Rating: 
Summary: The most creative of all the ERB pulp fiction novels
Review: "The Chessmen of Mars" is the fifth novel in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian (a.k.a. John Carter of Mars, Barsoom) series. 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, Warlord of Barsoom, 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). 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 previous Martian novel, "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, sons 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.
Rating:
Summary: The most creative of all the ERB pulp fiction novels
Review: "The Chessmen of Mars" is the fifth novel in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian (a.k.a. John Carter of Mars, Barsoom) series. 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, Warlord of Barsoom, 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). 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 previous Martian novel, "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, sons 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.
Rating:
Summary: A NEAR MASTERPIECE
Review: "The Chessmen of Mars," Edgar Rice Burroughs' 5th John Carter novel out of 11, first appeared in serial form in the magazine "Argosy All Story Weekly" from February to April 1922. It is easily the best of the Carter lot to this point; the most detailed, the most imaginative, and the best written. Carter himself only appears at the beginning and end of the tale. Instead, our action heroes are his daughter, Tara, who gets lost in a rare Barsoomian storm while joyriding in her flier and blown halfway across the surface of the planet, and the Gatholian jed Gahan, who goes in search of her. In the first half of this novel, Tara and Gahan wind up in the clutches of the kaldanes--bodiless brains who live in a symbiotic relationship with their headless "rykors." One of these brains, Ghek, befriends the couple and tags along with them for the remainder of their odyssey. Ghek is a wonderful character, touching and fascinating and amusing all at once. In one passage, Ghek gives us some very interesting philosophy regarding the relationship between mind and body. In the second half of the book, the trio is captured by the hordes of Manator, and Gahan winds up fighting for Tara in a game of Martian chess, or jetan, a game in which real men are used in lieu of pieces and fight to the death for possession of squares. The jetan sequence is extremely exciting and detailed, and a knowledge of chess is not necessary for full enjoyment. One need not be a chess buff to appreciate the detailed moves that Burroughs gives us. "Chessmen" is, as I mentioned, very well written for a Burroughs novel; even, dare I say it, poetically written in spots. The action is relentless, the standard of imagination very high, and the denouement extremely satisfying. It is a near masterpiece. Why only "near"? Well, as is usual with these books, there are some problems....
As in the previous Carter novels, these problems take the form of inconsistencies and implausibilities. At the book's beginning, Burroughs, who has just been told this tale by Carter himself, writes that "if there be inconsistencies and errors, let the blame fall not upon John Carter, but rather upon my faulty memory, where it belongs." He is excusing himself in advance for any mistakes that he might make, and well he should, because there are many such in this book. I, however, cannot excuse an author for laziness and sloppy writing. Saying "excuse me" doesn't make for good writing. Just what am I referring to here? Let's see.... Tara, in several spots in the book, refers to Tardos Mors as her grandfather, when in actuality he is her great-grandfather. The Martian word "sofad" is said to be a foot; but in the previous book, "Thuvia, Maid of Mars," an "ad" was said to be a foot. Tara, in one scene, smites Ghek on the back of the head. Gahan is watching this fight from a distance, and sees her hit Ghek in the face! In the game of jetan, the thoat pieces are said to wear three feathers; but in the Rules for Jetan at the book's end, they are said to wear two. This book is based on events told to John Carter, conceivably by Tara, Gahan and/or Ghek, and yet scenes are described in which none of those characters appear; thus, they could have had no knowledge of these events described. This, I feel, is a basic problem with the book's structure. Besides these inconsistencies, there are some things that are a bit hard to swallow. For instance, that Gahan could fall 3,000 feet from a flier in the middle of a cyclone and, freakishly, survive. It's also hard to believe that Tara does not recognize Gahan when he comes to her rescue, and fails to remember where they have met, until the very end of the book. In addition, I feel that the character of Ghek is underutilized in the book's second half. It might have been nice to see the old boy loosening up a bit, as he got more in touch with his emotions, Spockstyle. Anyway, all quibbles aside, "Chessmen" is a wonderful piece of fantasy, one that had me tearing through the pages as quickly as I possibly could. It is an exceptionally fine entry in the John Carter series.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Fantasy Story
Review: ...This story is a fun read, though not nearly as well written as the original Martian Trilogy, and it isn't as much fun (in my opinion). The story is about John Carter's daughter. She is lost during a Martian storm--stranded among a race of living heads (without bodies). She attempts escape and eventually meets up with a young warrior who, of course, has fallen in love with her. ... The story is rather imaginative, though not as good as the original. I'd say that this is the last fun book in the series, as the rest are pretty much the same story retold with new names and places.
Rating:
Summary: WORTH NOT FORGETTING
Review: Burroughs' Martian Series is worth remembering and rereading from time to time. I first read these books well over 50 years ago and they, and this book, have lost none of their charm. For the student of SiFi and S&S, these are a must read. Granted, the style is certainly different than todays books, but this is a plus. We need to read and remember it. That being said, these books are just simply fun to read. Recommend them highly.
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Summary: Burroughs' Best Martian Tale
Review: Conventional wisdom has it that the first three books of Burroughs' Martian series, "A Princess of Mars," "The Gods of Mars," and "The Warlord of Mars" form an excellent trilogy and all the rest of the Martian tales are quite poorly done in comparison. I disagree. I will cite two examples as to why "Chessmen" is Burroughs' best work in this series. [1] You can hardly conceive of a more ghastly creature than a spider-being who lives as a parasite on headless human bodies, but that is a perfect description of Ghek the Kaldane, one of the central figures of the book. Burroughs takes this repulsive monstrosity and makes him such a loveable character that you cannot help but like him. [2] Burroughs not only wrote a good yarn, he wrapped his tale around a striking boardgame that he had invented--jetan, or Martian chess. It's no real trick to invent a chess variant. There are thousands of them, and most of them are rubbish. What is so singular about jetan is that it is a good chess variant. I read "Chessmen" as a child, and after reading it, the first thing I had to do was make a jetan set and play the game. I whiled away several enjoyable hours with the game. John Gollon, a noted authority on chess variants, had a similar experience when he was writing "Chess Variations." He thought he'd include a chapter on jetan for some comic relief, so he made a jetan set and played a few games. He found jetan "quite good--very playable and interesting." He then pronounced jetan "not a mere novelty, but ... a respectable game." These two singular achievments (Ghek & jetan) are not the only details that make "Chessmen" so enjoyable. Gahan of Gathol (aka Turan the Panthan) makes for a satisfying hero, and Tara of Helium fills the bill quite nicely for a damsel in distress. The heroes are noble, the villians are wicked, the cause is just, and the action is nonstop. Great escapist reading.
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Summary: Grand adventure with Tara, Gahan and Ghek on ERB's Mars
Review: Fifth book in the series of eleven, Chessmen of Mars paints three main charaters: Tara (daughter of John Carter of Mars), Gahan (Jed of Gathol, disguised as Turan the panthan), and Ghek the Kaldane (a man-like creature). It was written in 1922, but in 1996 a Kaldane action figure along with other Mars, Pellucidor and Tarzan action figures came on the market assocated with Tarzan, the Epic Adventures, etc. I enjoyed the character of Ghek the Kaldane so much during my college years that I have used it as my nickname and handle in the modem world since 1981. Storyline: Carried away in a great storm, Tara is lost on mars with but a slim dagger to guard herself...only to fall into the hands of the strange Kaldanes who happen to consider human flesh a delicacy (when nicely fattened up, of course). Also visited is Manator, where the dead are preserved as lifelike statues and where Jetan (martian chess - rules for play are included in the book) is played with living warriors contesting for possion of a square when a move is made. George Lucas admits that 1/3 of the inspiration for Star Wars came from the Books of ERB, especially the Mars series and in Robert A. Heinleins's "The Glory Road", Oscar, the main character wished several times for the hurtling moons of (ERB's) mars...read for yourself the books that inspired them. Love, romance, adventure, action and strange cultures are all waiting for you.
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Summary: Interesting Fantasy Story
Review: First off, if you're expecting another "Princess of Mars" (or "Gods of Mars") you'll probably be disappointed. This story is a fun read, though not nearly as well written as the original Martian Trilogy, and it isn't as much fun (in my opinion). The story is about John Carter's daughter. She is lost during a Martian storm--stranded among a race of living heads (without bodies). She attempts escape and eventually meets up with a young warrior who, of course, has fallen in love with her. They both end up captives of a race of red Martians who play Chess with living people (the people play to the death). The story is rather imaginative, though not as good as the original. I'd say that this is the last fun book in the series, as the rest are pretty much the same story retold with new names and places.
Rating:
Summary: Great Entertainment
Review: I grew up reading about John Carter & Barsoom & loved the whole series for the imagination Burroughs used. Altho not a worry back then, it's nice to read a book without profanity now. I wish Steven Spielberg would make movies out of these books, they would be SO exciting & fun!
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Summary: Think Burroughs Only Wrote Tarzan Books? Think Again!
Review: It's too bad that millions of people think that Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote only Tarzan stories. So many Tarzan fans have no idea that the same author who gave them the Lord of the Jungle also wrote a great series of Martian adventures. Chessmen of Mars is the fifth book in Burroughs' Mars series, and many critics consider it the best of the lot. Tara, Princess of Helium, is a rich, somewhat spoiled girl who goes on a joyride only to be thrown off-course by a powerful storm. Tara finds herself in a strange region of her planet, surrounded by strange beings and dangerous circumstances. Burroughs had a talent for producing very exciting tales from a full-speed-ahead imagination. He even has some fun with the social and political implications of the various races on Mars. Sure, some of the dialogue is cornball, but remember this book was written nearly 80 years ago. If you enjoy Tarzan, Indiana Jones, or just great story-telling, 'Chessmen of Mars' will not disappoint.
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