Rating: 
Summary: AS THRILLING AS THEY COME, BUT...
Review: "The Warlord of Mars" (1914) is the 3rd of ll John Carter novels from the pen of Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is a direct continuation of the first two in the series--"A Princess of Mars" and "The Gods of Mars"--and a reading of those earlier titles is absolutely essential before going into this one. Here, Carter tries to rescue his princess, Dejah Thoris, from the clutches of some particularly nasty villains. In his relentless pursuit, one that makes Indiana Jones look like a slacker, Carter travels from the south pole of Mars to the forbidden lands of the north. He encounters many varieties of monster, such as the apt and the sith, and gets into more fights and cliffhanging situations than a reader would believe could be packed into a mere 160 pages. The pace of the book is furious, never pausing for breath, and the final battle in the north polar city of Kadabra, in which the combined armies of Barsoomian green, red and black men attack the yellow tribes of the north, is thrilling in the extreme. What amazing films these first three John Carter novels would make, if done faithfully and with the requisite ... million thrown into each one!
So why the 3-star rating? Well, there are numerous problems with the book that prevent me from giving it top grades, despite the fun I had reading it. For one, there are countless inconsistencies and implausibilities. For example, it is difficult for the reader to accept that Carter's enemies cannot recognize him, just because he has smeared some red tint over his skin. Difficult to believe that Carter is able to scale the side of a tower in the pitch black of night. Difficult to believe that Carter (or any man) could live in a pit for nine days without food and especially water. Verrry hard to believe that Thurid, Carter's archenemy, could carry the struggling captive princess over a foot-wide ledge without toppling into the abyss beneath. Impossible to believe that Dejah Thoris couldn't recognize Carter by his voice alone, despite his yellow-man disguise. All these are hard to swallow in the extreme. As for the inconsistencies: It is stated that Carter saved Thuvia from the Warhoons in book 2, when in actuality it was Carthoris, Carter's son. The city of Kaol is said to be rendered invisible by the forest that surrounds and tops it, but later it is stated that this forest is cut back from the city. Huh? Worst of all is the aforementioned tower-scaling scene, in which dusk becomes early afternoon in a matter of minutes. Here's something that Ed Wood would have appreciated! This day/night confusion is straight out of "Plan 9," but for me is the hallmark of incredibly sloppy writing and even poorer copyediting. Further, Burroughs' descriptions of the Valley of the Therns, and its geographic proximity to the land of the First Born, are simply impossible to visualize. Throw in a bunch of misplaced modifiers and some awkward turns of phrase and you've got a real mess of a manuscript. So why did I have a tear in my eye by the book's end, when Carter gets his rewards and the entire city of Helium turns out to greet him? I guess that the power of storytelling can outweigh petty matters of consistency and grammar. And Burroughs WAS a great teller of tales, and this book IS as thrilling as they come.
Rating: 
Summary: The Great Escape
Review: "Psychologists tell me that... too close a scrutiny of my mental activities might prove anything but flattering; but be that as it may, I have often won success while the thinker would have been still at the endless task of comparing various judgements."
Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Warlord Of Mars
1914"Burroughs [was] no one's candidate for Great World Writer, but [was] a man who understood story values completely."
Stephen King
Foreward to Night Shift
1977 Was Edgar Rice Burroughs a man of towering intellect? No - I doubt even his most devoted fans would say so. Was he, in Mr. King's amusing phrase, a "Great World Writer"? Again, no - even the most forgiving literary critic probably wouldn't bestow that title upon him. Was he, however, a born storyteller with a (literally) wonderful imagination? That I don't think anyone would seriously argue. Burroughs' Martian novels, as I have said elsewhere, are great fun for both the the young and young at heart. Think Errol Flynn in outer space and you've got the basic idea. Escapist fiction doesn't get much better than this.
Rating: 
Summary: A little something for everyone
Review: Edgar Rice Burroughs covers vast expanses of Barsoomian territory in John Carter's whirlwind pursuit of his beloved Dejah Thoris. The gentle pokes in the eye at religion, evolution, science, and even racism continue but do not impede the readability of the story. Burroughs demonstrates his superb grasp of story-telling and the construction of adventure settings with a flair unsurpassed by any other writer of the 20th century. Carter finds himself charging headline into a myterious northern world where ancient and legendary yellow men have survived in the harshest Barsoomian environment imaginable. Coincidentally, in classic Burroughsian fashion, Carter uncovers an incredible weapon which could destroy the fragile alliance of Barsoomian nations he has assembled in his long battle with the evil Therns. The first three books of the John Carter series (A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, and The Warlord of Mars) foreshadow the most breath-taking adventures that role-playing gamers could imagine three generations after ERB wrote these stories. These books also provide a glimpse into one of the most amazing and detailed worlds of fantasy and space opera ever to see publication. It's hard to imagine how anyone who loves action adventure, swashbuckling stories could go wrong in purchasing these books.
Rating:
Summary: A little something for everyone
Review: Edgar Rice Burroughs covers vast expanses of Barsoomian territory in John Carter's whirlwind pursuit of his beloved Dejah Thoris. The gentle pokes in the eye at religion, evolution, science, and even racism continue but do not impede the readability of the story. Burroughs demonstrates his superb grasp of story-telling and the construction of adventure settings with a flair unsurpassed by any other writer of the 20th century. Carter finds himself charging headline into a myterious northern world where ancient and legendary yellow men have survived in the harshest Barsoomian environment imaginable. Coincidentally, in classic Burroughsian fashion, Carter uncovers an incredible weapon which could destroy the fragile alliance of Barsoomian nations he has assembled in his long battle with the evil Therns. The first three books of the John Carter series (A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, and The Warlord of Mars) foreshadow the most breath-taking adventures that role-playing gamers could imagine three generations after ERB wrote these stories. These books also provide a glimpse into one of the most amazing and detailed worlds of fantasy and space opera ever to see publication. It's hard to imagine how anyone who loves action adventure, swashbuckling stories could go wrong in purchasing these books.
Rating:
Summary: John Carter fights across Barsoom for Dejah Thoris
Review: Edgar Rice Burroughs did not intended to write a trilogy, but his 1914 pulp novel "The Warlord of Mars" completes the story begun in "A Princess of Mars" and continued in "The Gods of Mars" and finally brings John Carter and his beloved Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium (i.e., no cliffhanger this time around, boys and girls). The story picks up six months after the conclusion of "The Gods of Mars," with our hero not knowing whether she is dead or alive in the Temple of the Sun of the Holy Therns where he last saw here with the blade of Phaidor was descending towards her heart as the evil Issus, queen of the First Born, had locked his mate in a cell that would not open for another year. However, it turns out that the exiled leader of the Therns has reached the trapped women to rescue his daughter and to seek revenge on Carter for exposing his evil cult. The focus of "The Warlord of Mars" is on Carter's relentless pursuit of the villainous Thurid who have taken his beloved princess from the south pole of Barsoom across rivers, desert, jungles, and ice to the forbidden lands of the north in the city of Kadabra where the combined armies of the green, red and black races attack the yellow tribes of the north, thereby justifying the book's title. It is interesting to note that Carter's heroics in this novel have the same sort of over the top implausibility we find in contemporary Hollywood blockbusters as ERB pours on the action sequences one on top of another. Whether he is scaling towers in the dark of night or surviving in a pit for over a week without food and water, John Carter is a manly hero in the great pulp fiction tradition of which ERB was an admitted master. Overall, the Martian series is Burrough's best work, avoiding the repetition that overwhelmed his Tarzan series and providing a lot more creativity (ever play Martian chess?). There is also, Dejah Thoris, one of the great names in science fiction history.
Rating:
Summary: John Carter fights across Barsoom for Dejah Thoris
Review: Edgar Rice Burroughs did not intended to write a trilogy, but his 1914 pulp novel "The Warlord of Mars" completes the story begun in "A Princess of Mars" and continued in "The Gods of Mars" and finally brings John Carter and his beloved Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium (i.e., no cliffhanger this time around, boys and girls). The story picks up six months after the conclusion of "The Gods of Mars," with our hero not knowing whether she is dead or alive in the Temple of the Sun of the Holy Therns where he last saw here with the blade of Phaidor was descending towards her heart as the evil Issus, queen of the First Born, had locked his mate in a cell that would not open for another year. However, it turns out that the exiled leader of the Therns has reached the trapped women to rescue his daughter and to seek revenge on Carter for exposing his evil cult. The focus of "The Warlord of Mars" is on Carter's relentless pursuit of the villainous Thurid who have taken his beloved princess from the south pole of Barsoom across rivers, desert, jungles, and ice to the forbidden lands of the north in the city of Kadabra where the combined armies of the green, red and black races attack the yellow tribes of the north, thereby justifying the book's title. It is interesting to note that Carter's heroics in this novel have the same sort of over the top implausibility we find in contemporary Hollywood blockbusters as ERB pours on the action sequences one on top of another. Whether he is scaling towers in the dark of night or surviving in a pit for over a week without food and water, John Carter is a manly hero in the great pulp fiction tradition of which ERB was an admitted master. Overall, the Martian series is Burrough's best work, avoiding the repetition that overwhelmed his Tarzan series and providing a lot more creativity (ever play Martian chess?). There is also, Dejah Thoris, one of the great names in science fiction history.
Rating:
Summary: Just as good as the other
Review: Edgar Rice Burroughs novels have been handed down to me from my father who received them from his father. I just wanted to let readers know that around the age of 15 or so, I read all of Buroughs' novels. From the Tarzan stories to Carson of Venus to John Carter and Mars to the westerns to everything. Even though you can see the similiarities in all in how they were written with the same segments, I thought all the books were fascinating and well done. Considering the fact that these were written as early as 1900, the stories of Mars and Venus show the brilliance of Rice Burroughs. Lets not forget about David Ins ( i believe that was his name ) and the stories of the earths core. Burroughs was well ahead of his time and I am greatful that I was able to enjoy them.
Rating:
Summary: The start of Mars exploration
Review: First written in 1914, this series of John Carter novels is perhaps the start of the science fiction writing about Mars. Ray Bradbury traces his Martian Chronicles to reading these as a child. This is high on action and around every turn there is a life-threatening event across the Barsoom landscape. John Carter "the prince of Helium" must fight with his beloved "pet" Woola, "As large as a Shetland pony, with hideous head and frightful fangs, he was indeed an awesome spectacle, as he crept after me on his ten short, muscular legs; but to me he was the embodiment of love and loyalty". One review called John Carter "a natural man", which seems appropriate. There is the undying love for Dejah Thorus and the final sly "Why not?" as he draws her close after the triumphs. Carter is a man of courage, and that word spoken from an unknown ally, leads him out of the tortuous Pit of Plenty. This might be considered the third of the trilogy started with "A Princes of Mars" and continued with "The Gods of Mars", but in fact there were 7 more John Carter stories.
Rating:
Summary: Desert Island Classic
Review: If I had to be stuck on a desert island with only ten books, the Barsoomian trilogy (Princess of Mars, Gods of Mars, and Warlord of Mars) would be three of them. Warlord wraps up the tale as Carter takes up the trail of the incomparable Dejah Thoris, following her captors to the hidden cities of the polar regions, culminating in a battle that settles the future of Barsoom. All the breathless adventure, daring swordplay, hairsbreadth escapes, and dry humor you could ask for. Even more in control of his material than in the other two excellent volumes, Burroughs challenges himself both to keep in the established material about Barsoom and still invent new elements. If you have not read the Barsoomian trilogy, and you love SF adventure, buy it NOW! You will re-read it with delight the rest of your life.
Rating:
Summary: Good Old Fashioned Heroics.
Review: Keeping in mind that much of the outer space and Mars-related science fiction in this book is far out-dated--almost comically so--Warlord of Mars is really a quite enjoyable book, even today. Edgar Rice Burroughs, perhaps more famously known as the creator of Tarzan, is the consummate story-teller. This is richly plotted fantasy with highly suspenseful action scenes; strong imagery; clearly defined characters; and an inexhaustible pool of creative names like Barsoom, Dejah Thoris, and the Therns, which sink into a reader's psyche and never wear away. Burroughs is one of the classic writers of yore, capable of putting their hero in one seemingly impossible predicament after another, yet managing to extricate them at the height of suspense by some clever trick every time. No matter how many times we read this stuff, it never gets old. The John Carter series is mandatory reading for all serious sci-fi buffs. And one should definitely read the first two books in the trilogy before taking on this third and final edition. Long live John Carter! --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.
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