The Gods of Mars is the second
installment in Edgar Rice Burroughs' sci-fi series, John Carter of
Mars. Published in 1913, this novel expanded John Carter's high adventures on Mars. The Gods of Mars is
slightly longer than its predecessor, A Princess of Mars. This
story is a fast-paced adventure full of swashbuckling actions, taking
place at exotic locations populated by fantastic creatures, all spawned
from the well of Burroughs' powerful imaginations. Let me begin this
review, by providing a synopsis.
Synopsis:
Mysteries shrouded the past life of John
Carter, a wealthy gentleman living in New York. No one on
earth knew that Carter was once the Prince of Helium on Mars, where
an accident involuntarily transported him back to earth, forcing Carter to leave his wife and unborn son behind.
It has been 10 years since Carter's
return to earth. Not a single day had gone by when he did not wish
to go back to his wife and son. Carter's burning desire to return to
Mars came true, when he discovered a mean to travel between worlds.
In the matter of minutes, Carter re-appeared on Mars. Only to be trapped in Golden Cliffs, the land of “afterlife” according to
the Martian religion. Here Carter discovered a terrible truth about
the gods of Mars. If Carter can escape, then not only will he
re-unite with his family, but the truth he discovered about the gods of Mars would re-shape
the thousand year old Martian traditions.
My thoughts on this book:
I had a fun time reading The Gods of
Mars. The story in this novel is a fast-paced, swashbuckling
action feast. The plot is cheesy, but it grips readers with a colorful story set in an imaginative world and powered by adrenaline-pumping actions. John
Carter of Mars novels are pulp fictions, but they surely are
ripping yarns. The Gods of Mars ended with a cliff-hanger, so
I cannot wait to read the next installment.
The most memorable thing about John
Carter novels, is every character's visual appearance is striking. From the heroes to the villains, the visual descriptions
for these characters are bound to cut deep impressions in readers'
minds. Through Burroughs' excellent use of words, the visual impacts of these characters are portrayed to vivid liveliness.
However, while these characters are
visually impressive, but like the previous novel, The Gods of Mars
suffers from wooden characterizations. John Carter is depicted as a
two dimensional character. The only prominent feature about John Carter's personality, is his strict adherence to the 19th century, gentlemanly code of honor. Other than this, there is nothing about John Carter's character that really stood out. Having said this, in this novel John
Carter encountered his son, and the father-and-son relationship
brought some depth of John Carter's character, where he displayed
emotions not seen in the previous book. I consider this part an
improvement in Burroughs' skill at characterization.
The Gods of Mars is surprisingly
well written. Edgar Rice Burroughs utilized (what I believe is
called) the purple prose in this book. While the purple prose may
appear out of date by the modern standard. Yet, Burroughs integrated
the purple prose fittingly into John Carter novels, creating
an antique vibe. In other words, when you read John Carter novels,
you can easily deduce by the style of writing that these books
were written a century ago. In the case of John Carter novels,
pulp fictions written in the purple prose actually created a stylish flavor that cannot be found in other sci-fi fantasy books, and I like
it a lot.
The Gods of Mars is
a solid entry to John Carter novels. The story may be cheesy, but
John Cater's second adventure on Mars is a thrilling, roller
coaster ride. At 249 pages, this fast-paced novel is short and sweet.
It can be read in a space of a few hours. I would say most people
will enjoy this book. So grab a cup of tea, then let the story transport you to a world of
high adventures.
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