This year I resolved to read more classic science fiction and fantasy, hopefully making a dent in that stack of books I really should have read by now. Mostly because they should be good books, but also to be better informed about my genre and its history. I decided that this meant reading six science fiction and six fantasy books written before 1980 by authors that were completely new to me.
Since I feel weird saying I’m “reviewing” giants like H.G. Wells and T.H. White, let’s just say these will be my reactions to books that have shaped the science fiction and fantasy genres in one way or another.
Up this month is A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first published in 1912.
A Princess of Mars (1912)
Written By: Edgar Rice Burroughs
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 224 (Trade Paperback)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (2012 edition)
Why I Chose It: I was reading the Dangerous Women anthology edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois when I came across a reference to A Princess of Mars. In the introduction Dozois describes Dejah Thoris as “every bit as good with the blade and every bit as deadly in battle as John Carter”. So of course it had to go on my list.
The Premise:
First serialized in the pulp magazine “All-Story Magazine” between February and July of 1912, “A Princess of Mars” is the first novel in Edgar Rice Burroughs’s classic “Barsoom” series, set on the planet Mars. At the center of the series is the protagonist John Carter, a Confederate Captain of the American Civil War, who finds himself mysteriously transported to the planet Mars. Upon arrival John Carter discovers that the lower gravity of the planet has endowed him a super human strength and agility. This prowess helps him to win the allegiance of the Tharks, a nomadic war-like tribe of green six-limbed aliens. Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Mars is a desert world, a dying planet which is caught in the conflict between the “Green Martians”, or the Tharks, and the “Red Martians”, a group of humanoids who inhabit a loose network of city-states and control the planet’s canals and agriculture. John Carter soon finds himself embroiled in the political conflict between the two “Red Martian” city states of Zodanga and Helium when he rescues and falls in love with the beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. “A Princess of Mars” is both a romantic adventure and a science fiction tale of fantasy which has been an inspiration to countless science fiction writers ever since its first publication.
Minor Spoilers Only!
Discussion: Wow, what a ride. I really loved this one. I ended up finishing it in two days because it was so fast paced and exciting. I think swashbuckling is definitely the right word for it. It’s got all the right elements to fit in with your favorite adventure. A sword-wielding gentleman, heroic deeds, noble barbarians, and lecherous bad guys. You can definitely see how a lot of sci fi and fantasy genre tropes sprang from the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Unlike The Time Machine, which I read last month, I didn’t feel like A Princess of Mars had any kind of agenda beyond telling a good story. We weren’t given bleak pictures of humanity’s future or our role in our own destruction. However, we still managed to learn plenty about chivalry and human decency and the nature of strength.
Maybe that’s why I liked John Carter so much. He embodied so many of the classic heroic qualities and ideals I grew up learning to love. And let me clarify that I’m not talking about his supposedly amazing physique (seriously, he’s described as “a splendid specimen of manhood, standing a good two inches over six feet, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip”). Although I guess it was just as well he’s good looking since no one on Mars wears clothing apparently.
No, besides his physical prowess, John Carter is polite and noble with an almost super-human strength of character. And he is kind. It’s that kindness which wins him his allies and give him the means to save his love and her people. It’s not his strength, which is enormous, it’s his consideration and grace which save the day. He wins over wild beasts like the monstrous yet loyal Woola by treating them with love. He reforms the Green Martians by showing them that physical prowess doesn’t have to mean cruelty and kindness doesn’t have to mean weakness.
And that’s why I loved him. Deep down I’m a mushy idealist. So sue me.
I really only had one complaint through the whole book. It was very much the male fantasy, complete with the immortal hero who’s an instant badass and a beautiful princess who falls immediately in love with him because he’s super honorable and would never even think about taking advantage of her – even though they’re both naked all the time and you have put your hands somewhere when you’re helping someone into the saddle. Or maybe she loved him for his body. I don’t know.
And I’m not sure what Gardner Dozois was talking about in Dangerous Women because Dejah Thoris didn’t pick up so much as a knife the entire book (and where would she have hidden it if she had?). She spent most of her time playing damsel in distress, needing rescue from Green Martians and Red Martians alike. Maybe it’s only in later books that she becomes a knife wielding agent of doom. In this one she was just lucky John Carter had a thing for rescuing beautiful women.
Still, I suppose I can cut Burroughs a little chauvinistic slack since he was writing in 1912 and evidence seems to point toward stronger female characters further on in the series. I loved the first one enough to read on far enough to find them.
Conclusion: Taking the whole “I am the perfect man who must protect anything female” thing in stride, I really enjoyed this one. I even had to sneak a peak at the first chapter of the next book since this one ended on a cliffhanger. Normally I’m annoyed by cliffhangers, but this one fit really well into the frame story and made sense contextually. All in all, I am really happy this was on my list.
Next month I’ll be reading a selection of HP Lovecraft’s short stories. I’ll start with “The Call of Cthulu”, “The Outsider”, and “The Cats of Ulthar”, moving on to “The Dunwich Horror” and “At the Mountains of Madness” if time permits.
Surprised you liked this so much but you’re pretty much in tune with the spirit of ERB’s work. I read this first in 8th grade and then read almost nothing but ERB (and his clones) for the next two years. You’re right about Dejah Thoris becoming a bit more assertive in later books. Dian from the Pellucidar series is probably his most kickass female character. You can only take so many ultra-noble, all-American, athletic heroes, but this was typical of the pulp era. The skimpy clothing always seemed impractical–sitting on the ground, rubbing up against rocks, trees, etc.–all that dirt and grit. They must have been covered in smudges and scratches. Most of his books featured minimal clothing yet never a mention of anyone staring at one’s naughty bits. Must be all that honor and nobility.