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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
This gets an extra star for being not as racist and sexist as I was expecting it to be, which on Goodreads is probably equivalent to a no-prize.
I became morbidly curious in the Burroughs Barsoom series just after the flop of Disney's John Carter. It seemed like a story that was primed for success in a world dominated by Marvel's comic flicks but alas, it wasn't to be and perhaps it was even a few years too early. Disney clearly had no idea how to market it in a pre-Nu Star Wars / Guardians of the Galaxy movie-going culture. Even though the movie bombed at the box office, lots of reviewers were taken with the film albeit with reservations and that was enough to pique my interest.
I wasn't about to just waltz into a movie without reading the book, though. So for the last er...six years the ebook has sat on my Nook waiting to be read. So now that I've finished I guess I can finally move on to renting the movie and (probably) being underwhelmed but entertained for two or so hours.
Point being, A Princess of Mars is a pretty fun ride. It does drag in a few places but Burrough's writing is crisp and sprightly and doesn't let itself get too bogged down in details even when it sidetracks the story to explain how it is that Mars has atmosphere or how farming works (only one of those becomes relevant to the book by the time the last page is flipped closed).
It's fairly thin as you might imagine. If you're used to 1000 page tomes that go into intricate detail about to a character's clothing or meals then this book will feel flimsy and dull. For the rest of us this is the kind of fun adventure stories we like to lose ourselves in now and again. You probably won't read this in your twelfth grade Literature class but as a weekend diversion you could do worse. It is fun to see where other, later, serials got their inspirations. Flash Gordon comes to mind first, with Star Wars coming in a close second.
I'm not sure I'll keep digging into these (unless I can get them all through Standard E-Books or Gutenberg Press or whatever) but the first one was a fun enough read that I wouldn't be opposed to checking out the next few parts in the future.
I became morbidly curious in the Burroughs Barsoom series just after the flop of Disney's John Carter. It seemed like a story that was primed for success in a world dominated by Marvel's comic flicks but alas, it wasn't to be and perhaps it was even a few years too early. Disney clearly had no idea how to market it in a pre-Nu Star Wars / Guardians of the Galaxy movie-going culture. Even though the movie bombed at the box office, lots of reviewers were taken with the film albeit with reservations and that was enough to pique my interest.
I wasn't about to just waltz into a movie without reading the book, though. So for the last er...six years the ebook has sat on my Nook waiting to be read. So now that I've finished I guess I can finally move on to renting the movie and (probably) being underwhelmed but entertained for two or so hours.
Point being, A Princess of Mars is a pretty fun ride. It does drag in a few places but Burrough's writing is crisp and sprightly and doesn't let itself get too bogged down in details even when it sidetracks the story to explain how it is that Mars has atmosphere or how farming works (only one of those becomes relevant to the book by the time the last page is flipped closed).
It's fairly thin as you might imagine. If you're used to 1000 page tomes that go into intricate detail about to a character's clothing or meals then this book will feel flimsy and dull. For the rest of us this is the kind of fun adventure stories we like to lose ourselves in now and again. You probably won't read this in your twelfth grade Literature class but as a weekend diversion you could do worse. It is fun to see where other, later, serials got their inspirations. Flash Gordon comes to mind first, with Star Wars coming in a close second.
I'm not sure I'll keep digging into these (unless I can get them all through Standard E-Books or Gutenberg Press or whatever) but the first one was a fun enough read that I wouldn't be opposed to checking out the next few parts in the future.
Ludicrous, but highly entertaining and a model for epic space opera. Forget the Martian-sized plot holes and absurd behavior (our protagonist is uniformly nude and meets the woman of his highest hope but he suffers no inappropriate (or appropriate) erections? an entire city is sacked and left to the devices of a bloodthirsty crew whose only sense of humor comes from torture but our protagonist has no crisis of conscience? hyper-moral and utterly amoral at once, what's up with that?). Hearken to the tight, formal writing and the high adventure.
I found these to be dull, pulpy, sexist, etc. Very much a product of their time, but not really an exemplary product by the standards of that time.
Very, very much of it's time, but entertaining at its roots.
I liked it! A lot more than I thought I would. Looking forward to the next book.
I read it out of curiosity and the premise is fun, but the sexism and racism get to be a bit tiring.
Maybe it's nostalgic, but I again really like it!
The story was light, fun, engaging and very entertaining!
8/10
The story was light, fun, engaging and very entertaining!
8/10
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No