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Barsoom #11
John Carter of Mars, Vol. 6
John Carter of Mars Volume 6: John Carter & the Giants of Mars and Skeleton Men of Jupiter Strange adventures on Mars and Jupiter In this final book of the John Carter of Mars series from Leonaur, we once again join the Warlord of Mars himself in an exciting adventure-the tenth-entitled The Giants of Mars. All the Edgar Rice Burroughs hallmarks are include, to satisfy his legions of fans: giant rats, tree reptiles and evil rivals for power and love on the exotic planet Barsoom-our Mars. John Carter's mate, Dejah Thoris, is once again abducted as a prelude to a rip-roaring, roller-coaster ride of fantastic fiction. After battling the Synthetic Men, John Carter hopes for peace, but looses his spouse again-to the Skeleton Men of Jupiter. Both the Prince and Princess of Helium are rocketed away to that distant world, and here John Carter must embark upon one of his most unusual adventures ever.
156 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1943
About the author
Edgar Rice Burroughs
2,096 books2,639 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 138 reviews
June 30, 2023
Probably my least favorite of the John Carter books but still a fun read. I wish ERB had resolved the plot threads left at the end of the book. Recommended
August 22, 2011
"John Carter of Mars" is the 11th and final volume in Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic John Carter series, and is comprised of two novellas of varying quality. The first, "John Carter and the Giant of Mars," first appeared in "Amazing Stories Magazine" in January 1941; the second, "Skeleton Men of Jupiter," first appeared in that same publication in February 1943. (For full details on the complicated publishing histories of these tales, I refer all interested parties to the ERB List, one of the best Burroughs Websites on the Net.)
As most people seem to know by now, the first of these tales was NOT written by ERB himself, but rather by his son, John Coleman Burroughs, who illustrated 13 of his father's books and drew the John Carter comic strip from 1941-43. In this tale, Carter is captured by Pew Mogel, a synthetic man who is bent on conquering Barsoom with his intelligent apemen and flying malagors. The tale is an important one in the Carter saga, in that his city of Helium is almost sacked and captured at the end of a tremendous battle. Sad to say, however, Burroughs Jr.'s writing style is not up to the task of depicting such colossal doings. So this pastiche of a tale comes off like the work of a talented amateur, even though Burroughs Sr. supposedly did assist in the writing. Burroughs Jr. makes many mistakes in his writing; internal inconsistencies and inconsistencies with previous Carter books abound. For example, the characters refer to Barsoom as "Mars" in this book, and the two moons, Thuria and Cluros, are for the first time given their Earth names of Deimos and Phobos. These moons are said to travel quickly across the sky, whereas in every other Carter book, it has been said that Cluros is a very slow mover. Pew Mogel slaps Tars Tarkas, Carter's Tharkian buddy, in one scene, yet in previous books, it has been established that Tarkas is around 15 feet tall! One of the intelligent apemen falls out of a high window to his death in a courtyard in one scene, even though the characters are in an underground laboratory! The Martian rats that play such a central role in this story are made to appear similar in size to the Earth variety, whereas in previous volumes, they were said to be as big as Airedale terriers! For the first time in the entire series, the men of Barsoom are shown using radios, TV sets and visiscreens; a rather surprising advent, given all that has come before. I could go on, but you get the point. Anyone who has read the previous 10 Carter books will immediately notice the difference in style and content, and that difference is very jarring. Still, the story moves along very briskly, and the action IS relentless.
The "Skeleton Men..." tale is much better. This novella was written by ERB himself, and is a real return to form. In this one, Carter and his mate are kidnapped by the Morgors of the planet Jupiter, who intend to study them preparatory to their invasion of the Red Planet. This is the first Carter tale to take place on a planet other than Earth or Mars, and so Burroughs is given free rein to let his imagination fly. This story features some good scientific speculation on what that giant world might be like, and for once Burroughs makes no slips as far as inconsistencies are concerned. However, the story ends right in the middle of Carter's adventure; apparently, Burroughs intended this to be a multipart saga, but never did get around to finishing it. Talk about leaving the reader wanting more! But at least the story of John Carter ends on a high note here, bringing to a conclusion one of the best swashbuckling fantasy series of all time.
Perhaps this is as good a place as any to note that the 11 Carter books that I have just read were the Ballantine/DelRey paperbacks of the late '70s to early '80s. These are the ones that feature beautifully imaginative yet faithful-to-the-story cover art by Michael Whelan. Sad to say, these paperbacks are quite a mess. I have never seen books with more typographical errors in my life. It is painfully obvious that these books were never proofread. This is surprising, given the sterling job that Ballantine/DelRey did with their "Best of" series of 21 great sci-fi authors around that same time. Still, the power of Edgar Rice Burroughs' vision shines through, so that even in these poorly put-together editions, the saga of John Carter on the planet Barsoom manages to captivate the reader, even after all these years.
As most people seem to know by now, the first of these tales was NOT written by ERB himself, but rather by his son, John Coleman Burroughs, who illustrated 13 of his father's books and drew the John Carter comic strip from 1941-43. In this tale, Carter is captured by Pew Mogel, a synthetic man who is bent on conquering Barsoom with his intelligent apemen and flying malagors. The tale is an important one in the Carter saga, in that his city of Helium is almost sacked and captured at the end of a tremendous battle. Sad to say, however, Burroughs Jr.'s writing style is not up to the task of depicting such colossal doings. So this pastiche of a tale comes off like the work of a talented amateur, even though Burroughs Sr. supposedly did assist in the writing. Burroughs Jr. makes many mistakes in his writing; internal inconsistencies and inconsistencies with previous Carter books abound. For example, the characters refer to Barsoom as "Mars" in this book, and the two moons, Thuria and Cluros, are for the first time given their Earth names of Deimos and Phobos. These moons are said to travel quickly across the sky, whereas in every other Carter book, it has been said that Cluros is a very slow mover. Pew Mogel slaps Tars Tarkas, Carter's Tharkian buddy, in one scene, yet in previous books, it has been established that Tarkas is around 15 feet tall! One of the intelligent apemen falls out of a high window to his death in a courtyard in one scene, even though the characters are in an underground laboratory! The Martian rats that play such a central role in this story are made to appear similar in size to the Earth variety, whereas in previous volumes, they were said to be as big as Airedale terriers! For the first time in the entire series, the men of Barsoom are shown using radios, TV sets and visiscreens; a rather surprising advent, given all that has come before. I could go on, but you get the point. Anyone who has read the previous 10 Carter books will immediately notice the difference in style and content, and that difference is very jarring. Still, the story moves along very briskly, and the action IS relentless.
The "Skeleton Men..." tale is much better. This novella was written by ERB himself, and is a real return to form. In this one, Carter and his mate are kidnapped by the Morgors of the planet Jupiter, who intend to study them preparatory to their invasion of the Red Planet. This is the first Carter tale to take place on a planet other than Earth or Mars, and so Burroughs is given free rein to let his imagination fly. This story features some good scientific speculation on what that giant world might be like, and for once Burroughs makes no slips as far as inconsistencies are concerned. However, the story ends right in the middle of Carter's adventure; apparently, Burroughs intended this to be a multipart saga, but never did get around to finishing it. Talk about leaving the reader wanting more! But at least the story of John Carter ends on a high note here, bringing to a conclusion one of the best swashbuckling fantasy series of all time.
Perhaps this is as good a place as any to note that the 11 Carter books that I have just read were the Ballantine/DelRey paperbacks of the late '70s to early '80s. These are the ones that feature beautifully imaginative yet faithful-to-the-story cover art by Michael Whelan. Sad to say, these paperbacks are quite a mess. I have never seen books with more typographical errors in my life. It is painfully obvious that these books were never proofread. This is surprising, given the sterling job that Ballantine/DelRey did with their "Best of" series of 21 great sci-fi authors around that same time. Still, the power of Edgar Rice Burroughs' vision shines through, so that even in these poorly put-together editions, the saga of John Carter on the planet Barsoom manages to captivate the reader, even after all these years.
December 11, 2018
And so the series ends, not with a bang but with more of a thud or a splat. The 2-star rating is an average of the two stories that make up John Carter of Mars. The first, Giant of Mars, is frankly terrible -- if I'm remembering correctly, it was ghost-written by Burroughs' son for use in a children's chapter book or some such. I don't know if there's a single paragraph in the entire story that doesn't have some kind of colossal violation of previously-established Barsoomian canon -- they have "ray guns" and "televisions", to name two of the more egregious examples. On top of that, the story itself just isn't very good.
Skeleton Men of Jupiter, the second part, is at least passable. It feels like what would have turned out to be the first part of another Llana of Gathol-like series of linked novellas -- early on in the proceedings, John Carter is kidnapped by the eponymous Skeleton Men of Jupiter, and spends pretty much the entire story on Jupiter escaping his captors and searching for Dejah Thoris who, of course, has also been kidnapped. The setting is interesting -- it would've been nice to see Burroughs have a chance to develop more of Jupiter, but such was not to be.
So 1 star for Giant and 3 stars for Skeleton Men, averaging to 2. Honestly, for most people I'd say there's no real point in continuing the series much past Fighting Man of Mars or Swords of Mars -- let it end on a high note.
Skeleton Men of Jupiter, the second part, is at least passable. It feels like what would have turned out to be the first part of another Llana of Gathol-like series of linked novellas -- early on in the proceedings, John Carter is kidnapped by the eponymous Skeleton Men of Jupiter, and spends pretty much the entire story on Jupiter escaping his captors and searching for Dejah Thoris who, of course, has also been kidnapped. The setting is interesting -- it would've been nice to see Burroughs have a chance to develop more of Jupiter, but such was not to be.
So 1 star for Giant and 3 stars for Skeleton Men, averaging to 2. Honestly, for most people I'd say there's no real point in continuing the series much past Fighting Man of Mars or Swords of Mars -- let it end on a high note.
January 1, 2015
This was the last entry in ERB's Martian series, and is interesting primarily only to completists. It contains two longish short stories, "John Carter and the Giant of Mars," which is a young-adult story written in collaboration with his son, John Coleman Burroughs. It is very thin.
The second story doesn't even take place on Mars but on Jupiter and is called "Skeleton Men of Jupiter." It's also very weak.
The second story doesn't even take place on Mars but on Jupiter and is called "Skeleton Men of Jupiter." It's also very weak.
October 4, 2012
I have to admit, this was a bit of a shock to the system after the eminently readable, richly plotted stories with their well-imagined characters that I've been reading recently. Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars felt a lot more like a Thongor story. It is apparently the 11th novel in the Barsoom series, and is a very thin book containing two stories. It was very clunkily written, partly because it was written to be serialised, and probably also because it didn't quite end up getting published until about 20 years after the rest (I assume because Burroughs didn't consider it really up to scratch).
I had to keep reminding myself to treat this as a historical document; Burroughs was a pioneer of science fiction and fantasy literature, and he was building a genre of ideas rather than creating quality literature. This is astonishingly primitively written, compared to modern science fiction, or even to other things written at the same time. These is almost no personality at all to the characters - they feel like cardboard cut-outs (or, amusingly enough, the dodgy acting done in bad 50's science fiction films). Dialog is bizarrely unwieldy compared to the action going on:
A furtive figure melted away into the semi-gloom of the passageway, with Carter close behind. Seeing escape impossible, the stranger halted, sank to one knee and leveled a ray-gun at the approaching figure of the earthman. Carter saw his finger whiten as he squeezed the trigger.
"Carter!" Kantos Kan shouted, "throw yourself to the floor."
With the speed of light, Carter dropped prone.
How does Carter see a finger whiten in semi-gloom, when it is probably hidden by the trigger guard and body of the ray gun? How does Kantos Kan have time to shout a fully formed sentence between the stranger's finger whitening on the trigger and the ray-gun firing? In fact, after he shouts that, he throws some kind of long knife at the stranger and kill him, even before the ray gun is fired.
The whole book is full of passages like that, that leave you struggling to reconcile timings, facts, and motivations. By the end, it almost becomes part of the entertainment of reading the book.
Despite the fact that it reads like it is written by an overenthusiastic twelve year old, it ends up kind of fun to read. There is a certain swashbuckling flavour to it all, and despite the silliness of some of the worldbuilding that Burroughs does, there is still an attractive atmosphere to the universe that John Carter lives in, and the odd combination of high- and low-tech on the planet Barsoom (which is what the natives of Mars call their own planet.
I had to keep reminding myself to treat this as a historical document; Burroughs was a pioneer of science fiction and fantasy literature, and he was building a genre of ideas rather than creating quality literature. This is astonishingly primitively written, compared to modern science fiction, or even to other things written at the same time. These is almost no personality at all to the characters - they feel like cardboard cut-outs (or, amusingly enough, the dodgy acting done in bad 50's science fiction films). Dialog is bizarrely unwieldy compared to the action going on:
A furtive figure melted away into the semi-gloom of the passageway, with Carter close behind. Seeing escape impossible, the stranger halted, sank to one knee and leveled a ray-gun at the approaching figure of the earthman. Carter saw his finger whiten as he squeezed the trigger.
"Carter!" Kantos Kan shouted, "throw yourself to the floor."
With the speed of light, Carter dropped prone.
How does Carter see a finger whiten in semi-gloom, when it is probably hidden by the trigger guard and body of the ray gun? How does Kantos Kan have time to shout a fully formed sentence between the stranger's finger whitening on the trigger and the ray-gun firing? In fact, after he shouts that, he throws some kind of long knife at the stranger and kill him, even before the ray gun is fired.
The whole book is full of passages like that, that leave you struggling to reconcile timings, facts, and motivations. By the end, it almost becomes part of the entertainment of reading the book.
Despite the fact that it reads like it is written by an overenthusiastic twelve year old, it ends up kind of fun to read. There is a certain swashbuckling flavour to it all, and despite the silliness of some of the worldbuilding that Burroughs does, there is still an attractive atmosphere to the universe that John Carter lives in, and the odd combination of high- and low-tech on the planet Barsoom (which is what the natives of Mars call their own planet.
May 16, 2011
The last gasp of the Barsoom series, constructed from snouts and entrails.
The only thing to take away from "The Giant of Mars"--other than some truly substandard writing--was the army of human-brained, four-armed white apes, bearing pew-pew rayguns and riding giant predatory birds. And if you need to have the awesomeness of that explained, then you are clearly in the wrong place. Did you take a wrong turn on your way to a Nora Roberts discussion?
"Skeleton Men of Jupiter" is the raw form of an incomplete new idea, possibly the beginning of a spin-off series, and after one chokes down the preposterousness of humanoid existence on the planet Jupiter (in which case, again, you've somehow gotten lost on the way to Jodi Picoult), is the idea that this huge wild planet is essentially unexplored and of a completely outrageous scale, with twenty mile mountains and vast continents. And John Carter has to find his love Dejah Thoris in it somehow. It's slim and undeveloped, but I wish there were more.
The only thing to take away from "The Giant of Mars"--other than some truly substandard writing--was the army of human-brained, four-armed white apes, bearing pew-pew rayguns and riding giant predatory birds. And if you need to have the awesomeness of that explained, then you are clearly in the wrong place. Did you take a wrong turn on your way to a Nora Roberts discussion?
"Skeleton Men of Jupiter" is the raw form of an incomplete new idea, possibly the beginning of a spin-off series, and after one chokes down the preposterousness of humanoid existence on the planet Jupiter (in which case, again, you've somehow gotten lost on the way to Jodi Picoult), is the idea that this huge wild planet is essentially unexplored and of a completely outrageous scale, with twenty mile mountains and vast continents. And John Carter has to find his love Dejah Thoris in it somehow. It's slim and undeveloped, but I wish there were more.
April 5, 2013
The original John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a true sci-fi classic. The series of several books chronicles the adventures of American John Carter, who "dies" on Earth and finds himself inexplicably awaking on Mars. It is a combination of swashbuckling adventure, sci-fi worlds, and romance. The entire series is a good- and timeless- read. BTW: The recent movie was not particularly faithful to the novel, and completely failed to capture the flavor of the hero, John Carter. The books are MUCH better!
Monty Pitts
Monty Pitts
September 25, 2024
And the series fizzles out on an absolute dud. Stop reading at Swords of Mars; the last good book in the series.
May 4, 2015
There's nothing I can say about this book that hasn't been said countless times already.
It consists of two novellas. The first one was written by Burroughs' son, and it's god-awful. Apparently, it started out as a children's book; all I know is it reads like a bad '80s cartoon. It might make an OK bedtime story for your six-year-old, but that's about it. Plus, it's largely inconsistent--not to mention totally incongruous--with the rest of the John Carter series.
The second novella is standard John Carter fare, but Burroughs died before he could carry the story to its proper resolution. It doesn't end the series on a cliffhanger the way, say, WALKER TEXAS RANGER did (Is Alex Cahill dead or not?!), but certainly it's a far cry from the proper send-off these characters deserve.
It consists of two novellas. The first one was written by Burroughs' son, and it's god-awful. Apparently, it started out as a children's book; all I know is it reads like a bad '80s cartoon. It might make an OK bedtime story for your six-year-old, but that's about it. Plus, it's largely inconsistent--not to mention totally incongruous--with the rest of the John Carter series.
The second novella is standard John Carter fare, but Burroughs died before he could carry the story to its proper resolution. It doesn't end the series on a cliffhanger the way, say, WALKER TEXAS RANGER did (Is Alex Cahill dead or not?!), but certainly it's a far cry from the proper send-off these characters deserve.
December 6, 2017
😩I'm so sad it's over!!!!!!!!
July 10, 2021
Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1941-43 John Carter of Mars, last in the eleven-book Barsoom series, is a rather uneven package. Rather than being a single tale, it is comprised of a pair of novellas originally published in Amazing Stories: "John Carter and the Giant of Mars" from January 1941 and "Skeleton Men of Jupiter" from February 1943. Unlike the four novellas of Llana of Gathol, which actually make up a single book-length plot, these two unrelated pieces are just plunked in together. The first is quite a bit inferior to the Barsoom tales we are used to, but the second definitely helps make up for that.
"John Carter and the Giant of Mars" has a very rushed feel, and unlike every previous work of Barsoomian fiction except the fourth novel, Thuvia, Maid of Mars, it is told with a third-person rather than first-person narrative. What's really weird, though, are the then-trendy pieces of science-fictional technology that have never been seen in the previous ten books but which here suddenly appear out of nowhere, and are not even presented as new inventions but are simply taken for granted. There's something called an "atom gun" (1979 Del Rey paperback, page 4) or "atomgun" (page 55), for example, but I guess it's not a fancy disintegrator or such, because upon firing "a large shell" is "ejected" (page 5), so...what the "silent atom gun" (page 5) does, I have no idea. No matter, I guess, and, why, they even have "ray-gun[s]" (page 7) or "ray-pistols"--for some reason with "hammers" to be "clicked back"--(page 54), too! And whereas the radium pistols seen in the previous books almost certainly are revolvers, here full-auto "sub-machine gun[s]" (page 44) also appear.
In Helium they use a "visiscreen" for inter-office communication (page 6, page 65), and the bad guy employs the "television screen" of his "television machine" to spy on their "private throne room" with "an extension" that is "concealed cleverly behind a mirror" (page 27). Moreover, whereas I believe it was way back in the 1912 A Princess of Mars that Burroughs specifically tells us that Martians don't use radio anymore because all the nations long ago learned how to intercept any communication and crack any code, here the Heliumites use radio all the time, for this caper determining that "[t]he wave length will be constant and secret, 2000 kilocycles" (page 8). Even the teeniest one-man flyer seems to be equipped with radio. And rather than being called "fliers," by the way, as was done in all previous books, here they are called "planes" (page 9, page 73), and just as Helium's aerial military is referred to as an "air force" (page 8) rather than "navy," the hangars suddenly are termed "Airdrome[s]" (page 9).
It's almost as if someone sat down to write a Barsoom story and thought, "Well, it's sci-fi, so we better have ray-guns and televisors and stuff, right? And let's bring 'er up to date with words like plane and air force so that people know what we're talking about!" In fact, a little digging online shows us that Burroughs himself didn't actually write this one--his son did--and it sure shows... Look, there's the kidnapping of Dejah Thoris by a baddie wanting to take over the world, and there's the scary giant promised by the title, and of course there are battles and outwittings. It all has a very weird feel, however, and the plot just blasts along--none of the usual months in captivity here and there for John Carter in this'un! Although the unhurried, nay, oft e'en wordy narrative voice of John Carter can drag sometimes, in this tale we long for such pacing, such introspection, such smoothness of presentation, literarily dated though it may be. Still, eventually an end appears, and it is satisfactory.
With "Skeleton Men of Jupiter," though, which actually was written by the elder Burroughs, we are back to the standard first-person John Carter fare, and while of course the story can't have the complexity of the jillion twists and turns of a book-length plot, it is so much better than its peculiar book-mate. John Carter is no stranger to getting captured, but the honor be being first abductee in a tale generally belongs to a woman, specifically one upright and pure and yet deliciously desirable. Here, however, it is the Virginian himself captured first, by "human skeletons" (page 86) with "parchmentlike skin cover[ing] the bones of their limbs so tightly that it [is] difficult to convince one's self that it [is] not true bone that [is] exposed"; and whereas "every rib and vertebra [stands] out in plain and disgusting relief," "[w]hen they [stand] in front of a bright light, [he can] see their internal organs" (page 88). These creepy gut-showing weirdos bustle John Carter into a "long, lean, sinister" ship "look[ing] like an enormous projectile, with rounded nose and a tapering tail," and they blast "at appalling speed" (page 87) to...well, you know, Jupiter.
The Earthman, who on the first page of the novella has commented that "[t]heories come and theories go" (page 83)--including, he adds wryly, whether or not "Mars [is] habitable and inhabited" (page 84)--tells us now that the scientific jury is still out regarding Jupiter, with one theory holding it "to have a surface temperature of two hundred and sixty degrees below zero" and another being "equally positive" that it "was still in a half molten condition" (page 101). "How could human life exist in an atmosphere made up largely of ammonia and methane gases?" he wonders. "And what of the effect of the planet's terrific gravitational pull?" (pages 101-102). Well, but you know Burroughs--just as with the time he sent characters in Swords of Mars, eighth in the series, to Phobos, which John Carter knew should possess no atmosphere and have only microgravity, he'll have a glib answer to make the plot work.
In any event, the Jovian skeleton-folk, or Morgors, are "a warlike race" who, after "conquer[ing] all other peoples" of their planet, now look to "a new world to conquer" (page 94). They have discovered that great Helium is "the most powerful" empire on Mars, so they intend to attack it first, after which "the rest of Barsoom would, they [assume], be easy to conquer" (page 94). The Prince of Helium, they believe, can be forced to give them "full information as to the war techniques of the Heliumites" (pages 94-95). This latter seems unlikely, of course, but a fellow Martian explains how he himself was forced into wrongdoing by the capture of his beloved, who was threatened, after a traitorous Martian was to have "had his way with her," to "be tortured and mutilated" but "even then not allowed to die" (page 95), so...hmm.
But as John Carter tells us later, once he has recruited staunch new friends during his requisite prison confinement, "[t]hey ha[ve]n't a chance against the three best swordsmen of three worlds" (page 154). Yes, for the Warlord of Barsoom is strong, and he is skilled, and he is steadfastly honorable. He will not abandon a companion, nor will he hesitate at any daring to safeguard his adopted world and to deliver his incomparable Dejah Thoris to safety. There is clever planning, there are fights with fist and with blade, and there are droll witticisms directed at those who imagine themselves his betters.
Now, "Skeleton Men of Jupiter" does end with a helluva lot of inconclusion. That is, an immediate problem is about to be solved--about to be--but we're still on Jupiter, and there isn't yet any explanation of how we'll get back to Mars, let alone stop the invasion of the arrogant, weird-looking Morgors. I confess I was puzzled, but again, a li'l poking around the internet suggested that this was intended to be the first novella of a multi-part book akin to Llana of Gathol, except the follow-ups never got written, so...I suppose we should cut some slack on the peculiar-seeming end.
"Skeleton Men of Jupiter" really helped redeem the book from its awkward, disappointing start, and the tale makes an enjoyable sorta-conclusion to Burroughs' famed Barsoom series. Overall, the bifurcated John Carter of Mars is perhaps a 3.5-star read, but I'll round 'er up to 4 on general principle.
"John Carter and the Giant of Mars" has a very rushed feel, and unlike every previous work of Barsoomian fiction except the fourth novel, Thuvia, Maid of Mars, it is told with a third-person rather than first-person narrative. What's really weird, though, are the then-trendy pieces of science-fictional technology that have never been seen in the previous ten books but which here suddenly appear out of nowhere, and are not even presented as new inventions but are simply taken for granted. There's something called an "atom gun" (1979 Del Rey paperback, page 4) or "atomgun" (page 55), for example, but I guess it's not a fancy disintegrator or such, because upon firing "a large shell" is "ejected" (page 5), so...what the "silent atom gun" (page 5) does, I have no idea. No matter, I guess, and, why, they even have "ray-gun[s]" (page 7) or "ray-pistols"--for some reason with "hammers" to be "clicked back"--(page 54), too! And whereas the radium pistols seen in the previous books almost certainly are revolvers, here full-auto "sub-machine gun[s]" (page 44) also appear.
In Helium they use a "visiscreen" for inter-office communication (page 6, page 65), and the bad guy employs the "television screen" of his "television machine" to spy on their "private throne room" with "an extension" that is "concealed cleverly behind a mirror" (page 27). Moreover, whereas I believe it was way back in the 1912 A Princess of Mars that Burroughs specifically tells us that Martians don't use radio anymore because all the nations long ago learned how to intercept any communication and crack any code, here the Heliumites use radio all the time, for this caper determining that "[t]he wave length will be constant and secret, 2000 kilocycles" (page 8). Even the teeniest one-man flyer seems to be equipped with radio. And rather than being called "fliers," by the way, as was done in all previous books, here they are called "planes" (page 9, page 73), and just as Helium's aerial military is referred to as an "air force" (page 8) rather than "navy," the hangars suddenly are termed "Airdrome[s]" (page 9).
It's almost as if someone sat down to write a Barsoom story and thought, "Well, it's sci-fi, so we better have ray-guns and televisors and stuff, right? And let's bring 'er up to date with words like plane and air force so that people know what we're talking about!" In fact, a little digging online shows us that Burroughs himself didn't actually write this one--his son did--and it sure shows... Look, there's the kidnapping of Dejah Thoris by a baddie wanting to take over the world, and there's the scary giant promised by the title, and of course there are battles and outwittings. It all has a very weird feel, however, and the plot just blasts along--none of the usual months in captivity here and there for John Carter in this'un! Although the unhurried, nay, oft e'en wordy narrative voice of John Carter can drag sometimes, in this tale we long for such pacing, such introspection, such smoothness of presentation, literarily dated though it may be. Still, eventually an end appears, and it is satisfactory.
With "Skeleton Men of Jupiter," though, which actually was written by the elder Burroughs, we are back to the standard first-person John Carter fare, and while of course the story can't have the complexity of the jillion twists and turns of a book-length plot, it is so much better than its peculiar book-mate. John Carter is no stranger to getting captured, but the honor be being first abductee in a tale generally belongs to a woman, specifically one upright and pure and yet deliciously desirable. Here, however, it is the Virginian himself captured first, by "human skeletons" (page 86) with "parchmentlike skin cover[ing] the bones of their limbs so tightly that it [is] difficult to convince one's self that it [is] not true bone that [is] exposed"; and whereas "every rib and vertebra [stands] out in plain and disgusting relief," "[w]hen they [stand] in front of a bright light, [he can] see their internal organs" (page 88). These creepy gut-showing weirdos bustle John Carter into a "long, lean, sinister" ship "look[ing] like an enormous projectile, with rounded nose and a tapering tail," and they blast "at appalling speed" (page 87) to...well, you know, Jupiter.
The Earthman, who on the first page of the novella has commented that "[t]heories come and theories go" (page 83)--including, he adds wryly, whether or not "Mars [is] habitable and inhabited" (page 84)--tells us now that the scientific jury is still out regarding Jupiter, with one theory holding it "to have a surface temperature of two hundred and sixty degrees below zero" and another being "equally positive" that it "was still in a half molten condition" (page 101). "How could human life exist in an atmosphere made up largely of ammonia and methane gases?" he wonders. "And what of the effect of the planet's terrific gravitational pull?" (pages 101-102). Well, but you know Burroughs--just as with the time he sent characters in Swords of Mars, eighth in the series, to Phobos, which John Carter knew should possess no atmosphere and have only microgravity, he'll have a glib answer to make the plot work.
In any event, the Jovian skeleton-folk, or Morgors, are "a warlike race" who, after "conquer[ing] all other peoples" of their planet, now look to "a new world to conquer" (page 94). They have discovered that great Helium is "the most powerful" empire on Mars, so they intend to attack it first, after which "the rest of Barsoom would, they [assume], be easy to conquer" (page 94). The Prince of Helium, they believe, can be forced to give them "full information as to the war techniques of the Heliumites" (pages 94-95). This latter seems unlikely, of course, but a fellow Martian explains how he himself was forced into wrongdoing by the capture of his beloved, who was threatened, after a traitorous Martian was to have "had his way with her," to "be tortured and mutilated" but "even then not allowed to die" (page 95), so...hmm.
But as John Carter tells us later, once he has recruited staunch new friends during his requisite prison confinement, "[t]hey ha[ve]n't a chance against the three best swordsmen of three worlds" (page 154). Yes, for the Warlord of Barsoom is strong, and he is skilled, and he is steadfastly honorable. He will not abandon a companion, nor will he hesitate at any daring to safeguard his adopted world and to deliver his incomparable Dejah Thoris to safety. There is clever planning, there are fights with fist and with blade, and there are droll witticisms directed at those who imagine themselves his betters.
Now, "Skeleton Men of Jupiter" does end with a helluva lot of inconclusion. That is, an immediate problem is about to be solved--about to be--but we're still on Jupiter, and there isn't yet any explanation of how we'll get back to Mars, let alone stop the invasion of the arrogant, weird-looking Morgors. I confess I was puzzled, but again, a li'l poking around the internet suggested that this was intended to be the first novella of a multi-part book akin to Llana of Gathol, except the follow-ups never got written, so...I suppose we should cut some slack on the peculiar-seeming end.
"Skeleton Men of Jupiter" really helped redeem the book from its awkward, disappointing start, and the tale makes an enjoyable sorta-conclusion to Burroughs' famed Barsoom series. Overall, the bifurcated John Carter of Mars is perhaps a 3.5-star read, but I'll round 'er up to 4 on general principle.
July 24, 2016
This eponymous volume in the series is actually two novelettes: "John Carter and the Giant of Mars", and "Skeleton Men of Jupiter". Both were written fairly long into his career, during World War II, and I imagine that at this point he could churn out these pulp stories in his sleep.
Just as in the Tarzan series, he tends to rehash a lot of his plot elements, and at this point, having Dejah Thoris kidnapped yet again has become pretty tiresome. Yet that is what happens in "...The Giant of Mars". Likewise in "Skeleton Men Of Jupiter", John Carter and Dejah Thoris are both taken by the title creatures in a bid to gain info on the invasion of Barsoom, starting with the great nation of Helium.
Both stories are imaginative enough, but were quickly wrapped up, and no doubt sent off to be published in "Amazing Stories" magazine for a quick paycheck. The second, and what would turn out to be the final story in the series, ends seemingly in mid-storyline, without knowing how Carter and Dejah return to Mars, or whether the Skeleton Men's plot for invasion is thwarted.
Certainly not the best in the series, but I came this far, I had to complete the journey.
Just as in the Tarzan series, he tends to rehash a lot of his plot elements, and at this point, having Dejah Thoris kidnapped yet again has become pretty tiresome. Yet that is what happens in "...The Giant of Mars". Likewise in "Skeleton Men Of Jupiter", John Carter and Dejah Thoris are both taken by the title creatures in a bid to gain info on the invasion of Barsoom, starting with the great nation of Helium.
Both stories are imaginative enough, but were quickly wrapped up, and no doubt sent off to be published in "Amazing Stories" magazine for a quick paycheck. The second, and what would turn out to be the final story in the series, ends seemingly in mid-storyline, without knowing how Carter and Dejah return to Mars, or whether the Skeleton Men's plot for invasion is thwarted.
Certainly not the best in the series, but I came this far, I had to complete the journey.
December 30, 2013
John Carter the immortal, is of again to rescue his love Deja Thoris the Red Princess of one of Mars most powerful kingdoms. John Carters ability to perform incredible feats of strength, and marshall prowess due to the lesser gravity of Mars makes him a formidable oponent. Respected by the most warlike people on a very warlike planet. John carter is good friends with Tars Tarkas. One of the green men of Mars. Green giants with six arms and two legs. Which allow them to wield a lot of weapons. As usual John rescues his princess with the help his powerful friends. Becoming a legend in his new home, Mars. Cary
July 22, 2011
Earlier in the week I read John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which was absolutely hilarious. Giant three-legged rats are attacking the telepathically controlled birds used as transport! Oh no, Carter has been captured by the dreaded skeleton men of Jupiter! Classic scifi is adorable. You'll be happy to know all ended happily if fairly egocentrically with Carter consistently saving the day and being pretty cocky about it.
January 29, 2013
I thought this book turn out to be interesting. The action and adventure kept your mind wondering. I had a hard time trying to get away from the book and do other things. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in science-fiction and is an adventurous person. If you don't like reading about aliens or science-fiction you might not like it. This would be a good book for young adults and older. It was a graphic detailed novel.
February 24, 2017
The only real clunker in all of this latter-day stuff is the first story here--in third person and seemingly written in a bit of haste. Fortunately though in "Skeleton Men" we get back to first person and JC's slightly tongue-in-cheeky, vigorous style.
December 27, 2019
And so Edgar Rice Burroughs' sweeping catalogue of pseudoscience-fiction comes to an end, decades after the fact, in "John Carter of Mars." This collection of two tales is one of contradictions; it represents beginnings and endings, new stories which aren't wholly original, new direction cut abruptly short, and the twilight years for the King of Pulp. A strange mix of momentous and ignominious, this one is, almost enrapturing in its fallibility.
"Carter" opens without fanfare in the oft-maligned "Giant of Mars," an unusually-simple yarn with an unusually-complex history. Carter (once again in third-person) must attend to yet another kidnapping, deal with unknown forces, and save the day. But where "Giant of Mars" differs is in abject simplicity; Carter's quarry is Dejah Thoris, his allies Tars Tarkas and Kantos Kan. There's nothing new to the series here, yet it's littered with brazen continuity errors (there are forests in Helium now? Laser pistols and atom guns? Airplanes? Submachine guns?). The simple reason--perhaps too much so--for this is the story's origin as a 'Little Big Book' sometime around the penning of "Llana of Gathol." In other words, a kid's book!
Many faults in the story take root here. The language is simpler, owing to Edgar Rice Burroughs likely serving nothing more than an editorial role for this expanded, lightly-revised take on the adventure. It's generally agreed his son (John Coleman Burroughs) wrote this, and given his experience on John Carter comics, it's evident then that the back-to-basics cast and frequent continuity gaffes are the product of a simpler Barsoom for a younger crowd (simplicity not expunged in the leap to this book). Most analysis of "Giant of Mars" is riddled with disdain for the simple language and egregious divergences from the established world.
But, really: "Giant of Mars" is actually pretty good for what it is. Blatant errors aside, it boasts the return of Tars Tarkas, Dejah Thoris in an actual speaking role, a fairly interesting (if slightly stock) fantastical threat in the giant, and, no lie, possibly the best villain the series has ever seen: Pew Mogel.
Mogel is something else. For one, he is strictly in continuity with "Synthetic Men of Mars," being a product of "Master Mind's" Ras Thavas. Indeed, he may have been the very first synthetic. He is an uncanny, resentful shell of a thing (contrasting Carter), who went rogue in employing the Master Mind's brain-swapping technology. Guarded by White Apes and the unkillable giant, he proves remarkably characterful and competent, never outshined by a serialized narrative or a second villain.
The strength of the villain comes with another advantage: its pace. 'Little Big Books' had a picture on every other page, meaning every so many words had to have something interesting happen. Combined with the short length, "Giant of Mars" is almost breathless by the standards of the series, leaping from visual to visual, fight scene to fight scene with appreciable brevity. With its large-scale finale, it reads almost like a send-up of the whole series in miniature. It's peppered with faults, and Barsoom purists will surely turn their nose up at it, but "Giant of Mars" is well worth a read, and easily the shortest investment for any work in the series.
And then there's the second half of the piece: "Skeleton Men of Jupiter," a remnant of an incomplete collection akin to "Llana of Gathol." Thus, it is but a quarter of the length. But while clearly another retread there, it proves remarkably distinct in other areas.
The opening, for a start, sees Burroughs wax on his distaste for forewords in his own. The story itself returns to the comfortable wheelhouse of Carter in the first-person, relating what would be his final adventure: the increasing scope of Burroughs' shared literary universe. The eponymous invaders capture Carter (and eventually Dejah Thoris), necessitating his eventual allying with locals and staging an escape. The story cuts short with a happy ending where normally a reunion would inevitably be followed by more trouble, but in the interim Burroughs seems to be making vain stabs at breaking Barsoom out of its funk. "Eurobus" (so Jupiter is called) is leagues more detailed than it has any right to be, suggesting a sort of middle ground between the well-tread Mars and the otherwise-removed Venus books. The cast is arguably smaller and more focused, and while the invisibility's re-use from "A Fighting Man of Mars" is disappointing, its technobabble is fun in its own right.
"Skeleton Men" appears for all the world like an acceptance of mortality. Morbid imagery, compounded with freshly-injected newness in the dated serials, so late in the game, and Burroughs' brief and perfunctory foreword, suggest the work of a man in an almost blithely fatalist frame of mind. The story ends happily, but empty and unsatisfying, adding to the bittersweet finale.
And that's really this experience in a nutshell. Unless I work up the interest to complete Pellucidar, my time with Edgar Rice Burroughs is complete. I can't say it was all thrills, but these books were illuminating and enriching to follow from inception to end, and the spirit of Burroughs lives on in this book more than any other, perhaps for no more reason than because it still feels as though he had something more he wanted to say, always a little bit more. The simple urge to create, from so prolific a pulp pen, is survived in the wealth of words left behind, even in the most idiot-simple or bare-boned romps put to the page. That's what's made every single one of these silly things worth it.
"Carter" opens without fanfare in the oft-maligned "Giant of Mars," an unusually-simple yarn with an unusually-complex history. Carter (once again in third-person) must attend to yet another kidnapping, deal with unknown forces, and save the day. But where "Giant of Mars" differs is in abject simplicity; Carter's quarry is Dejah Thoris, his allies Tars Tarkas and Kantos Kan. There's nothing new to the series here, yet it's littered with brazen continuity errors (there are forests in Helium now? Laser pistols and atom guns? Airplanes? Submachine guns?). The simple reason--perhaps too much so--for this is the story's origin as a 'Little Big Book' sometime around the penning of "Llana of Gathol." In other words, a kid's book!
Many faults in the story take root here. The language is simpler, owing to Edgar Rice Burroughs likely serving nothing more than an editorial role for this expanded, lightly-revised take on the adventure. It's generally agreed his son (John Coleman Burroughs) wrote this, and given his experience on John Carter comics, it's evident then that the back-to-basics cast and frequent continuity gaffes are the product of a simpler Barsoom for a younger crowd (simplicity not expunged in the leap to this book). Most analysis of "Giant of Mars" is riddled with disdain for the simple language and egregious divergences from the established world.
But, really: "Giant of Mars" is actually pretty good for what it is. Blatant errors aside, it boasts the return of Tars Tarkas, Dejah Thoris in an actual speaking role, a fairly interesting (if slightly stock) fantastical threat in the giant, and, no lie, possibly the best villain the series has ever seen: Pew Mogel.
Mogel is something else. For one, he is strictly in continuity with "Synthetic Men of Mars," being a product of "Master Mind's" Ras Thavas. Indeed, he may have been the very first synthetic. He is an uncanny, resentful shell of a thing (contrasting Carter), who went rogue in employing the Master Mind's brain-swapping technology. Guarded by White Apes and the unkillable giant, he proves remarkably characterful and competent, never outshined by a serialized narrative or a second villain.
The strength of the villain comes with another advantage: its pace. 'Little Big Books' had a picture on every other page, meaning every so many words had to have something interesting happen. Combined with the short length, "Giant of Mars" is almost breathless by the standards of the series, leaping from visual to visual, fight scene to fight scene with appreciable brevity. With its large-scale finale, it reads almost like a send-up of the whole series in miniature. It's peppered with faults, and Barsoom purists will surely turn their nose up at it, but "Giant of Mars" is well worth a read, and easily the shortest investment for any work in the series.
And then there's the second half of the piece: "Skeleton Men of Jupiter," a remnant of an incomplete collection akin to "Llana of Gathol." Thus, it is but a quarter of the length. But while clearly another retread there, it proves remarkably distinct in other areas.
The opening, for a start, sees Burroughs wax on his distaste for forewords in his own. The story itself returns to the comfortable wheelhouse of Carter in the first-person, relating what would be his final adventure: the increasing scope of Burroughs' shared literary universe. The eponymous invaders capture Carter (and eventually Dejah Thoris), necessitating his eventual allying with locals and staging an escape. The story cuts short with a happy ending where normally a reunion would inevitably be followed by more trouble, but in the interim Burroughs seems to be making vain stabs at breaking Barsoom out of its funk. "Eurobus" (so Jupiter is called) is leagues more detailed than it has any right to be, suggesting a sort of middle ground between the well-tread Mars and the otherwise-removed Venus books. The cast is arguably smaller and more focused, and while the invisibility's re-use from "A Fighting Man of Mars" is disappointing, its technobabble is fun in its own right.
"Skeleton Men" appears for all the world like an acceptance of mortality. Morbid imagery, compounded with freshly-injected newness in the dated serials, so late in the game, and Burroughs' brief and perfunctory foreword, suggest the work of a man in an almost blithely fatalist frame of mind. The story ends happily, but empty and unsatisfying, adding to the bittersweet finale.
And that's really this experience in a nutshell. Unless I work up the interest to complete Pellucidar, my time with Edgar Rice Burroughs is complete. I can't say it was all thrills, but these books were illuminating and enriching to follow from inception to end, and the spirit of Burroughs lives on in this book more than any other, perhaps for no more reason than because it still feels as though he had something more he wanted to say, always a little bit more. The simple urge to create, from so prolific a pulp pen, is survived in the wealth of words left behind, even in the most idiot-simple or bare-boned romps put to the page. That's what's made every single one of these silly things worth it.
April 14, 2009
I loved this whole series. It's pretty sexual and macho and they're all massive page-turners.
Same review for each.
Same review for each.
November 4, 2013
What can I say... Edgar Rice Burroughs is one of the SF/fantasy genres undisputed masters.
March 23, 2024
İlk hikayemizde Dejah Thoris, John Carter ile dolaştığı Helium ormanında aniden ortadan kaybolur.Pew Mogel adlı, Ras Thavas’ın yapay adamlarından biri şeytani planlarını gerçekleştirmek için koz olarak kaçırmıştır prensesi.Amacı Helium’un demir madenlerine el koyup kendisine gemiler yapmak ve Mars’ı işgal etmek.Böylece prensesini kurtarmak için yola çıkan John Carter kendisini antik Korvas şehrinde, koca dev Joog, insan beyinli beyaz maymunlar ve vahşi sıçanlarla sarılı buluverir.
İkinci hikayemizde ise John Carter kendisini, iskelet adam görünümündeki Morgorlar tarafından Jüpiter’e kaçırılırken bulur.Sebebi ise Mars’ı işgal etme planlarında Helium’u kullanmak.Tabi ki John Carter buna izin vermeyeceğini çok net bir şekilde Jüpiter’lilere belli edecektir.
Böylece serinin sonuna geldim.Gelelim eleştirilere, her kitapta bir kadının kaçırılması ve erkek karakterlerin o kadını kurtarmak için bir sürü maceraya atılması🙄Hele ki Dejah Thoris o kadar sık kaçırıldı ki bu durum bezdirdi bir yerden sonra.John Carter’ın her yerden ve durumdan kolayca kurtulabilmesi, bir yumruğuyla uzaylıları veya vahşi hayvanları yere serebilmesi, her savaşta dövüşte galip gelmesi, bir atlayışıyla metreleri aşması vs. gibi absürtlükler gırlaydı.Boşuna Cüneyt Arkın’ı andırıyor demiyordum yani😂Kadınlar ise hep birilerinin karısı olmak için kaçırılan vb. olarak yazılmış.Bunlar dışındaysa gayet güzeldi de aynı zamanda.Kafa dağıtmalık, konu olarak değişik bir şeyler okumak isteyenler için ideal ama olmazsa olmaz bir seri de değil.
İkinci hikayemizde ise John Carter kendisini, iskelet adam görünümündeki Morgorlar tarafından Jüpiter’e kaçırılırken bulur.Sebebi ise Mars’ı işgal etme planlarında Helium’u kullanmak.Tabi ki John Carter buna izin vermeyeceğini çok net bir şekilde Jüpiter’lilere belli edecektir.
Böylece serinin sonuna geldim.Gelelim eleştirilere, her kitapta bir kadının kaçırılması ve erkek karakterlerin o kadını kurtarmak için bir sürü maceraya atılması🙄Hele ki Dejah Thoris o kadar sık kaçırıldı ki bu durum bezdirdi bir yerden sonra.John Carter’ın her yerden ve durumdan kolayca kurtulabilmesi, bir yumruğuyla uzaylıları veya vahşi hayvanları yere serebilmesi, her savaşta dövüşte galip gelmesi, bir atlayışıyla metreleri aşması vs. gibi absürtlükler gırlaydı.Boşuna Cüneyt Arkın’ı andırıyor demiyordum yani😂Kadınlar ise hep birilerinin karısı olmak için kaçırılan vb. olarak yazılmış.Bunlar dışındaysa gayet güzeldi de aynı zamanda.Kafa dağıtmalık, konu olarak değişik bir şeyler okumak isteyenler için ideal ama olmazsa olmaz bir seri de değil.
October 22, 2019
In this final collected works book there are two John Carter of Mars stories. The first is a concise story very much like all of the ERB 'Mars' stories with some interesting imagery but nothing too exciting; it fills in for a quick read. The next story, equally as short, ends the series and is a fun,unique story. I really wished the last story had been a full novel as the concept, plot and characters are some of the more interesting of ERB's novels.
All the ERB books are fast paced, unrealistic, science-fantasy yarns but there is an appeal to the over-the-top bravado of a bygone era that is entertaining. Burroughs' strength was action and fantastic descriptions of unchartered worlds. And as these were originally serialized magazine stories that needed cliff hanging endings each chapter builds on the next. This two story collection is great for purists or fans wanting to read something more from ERB. This final book ends on two stories that are not bad but definitely leave an ERB enthusiast wanting more, or at least a wrap up of a long series that had lots of potential but ends very abruptly.
All the ERB books are fast paced, unrealistic, science-fantasy yarns but there is an appeal to the over-the-top bravado of a bygone era that is entertaining. Burroughs' strength was action and fantastic descriptions of unchartered worlds. And as these were originally serialized magazine stories that needed cliff hanging endings each chapter builds on the next. This two story collection is great for purists or fans wanting to read something more from ERB. This final book ends on two stories that are not bad but definitely leave an ERB enthusiast wanting more, or at least a wrap up of a long series that had lots of potential but ends very abruptly.
June 21, 2019
Dos novelas cortas, unidas en un mismo libro que dan el cierre a la saga marciana de John Carter. Un héroe que hará las delicias de todo aquel que busque aventuras y más aventuras, pues estos libros están genialmente escritos para transmitir al lector la emoción de la esperanza de seguir luchando para encontrar siempre una salida a los problemas.
Mientras que el primero libro del gigante está concluso y puede ser uno de los muchos interludios en la vida de los protagonistas. El segundo “Los hombres esqueletos de Júpiter” abre un nuevo mundo lleno de vida completamente por descubrir, eso sí, rompiendo todas las leyes físicas, pero para eso está la literatura.
Una saga refrescante que hará las delicias de cualquier jugador de ROL y toda aquel sentirse un aventurero.
Mientras que el primero libro del gigante está concluso y puede ser uno de los muchos interludios en la vida de los protagonistas. El segundo “Los hombres esqueletos de Júpiter” abre un nuevo mundo lleno de vida completamente por descubrir, eso sí, rompiendo todas las leyes físicas, pero para eso está la literatura.
Una saga refrescante que hará las delicias de cualquier jugador de ROL y toda aquel sentirse un aventurero.
September 8, 2021
This books contains two stories, one by ERB and one by his son. The story by ERB is a typical entry in the series. Bad guys first kidnap John Carter then Dejah Thoris because they want to conquer Barsoom. The cool angle in this one is that the villains are the skeleton men of Jupiter. The story by ERB's son is an adaptation of a novel that he wrote for young adults. There is no effort to make this story consistent with earlier stories, even though ERB did revise this version for magazine publication. I did find some of the details very evocative, e.g. the village of the Martian rats is quite macabre. Glad that I finally slogged my way through this series. Looking back, ERB had a wonderful imagination that was often let down by his pedestrian prose.
February 13, 2023
*"Better death then dishonor."
So I was extremely confused at first why the LAST book in the series was called "John Carter of Mars" - like, shouldn't that be the FIRST book? But it's actually just a collection of two short stories involving John Carter:
John Carter and the Giant of Mars: Dejah Thoris vanishes (le shock!), abducted by Pew Mogel who wants to seize all the iron mines of Barsoom for himself. There's a deserted city filled with 8 foot Martian, one 130 foot tall giant, and the King of Rats & Co. Also a pit of dead bodies.
Skeleton Men of Jupiter: As hinted at by the title, we travel to Jupiter, which even John Carter wonders how he'll survive on since it should be made of gas, but it is not. The people there love war, LOVE IT.
So I was extremely confused at first why the LAST book in the series was called "John Carter of Mars" - like, shouldn't that be the FIRST book? But it's actually just a collection of two short stories involving John Carter:
John Carter and the Giant of Mars: Dejah Thoris vanishes (le shock!), abducted by Pew Mogel who wants to seize all the iron mines of Barsoom for himself. There's a deserted city filled with 8 foot Martian, one 130 foot tall giant, and the King of Rats & Co. Also a pit of dead bodies.
Skeleton Men of Jupiter: As hinted at by the title, we travel to Jupiter, which even John Carter wonders how he'll survive on since it should be made of gas, but it is not. The people there love war, LOVE IT.
August 31, 2021
The first story "John Carter and the Giant of Mars" that was written by John Coleman Burroughs gets a 1. The writing wasn't the same and he didn't manage to use the correct name and even added technology like video screens and radios that never existed before into his stories. The final insult was the terrible ending.
"Skeleton Men of Jupiter" was actually pretty good. Sadly ERB was no longer taking the time to flesh out his stories as seen previously with "Llana of Gathol". It's too bad because there was some great stuff that he left with just a yada yada. 3 Stars. That's why overall I give this a 2. Worth it if your an ERB fan, otherwise not.
"Skeleton Men of Jupiter" was actually pretty good. Sadly ERB was no longer taking the time to flesh out his stories as seen previously with "Llana of Gathol". It's too bad because there was some great stuff that he left with just a yada yada. 3 Stars. That's why overall I give this a 2. Worth it if your an ERB fan, otherwise not.
December 12, 2017
The first story is as dreadful as everyone says. Better left forgotten. It almost got cool with the weird rat ritual in the catacombs but other than that was laughably bad. His son did not have the talent he did.
The second story is so bittersweet to read. It introduces a fantastic new setting which was clearly meant to be explored further and a decent story to introduce these elements. Albeit it felt a bit rushed. It's sad such a historic franchise ended on this note. We'll never know the full extent of ERB vision for Jupiter but this little glimpse captures the imagination.
The second story is so bittersweet to read. It introduces a fantastic new setting which was clearly meant to be explored further and a decent story to introduce these elements. Albeit it felt a bit rushed. It's sad such a historic franchise ended on this note. We'll never know the full extent of ERB vision for Jupiter but this little glimpse captures the imagination.
February 1, 2020
Two novellas, one of the a terrible adaptation of a children's book written in large part by Burroughs's son; the second an incomplete novel starting a second series of Jupiter-related John Carter books. One of them is really awful (The Giant of Mars); the other is pretty decent but a retread of all other John Carter things: new peoples, Dejah Thoris is kidnapped; John Carter wins over strangers; invisible things and people. Yadda yadda.
Anyway, it's the last one, and I'm finally done with all of them.
Anyway, it's the last one, and I'm finally done with all of them.
October 9, 2021
The ONLY thing wrong with this book, is the fact that it's the last ERB ever wrote in the series. Incredible short story to end the series but still making me crave more adventures. The entire series is brilliant. The world building is S tier even by today's modern SF standards. Not to mention the fact that he was one of the very first SF authors and just blew it out of the water, even over 100 years later - still blowing my mind.
I love this series. You need to read this series. Everyone deserves to have these stories in their minds and their hearts.
I love this series. You need to read this series. Everyone deserves to have these stories in their minds and their hearts.
December 5, 2018
This final volume of ERB's Mars books was published in book form posthumously, after he died in 1950, the two stories making it up having been published separately in Amazing Stories magazine in the 1940's. In both, Dejah Thoris has been kidnapped and John Carter is off to rescue her. In the first story, he has to deal with a giant. In the second one, she has been transported to Jupiter where Carter has to deal with the Skeleton Men. Good ERB adventures.
November 20, 2020
I read it about a year before this review, though I can confidently say that this was one of the most average books I've read in one of the oddest ways possible. I was surprised how a book so old could have so many concepts we think of as sci-fi tropes today, and then realized it was a large influence. The author was ahead of his time in terms of imagination, as you'd read this and think it was a 21st century sci-fi if the wording were updated a bit and the style tweaked for today's audience.
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