I am a big fan of the John Carter of Mars series. It's not great writing, but it is fun - a guilty pleasure and an inspiration for later SF writers and themes. This book is 15 short stories by established writers of SFF giving their take on further adventures set in the worlds of Barsoom. It is edited by John Joseph Adams and features writers such as S.M. Stirling, L.E. Modesitt, Jr. and Garth Nix - to name a few. When writing in the style or playground of older writers such as Burroughs some authors feel the need to emulate the syntax to copy the author. In most cases it doesn't work well. That is pretty much the case here. Some of the stories work, some don't. What is fun is an exploration of characters who are not necessarily featured in the main books. "Woola's Song", by Theodora Goss is one that is especially fun.

The editor does a good job giving you background on the stories - where they fit into the overall story arc and background. The appendix also gives you background on the main characters in the Burroughs stories and the background of Barsoom. For people who don't know about John carter, it might be confusing and not as enticing. For those familiar with the series, they will make you smile, but may fall a little flat.

This is worth a look if like the original series or if you have an inquisitive new reader interested in SF. Overall the book is ok, somewhere in the middle with some fun and some flat stories.