsistencies and implausibilities. Like what inconsistencies? In one scene, Burroughs tells us that the distance from Jhama to Jahar is 4,000 haads; a little later on, this distance is said to be 2,500 haads. Things like this can drive an alert reader to distraction! In another scene, it is said that Phor Tak had invented the paint that renders the metal-disintegrating ray useless; but previously in the book, it was stated that that paint was a product of one of his assistants, AFTER Phor Tak had gone into exile! Hadron and his buddy, Nur An, are forced to swim through some underground rapids in one scene, and yet in previous books it had been established that Barsoomians don't, as a rule, know how to swim, due to the dearth of water on their planet! In another scene, Hadron is led to the green warriors' encampment by the loud sounds of their squealing thoats (beasts of burden); so why is he so worried when they start squealing as he makes off with one of them? As far as implausibilities: Hadron and Nur An's balloon escape from Ghasta is extremely hard to swallow. Even harder to buy is the fact that this balloon drifts across the planet and coincidentally lands them right on the roof of the person that they are looking for! As in book 3, it is extremely hard for me to believe that a man can climb up or down the side of a tower at night by grasping onto slight protuberances. It is never explained to the reader how Hadron's invisible ship floated away in Tjanath, and that ship's miraculous reappearance in U-Gor is just totally unlikely in the extreme. Also never explained is how Tul Axtar manages to track down Phor Tak at the book's conclusion; this one really had me scratching my head! The "surprise" regarding Tavia at the book's end is so very obvious that only the most obtuse of readers will not see it coming; it is so obvious that I wonder if Burroughs really meant it to be a surprise at all.
Despite all this grousing, I do NOT want to give the impression that I didn't enjoy this book. It fully deserves the four stars that I give it, if only for its great show of imagination and superb pace. Oh yes...there is one other thing that I loved. In one portion of the book, it is said that it is the boast of John Carter--leader of Mars' most powerful army--that he will never fire the first [time] in a war, even though--as in this book--he is faced with a power-mad thug who has accumulated weapons of mass destruction. I have to wonder what Dubya would've made of this!
By now, any reader of this series will be resigned to the unwelcome intrusion of what I like to call I&I: inconsistencies and implausibilities. Like what inconsistencies? In one scene, Burroughs tells us that the distance from Jhama to Jahar is 4,000 haads; a little later on, this distance is said to be 2,500 haads. Things like this can drive an alert reader to distraction! In another scene, it is said that Phor Tak had invented the paint that renders the metal-disintegrating ray useless; but previously in the book, it was stated that that paint was a product of one of his assistants, AFTER Phor Tak had gone into exile! Hadron and his buddy, Nur An, are forced to swim through some underground rapids in one scene, and yet in previous books it had been established that Barsoomians don't, as a rule, know how to swim, due to the dearth of water on their planet! In another scene, Hadron is led to the green warriors' encampment by the loud sounds of their squealing thoats (beasts of burden); so why is he so worried when they start squealing as he makes off with one of them? As far as implausibilities: Hadron and Nur An's balloon escape from Ghasta is extremely hard to swallow. Even harder to buy is the fact that this balloon drifts across the planet and coincidentally lands them right on the roof of the person that they are looking for! As in book 3, it is extremely hard for me to believe that a man can climb up or down the side of a tower at night by grasping onto slight protuberances. It is never explained to the reader how Hadron's invisible ship floated away in Tjanath, and that ship's miraculous reappearance in U-Gor is just totally unlikely in the extreme. Also never explained is how Tul Axtar manages to track down Phor Tak at the book's conclusion; this one really had me scratching my head! The "surprise" regarding Tavia at the book's end is so very obvious that only the most obtuse of readers will not see it coming; it is so obvious that I wonder if Burroughs really meant it to be a surprise at all.
Despite all this grousing, I do NOT want to give the impression that I didn't enjoy this book. It fully deserves the four stars that I give it, if only for its great show of imagination and superb pace. Oh yes...there is one other thing that I loved. In one portion of the book, it is said that it is the boast of John Carter--leader of Mars' most powerful army--that he will never fire the first [time] in a war, even though--as in this book--he is faced with a power-mad thug who has accumulated weapons of mass destruction. I have to wonder what Dubya would've made of this!
December 6, 2016
It starts to feel a bit of a chore to keep going with this series. They're still irreverent, campy, fun. But, Burroughs really seems to struggle for a new plot device. Each time our hero is in love with a beautiful – but unavailable – woman. She gets kidnapped by hitherto unknown baddie (or entire hitherto unknown species of baddies) and our hero has to go on a lengthy quest to save her (possibly realising he's not in love with her after all). Coincidence and repeated set pieces abound, but you're tempted to forgive him because it's still clearly enjoyable. And you can't claim you didn't know what you were getting into, you've read six of them now already after all.
July 20, 2025
Extended ERB Mars series read June / July 2025
Ah now this is back to the better standard, and is a fun and action packed adventure for the hero Tan Hadron of Hastor
The son of a minor noble and a lowly warrior in the Helium Army, Hadron is nonetheless from a very respected family that are friends of the mighty John Carter, so he is despite his rank invited to many splendid parties.
Here he encounters the highborn Princess Sonoma Tora, with who he instantly falls in love. Unfortunately for him, she is a bit of a haughty one, and because of his low rank is not interested in him at all.
Then one night she is kidnapped, and Hadron is given permission to head off in search of the Princess with a view to rescuing her. Promised her hand in marriage if he succeeds he is off in a flash. Loading up his flyer he disappears off into the night. But little does he know that in his absence false trails implicating him in her kidnapping are being laid.
Numerous fun adventures follow in which Hadron learns that all that glitters is not gold, before he returns safely to Helium to both marry and clear his name, but will it be the Princess he marries or the slave girl, Tavia he meets and helps along the way.
Ah now this is back to the better standard, and is a fun and action packed adventure for the hero Tan Hadron of Hastor
The son of a minor noble and a lowly warrior in the Helium Army, Hadron is nonetheless from a very respected family that are friends of the mighty John Carter, so he is despite his rank invited to many splendid parties.
Here he encounters the highborn Princess Sonoma Tora, with who he instantly falls in love. Unfortunately for him, she is a bit of a haughty one, and because of his low rank is not interested in him at all.
Then one night she is kidnapped, and Hadron is given permission to head off in search of the Princess with a view to rescuing her. Promised her hand in marriage if he succeeds he is off in a flash. Loading up his flyer he disappears off into the night. But little does he know that in his absence false trails implicating him in her kidnapping are being laid.
Numerous fun adventures follow in which Hadron learns that all that glitters is not gold, before he returns safely to Helium to both marry and clear his name, but will it be the Princess he marries or the slave girl, Tavia he meets and helps along the way.
June 10, 2015
For something new and different, this time he recounts the adventures of a native born Martian. Tan Hadron has no more connection to John Carter than being a cousin of his son-in-law -- and being in his service in Helium.
And he's in love with a rich and haughty woman, Sanoma Tora, in Helium, but his connection means she has entre to the royal palaces there in his company, and she graciously consented to let him escort her.
Then she's wooed by the agents of a Jeddak, and she will take him as long as he makes her a Jeddara. Except that then she is kidnapped, and he deduces that Jeddak had had her abducted. Setting out in pursuit, he rashly flies over an abandoned city and becomes lost in thoughts of its old inhabitants. Which lets some green Martians open fire on his flyer and do enough damage to force him to land. After some escapes -- there are white apes about -- he sees the green men with a red woman prisoner, and goes to rescue her. She is Tuvia, a run-away slave, who can fortunately tell him about the city he seeks.
The rest of the tale involves spiders, loyalty, an invisibility cloak, a fearsome weapon that can destroy air ships in flight, the Death, where you are throwing into a cave from which shrieks and moans are always rising, cannibals, treachery, and much more.
And he's in love with a rich and haughty woman, Sanoma Tora, in Helium, but his connection means she has entre to the royal palaces there in his company, and she graciously consented to let him escort her.
Then she's wooed by the agents of a Jeddak, and she will take him as long as he makes her a Jeddara. Except that then she is kidnapped, and he deduces that Jeddak had had her abducted. Setting out in pursuit, he rashly flies over an abandoned city and becomes lost in thoughts of its old inhabitants. Which lets some green Martians open fire on his flyer and do enough damage to force him to land. After some escapes -- there are white apes about -- he sees the green men with a red woman prisoner, and goes to rescue her. She is Tuvia, a run-away slave, who can fortunately tell him about the city he seeks.
The rest of the tale involves spiders, loyalty, an invisibility cloak, a fearsome weapon that can destroy air ships in flight, the Death, where you are throwing into a cave from which shrieks and moans are always rising, cannibals, treachery, and much more.
February 7, 2012
This is the story of Tan Hadron as related by Ulysses Paxton, the hero from "Mastermind of Mars", as Tan Hadron seeks to rescue the beautiful but shallow princess Sanoma Tora. In the course of his quest Tan Hadron befriends Tavia the slave girl who assists him in rescuing Sanoma Tora. When the princess of his desire proves herself unworthy of his love, Tan Hadron accepts Tavia's love instead, and she (surprize-surprize) turns out to be a princess herself.
These stories are not high art, or even good sci-fi/fantasy; but they are terrific yarns with exotic Barsoomian locales, fantastic beasts, flamboyant princesses, dastardly villains, and cliff-hanging adventures in which the hero gets the girl and the bad guy meets his (or her) just deserts.
I've read and re-read these stories over the years, and even recorded them onto DVD for the local radio station for blind and reading-impaired listeners.
These stories are not high art, or even good sci-fi/fantasy; but they are terrific yarns with exotic Barsoomian locales, fantastic beasts, flamboyant princesses, dastardly villains, and cliff-hanging adventures in which the hero gets the girl and the bad guy meets his (or her) just deserts.
I've read and re-read these stories over the years, and even recorded them onto DVD for the local radio station for blind and reading-impaired listeners.
April 25, 2016
The Fighting Man referred to in the title is Hadron of Hastor, a soldier of Helium. When the woman he loves is abducted, Hadron sets out in pursuit, leading to a grand adventure.
Burroughs once again proves himself a master storyteller, even though some of his plot twists strain logic. But if you are willing to go along for the ride, it's an exhilarating journey.
Burroughs once again proves himself a master storyteller, even though some of his plot twists strain logic. But if you are willing to go along for the ride, it's an exhilarating journey.
January 17, 2022
One of the better books in the series.
February 12, 2019
Another very good Barsoom novel! Great action, good romance!
May 13, 2024
2.0/5
Worst entry so far. The protagonist is so moronic and oblivious that it ruins almost an semblance of a story.
Worst entry so far. The protagonist is so moronic and oblivious that it ruins almost an semblance of a story.
March 17, 2017
After the irritating chore that was THE MASTERMIND OF MARS, I swore off the Barsoom books for a while. Now, one year later, I've just finished A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS, and I can say it's a marked improvement.
Although FIGHTING MAN is very nearly as dumb as MASTERMIND, at least it recaptures the sense of fun missing from the previous installment. The book may be total bull$%*&, but at least it's entertaining bull&%*&.
As with several books in this series, Burroughs introduces a new main character so he can trick us into overlooking the fact he is rehashing the same tired old story line again and again. With the exception of giant spiders and some crazy new weaponry, there is nothing here that Burroughs hasn't explored countless times before. The only difference is the frequency with which Burroughs trots out the usual cliches. Our hero saves not one, but TWO princesses! Escapes from not one, but THREE prison cells! He goes up against TWO evil jeddaks AND a mad scientist! He gets ahold of not one, but TWO kinds of mind-blowing technology! He rescues his awesome sidekick not once, but TWICE! He gets marooned in the middle of nowhere TWICE! And of course, he explores an abandoned city, discovers a lost culture, battles monsters, engages in an airship battle, finds true love, saves the day, yadda-yadda-yadda.
As usual, the plot moves from one astounding coincidence to another, culminating in a scene where the hero accidentally stumbles across an invisible airship moments before he is captured by cannibals. What a lucky break!
I can't think of any specific reason to recommend FIGHTING MAN OF MARS, yet I found it a pleasant enough distraction while drinking my morning coffee and killing time during lunch. It's the very definition of "pure escapism," and definitely a guilty pleasure for anyone trying to pass themselves off as sophisticated.
Although FIGHTING MAN is very nearly as dumb as MASTERMIND, at least it recaptures the sense of fun missing from the previous installment. The book may be total bull$%*&, but at least it's entertaining bull&%*&.
As with several books in this series, Burroughs introduces a new main character so he can trick us into overlooking the fact he is rehashing the same tired old story line again and again. With the exception of giant spiders and some crazy new weaponry, there is nothing here that Burroughs hasn't explored countless times before. The only difference is the frequency with which Burroughs trots out the usual cliches. Our hero saves not one, but TWO princesses! Escapes from not one, but THREE prison cells! He goes up against TWO evil jeddaks AND a mad scientist! He gets ahold of not one, but TWO kinds of mind-blowing technology! He rescues his awesome sidekick not once, but TWICE! He gets marooned in the middle of nowhere TWICE! And of course, he explores an abandoned city, discovers a lost culture, battles monsters, engages in an airship battle, finds true love, saves the day, yadda-yadda-yadda.
As usual, the plot moves from one astounding coincidence to another, culminating in a scene where the hero accidentally stumbles across an invisible airship moments before he is captured by cannibals. What a lucky break!
I can't think of any specific reason to recommend FIGHTING MAN OF MARS, yet I found it a pleasant enough distraction while drinking my morning coffee and killing time during lunch. It's the very definition of "pure escapism," and definitely a guilty pleasure for anyone trying to pass themselves off as sophisticated.
August 6, 2013
Edgar Rice Burrougs did it again! This is the seventh Barsoom book, and still this book is a pleasure to read. Once more Burroughs created situations, persons and communities on Barsoom that are novel and intersting enough to give you a pleasant time while reading about them. It is difficult to realise that this book was written about 100 years ago. It is still fresh as were it written nowadays.
In this book the "I" is a native Martian (although his way of thinking is very "earthly" and this, but only this, could be a minor point of criticism) and once more John Carter plays only a very small role.
If you like this kind of books, read it! If you don't you won't even see this review. So I guess you do like this kind of "pulp fiction". Whatever! It is pure reading pleasure. This is in fact one of the best Barsoom books. However, there are four more to come, so I can't be certain how the rest is. What I am certain of, is that I will read them all!
In this book the "I" is a native Martian (although his way of thinking is very "earthly" and this, but only this, could be a minor point of criticism) and once more John Carter plays only a very small role.
If you like this kind of books, read it! If you don't you won't even see this review. So I guess you do like this kind of "pulp fiction". Whatever! It is pure reading pleasure. This is in fact one of the best Barsoom books. However, there are four more to come, so I can't be certain how the rest is. What I am certain of, is that I will read them all!
June 7, 2013
Great story. The hero in this story is Tan Hadron who is a minor noble who falls passionately in love with a noblewoman who rejects him. She is later kidnapped and used as a pawn in a war. Tan is called upon to rescue her and would be considered worthy of her. Later he meets up with a strong willed but very passionate and devoted slave-girl named Tavia. In the end I loved what happened. Especially the great battle. Tan proves to be just as noble a hero John Carter and Ulysses Paxton are. The only problem of the story is that it does drag at a few points. But it picks up eventually. B+
January 17, 2009
It's been so long since I've read these books that the details are lost in the mist of time. That said, I'm sure there are variations in the quality of story and prose throughout this series (it's Burroughs, after all), but I choose to remember the series as a whole, and rate it as I remember it through the eyes and mind of the child that read it for the first time...
July 17, 2019
Probably my favorite of the Mars series. Breaks a little from the standard ERB romance formula, but otherwise a top-notch adventure. One interesting development is ERB's mention of the Martian 'autopilot' feature, the equivalent of our GPS and cruise control in a book published in 1930. This one held up better than most ERB re-reads.
March 16, 2013
Another good addition to the mars series. This one was a little more drawn out that the previous book. It had a slightly different type of ending compared to the other books, so that was a nice edge, though you could easily see it coming from 1/4 way through. It doesn't live up to the first 3 in the series, but it's still a good one overall.
July 27, 2008
This also involves another character besides John Carter but it's very good.
June 19, 2019
I think this one was pretty good. From the start, it was as fun as the second half of "The Chessmen of Mars," and much to my surprise, it strayed (in part) from the established structure of the previous volumes.
The narrator this time is a friend of one of the characters from the Pellucidar series, who manages to communicate by radio and Morse code with Ulysses Paxton, the main character from "The Mastermind of Mars," who in turn tells him the story of a guy he knows much like John Carter tends to tell his stories to the narrator in other volumes.
But this time, instead of the adventures of an Earthman in Mars, or of John Carter's half-earthling children, Paxton tells him about a red Martian called Tan Hadron of Hastor, a padwar in Helium's navy whose father was a simple solider but who's also the son of a princess from Gathol related to the Warlord's son-in-law, Gahan.
Anyway, Hadron is in love with the beautiful daughter of his superior officer and she gets kidnapped by an asshole Jeddak, so like in almost every other novel in the Barsoom series, we have a noble single warrior with superlative skill at arms go on a one-man crusade to save some chick making some friends along the way. So it follows the formula pretty well, even if it strays in some parts.
Hadron is a likeable fellow, and doesn't think as much of himself as John Carter, Gahan of Gathol or Carthoris, but in all honesty, he's a bit dumber than the lot of them. He kind of has the bad luck of O.J. Simpson's character from "The Naked Gun" and basically stumbles from catastrophe to catastrophe throughout the novel in his quest to save his love interest, but he also kind of has the good luck of another Simpson, Homer, in that he always comes up on top anyway.
Fun story, I liked this one better than some of the previous volumes, and I enjoyed having a "nobody" from the red race of Martians be the hero of the story, instead of some Jed or Jeddak, or some white man from Earth. Plus, it was comparatively light on the racism and sexism.
The narrator this time is a friend of one of the characters from the Pellucidar series, who manages to communicate by radio and Morse code with Ulysses Paxton, the main character from "The Mastermind of Mars," who in turn tells him the story of a guy he knows much like John Carter tends to tell his stories to the narrator in other volumes.
But this time, instead of the adventures of an Earthman in Mars, or of John Carter's half-earthling children, Paxton tells him about a red Martian called Tan Hadron of Hastor, a padwar in Helium's navy whose father was a simple solider but who's also the son of a princess from Gathol related to the Warlord's son-in-law, Gahan.
Anyway, Hadron is in love with the beautiful daughter of his superior officer and she gets kidnapped by an asshole Jeddak, so like in almost every other novel in the Barsoom series, we have a noble single warrior with superlative skill at arms go on a one-man crusade to save some chick making some friends along the way. So it follows the formula pretty well, even if it strays in some parts.
Hadron is a likeable fellow, and doesn't think as much of himself as John Carter, Gahan of Gathol or Carthoris, but in all honesty, he's a bit dumber than the lot of them. He kind of has the bad luck of O.J. Simpson's character from "The Naked Gun" and basically stumbles from catastrophe to catastrophe throughout the novel in his quest to save his love interest, but he also kind of has the good luck of another Simpson, Homer, in that he always comes up on top anyway.
Fun story, I liked this one better than some of the previous volumes, and I enjoyed having a "nobody" from the red race of Martians be the hero of the story, instead of some Jed or Jeddak, or some white man from Earth. Plus, it was comparatively light on the racism and sexism.
February 29, 2020
A fun return to the Mars of Edgar Rice Burroughs. In this story, we meet Tan Hadron, a warrior infatuated with one of Barsoom's noblewomen, Sanoma Tora. The plot moves into full swing when raiders capture Sanoma Tora and Hadron volunteers to rescue her. It's good fun action and adventure that takes lots of twists and turns. Along the way, he meets a slave girl named Tavia who proves to be a capable and competent fighter. It's a set up that could easily have become cliche or fallen into tropes of romantic adventure fiction that were tired even then. At worst Burroughs teeters on the edge of those tropes before giving us a rousing conclusion.
July 12, 2024
2.75⭐
Not one of my favorites of the Barsoom series but not bad, either.
The book starts out a bit rough, going through the usual formula and tropes of the kidnapped woman, her lover setting out to rescue her and discovering and being captured by various races of martians along the way.
There were a few twists and deviations from the typical formula though that peaked my interest, and the story grew more interesting as it progressed.
It does feel a bit rushed at times and lacks the prose of the first few books (the John Carter trilogy), but I still enjoyed this for what it was. A bit better than the previous entry, in my opinion.
Not one of my favorites of the Barsoom series but not bad, either.
The book starts out a bit rough, going through the usual formula and tropes of the kidnapped woman, her lover setting out to rescue her and discovering and being captured by various races of martians along the way.
There were a few twists and deviations from the typical formula though that peaked my interest, and the story grew more interesting as it progressed.
It does feel a bit rushed at times and lacks the prose of the first few books (the John Carter trilogy), but I still enjoyed this for what it was. A bit better than the previous entry, in my opinion.
September 6, 2023
Hadron of Hastor never sleeps. Every moment so exciting! Every book has creative new scifi and adventures! From the invisible technology to the cannibal men to the lovely friendship that blossoms into romance. This book was one of my favorites of the last seven.
August 2, 2014
In this installment our hero is a low ranking officer who has fallen in love with a woman above his station in life. His love is unrequited because she is rather shallow and holding out for a man with wealth and status. She is kidnapped by an unknown force who has special weaponry that dissolves metal, causing our protagonist to go in search of her.
During this search, the protagonist rescues a slave girl who has quite an amount of courage and fighting skills. Together they rescue others who become their allies. The group comes upon the mad inventor who created the super weapons for the evil jed. They steal an invisible ship, stop the evil jed, and rescue the girl.
The girl sings a different tune now and throws herself at the protagonist. He, however, realizes he does not love the rich girl, but rather the slave girl. After the protagonist is betrothed to the slave girl, we find that she is actually a princess who was robbed of her birthright. Her status is recognized and they live happily ever after.
The book follows the same basic formula as all of the John Carter books, but since the formula calls for a lot of action that thanks to Burroughs' talent is well written, it is a fun read.
During this search, the protagonist rescues a slave girl who has quite an amount of courage and fighting skills. Together they rescue others who become their allies. The group comes upon the mad inventor who created the super weapons for the evil jed. They steal an invisible ship, stop the evil jed, and rescue the girl.
The girl sings a different tune now and throws herself at the protagonist. He, however, realizes he does not love the rich girl, but rather the slave girl. After the protagonist is betrothed to the slave girl, we find that she is actually a princess who was robbed of her birthright. Her status is recognized and they live happily ever after.
The book follows the same basic formula as all of the John Carter books, but since the formula calls for a lot of action that thanks to Burroughs' talent is well written, it is a fun read.
March 19, 2025
In my late pre-teens and early teens I was devouring Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books, first from my uncle’s shelves and then from the library. The Mars series was and still is my favourite. I was reading the Mars series in order and saw that A Fighting Man of Mars (seventh in the series) was waiting for me a few books away. However, by the time I was supposed to read it, it wasn’t there anymore. OK, someone else was reading them too. So I waited. And waited. Finally I decided to skip it and went on with the series, as obviously someone had stolen it. I’ve never seen the Finnish translation since.
Nowadays those 1970s translations are outrageously expensive in online bookshops and, oddly enough, A Fighting Man of Mars isn’t available even for a ridiculous price. I’ve got a Kindle edition of the original but I decided that I want to own a hardcopy of it, so I bought myself a cheap paperback. Thus, after some 35 years, I finally got to read A Fighting Man of Mars!
Note: There are some MINOR SPOILERS ahead!
It was worth the wait, because the Fighting Man is among the very best of the Mars books. In the foreword we meet Ulysses Paxton, the hero of the excellent Master Mind of Mars, but he merely narrates the story of Tan Hadron of Hastor to Burroughs.
Burroughs’ choice of the main character was really excellent. Even though I truly love the Mars books (and much of the other Burroughs stuff too), a bit of a problem is that being born on the Earth, both John Carter and Ulysses Paxton are superheroes. And so is Carter’s son Carthoris, because of his father’s superior genes. Tan Hadron, on the other hand, is just a normal red Martian, a mere padwar (equal to our lieutenant). Thus, he’s on an equal footing with his opponents and cannot simply escape by jumping to a roof like the previous heroes could.
The plot is the usual damsel in distress stuff. Of course it is, what did you expect? This is a Burroughs novel, after all. However, this time the damsel named Sanoma Tora isn’t worthy of our hero’s love. This is obvious to the reader from the start, but not to rather thick and slow-witted Tan Hadron (when it comes to the matters of the heart, otherwise he’s an excellent hero). Along the way he meets two female slaves, Tavia and Phao, who both are strong and capable characters in their own right. For example, when confronted with cannibals, Tavia is the one who makes the first kill, not Tan Hadron.
At this point I need to quote Wikipedia: “Tavia is an atypical Burroughs heroine; depicted as self-reliant and competent with weapons, witty and intelligent…” Atypical? I don’t know what books the Wikipedia folks have been reading, but Burroughs had numerous strong female characters. Sure, there are many fainting princesses too, but for adventure books that were written a hundred years ago, the women in Burroughs’ universe were often very competent. Of course Burroughs wouldn’t get published nowadays because there are damsels in distress in his books, but then again Burroughs wouldn’t get published for a number of other reasons either. Thus, for its time and in this particular genre, Burroughs’ female characters were often, though certainly not always, very strong. Tavia is an excellent example of them.
Because Tan Hadron is no superhero, he needs a buddy. This role is played by Nur An. He unfortunately disappears from the picture midway through the story and isn’t seen again until the end. If his role would have been more consistent and/or Burroughs would have given him something to do on his own, A Fighting Man of Mars would have been even better. A lost opportunity there, methinks.
A Fighting Man of Mars is one of the more “scientific” Barsoom books. There are disintegration rays and invisibility cloaks, and in Phor Tak we have a genuine mad scientist. Heigh-oo! This is of course all excellent stuff.
A look at the chapter titles gives a good idea of the book: V. To the Pits; VI. Sentenced to Die; VII. The Death; VIII. The Spider of Ghasta; X. The Flying Death; XII. The Cloak of Invisibility; XIV. The Cannibals of U-Gor. It can’t really get much better than this.
There are a couple of instances where Burroughs resorts to incredible coincidences in order to get our heroes out of trouble. He did that in most of his books, which is a pity, because he was a good enough writer to come up with something smarter. I guess it was more important for him to get the book finished fast rather than to stop and think about a more sophisticated solution.
Other than that, it’s very hard to find flaws in A Fighting Man of Mars. It’s definitely one of the very best in the Mars series. It’s hard to beat the brilliant original trilogy, but this one gets very close and is among the best books Burroughs ever wrote.
A couple of words about the edition I read are in order. It’s A Four Square Book, from 1966. On the cover it says “A Fighting Man of Mars: Edgar Rice Burroughs”. They’re in the same font. Thus, the reader gets the impression that ERB himself is the fighting man. Below that it reads “Can the fiendish secret weapon defeat John Carter?” The blurb in the back cover says, among other things, this: “Once again the dynamic John Carter is in action, searching for a beautiful girl who has been kidnapped and hidden on the inhospitable planet of Jahar.” Yes, we meet John Carter briefly in the beginning and at the end of the book, but he’s a very minor character. And of course it’s the city of Jahar, not the planet. Nuts.
Also the cover is weird. There are two moons and flying ships, so that’s OK. And there’s a thin, tall and muscular man wearing two swords and a ray gun of some sort, and not much more. Presumably this is supposed to be Tan Hadron. So basically that’s fine too. But he’s green. How did such terrible editions ever get published?
Anyway, if you’re a Burroughs fan or even just somewhat familiar with his work, A Fighting Man of Mars is definitely a must. After waiting 35 years or so, I’m truly glad I finally got to read it.
4.5/5
Nowadays those 1970s translations are outrageously expensive in online bookshops and, oddly enough, A Fighting Man of Mars isn’t available even for a ridiculous price. I’ve got a Kindle edition of the original but I decided that I want to own a hardcopy of it, so I bought myself a cheap paperback. Thus, after some 35 years, I finally got to read A Fighting Man of Mars!
Note: There are some MINOR SPOILERS ahead!
It was worth the wait, because the Fighting Man is among the very best of the Mars books. In the foreword we meet Ulysses Paxton, the hero of the excellent Master Mind of Mars, but he merely narrates the story of Tan Hadron of Hastor to Burroughs.
Burroughs’ choice of the main character was really excellent. Even though I truly love the Mars books (and much of the other Burroughs stuff too), a bit of a problem is that being born on the Earth, both John Carter and Ulysses Paxton are superheroes. And so is Carter’s son Carthoris, because of his father’s superior genes. Tan Hadron, on the other hand, is just a normal red Martian, a mere padwar (equal to our lieutenant). Thus, he’s on an equal footing with his opponents and cannot simply escape by jumping to a roof like the previous heroes could.
The plot is the usual damsel in distress stuff. Of course it is, what did you expect? This is a Burroughs novel, after all. However, this time the damsel named Sanoma Tora isn’t worthy of our hero’s love. This is obvious to the reader from the start, but not to rather thick and slow-witted Tan Hadron (when it comes to the matters of the heart, otherwise he’s an excellent hero). Along the way he meets two female slaves, Tavia and Phao, who both are strong and capable characters in their own right. For example, when confronted with cannibals, Tavia is the one who makes the first kill, not Tan Hadron.
At this point I need to quote Wikipedia: “Tavia is an atypical Burroughs heroine; depicted as self-reliant and competent with weapons, witty and intelligent…” Atypical? I don’t know what books the Wikipedia folks have been reading, but Burroughs had numerous strong female characters. Sure, there are many fainting princesses too, but for adventure books that were written a hundred years ago, the women in Burroughs’ universe were often very competent. Of course Burroughs wouldn’t get published nowadays because there are damsels in distress in his books, but then again Burroughs wouldn’t get published for a number of other reasons either. Thus, for its time and in this particular genre, Burroughs’ female characters were often, though certainly not always, very strong. Tavia is an excellent example of them.
Because Tan Hadron is no superhero, he needs a buddy. This role is played by Nur An. He unfortunately disappears from the picture midway through the story and isn’t seen again until the end. If his role would have been more consistent and/or Burroughs would have given him something to do on his own, A Fighting Man of Mars would have been even better. A lost opportunity there, methinks.
A Fighting Man of Mars is one of the more “scientific” Barsoom books. There are disintegration rays and invisibility cloaks, and in Phor Tak we have a genuine mad scientist. Heigh-oo! This is of course all excellent stuff.
A look at the chapter titles gives a good idea of the book: V. To the Pits; VI. Sentenced to Die; VII. The Death; VIII. The Spider of Ghasta; X. The Flying Death; XII. The Cloak of Invisibility; XIV. The Cannibals of U-Gor. It can’t really get much better than this.
There are a couple of instances where Burroughs resorts to incredible coincidences in order to get our heroes out of trouble. He did that in most of his books, which is a pity, because he was a good enough writer to come up with something smarter. I guess it was more important for him to get the book finished fast rather than to stop and think about a more sophisticated solution.
Other than that, it’s very hard to find flaws in A Fighting Man of Mars. It’s definitely one of the very best in the Mars series. It’s hard to beat the brilliant original trilogy, but this one gets very close and is among the best books Burroughs ever wrote.
A couple of words about the edition I read are in order. It’s A Four Square Book, from 1966. On the cover it says “A Fighting Man of Mars: Edgar Rice Burroughs”. They’re in the same font. Thus, the reader gets the impression that ERB himself is the fighting man. Below that it reads “Can the fiendish secret weapon defeat John Carter?” The blurb in the back cover says, among other things, this: “Once again the dynamic John Carter is in action, searching for a beautiful girl who has been kidnapped and hidden on the inhospitable planet of Jahar.” Yes, we meet John Carter briefly in the beginning and at the end of the book, but he’s a very minor character. And of course it’s the city of Jahar, not the planet. Nuts.
Also the cover is weird. There are two moons and flying ships, so that’s OK. And there’s a thin, tall and muscular man wearing two swords and a ray gun of some sort, and not much more. Presumably this is supposed to be Tan Hadron. So basically that’s fine too. But he’s green. How did such terrible editions ever get published?
Anyway, if you’re a Burroughs fan or even just somewhat familiar with his work, A Fighting Man of Mars is definitely a must. After waiting 35 years or so, I’m truly glad I finally got to read it.
4.5/5
May 9, 2013
It's hard to beat the original 3 (None of the books are as good without John Carter), but besides those, this is probably my favorite in the Barsoom series.
It comes complete with a love triangle, battling nations, giant lizards, giant spiders, invisibility cloaks (That's right, one of Harry Potter's Deathly Hallows was on Barsoom long ago), disintegrating rays, cloaked battleships and so much more.
I even appreciated the love story. Rather than the traditional (for this series, or Disney movies) love story of, "I love her because she's pretty and she's a princess", we actually get a love story where a friendship is built and a relationship grows out of mutual trust and appreciation. And how can you not love it when the snobby princess ends up getting snubbed for the slave girl with a personality?
This book is great. Plenty of adventure and narrow escapes, a good swashbuckling hero who wants to do the right thing. It's tons of fun.
It comes complete with a love triangle, battling nations, giant lizards, giant spiders, invisibility cloaks (That's right, one of Harry Potter's Deathly Hallows was on Barsoom long ago), disintegrating rays, cloaked battleships and so much more.
I even appreciated the love story. Rather than the traditional (for this series, or Disney movies) love story of, "I love her because she's pretty and she's a princess", we actually get a love story where a friendship is built and a relationship grows out of mutual trust and appreciation. And how can you not love it when the snobby princess ends up getting snubbed for the slave girl with a personality?
This book is great. Plenty of adventure and narrow escapes, a good swashbuckling hero who wants to do the right thing. It's tons of fun.
March 31, 2011
I read this whole series when I was in Junior High and loved them. I was bored at work a while ago and decided to see if I still thought they were any good after 40+ years, so I downloaded them for free and started reading them on my iPad. They are a lot cornier than I remembered and all the plots are very similar, but in spite of that I did enjoy reading them again. I hopefully won't start fantasizing about being John Carter and rescuing the "Incomparable Deja Thoris" like I did as a geeky early teen. But, I may keep reading and finish the rest of the series for old times sake.
March 6, 2010
Please note, this 5 star rating is based on my long ago memories of this book - I may have read it greater than 20 years ago. I recall reading and really liking it, and even kept the book to read again in the future (something I only do with good, or otherwise significant books). The memories of an old man are sometimes faulty so this could really only warrant 3.5 to 4.5 stars, instead of the 5 I gave it. Once I re-read the book I will update this rating/review to more accurately reflect my thoughts.
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