The Free Readers discussion

Tell us what you think. Does this deserve to be called a sci-fi classic? Did you have fun? What would this be like if someone from this decade wrote it?

This book was awesome! Who knew the same guy that wrote the Tarzan of the Apes books also wrote this Mars series, with John Carter. Both of these were made into movies by Disney, but the Tarzan movie probably did way better that "John Carter". Why did they change the name? "A Princess of Mars" sounds way cooler.

I liked the book because of the action, fun, and love story. I liked the alien Mars life with all of its strangeness. There was a sufficient amount of political intrigue to move the plot along. The way that Burroughs brings a human to Mars means that he can compare all he sees to Earth and its customs. I think that is a cool way to describe an alien world--you can bring someone from Earth to point out what's different or the same.

There are a couple of unanswered questions: why can't John Carter remember anything about his birth? Where is this dude from? What is in the egg? and what happened to his him at the beginning of the book to allow him to (presumably) go back to Mars? I guess that's why there are like a dozen of these books.

I think it would be a bit more sophisticated if someone were writing it today. The action can be a tad hokey. And what's with John Carter always plunging headfirst into danger in basically every chapter. It's a wonder he doesn't die...but then again this is fantasy adventure.