The Gods of Mars

by
Edgar Rice Burroughs

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The Gods of Mars (Barsoom #2)

by Edgar Rice Burroughs

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 6,224 ratings · 467 reviews

After the long exile on Earth, John Carter finally returned to his beloved Mars. But beautiful Dejah Thoris, the woman he loved, had vanished. Now he was trapped in the legendary Eden of Mars -- an Eden from which none ever escaped alive.

From the Paperback edition.

ebook, 192 pages

Published October 5th 2011 by Del Rey (first published 1913)

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May 23, 2013 mark monday rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: futuristik-classik, rain-man-reviews

the further adventures of John Carter on Barsoom!

John Carter returns to Mars after a mysterious 10-year absence! he appears in the vale of the Plant Men and the White Apes! you better run, John Carter, run! uh oh, John you are running right into the clifftop lair of the dreaded White Men of Mars! and then into the subterranean lair of the dreaded Black Men of Mars! think fast and carry a big sword, John Carter!

John Carter wears an excited yet contemptuous expression while slaughtering his enemi...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Jonathan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-challenge, classic-literature, fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, science-fiction

3.5 Stars

This second novel in the John Carter series is every much as classic as the first novel. I admit that with some classic series I only rank the first as a classic. Take The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I think the first book is a classic of sci-fi, comedy and literature in general, however while I do enjoy the next few books I don't think they are classics since they are very similar in humour and plot. However this novel branches out from A Princess of Mars and exhibits the...more

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Aug 12, 2012 James rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own-a-copy, science-fiction, barsoom, read-in-2012, read-in-teenties, 3-stars, ebook, reviewed, freebie

Ten years have passed since the events of A Princess of Mars . John Carter has finally found a way to return to Barsoom, and hopefully to his wife, Princess Dejah Thoris. As with the previous novel the exact method of this transportation is completely ignored - presumably because Burroughs couldn't think of a convincing way to achieve it. Again, the style of narration is unusual - there is an introduction from Carter's nephew that explains that the book is his presentation as a novel of Carter's...more Ten years have passed since the events of A Princess of Mars . John Carter has finally found a way to return to Barsoom, and hopefully to his wife, Princess Dejah Thoris. As with the previous novel the exact method of this transportation is completely ignored - presumably because Burroughs couldn't think of a convincing way to achieve it. Again, the style of narration is unusual - there is an introduction from Carter's nephew that explains that the book is his presentation as a novel of Carter's memoirs which he found after his return to Barsoom. A third-person narrative, but one-person removed. To all intents and purposes though, the main body of the novel is third-person and the one-person removed facet doesn't distract at all.

This novel delves into the Barsoomian religions, and how those religions are transposed over the planet's obvious racial tensions. The green and the red Barsoomians (who we were introduced to in the first novel) believe in a physical afterlife in another region of the planet. As they reach the end of their lives they take the pilgrimage to the Valley of Dor. Nobody returns from this place, and the few who have are killed as blasphemers upon their return. John Carter finds himself returned to Barsoom in the middle of this valley, and is immediately set upon by the two wild species that inhabit the valley. As John Carter tries to escape the valley we start to discover that the Barsoomian religion is not quite what it appears. Both white (the Holy Therns) and black (the Black Pirates) Barsoomian races are introduced to us - secretive species who control the religions of the lower colours to ensure a slave class for each of their own races. Of course, Carter reacts angrily to this injustice and determines to destroy the religious structures and ensure that the green and red Barsoomians are no longer subjugated by the 'higher' races. Interestingly, a fifth race of yellow Barsoomians is mentioned, but not introduced - I guess that's something for the next book.

The novel uses lots of the same plot devices as the previous one. John Carter is always physically, intellectually and morally superior to the Barsoomians. He is again struggling to be united with the princess Dejah Thoris. The level of coincidence that operates of Barsoom is incredible - the right people always just happen to appear at the right time when John Carter needs them, or to have just departed the day before John Carter arrives to meet them. Again, John Carter repeatedly lets us know that he's not a ladies man, while multiple Barsoomian beauties repeatedly throw themselves at him. We are repeatedly witness to John Carter's reckless pursuit of freedom and fair play for the slightly backward species of the Barsoomians. He is, after all, destroying their religion 'for their own good' - there are elements which certainly seem to parallel western colonial history, as well as elements which attack religions which use their hierarchy to exploit those not in their inner circles. And, finally, he will of course bring the Barsoomians another step closer to a more civilised state and end up separated from his beloved Dejah Thoris in some way that will set up the cliff-hanger for the next novel. Phew.

Ultimately though, The Gods of Mars is a riotously fun boys own adventure, told through pulp science fiction. Burroughs continues to sit at the top of that pulp category however, as the writing and characterisation is certainly better than the simplistic and repetitious plot devices might suggest.(less)

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Jun 17, 2011 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pulp, sci-fi, ebook, sword-and-planet, sff-roots-lit

The Gods of Mars is another exciting installment in the John Carter/Barsoom series. This one picks up from the cliffhanger that ended the first book of the series. John Carter returns to Mars after being on Earth for 10 years. Eager to be reunited with his Martian princess (assuming she still lives and moreover hasn't moved on romantically), he unexpectedly finds himself transported to the Martian version of the Garden of Eden... a place from which there is no return. And there Carter immediatel...more The Gods of Mars is another exciting installment in the John Carter/Barsoom series. This one picks up from the cliffhanger that ended the first book of the series. John Carter returns to Mars after being on Earth for 10 years. Eager to be reunited with his Martian princess (assuming she still lives and moreover hasn't moved on romantically), he unexpectedly finds himself transported to the Martian version of the Garden of Eden... a place from which there is no return. And there Carter immediately faces the proverbial "trouble in paradise." The action starts from the first chapter and the momentum builds chapter after chapter, never letting up.

The ride is a lot of fun. Some of the action sequences epitomize the pulp genre; suspenseful, imaginative, and described with a flair for the dramatic ("my seething blade wove a net of death around me"). The same could be said for the book as a whole. Just when things are looking up for our hero John Carter, there's a twist and all seems lost. And just when all seems lost, by chance things begin to look up. It's not unpredictable, but it's fast-paced pulp-ish fun.

I really enjoy Burroughs's world-building, with fleets of flying battleships floating above the alien Martian landscape ("under the glorious rays of the two moons we sped noiselessly across the dead sea," and, "Below us lay a typical Martian landscape. Rolling ochre sea bottom of long dead seas... with here and there the grim and silent cities of the dead past; great piles of mighty architecture tenanted only by age-old memories of a once powerful race"). In a few sentences Burroughs can paint an alien vista that's a feast for the imagination. Admittedly his prose is wordy, but then like other pulp authors he was being paid by the word.

There may not be a lot of deep literary value here (Burroughs himself admitted as much) but the influence of the Barsoom series can't be disregarded. This book series launched an entire subgenre of fantasy/sci-fi that's popularly called "planetary romance" or "sword and planet", in which interplanetary romance, swashbuckling space-based action (lightsaber duels, anyone?), and battles between "sailing ships of the skies" became a mainstay. Barsoom inspired young readers like Bradbury, Clarke, and Heinlein, all to later become science fiction luminaries. Barsoom even has the dubious distinction of being one of the first sci-fi stories with its own alien language (i.e., "Klingonese" five and a half decades before Star Trek).

And although the hallmarks of Barsoom -- like other pulp series -- may be action sequences and two-dimensional characters, it doesn't lack for social commentary. On Mars the races are divided into four classes: red Martians, white Martians, black Martians, and green Martians. The whites are the holy leaders that live in the Garden of Eden, the reds are the more ordinary folk (builders, scientists, craftsmen, soldiers), the greens are a four-armed "savage" tribal race, and the blacks are the pirates of the skies that "pride themselves upon their idleness" and prey on the lower orders "who live merely that [the black pirates] may enjoy long lives of luxury" and whose leader is feared throughout Mars as a vindictive goddess. Add to this bisexual, mindless, man-eating plant men and the giant white apes and you have a panoply of colorful races via which Burroughs is able to draw his analogies concerning skin color and racism. As an example, John Carter amasses a team of sidekicks of a variety of races, about whom he says, "In that little party there was not one who would desert another; yet we were of different countries, different colours, different races, different religions -- and one of us was of a different world." Furthermore, the "savage" green Martians turn out to have more heart and soul than they are originally given credit for by the other Martian races. These are some revolutionary ideas for 1913.

Mars, as Burroughs defines it, is a dying world and its social fabric is shaped by the existence of very limited resources that rest in the hands of a very few. This of course lends itself to further socio-political commentary (although this occurs more overtly in the first book of the series, A Princess of Mars). As one example, the green Martians have set up a communal society in which everyone owns an equal share in everything, and concerning this Burroughs expresses (via the voice of his narrator) doubts about the efficacy of a Marxist system.

More than anything else, however, this entire novel is a parable about the dangers of corruption within organized religion. Please do read the novel to see why, but here are a few quotes about the religion of Mars which obviously describe Burroughs's sentiments about religion in our own society. Speaking of the black Martians (the "idle elite") and white Martians (aka, the "Holy Therns"), one of John Carter's Martian companions has the realization that, "The whole fabric of our religion is based upon a superstitious belief in lies that have been foisted upon us for ages by those directly above us, to whose personal profit and aggrandizement it was to have us continue to believe as they wished us to believe." In regards to the Martians in general, John Carter observes: "I knew how strong a hold a creed, however ridiculous it may be, may gain upon an otherwise intelligent people," and, "it is very hard to accept a new religion for an old, no matter how alluring the promises of the new may be; but to reject the old as a tissue of falsehoods without being offered anything in its stead [as John Carter emplores the people of Mars to do] is indeed a most difficult thing to ask of any people."

In summary, I enjoyed this book even more than the first in the series for its pacing, world-building, social commentary, and cliffhanger ending. I'm looking forward to reading the third in the John Carter trilogy.

Finally, I should mention that this book, as well as those immediately preceding it and following it in the series, are available for free in electronic form on Amazon thanks to a team of volunteers that have transcribed it for all of us to enjoy.(less)

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Apr 03, 2013 Mike Jensen rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Most of the first three-quarters of this book are one exhausting battle scene after another or the capture of the protagonist and his friends and their escaping. Repeatedly. They battle, they are captured, and escape several times. That is the basic plot. In the last quarter, they really do escape and there is a tiny amount of plot development that results in, yes, their captivity again. The ending is another big battle. There is some relief when protagonist John Carter meets a character who he...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Christopher rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

[Re-read] If the first book's plot might strike you as too dependent on coincidence, this one might beat you with a tire-iron of coincidence that happens by chance to be the planet's most beautiful and amazing tire-iron, which you lost ten years ago on a different continent. But it's energetically written and packed with fun imagery. There are a bunch of nice scenes where you can empathize with the heroism and cheer for the good guys, and you can always lol at the absurd twists.

Incidentally, I'...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Dave rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, speculative-fiction

Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1st, 1875 - March 19, 1950) continues the adventure started in "A Princess of Mars" in the sequel, "The Gods of Mars". This novel was published from January to May of 1913 in "All-Story" as a serial, and then published in book form in September of 1918. John Carter returns to Barsoom, finding if he were in time to save Barsoom at the end of the previous book, and searching for Princess Dejah Thoris who he left behind.

As with the first book, this one opens with a...more Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1st, 1875 - March 19, 1950) continues the adventure started in "A Princess of Mars" in the sequel, "The Gods of Mars". This novel was published from January to May of 1913 in "All-Story" as a serial, and then published in book form in September of 1918. John Carter returns to Barsoom, finding if he were in time to save Barsoom at the end of the previous book, and searching for Princess Dejah Thoris who he left behind.

As with the first book, this one opens with a foreword written by Burroughs, where he implies that this is a true story and that John Carter is real. The story then picks up with John Carter returning to Barsoom, but to an area which he has not seen before. He is almost immediately forced to fight for his life defending himself and a Green Martian who turns out to be his old friend Tars Tarkas. He soon finds that he has arrived in the Valley Dor, where the River Iss empties into the Lost Sea of Korus, or in other words, heaven. But it is no heaven, it is a place where those who come are slaughtered by the plant men, eaten by the white apes, or by the Therns, who fancy themselves divine, but have their own version of "heaven" which is much the same as that of the Red and Green Martians, and as much of a lie.

Once again, John Carter makes friends and enemies along the way, from Thuvia, a Red Martian prisoner that he frees from the clutches of the Therns; Phaidor, the Thern female who falls for John Carter after he rescues her from the black pirates; Xodar, the black pirate who John Carter captures and who turns the tables on Carter. And, of course, the Goddess Issus, of the first-born. There is also a young Red-Martian warrior (Cathoris) who displays superior fighting skills, and Burroughs teases the reader by hinting at who his father might be, but always interrupting before it is revealed. Other old friends and foes appear as well, such as Kantos Kan, and Zat Arras.

The story is entertaining enough for the reader to forgive the amazing coincidences within. One can certainly ignore John Carter arriving where Tars Tarkas is, even though he had never been there before, because the mysterious travel between worlds is not explained. On the other hand, the escape from Shador and the underground world of the first-born leading the escapees right to where Tars Tarkas and Thuvia are would certainly qualify as an amazing coincidence. Additional coincidences would include the Helium fleet appearing in the nick of time and of course on the opposite side, the re-abduction of Thuvia under their very noses.

Almost the entire book is spent in John Carter's pursuit of returning to Dejah Thoris, and time and again he is thwarted until the very end when he finds her, and then as the reader knows, foolishly leaves her to help his allies, only to find that she has been taken once again. The book ending in a much more obvious cliff-hanger than the first one, which some readers may find unfair.

Overall, this book is not quite as good as the first in the series, but Burroughs does a good job of keeping it fresh and entertaining, building suspense for the next in the series, and of laying the groundwork for future stories as well. As a result, I give this book the same rating as the first in the series, as it doesn't let up very much from the quality of entertainment of the first work.(less)

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Apr 22, 2013 Vicki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Science fiction at it's campy, exciting adventurous best, this reads like the serials we used to see at the Gateway theatre every Saturday afternoon. I loved reading the Tarzan books when I was a kid, but somehow never knew about the John Carter series that Edgar Rice Burroughs had also penned.

In this book John Carter returns to the planet Mars after 10 or 12 years back on Earth. He returns to a different region and before he knows it, he is in one life and death battle after another with myster...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Evan Finder rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Carter Of Mars: The Gods Of Mars is a fantastic book. It has just the right proportion of imagination and adventure.It is a classic science fiction novel. It is a sequel to A Princess Of Mars. The main character is John Carter. He was a Virginia cavalry man on Earth. He was transoported to Mars(Barsoom as the natives call it) through a magical cave. He began to love Mars, and married the red martian princess, Dejah Thoris. At the end of the first book, he is transported back to Earth. In th...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Andrew Brown rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After the first book this serves up a somewhat decent sequel, but the thing that kept eating away at me is how convenient everything happens in the story to further the plot. First after a decade of absence John Carter returns to Mars. But in what is either divine intervention (the book never implies this) or the greatest coincidences in the cosmos, our hero turns up in the exact right place at the exact right time to be reunited with his old ally Tars Tarkas, and plopped on the doorstep of the...more

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Samantha Egley Just curious: did u perhaps consider that he ended up WHERE he ended up at the beginning of the novel BECAUSE Tars Tarkas was there? I mean he WAS the...more
Mar 29, 2013 10:00pm

Gabriel SPOILER WITHIN COMMENT. Yeah, like how John Carter conveniently looks just like the high thern (the one that the girl shot in the head) - but then whe...more
Apr 03, 2013 04:22pm

Andrew Brown @Samantha, well if that was the only coincidence then I probably would have let it slide. But it keeps happening to drive the story along, or to get t...more
Jun 12, 2013 10:54pm

Apr 08, 2012 Mel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century-fiction, pulp, scifi

The Gods of Mars I must admit I loved a little less. Here there was much less world building and character building it was much more action based with John and his various companions almost always on the run. That said Burroughs did manage to build some suitably creepy aliens and some disturbing situations into this one, I love the idea that heaven is actually full of monsters who will devour you but if you escape and try to tell people you'll be killed for blasphamey. I think I was disappointed...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Paul Darcy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Edgar. Rice. Burroughs.

One of the most enduring authors ever, and a name most any reader recognizes immediately.

This book , “The Gods Of Mars’, is the second (of eleven) in his Mars series, published back in 1913. And it is certainly quite the book. Fast paced, break neck speed, unending action, fast paced and - oh, and then there is the pace of the book which is - fast - crazy fast - where are my socks fast.

This novel takes buckle swashing to the extreme, and not one chapter is a rest from the...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Daphny daphaknee rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

john carter is by far the most loathsome arrogant predictable hero I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE

like i dont know why people are whining OH DISNEY IS GOING TO RUIN IT because these books are fucking HAM HANDED PERFECT DISNEY MATERIAL

like the book spends TWO CHAPTERS with a character who is OBVIOUSLY john carters son, he talks like him, he fights like him, he JUMPS WAYYYY HIGH like him etc etc, but carter is too busy talking about "if i knew what fear is like im sure i would be feeling it now' and h...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Sandy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book, #2 of 11 in Burroughs' John Carter series, is a direct sequel to the classic "A Princess of Mars," and a reading of that earlier volume is fairly essential before going into this one. "Gods..." was first published in serial form in "All-Story Magazine" in 1913, and comprises one of Burroughs' earliest works. It is amazing how much action the author manages to cram into the book's 190 pages; on just about EVERY page there is some kind of incredible happening or colorful bit. The book r...more This book, #2 of 11 in Burroughs' John Carter series, is a direct sequel to the classic "A Princess of Mars," and a reading of that earlier volume is fairly essential before going into this one. "Gods..." was first published in serial form in "All-Story Magazine" in 1913, and comprises one of Burroughs' earliest works. It is amazing how much action the author manages to cram into the book's 190 pages; on just about EVERY page there is some kind of incredible happening or colorful bit. The book really is hard to put down, and yet, at the same time, the end of just about every paragraph could serve as a cliffhanger! The pace of the book is brisk and relentless, and really carries the reader along to another great cliffhanger at the conclusion. In this volume, our hero, John Carter, returns to Barsoom after a decade's absence, and goes to that planet's "heaven." But heaven turns out to be anything but, and our man gets caught up in battles with plant men and white apes, lost civilizations, religious taboos, the plots of an evil "goddess," duels in the arena and on and on. There are two action set pieces that Burroughs really puts over well. One is the slave revolt that takes place halfway through the tale; the other, a bravura, four-way air battle between the forces of the black, white, red and green men of Barsoom. Both of these sections are thrilling in the extreme; better than anything in the first Barsoom novel. It's also nice that Carter, an Earthman on Mars, fights alongside men and women of varied races, colors, and religious beliefs in a common cause; there's some kind of message there--one for tolerance and brotherhood--that we could all avail ourselves of today.

Having said all this, however, I must admit that there are problems in this novel that prevent me from giving it a top grade. These problems mainly take the form of fuzzy writing and internal inconsistencies. Burroughs, in this novel, does not do well in describing geography; his depictions of the Valley of the Therns, for example, are almost impossible to visualize (for me, anyway). A map of this planet (such as the one provided in LeGuin's Earthsea books) would have greatly helped, given Burroughs' inability to clearly set out his world. As for the inconsistencies: Burroughs, the "editor" of the novel, says he first read Carter's manuscript (for Book #1) 12 years previously; but if he had really obeyed Carter's will (that the manuscript not be opened for 11 years), then he would have only first seen the text of "A Princess of Mars" ONE year before! Tars Tarkas is said to be grieving over his kidnapped daughter in one section of this book; then, a few scenes later, he learns of this kidnapping for the first time. Huh?!?! The scene with Carter on the black-pirate cruiser contains many inconsistencies. Carter is said to be fighting five of these men; he kills three of them, and then three are left. Huh?!?! Six pirates are killed, all told, but later in the book, the number is said to be seven. Carter is said to have killed all these men single-handed, although the Thern princess, Phaidor, had helped him. These pirates are all asleep in the cruiser when Carter comes upon them, although they had been sacking the Thern temple scant minutes before. Does this seem likely? Inconsistencies such as this can drive an alert reader crazy. And don't even get me started on the redundant expressions such as "haven of refuge" and "craven cowards" that pop up all the time. Burroughs improved with age, but these early books are rife with problems that a good copyediting should have weeded out. Still, these minor problems are easily overlooked when one is caught up in the sweep of the story, and this story is as exciting as they come. It really is a tremendous feat of imagination, and one that any lover of swashbuckling fantasy should hugely enjoy.(less)

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May 01, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, novel, barsoom

I'm glad my husband likes these Barsoom books too, because I feel kind of guilty reading them by myself. They're such crap, er, camp, but really fun. After listening to the first two Barsoom books together on a recent trip, we had to come home and watch The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. because it's the same kind of campy turn-of-the-20th-century adventure fun (although Brisco is much more tongue in cheek). It kind of reminds me of a more idealized version of Firefly too.

Anyway, in this secon...more

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Feb 18, 2011 Anthony rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy, sword-and-planet

Overall, I really enjoy the heck out of these old pulp adventure characters, and John Carter has always been one of my favorites (owing, in part, to the Roy Thomas-scripted, Gil Kane-drawn adaptation that Marvel Comics published in the 70s). All of Burroughs' trademarks are present in the first two books -- the introductory note that implies the events are real, given to Burroughs himself by an intermediary source; the larger-than-life titular character; the lush exotic setting in which the Hero...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Bill Wellham rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An interesting little read full of sword fighting heroism. Obviously dated as a sci-fi, due to having been written nearly 100 years ago. Burroughs had the foresight to set his swashbuckling adventures on another planet, instead of darkest Africa, like many other authors of the time. Although there is very little science in this story, there are martians, many of them. Burroughs has created an alien culture on another world, and filled it with colour and wonder. Our hero, John Carter, is also a h...more

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Jun 26, 2010 Travis McClain rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Travis by: Chad Knopf

John Carter returns to Barsoom (Mars) a full decade after the events of A Princess of Mars. He arrives amidst the Barsoomian south pole, a land of sacred death. Barsoomians undertake voluntary pilgrimages there to enter the afterlife under the watch of Issus, a powerful goddess. To return from this land is to invite immediate expulsion and execution as a blasphemer. What Carter discovers, however, is that the ancient religion is nothing more than a fraudulent cover story designed to lure unwitti...more John Carter returns to Barsoom (Mars) a full decade after the events of A Princess of Mars. He arrives amidst the Barsoomian south pole, a land of sacred death. Barsoomians undertake voluntary pilgrimages there to enter the afterlife under the watch of Issus, a powerful goddess. To return from this land is to invite immediate expulsion and execution as a blasphemer. What Carter discovers, however, is that the ancient religion is nothing more than a fraudulent cover story designed to lure unwitting victims into a land of death.

The Great Therns are white humans who act as priests and as spies, using their vast network of temples across Barsoom. The First Born are black humans; they are marauding pirates who regularly take captive girls from the therns whom they eventually offer up as sacrifices. They are the personal guards of Issus, who oversees the entire operation. Carter escapes the white apes and strange plant creatures only to find himself in the middle of this dark secret. His only quest, however, is to be reunited with his beloved Dejah Thoris and so he risks life and limb to escape to that end.

At times, Gods of Mars feels racist; Burroughs regularly refers to the First Born as "the blacks," though he does make clear that Carter finds the race beautiful and formidable. It is also curious that these black Barsoomians should be so high up the slaveholding ladder, taking white therns for their captives (although the implication that they carry off and sexually abuse white girls certainly feels like a Jim Crow-era perception). Of course, race isn't the only target of Gods of Mars, as Burroughs makes a clear assault on the foundation of religion as well. Carter's expose of Issus as little more than an ugly old crazy woman is rooted in his narrative disinterest in the Barsoomian faith; as there is no attempt on his part to assert his own faith, we are left with the notion that Carter--and hence Burroughs--has little more than disdain for any faith.

Beyond these dallianecs with social issues, Gods of Mars is first and foremost an action thriller, and at this it largely succeeds. There are only two nitpicks I have. First, I find much of John Carter's account of events so full of machismo as to be off-putting. This is beyond self-confidence to the point it frequently becomes self-aggrandizing arrogance. Even knowing that, on Mars, Carter possesses superhuman capabilities, he speaks too pompously of the devotion other Barsoomians have for him. Still, this was originally published in 1918 and the masculine ideals were yet to be tamed.

The other nitpick I have is that Gods of Mars suffers from a milder case of what I call the Ali Effect. If you've seen Ali, you're bound to have noticed that some scenes happen in almost less-than-real time, emphasizing every word that was spoken and yet other scenes gloss over entire months or years at a time. Most of this novel takes place in the literary equivalent of real time, but there are times when we simply leap ahead. The most startling of these leaps is when, in the final thirty some pages, Carter is imprisoned for literal months. That captivity is related in just a few paragraphs. Somehow, despite being confined for nearly a full Earth year in a dark cavern, held in place by a leg chain so heavy even he cannot break it, he is able to emerge in peak physical form. No muscle deterioration, not even an adjustment to light is mentioned.

These are my only knocks, though, and they reflect the style of writing that reigned supreme before writers became conscious of trying to sell movie rights. Gods of Mars could be titled John Carter and the Temple of Doom. I think I actually prefer this entry in the Barsoom/Martian series to its predecessor, A Princess of Mars. I've yet to decide if I will limit myself to one of this series annually (as I have done with Ian Fleming's James Bond novels), though I confess that the cliff-hanger ending has me a bit excited to read the third in the series.(less)

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Jun 07, 2012 Nathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Man, what an adventure! This book resumes the story of John Carter ten years later, as he is once again magically (not really) transported to Mars. After that, this book is one of the fastest-paced reads I've ever had! Carter returns only to discover the terrible secret that has lain at the heart of Martian religion for thousands of years, and that his wife, Dejah Thoris, has disappeared. He is reunited with his friend, the Jeddak Tars Tarkas. This is an exciting story and for anyone who likes t...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Shelece rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, classic

The last book ended on such a cliffhanger that I had to pick up this one. (view spoiler). I loved it as much as the first one. This book opens up a whole new section of Mars and introduces us to new races and new cultures we did not e...more The last book ended on such a cliffhanger that I had to pick up this one. (view spoiler). I loved it as much as the first one. This book opens up a whole new section of Mars and introduces us to new races and new cultures we did not encounter in the original. It also has a good mix of old beloved characters returning and new characters being introduced.

Sure, the book isn't perfect. As some of the reviewers have mentioned below, you definitely need a heavy dose of suspension of disbelief to get through some things. (view spoiler)

Besides these somewhat difficult to swallow plot points, there are a few issues with in story consistency. (view spoiler) Despite this though, this is a fun, quick read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. All the plot twists kept me reading-I desperately wanted to get to the happy ending.

But alas, the cliffhanger at the end of this book is even worse than the cliffhanger at the end of the last one! I guess I will just have to pick up the next book. I've heard that the first three books are a sort of trilogy... surely the third one will end with a nice solid conclusion, right?(less)

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Jan 12, 2012 Kevin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery, fantasy, 2012-serial, 2012-nook

The mighty airship pirates make their first appearance in this volume of the Barsoom saga along with Thuvia the maid of Mars. The Black Pirates are the First Born race of Barsoom

"The First Born do no work.  The men fight--that is a sacred
privilege and duty; to fight and die for Issus.  The women do
nothing, absolutely nothing.  Slaves wash them, slaves dress
them, slaves feed them.  There are some, even, who have
slaves that talk for them, and I saw one who sat during
the rites with closed eyes while a

...more The mighty airship pirates make their first appearance in this volume of the Barsoom saga along with Thuvia the maid of Mars. The Black Pirates are the First Born race of Barsoom

"The First Born do no work.  The men fight--that is a sacred
privilege and duty; to fight and die for Issus.  The women do
nothing, absolutely nothing.  Slaves wash them, slaves dress
them, slaves feed them.  There are some, even, who have
slaves that talk for them, and I saw one who sat during
the rites with closed eyes while a slave narrated to her the
events that were transpiring within the arena."

Burroughs doesn't think to highly of the black skinned race of Barsoom, but still manages to impress and make an ally of one of his opponents.

John Carter is as honorable and heroic as ever

I said, placing my hand upon his shoulder,
"you know best the promptings of your own heart.  That I
shall need your sword I have little doubt, but accept from
John Carter upon his sacred honour the assurance that he
will never call upon you to draw this sword other than in
the cause of truth, justice, and righteousness."

Truth Justice and the American way, I wonder if the creators of superman were John Carter fans.

Thuvia is just itching to be with him

"I forget nothing, my Prince," she replied.  "You have
spoken no word of love to me, nor do I expect that you
ever shall; but nothing can prevent me loving you.  I would
not take the place of Dejah Thoris.  My greatest ambition is to
serve you, my Prince, for ever as your slave.  No greater boon
could I ask, no greater honour could I crave, no greater
happiness could I hope."

(less)

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Apr 01, 2012 Fajar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi-fantasy

Seri kedua Barsoom ini sama-sama memiliki tempo yang cepat seperti pendahulunya. Malah setengah akhir buku temponya sepertinya lebih cepat. Dalam the God of Mars, John Carter ditimpa bukan cuma satu atau dua, tapi banyak masalah. Adegan aksi di buku kedua pun jauh lebih banyak dan terasa lebih megah dibanding buku sebelumnya. Satu hal yang mengalami perkembangan juga adalah pengembangan dunia Barsoom. Di buku ini dijelaskan menganai asal-usul ras-ras pertama di Barsoom yang meski singkat tapi cu...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Nikki Knox rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: futuristic-foreshadowing

The second book in the Barsoom series was fascinating. Now that the first book set up the basic context, the second book explores Mars and the characters at a deeper level. I was impressed by the world he created - with its social, cultural and religious laws. I also saw it as a lovely satire of American egocentrism - our natural tendency to view non-American lands or people as far inferior to those of our own. John Carter fully embodies this in his strength, reflections of others, and in his ov...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Louis Singley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I did notice more annoying things about this one while reading it. The freshness has worn off after the first book of the series and now the little points of absurdity do get in the way of totally getting into the story at times. I realize how silly it may sound to refer the the freshness of a book published in 1918, but until now I hadn't read the series, so it was fresh to me. Even with the minor annoyances (mostly things that an audience in 1918 would have been ignorant of) this was still qui...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Eero rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I remember reading this book in hospital after an appendectomy when I was something like 12 years old. I am pretty sure it was the first of ERB's Mars books I read. I had forgotten most of the plot by now, but remembered the plant men, for one thing. This book has a more cohesive plot than its predecessor: although John Carter rushes from one tight spot to another with hardly time to breathe in between or heal his wounds, everything is centered on discovering the truth about the Martian "afterli...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Brad rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, sci-fi

Better than the first book in the series, probably because there is more going on story-wise. I was kind of annoyed at a couple of the "twists" that were pretty blatantly obvious to folks reading now (view spoiler)...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Richard Guion rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not the quite the impact on me that the first novel had, but a good Golden Age yarn of action and romance on Mars. It takes up the story of John Carter 10 years after the previous novel, as he travels again to Mars to rejoin Dejah Thoris, but alas, it is not so easy for him. Carter wakes up in a nightmarish setting which turns out to be the Martians' version of the afterlife. This turns out to be ruse perpetrated on the Martians by the Therns. Carter has to battle his way out of this Martian hel...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 02, 2012 Nick Marsden rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

I've heard complaints that this book is all capture, battle, escape; capture, battle escape. It is, sort of, but only because the serial format of the time demanded it. These were adventure stories that sucked in kids and left them anxious to read the next one, much like scripted drama on TV does now (at least the good ones). It helps to understand that these books started as magazine serials. So when you read A Princess of Mars and The Gods of Mars, you can tell that each chapter is a series of...more I've heard complaints that this book is all capture, battle, escape; capture, battle escape. It is, sort of, but only because the serial format of the time demanded it. These were adventure stories that sucked in kids and left them anxious to read the next one, much like scripted drama on TV does now (at least the good ones). It helps to understand that these books started as magazine serials. So when you read A Princess of Mars and The Gods of Mars, you can tell that each chapter is a series of events that nearly always ends in a cliffhanger or moment of tension.

For that goal, the Gods of Mars delivers extraordinarily. It's a roaring adventure from start to finish with lots of action, excitement, and -- even to the end -- taught suspense.

The problems with this book stems from the fact that it does not age well. I was able to suspend my disbelief about life on Mars because I understand that (1) this is fantasy and (2) it was written when people didn't know for sure that there wasn't life hidden on Mars. For the time, Burroughs gets his science right and even invents some of his own (it IS fantasy). But for someone who likes their sci-fi hard and dry, it isn't likely to impress. Also, some of the character conventions that were popular in the day are seen today as flat, offensive, or chauvinistic. Dejah Thoris is the proverbial damsel in the dress with no ability to take care of herself in any way. John Carter is a two-dimensional hero who loves fighting, attracts all the women, and is just a "good" guy. He's even non-racist in a time when racism was rampant. He is the Adonis of his age, perfect in every way and probably the idol of teenage boys everywhere when this was first published.

The races of Mars are a caricature of color, from green to red to white to black, but it is clear that all of these races resemble Caucasians in features, except for the greens, who are wholly alien. In this way, Burroughs seeks to address racism and religion. He brings in the perfect man, who is a white southerner from Civil War times and has him meet and befriend every possible race on Mars and bring them together, despite their differences. He also addresses religion in the two "villainous" races of Mars (the whites and blacks, of course) in which each is fooling the other with religious lies meant to increase their own power on a dying world.

The Gods of Mars far outstrips A Princess of Mars for quality, action and story. It's more exciting, more satisfying with every chapter. And the last third of the book is a rousing rescue and enactment of vengeance that finishes with a heartrending cliffhanger that will make you want to read the beginning of The Warlord of Mars right away. What more can you ask from an old-timey serial adventure? (less)

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Nov 18, 2010 J rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

John Carter is back. Once again, he finds himself mysteriously propelled from Earth to Mars to right great wrongs and save the people. As good fun and somewhat mindless entertainment, The Gods Of Mars delivers.

Still, something about this book really drove home how much a little revision might have helped Burroughs early works. Maybe his later works, too. I frankly can’t remember. A Princess Of Mars was Burroughs’ first book and was published in 1912. The Gods Of Mars was published in 1914, after...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Lauren Marrero rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This continuation of the Barsoom series adds two more races of people to Martian life: blacks and whites. Despite being written prior to the civil rights movement in America, I felt E.R Burroughs handled his depiction of black people remarkably well. He admits that black people are strong and beautiful, though they must ultimately be defeated and subdued by John Carter (like the other races).

The hero's emergence as the undisputed ruler off all races through military prowess is still troubling. I...more

1 like · like · see review

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About Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.

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“In that little party there was not one who would desert another; yet we were of different countries, different colours, different races, different religions--and one of us was of a different world.” — 5 people liked it

“There was but a single forlorn hope, and I took it.” — 4 people liked it

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The Gods of Mars (Barsoom #2)

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