Author: Sandy Ferber

John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

John Carter of Mars is the 11th and final volume in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic JOHN CARTER series, and is comprised of two novellas of varying quality. The first, John Carter and the Giant of Mars, first appeared in Amazing Stories Magazine in January 1941; the second, Skeleton Men of Jupiter, first appeared in that same publication in February 1943. (For full details on the complicated publishing histories of these tales,

Llana of Gathol by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Llana of Gathol is the 10th of 11 JOHN CARTER OF MARS books that Edgar Rice Burroughs left to the world. This book is comprised of four linked short tales that first appeared in Amazing Stories Magazine from March to October 1941. Each of these stories is around 50 pages in length and is made up of 13 very short chapters.

In the first tale, “The Ancient Dead,” John Carter goes for a spin in his flier to get away from it all,

Synthetic Men of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Synthetic Men of Mars is the 9th of 11 books in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ JOHN CARTER OF MARS series. It first appeared serially in Argosy Magazine in early 1939, and is one of the most way-out entries in the series. The book may be seen as a sequel of sorts to book #6, The Master Mind of Mars, in that Ras Thavas, the eponymous superbrain of that earlier work, here makes a return,

Swords of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Swords of Mars is the 8th of 11 JOHN CARTER OF MARS books that Edgar Rice Burroughs gave to the world. It first appeared serially in the Blue Book Magazine in six parts, from November 1934 to April 1935, and is one of the best in the series. For the first time since book 3, The Warlord of Mars, Carter himself takes center stage, rather than making a brief cameo appearance, and his return as the lead character is perhaps the best single element of this book.

A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

A Fighting Man of Mars is book 7 of 11 JOHN CARTER novels that Edgar Rice Burroughs gave to the world. It first appeared serially in The Blue Book Magazine from April-September 1930, and, at almost 250 pages, is the longest of all the CARTER novels. As in the previous three books in the series, Carter himself only makes a few token appearances, the action mantle this time falling on a distant relation of his,

The Master Mind of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Master Mind of Mars is book 6 of 11 JOHN CARTER adventures that Edgar Rice Burroughs gave to the world. It first appeared in the magazine Amazing Stories Annual in July 1927, and John Carter himself only puts in a cameo appearance near the book’s end. Instead, our hero is another Earthman, Ulysses Paxton, who mysteriously gets transported to Barsoom (Mars) after being critically wounded on the battlefields of WW1. Paxton becomes an apprentice of the eponymous mastermind Ras Thavas,

Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Thuvia, Maid of Mars is the fourth of eleven JOHN CARTER novels from the pen of Edgar Rice Burroughs. It first appeared in April 1916, as a three-part serial in the magazine “All Story Weekly.” This is the first Carter novel that does not feature John Carter himself as the central character; he only makes a brief cameo appearance early on. Instead, the action mantle is taken up by Carthoris, Carter’s son, but fortunately, Carter Junior turns out to be just as good a swashbuckler as the old man.

The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Warlord of Mars (1914) is the third of eleven JOHN CARTER novels from the pen of Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is a direct continuation of the first two in the series — A Princess of Mars and The Gods of Mars — and a reading of those earlier titles is absolutely essential before going into this one.

Here, Carter tries to rescue his princess, Dejah Thoris, from the clutches of some particularly nasty villains.

The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Gods of Mars, #2 of 11 in Burroughs’ JOHN CARTER series, is a direct sequel to the classic A Princess of Mars, and a reading of that earlier volume is fairly essential before going into this one. The Gods of Mars was first published in serial form in All-Story Magazine in 1913, and comprises one of Burroughs’ earliest works.

It is amazing how much action the author manages to cram into the book’s 190 pages;