How many john carter books

May 03, John rated it it was ok Shelves: pulp , sword-and-planet. There's nothing I can say about this book that hasn't been said countless times already. It consists of two novellas. The first one was written by Burroughs' son, and it's god-awful. Apparently, it started out as a children's book; all I know is it reads like a bad '80s cartoon. It might make an OK bedtime story for your six-year-old, but that's about it.

Plus, it's largely inconsistent--not to mention totally incongruous--with the rest of the John Carter series. The second novella is standard Joh There's nothing I can say about this book that hasn't been said countless times already. The second novella is standard John Carter fare, but Burroughs died before he could carry the story to its proper resolution. Jul 07, Rafeeq O. Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars , last in the eleven-book Barsoom series, is a rather uneven package.

Rather than being a single tale, it is comprised of a pair of novellas originally published in Amazing Stories : "John Carter and the Giant of Mars" from January and "Skeleton Men of Jupiter" from February Unlike the four novellas of Llana of Gathol , which actually make up a single book-length plot, these two unrelated pieces are just plunked in together.

The first is quite a bit inferior to the Barsoom tales we are used to, but the second definitely helps make up for that. What's really weird, though, are the then-trendy pieces of science-fictional technology that have never been seen in the previous ten books but which here suddenly appear out of nowhere, and are not even presented as new inventions but are simply taken for granted. There's something called an "atom gun" Del Rey paperback, page 4 or "atomgun" page 55 , for example, but I guess it's not a fancy disintegrator or such, because upon firing "a large shell" is "ejected" page 5 , so No matter, I guess, and, why, they even have "ray-gun[s]" page 7 or "ray-pistols"--for some reason with "hammers" to be "clicked back"-- page 54 , too!

And whereas the radium pistols seen in the previous books almost certainly are revolvers, here full-auto "sub-machine gun[s]" page 44 also appear. In Helium they use a "visiscreen" for inter-office communication page 6, page 65 , and the bad guy employs the "television screen" of his "television machine" to spy on their "private throne room" with "an extension" that is "concealed cleverly behind a mirror" page Moreover, whereas I believe it was way back in the A Princess of Mars that Burroughs specifically tells us that Martians don't use radio anymore because all the nations long ago learned how to intercept any communication and crack any code, here the Heliumites use radio all the time, for this caper determining that "[t]he wave length will be constant and secret, kilocycles" page 8.

Even the teeniest one-man flyer seems to be equipped with radio. And rather than being called "fliers," by the way, as was done in all previous books, here they are called "planes" page 9, page 73 , and just as Helium's aerial military is referred to as an "air force" page 8 rather than "navy," the hangars suddenly are termed "Airdrome[s]" page 9.

It's almost as if someone sat down to write a Barsoom story and thought, " Well, it's sci-fi, so we better have ray-guns and televisors and stuff, right?

And let's bring 'er up to date with words like plane and air force so that people know what we're talking about! Look, there's the kidnapping of Dejah Thoris by a baddie wanting to take over the world, and there's the scary giant promised by the title, and of course there are battles and outwittings. It all has a very weird feel, however, and the plot just blasts along--none of the usual months in captivity here and there for John Carter in this'un!

Although the unhurried, nay, oft e'en wordy narrative voice of John Carter can drag sometimes, in this tale we long for such pacing, such introspection, such smoothness of presentation, literarily dated though it may be. Still, eventually an end appears, and it is satisfactory. With "Skeleton Men of Jupiter," though, which actually was written by the elder Burroughs, we are back to the standard first-person John Carter fare, and while of course the story can't have the complexity of the jillion twists and turns of a book-length plot, it is so much better than its peculiar book-mate.

John Carter is no stranger to getting captured, but the honor be being first abductee in a tale generally belongs to a woman, specifically one upright and pure and yet deliciously desirable. Here, however, it is the Virginian himself captured first, by "human skeletons" page 86 with "parchmentlike skin cover[ing] the bones of their limbs so tightly that it [is] difficult to convince one's self that it [is] not true bone that [is] exposed"; and whereas "every rib and vertebra [stands] out in plain and disgusting relief," "[w]hen they [stand] in front of a bright light, [he can] see their internal organs" page These creepy gut-showing weirdos bustle John Carter into a "long, lean, sinister" ship "look[ing] like an enormous projectile, with rounded nose and a tapering tail," and they blast "at appalling speed" page 87 to The Earthman, who on the first page of the novella has commented that "[t]heories come and theories go" page 83 --including, he adds wryly, whether or not "Mars [is] habitable and inhabited" page 84 --tells us now that the scientific jury is still out regarding Jupiter, with one theory holding it "to have a surface temperature of two hundred and sixty degrees below zero" and another being "equally positive" that it "was still in a half molten condition" page Well, but you know Burroughs--just as with the time he sent characters in Swords of Mars , eighth in the series, to Phobos, which John Carter knew should possess no atmosphere and have only microgravity, he'll have a glib answer to make the plot work.

In any event, the Jovian skeleton-folk, or Morgors, are "a warlike race" who, after "conquer[ing] all other peoples" of their planet, now look to "a new world to conquer" page They have discovered that great Helium is "the most powerful" empire on Mars, so they intend to attack it first, after which "the rest of Barsoom would, they [assume], be easy to conquer" page The Prince of Helium, they believe, can be forced to give them "full information as to the war techniques of the Heliumites" pages This latter seems unlikely, of course, but a fellow Martian explains how he himself was forced into wrongdoing by the capture of his beloved, who was threatened, after a traitorous Martian was to have "had his way with her," to "be tortured and mutilated" but "even then not allowed to die" page 95 , so But as John Carter tells us later, once he has recruited staunch new friends during his requisite prison confinement, "[t]hey ha[ve]n't a chance against the three best swordsmen of three worlds" page Yes, for the Warlord of Barsoom is strong, and he is skilled, and he is steadfastly honorable.

He will not abandon a companion, nor will he hesitate at any daring to safeguard his adopted world and to deliver his incomparable Dejah Thoris to safety. There is clever planning, there are fights with fist and with blade, and there are droll witticisms directed at those who imagine themselves his betters.

Now, "Skeleton Men of Jupiter" does end with a helluva lot of inconclusion. That is, an immediate problem is about to be solved--about to be--but we're still on Jupiter, and there isn't yet any explanation of how we'll get back to Mars, let alone stop the invasion of the arrogant, weird-looking Morgors.

I confess I was puzzled, but again, a li'l poking around the internet suggested that this was intended to be the first novella of a multi-part book akin to Llana of Gathol , except the follow-ups never got written, so I suppose we should cut some slack on the peculiar-seeming end.

Overall, the bifurcated John Carter of Mars is perhaps a 3. Jul 22, Mark rated it it was ok. Both were written fairly long into his career, during World War II, and I imagine that at this point he could churn out these pulp stories in his sleep. Just as in the Tarzan series, he tends to rehash a lot of his plot elements, and at this point, having Dejah Thoris kidnapped yet again has become pretty tiresome. Yet that is what happens in " The Giant of Mars".

Likewise in "Skeleton Men Of Jupiter", John Carter and Dejah Thoris are both taken by the title creatures in a bid to gain info on the invasion of Barsoom, starting with the great nation of Helium.

Both stories are imaginative enough, but were quickly wrapped up, and no doubt sent off to be published in "Amazing Stories" magazine for a quick paycheck. The second, and what would turn out to be the final story in the series, ends seemingly in mid-storyline, without knowing how Carter and Dejah return to Mars, or whether the Skeleton Men's plot for invasion is thwarted.

Certainly not the best in the series, but I came this far, I had to complete the journey. Dec 26, Jason Fry rated it it was ok. A bind-up of two stories, the first a pastiche apparently written by ERB's son and the second the kickoff for a series of interlinked novellas that never progressed any further.

We should all agree the first story never happened, as it's seriously one of the worst things I've ever read. The second story, though, is pretty fun, removing the action to Jupiter but otherwise not departing so much as a whit from the well-worn pathways followed by the rest of the series.

You don't get an ending, but ho A bind-up of two stories, the first a pastiche apparently written by ERB's son and the second the kickoff for a series of interlinked novellas that never progressed any further. You don't get an ending, but honestly it's better this way: We leave John Carter mid-adventure, as he's plotting to get his beloved princess back. Farewell, warlord!

Sep 10, Cary rated it it was amazing. John Carter the immortal, is of again to rescue his love Deja Thoris the Red Princess of one of Mars most powerful kingdoms. John Carters ability to perform incredible feats of strength, and marshall prowess due to the lesser gravity of Mars makes him a formidable oponent. Respected by the most warlike people on a very warlike planet. John carter is good friends with Tars Tarkas. One of the green men of Mars.

Green giants with six arms and two legs. Which allow them to wield a lot of weapons. As usual John rescues his princess with the help his powerful friends. Becoming a legend in his new home, Mars.

Jul 05, Stephanie Ricker rated it it was ok Shelves: science-fiction. Giant three-legged rats are attacking the telepathically controlled birds used as transport! Oh no, Carter has been captured by the dreaded skeleton men of Jupiter!

Classic scifi is adorable. You'll be happy to know all ended happily if fairly egocentrically with Carter consistently saving the day and being pretty cocky about it. Sep 10, Tyler rated it really liked it. I thought this book turn out to be interesting. The action and adventure kept your mind wondering. I had a hard time trying to get away from the book and do other things. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in science-fiction and is an adventurous person.

If you don't like reading about aliens or science-fiction you might not like it. This would be a good book for young adults and older. It was a graphic detailed novel. View 1 comment. The only real clunker in all of this latter-day stuff is the first story here--in third person and seemingly written in a bit of haste. Fortunately though in "Skeleton Men" we get back to first person and JC's slightly tongue-in-cheeky, vigorous style.

Dec 23, Zachary Naylor rated it it was ok. And so Edgar Rice Burroughs' sweeping catalogue of pseudoscience-fiction comes to an end, decades after the fact, in "John Carter of Mars. A strange mix of momentous and ignominious, this one is, almost enrapturing in its fallibility. Carter once again in third-person must attend to yet another kidnapping, deal with unknown forces, and save the day. There's nothing new to the series here, yet it's littered with brazen continuity errors there are forests in Helium now?

Laser pistols and atom guns? Submachine guns? The simple reason--perhaps too much so--for this is the story's origin as a 'Little Big Book' sometime around the penning of "Llana of Gathol. Many faults in the story take root here.

The language is simpler, owing to Edgar Rice Burroughs likely serving nothing more than an editorial role for this expanded, lightly-revised take on the adventure. It's generally agreed his son John Coleman Burroughs wrote this, and given his experience on John Carter comics, it's evident then that the back-to-basics cast and frequent continuity gaffes are the product of a simpler Barsoom for a younger crowd simplicity not expunged in the leap to this book.

Most analysis of "Giant of Mars" is riddled with disdain for the simple language and egregious divergences from the established world. But, really: "Giant of Mars" is actually pretty good for what it is. Blatant errors aside, it boasts the return of Tars Tarkas, Dejah Thoris in an actual speaking role, a fairly interesting if slightly stock fantastical threat in the giant, and, no lie, possibly the best villain the series has ever seen: Pew Mogel.

Mogel is something else. Indeed, he may have been the very first synthetic. He is an uncanny, resentful shell of a thing contrasting Carter , who went rogue in employing the Master Mind's brain-swapping technology. Guarded by White Apes and the unkillable giant, he proves remarkably characterful and competent, never outshined by a serialized narrative or a second villain.

The strength of the villain comes with another advantage: its pace. Combined with the short length, "Giant of Mars" is almost breathless by the standards of the series, leaping from visual to visual, fight scene to fight scene with appreciable brevity. With its large-scale finale, it reads almost like a send-up of the whole series in miniature. In eleven books Burroughs takes the reader all around the Red Planet and even to Jupiter , while the action and excitement never let up.

Visit the city of Manator, where the citizens play chess with live pieces to the death. Pay your respects to Ras Thavas, the Master Mind of Mars, who will be happy to transplant your brain into the body of your choice or maybe into the body of a giant ape.

Rescue princesses from impenetrable fortresses, gallop across the sea bottoms of Barsoom astride your eight-legged thoat, or race through the thin air of Mars aboard your anti-gravity flier. In order to get their freedom Carter has to join forces with the antagonists. They also take help of another prisoner who name is Umka and has one eye and two mouths.

After heroic sacrifice and betrayal, they return to Mars, but Dejah is still not with Carter. It is revealed in the final twist that Gar Nal has Dejah Thoris, but Ur Jan has made a promise to carter before and hence returns his honor by dispatching Dejah.

The links beside each book title will take you to Amazon where you can read more about the book, or purchase it. As an Amazon Associate, I earn money from qualifying purchases. If you would like to link to us, Get the Code Here. I often get asked by readers if they can donate to the site as a thank you for all the hard work. Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Let me know! Book s. Cosby came to popularity in with his novel Blacktop Wasteland and followed it up with the excellent Razorblade Tears.

A phenomenal book and one that I would recommend the audiobook version of just for the full experience. An amazing author, and our author of the month! More Details. I just want to thank everyone for visiting the site. To read more about the site or if you want a graphic to link to us, see the about page for more details. Homepage Characters Authors. A Princess of Mars Amazon. Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply. Please Note. James Patterson may use ghost writers for the majority of his books these days, but one series he always keeps to himself is the Alex Cross series.

This is the series that put Patterson on the map, and the 29th book in the series is released this month. It's entitled Fear No Evil and it features Alex Cross going up against the person who he has tangled with for years - Cross and Sampson head to Montana to finish this feud once and for all. It is released on November 22nd and is our Book of the Month!