Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Jul 31, 2019 Karl marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2019-07-books-bought

Contents:

ix - Foreword by Tamora Pierce
xiii - Introduction by John Joseph Adams
001 - "The Metal Men of Mars" by Joe R. Lansdale Illustrated by Gregory Manchess
027 - "Three Deaths" by David Barr Kirtley Illustrated by Charles Vess
045 - "The Ape-Man of Mars" by Peter S. Beagle Illustrated by Jeremy Bastian
065 - "A Tinker of Warhoon" by Tobias S. Buckell Illustrated by Chrissie Zullo
087 - "Vengeance of Mars" by Robin Wasserman Illustrated by Misako Rocks
109 - "Woola’s Song by Theodora Goss" Illlust ...more

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Jan 03, 2019 Derek rated it liked it

Shelves: anthology-or-collection, sword-and-planet

I get the impression that producing this sort of collection is a thankless task. Any Burroughs/Barsoom enthusiast will find something to hate: it hews too close to the original material and feels like rewarmed leftovers; it is stylistically or thematically different and is rejected out of hand; or it doesn't line up with canon material (or each other) therefore nerd rage.

They are all very different riffs on the original material, especially on Princess of Mars. Several stories use that base as a I get the impression that producing this sort of collection is a thankless task. Any Burroughs/Barsoom enthusiast will find something to hate: it hews too close to the original material and feels like rewarmed leftovers; it is stylistically or thematically different and is rejected out of hand; or it doesn't line up with canon material (or each other) therefore nerd rage.

They are all very different riffs on the original material, especially on Princess of Mars. Several stories use that base as a springboard to see inside Woola's head, or the later days and death of Sarkoja, or the Warhoons at the atmosphere plant. Others turn the lens back on John Carter and fill out what he may have omitted from his own narration (generally, not reflecting positive traits).

Many bounce the theme that Barsoom is a planet in serious decline, and that the end is relatively near, although this is usually more along the lines of changes due to John Carter, or anticipated changes from the general arrival of more Earthmen. This is far more melancholic than ERB intended, but which I consider a natural outgrowth that he didn't consider.

For favorites, I'd have to list "The Death Song of Dwar Guntha", which recasts The Battle of Thermopylae with old Heliumite soldiers just before a battle whose results are certain and irrelevant, and their lament that the world will see peace and their songs will not be sung. It puts the end-times themes into characters' mouths but in terms of John Carter unifying all of Barsoom and eliminating armed conflict.

"The Jasoom Project" is a kitchen sink of Burroughs references and action, jumping from seedy, half-rebuilt Zodanga to Earth to new adventures, and drawing in both descendants-of-main-characters and old villains. It shouldn't work but does.

"The Bronze Man of Mars" is the most successful straight Burroughs tale, capturing the original spirit with a pair of new characters. This, like "Three Deaths" and "A Tinker of Warhoon", introduce protagonists that are more than the usual Red Man Warrior or Earth Man On Mars, and are the most interesting way of carrying the setting forward without the navel-gazing of remixing events of Princess of Mars. ...more

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May 05, 2019 Charles rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I'd say about 3 1/2 stars. There are some really good tales here and generally the anthology is enjoyable, but there's also one awful story that really set my teeth on edge and left a bad taste in my mouth. Unfortunately, it arrives pretty early in the book and it took me a while to recover. I'm talking about a story called "The Ape Man of Mars," by Peter S. Beagle, which, while adequately written, did a hatchet job on John Carter and presented completely altered characterizations on both Dejah I'd say about 3 1/2 stars. There are some really good tales here and generally the anthology is enjoyable, but there's also one awful story that really set my teeth on edge and left a bad taste in my mouth. Unfortunately, it arrives pretty early in the book and it took me a while to recover. I'm talking about a story called "The Ape Man of Mars," by Peter S. Beagle, which, while adequately written, did a hatchet job on John Carter and presented completely altered characterizations on both Dejah Thoris and Tarzan. In the tale, Tarzan gets transported to Mars and is met by an arrogant, bullying, jealous, and vain John Carter. Dejah Thoris is presented as a long-suffering wife who is attracted to Tarzan and Tarzan returns that attraction. This was so out of character for all three figures, especially Carter, that I could hardly believe that Beagle had ever read the original stories. Only the fact that his hatred for the character of John Carter was so egregious indicated that he must have at least had some familiarity with ERB's creation. Two other stories in the book presented unkind viewpoints on John Carter, but they did so from within the viewpoints of the narrators of the stories, and while both characters seemed clearly inaccurate on their judgments of Carter, (One came across very much as a villain to me), these were legitimate alternate viewpoints that one might expect from real characters. This was not true of the Beagle tale.

On the other hand, there were three very strong stories and several others that I found quite enjoyable. The first of the real strong pieces was "The Ghost that Haunts the Superstitious Mountains" by Chris Claremont. It features Carter, Dejah, and Tars Tarkas on "Earth." This could easily have been expanded into a novel and I'd love to read it. The main problem with the tale was that it really didn't have an ending. Clearly more needed to be told, but I still greatly enjoyed it. I know Claremont's name from the comics, though I've not really read any of those by him, but I will remedy that.

The second very strong story was "The Jasoom Project" by S. M. Stirling, which was a complicated tale and also ended open-endedly. This one, too, could easily have been expanded to an exciting novel. Finally, they picked exactly the right story to end the anthology with. This was "The Death Song of Dwar Guntha" by Jonathan Maberry. The best story in the book and a complete tale with a solid ending.

Some other strong stories were "Vengeance of Mars" by Robin Wasserman, "The Metal Men of Mars" by Joe Lansdale, and "Woola's Song" by Theodora Goss, which was sort of a sentimental favorite of mine since I'm very fond of Woola. Overall, I can recommend the book, except for that one story. There's also a pretty cool cover and some nice interior illustrations as well. ...more

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Jan 10, 2016 Ken Boorman rated it really liked it

I mostly enjoyed this short story collection from modern writers giving their take on ERB's Barsoom sagas. There were only 2 short stories included in this book that IMHO did not continue or contain the spirit of ERB's writings. Overall though - quite enjoyable ...more

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