Saturday, February 05, 2011

Book review: John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

As a youth I read most of the Tarzen stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I have fond memories of the adventure and excitment as Tarzen saved the day again and again. Recently I decided to give a try for another series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I picked up John Carter of Mars.

I wasn't impressed.

I hadn't done any research. I expected this to be the first book in the series. It turns out it is the last. It is two stories thrown together. In the first story John Carter ends up fighting with a 300 foot tall giant. Then in the second story John Carter goes to Jupiter to the "Skeleton Men." The first story had a reasonable conclusion. The second story just stopped. There was no conclusion.

Now I'm wondering what the Tarzen books were like. Maybe in my youth I didn't expect much from the stories and was happy with anything. I'm a bit afraid to go back and check.

If you like old classic adventure stories I'd recommend checking out other books. "John Carter of Mars" should only be read if you want to read the complete series.

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