Home :: Books :: Science Fiction & Fantasy  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
THE SECOND BARSOOM OMNIBUS: Thuvia Maid of Mars &  The Chessmen of Mars

THE SECOND BARSOOM OMNIBUS: Thuvia Maid of Mars & The Chessmen of Mars

List Price: $4.00
Your Price: $4.00
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: John Carter's children find loves of their own on Barsoom
Review: The first three volume of the Martian series of Edgar Rice Burroughs focused on how John Carter, former cavalier of Virginia, made his way to the planet Barsoom (what we call Mars) and won the hand of Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium after having to repeatedly rescue her from one danger after another. "The Second Barsoom Omnibus" collects the next two ERB pulp fiction adventures in the Martian series, which focus on the son and daughter of John Carter and his beloved princess. While John Carter is now a minor character in each, the two stories do reflect the combination of romance and pulp adventure that worked so well in the first three. "Thuvia, Maid of Mars" focuses on a new hero, Cathoris, son of the Warlord of Mars and his beloved princess. Cathoris is one of two princes and a Jeddak who are seeking the hand of the Thuvia of Ptarth. When she is kidnapped by the sinister Prince Astok of Dusar, the entire planet is about to be thrown into a bloody war and Cathoris has to follow in his father's footstep and deal with savage beasts and phantom armies as he rescues Thuvia and saves Barsoom from a costly war. Of course, by the time he catches up with his beloved, Cathoris finds the situation is slightly more complicated than he thought, mainly because ERB never provides a smooth ending for his couples.

"Thuvia, Maid of Mars" was originally serialized in "All-Story Weekly" in April 1916, which explains the novel's subtext about world war, since one was going on in Europe at that point in time. The original title was "Cathoris," but apparently when it was published as a novel in 1920 somebody wised up and changed it. Thuvia is not as great a name as Deja Thoris, but it is not bad. In many ways this is like the previous novel, "The Warlord of Mars," where the hero chases his beloved across the landscape of Barsoom and has to deal with green men and white apes. Fortunately, unlike ERB's Tarzan series, "Thuvia, Maid of Mars" is really the only time that repeats himself like this in the Martian series, which stands out as his best as he proves in the next and most inventive volume in the series, "Chessmen of Mars."

Originally published serially in "Argosy All-Story Weekly" in 1921 and in hardback the following year it is arguably one of ERB's most imaginative stories. This reputation rests on two things. The first is the relationship between the Kaldanes "heads" and the headless Rykors who are the "descendants of exceedingly stupid humanoid creatures bred by the Kaladane over eons for strength, health, beauty and microcephaly." True, this makes no sense from an evolutionary standpoint, but it is one of the more imaginative parasitic relationships in science fiction history. The second is jetan, the Martian version of chess, which is usually played on a 10 x 10 game board of alternating black and orange squares in the cities of Barsoom, but in the city of Manator is played with living pieces in a giant arena. Of course in the living version of the game a moving piece is not guaranteed a square but has to fight for it.

The framing device for "The Chessmen of Mars" is told by John Carter on a visit home to Earth to see his nephew (rather remarkable given how long it took Carter to get back to Barsoom after his first adventure that he would risk a trip back). Over a game of chess Carter tells of jetan and the adventures of his daughter, Tara of Helium, in Manator. As was the case with the "Thuvia, Maid of Mars," ERB introduces a new hero for this adventure in Gahan, Jed of Gathol. The novel opens with the two of them dancing at a royal function in Helium. She has her eyes set on Djor Kantos, son of her friend's best friend, but he is interested in somebody else. When Gahan declares his love for her, Tara throws a fit and we know these two are meant for each other. Taking her flier on an unadvised flight during a Gale, the princess ends up blown across Barsoom and as happened with both her mother and her sister-in-law, her hero has to track her down and effect a rescue.

The combination of the Kaladanes jumping from one Rykor to the next with the jetan game to the death is quite captivating. For many readers of ERB's pulp fiction yarns "The Chessmen of Mars" is a favorite and while it has the standard hero rescues beloved plot that is a Burroughs staple it is layered with all this interesting stuff. Actually, the romance is the least interesting part of the story. This is far and away the most memorable volume in the Martian series, which is saying something because from start to finish it is ERB's best. With the Tarzan series you can basically leave off once he meets La of Opar, but the Martian series is the one worth reading from start to finish and "Chessmen" is the highpoint.


<< 1 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates