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kb_208's review against another edition
3.0
Finally, I have reached the end of the John Carter series. It was a fun ride. I really enjoyed the series, but toward the end it starts becoming redundant. I enjoyed the actual world of Mars that ERB created more than the actual stories.
John Carter of Mars is actually a combo of two short novels. The first one is written differently and didn't have the same feel. The second one had regular feel like prior books, but both these stories are too big for the time they are given. They probably would have worked better as full novels.
John Carter of Mars is actually a combo of two short novels. The first one is written differently and didn't have the same feel. The second one had regular feel like prior books, but both these stories are too big for the time they are given. They probably would have worked better as full novels.
fjsteele's review against another edition
3.0
I've been reading popularis Victorian literature each summer for the last few years. Apart from giving me nightmares, the John Carter books have been fun.
gaijin1331's review against another edition
3.0
Def sexist and racist… but kind of like an ugly house with good bones overall
catherinelaurel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
pmarsh's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe don't read them all beginning to end. After a while it's incredibly repetitive to read 5 books about a princess being kidnapped and a dude having to go find her.
aklatlibro's review against another edition
3.0
What a great beginning. As I read the first paragraph, I totally fell in love with Edgar Rice Burrough's writing style. I thought to myself, that this was definitely one of those occasions wherein you don't judge a book by its cover, you judge it by its first paragraph!
This book is a compilation of the first five novels of John Carter of Mars. And here are my individual ratings for each novel:
1. A Princess of Mars - 5 stars.
2. Gods of Mars - 2 stars.
3. Warlord of Mars - 4 stars.
4. Thuvia, Maid of Mars - 4 stars.
5. Chessmen of Mars - 1 star.
===
I thought A Princess of Mars was very well written and beautifully narrated. It had full of adventure, and was very detail oriented. I don't think I've ever read pulp sci fi, and reading this series was pretty refreshing. It was written somewhere around the 1900s, so the love at first sight cliché can definitely be found here and there across the five novels. Feminists won't be too happy reading the books. Most of the women are pretty useless. I was so happy with the ending of A Princess of Mars that I couldn't wait to start on book 2!
However, as soon as I started the second novel, Gods of Mars, I felt like I just read battle after battle after battle. And a girl like me can only handle so much fighting. Seriously, it was starting to feel like a Mad Max movie. But keep reading! The story will start to make sense in the Prison Isle of Shador chapter! Often times the book gets really scientific and metaphorical or allegorical, which I love. But then this was trumped by all the fighting. And I was disappointed to find out about the terrible cliffhanger in the ending. This was definitely exhausting to read from beginning to end. And it gets so repetitive too. The only thing that I appreciate though is how John Carter appears more "human" in this novel, he gets emotional in this book with the struggles he's had to endure to save Dejah Thoris.
In Warlord of Mars, Woola became my new favorite character! Edgar Rice Burroughs impresses me again with his world building and how creative and detailed he can get! There is also an air of American superiority as I read this novel, and it makes me wonder if it was because maybe it was written in a time of war? Or maybe because Edgar Rice Burroughs was a soldier? Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Nevertheless, my heart really warmed up to the author on the third book.
Thuvia, Maid of Mars, the fourth novel had a different style of narration. It was at this point that I was getting tired of John Carter, and thankfully the story between John Carter and Dejah Thoris ended in book 3. Here, his son, Carthoris gets careless and overconfident, which leads to a series of unfortunate events. E.R.B. impressed me once again with his writing style. It seems like he writes differently and yet the same in each of the John Carter novels. Don't get me wrong, he's still a sci fi author, but the worlds in each novel is as unique and as splendid as his previous ones. It was also refreshing to know that Thuvia was completely different from Dejah Thoris. This time, the leading female character has an attitude and isn't as useless as Dejah. Oh and watch out for The Phantom Bowmen chapter! I thought that was pretty interesting!
Lastly, Chessmen of Mars, which I rated just with one star, was painful to finish. This time, the narration is lighter, and more casual. It was interesting at first, and then it just started out to be totally gross. I'm usually pretty hardcore when reading about disgusting things, but I couldn't eat my brunch and read this book together. You know how descriptive E.R.B. gets? This one was awful. And there's a messed up evolution theory that he made up, which is impressive. But like in the second novel, Gods of Mars, it was just so repetitive and boring. I honestly skimmed through the later half of the book. And Carthoris' sister, Tara was such a pain in the ass to read. E.R.B., why can't we have a normal woman in your books?
I averaged out the ratings on all 5 books and came out with a general rating of 3. I really do recommend reading A Princess of Mars. I think the story was just beautiful, and anyone can definitely read it.
This book is a compilation of the first five novels of John Carter of Mars. And here are my individual ratings for each novel:
1. A Princess of Mars - 5 stars.
2. Gods of Mars - 2 stars.
3. Warlord of Mars - 4 stars.
4. Thuvia, Maid of Mars - 4 stars.
5. Chessmen of Mars - 1 star.
===
I thought A Princess of Mars was very well written and beautifully narrated. It had full of adventure, and was very detail oriented. I don't think I've ever read pulp sci fi, and reading this series was pretty refreshing. It was written somewhere around the 1900s, so the love at first sight cliché can definitely be found here and there across the five novels. Feminists won't be too happy reading the books. Most of the women are pretty useless. I was so happy with the ending of A Princess of Mars that I couldn't wait to start on book 2!
However, as soon as I started the second novel, Gods of Mars, I felt like I just read battle after battle after battle. And a girl like me can only handle so much fighting. Seriously, it was starting to feel like a Mad Max movie. But keep reading! The story will start to make sense in the Prison Isle of Shador chapter! Often times the book gets really scientific and metaphorical or allegorical, which I love. But then this was trumped by all the fighting. And I was disappointed to find out about the terrible cliffhanger in the ending. This was definitely exhausting to read from beginning to end. And it gets so repetitive too. The only thing that I appreciate though is how John Carter appears more "human" in this novel, he gets emotional in this book with the struggles he's had to endure to save Dejah Thoris.
In Warlord of Mars, Woola became my new favorite character! Edgar Rice Burroughs impresses me again with his world building and how creative and detailed he can get! There is also an air of American superiority as I read this novel, and it makes me wonder if it was because maybe it was written in a time of war? Or maybe because Edgar Rice Burroughs was a soldier? Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Nevertheless, my heart really warmed up to the author on the third book.
Thuvia, Maid of Mars, the fourth novel had a different style of narration. It was at this point that I was getting tired of John Carter, and thankfully the story between John Carter and Dejah Thoris ended in book 3. Here, his son, Carthoris gets careless and overconfident, which leads to a series of unfortunate events. E.R.B. impressed me once again with his writing style. It seems like he writes differently and yet the same in each of the John Carter novels. Don't get me wrong, he's still a sci fi author, but the worlds in each novel is as unique and as splendid as his previous ones. It was also refreshing to know that Thuvia was completely different from Dejah Thoris. This time, the leading female character has an attitude and isn't as useless as Dejah. Oh and watch out for The Phantom Bowmen chapter! I thought that was pretty interesting!
Lastly, Chessmen of Mars, which I rated just with one star, was painful to finish. This time, the narration is lighter, and more casual. It was interesting at first, and then it just started out to be totally gross. I'm usually pretty hardcore when reading about disgusting things, but I couldn't eat my brunch and read this book together. You know how descriptive E.R.B. gets? This one was awful. And there's a messed up evolution theory that he made up, which is impressive. But like in the second novel, Gods of Mars, it was just so repetitive and boring. I honestly skimmed through the later half of the book. And Carthoris' sister, Tara was such a pain in the ass to read. E.R.B., why can't we have a normal woman in your books?
I averaged out the ratings on all 5 books and came out with a general rating of 3. I really do recommend reading A Princess of Mars. I think the story was just beautiful, and anyone can definitely read it.
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