2.5

A Princess of Mars is pulp fiction in all of its glory, with the ultra!heroic hero, the unbelievably beautiful and devotion-inspiring heroine, the without-a-doubt evil antagonists. People coming to this book after seeing the movie will find several differences, but none of them particularly disappointing -- each medium has things that work for it, and things that don't. As a previous reviewer mentioned, it is a bit difficult to listen to John Carter talk, in first person, to the read about how awesome he is. John Carter being the undisputed King of Awesome is not really a problem, given the genre -- a cast of static and slightly flat characters is kind of "allowed" in pulp fiction -- but as an audience, what we can accept has changed a bit since 1912. This is a lovely read, something you could devour in a couple of days or just read one chapter a day. Names and places are easy to keep track of (something that is always difficult for me with contemporary sci-fi lit), and the science, while not necessarily accurate or realistic in some cases, is believable and a pretty good "guess" for Edgar Rice Burroughs writing in 1912. It's a fun read, if nothing else; you can imagine ERB sitting at his typewriter working away and then going, "Oh, damn! That would be so COOL!" and adding whatever cool thing he just thought of to the story. Will definitely be reading the next book in the series once I get around to it.

This book is a product of its time and is full of racism, especially in the vein of civilized vs “non-civilized” culture and toward indigenous people. In most ways this one has not aged well. The bare bones of a truly wonderful story are here (and from what I remember, updated well in the Disney John Carter film). I enjoyed my time on Barsoom but this book contains not much else besides pulpy fun and the reminder of the appalling way people treated (and still treat) others. Well, it also has a Mars doggo so that’s a whole star unto itself.

I’m not usually a fan of classic SF but decided to give Princess of Mars a try after reading Michael D. Sellers’ John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood. Well I can’t say my views on classic SF have changed now that I’ve actually read the book. It felt outdated (and sometimes downright ridiculous) and the never-ending descriptions were just too much for me. What really bothered me though is John Carter himself. The first-person narrative is annoying and makes his character even less likeable. He is arrogant, full of himself and condescending. That added to the racist and sexist undertones in the book... It just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe someday someone will explain why Princess of Mars has such a cult following? I certainly don't get it!

A Princess of Mars follows the story of Virginia gentleman John Carter, who is transported to Mars, and finds himself setting an unexpected impression on the local community, as his human biology endows him with an array of special skills. This book reads almost like an old travellers notebook to the red planet, as most of the items you might want more detail on (celebrations, battles, invasions) are rendered quickly in a matter of sentences, much like an afterthought. There are a few quirky and adorable moments as John Carter introduces fragments of his Earthly customs to the Barsoomians, and there are also some moments of wincing when you recall the attire of the Jeddak during battle. Although while reading this story does not play like a movie in the mind, it gives you so many rapid points of interest that when you close the book, you realise you have been given a teleported construct of Barsoom’s cultural infrastructure that will be unravelling in your mind for some time to come. A Princess of Mars is basically a compressed planetary zip file, that once finished reading, will auto-unzip and embed itself in your cerebrum until you too wonder if you were once in a strange and misty Arizona cave. Read this book, and enjoy some Barsoomian reminiscence over a nice cup of tea.