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    A Princess of Mars: Barsoom, Book 1
    A Princess of Mars: Barsoom, Book 1
    A Princess of Mars: Barsoom, Book 1
    Audiobook6 hours

    A Princess of Mars: Barsoom, Book 1

    Written by Edgar Rice Burroughs

    Narrated by B. J. Harrison

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    This novel was first published episodically in 1912, a year before Burroughs released Tarzan of the Apes, which would catapult him to international fame. This novel helped to define an emerging genre: science fiction.

    John Carter, Confederate Civil War veteran, is mysteriously transported to Mars, where he finds that the new environment gives him seemingly supernatural powers. We are introduced to several different alien cultures, and we follow Carter as he seeks to rescue the elusive Martian Princess, with whom he has fallen in love. It's a fantastic science fiction novel, and is sure to be a great gateway into the Classics for younger readers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherB.J. Harrison
    Release dateJan 1, 2009
    ISBN9781937091187
    A Princess of Mars: Barsoom, Book 1
    Author

    Edgar Rice Burroughs

    American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875 - 1950) worked many odd jobs before professionally writing. Burroughs did not start writing until he was in his late 30s while working at a pencil-sharpener wholesaler. But after following his call to writing, Burroughs created one of America's most enduring adventure heroes: Tarzan. Along with his novels about Tarzan, Burroughs wrote the notable Barsoom series, which follows the Mars adventurer John Carter.

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    Reviews for A Princess of Mars

    3.5/5

    1,239 ratings102 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The first in the John Carter series, this book is a very quick, entertaining read.Mr. Carter seems to be about thirty, but his true age is unknown. When he hides from his pursuers in the back of a dark cave, he’s suddenly and unexpectedly transported to Mars. This book covers his initial encounters with the strange Martian “humans” and his romance with his true love, the inimitable Dajah Thoris, the princess of the title.Author Burroughs never pretended to be anything but a writer of pulp action stories. Thank goodness he excelled at his chosen field. The John Carter books have had an enormous influence on sci-fi thrillers over the years, and reading them is both entertaining and informative about how the genre started.Not every book has to be deep, meaningful, and important. Sometimes a reader just wants to have fun, and this book provides plenty of that.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Who did I see describing this as "old school, pulpy goodness"? I think that works pretty well. I'm not sure how I'm going to relate this to Herland in my SF/F essay, but I'm thinking on it... Obviously there's a ton of colonial, North American stuff going on here, wherein a white man from Earth comes and suspiciously saves a red-skinned princess and reforms the Martian societies to good American values...But it's still sort of fun, and not a chore to read: the prose is straight-forward and not too crammed with infodumps, and I did get sort of fond of one or two characters, mostly Sola (perhaps because she was "civilised" and relateable before the Great White Man's intervention). No real surprises here, and I don't think I'll be in a hurry to read other Barsoom books, but it's enjoyable in its way.
    • 2/5
      True Pulp Fiction! An really hero is transported to Mars, expedience many adventures, wins the heart ofa Martian Princess and generally saves the day! Good fun.
    • 3/5
      Too romantic for my tastes (beyond the fact that every cover I've seen of this is misogynistic in the extreme), but well-written on the whole.
    • 3/5
      I've always loved Burroughs, but his books are a bit dated now. He tends to be a bit racist and sexist with "savages" always running rampant and women who need saving. However, he's still one of the kings of pulp and this is surprisingly cinematic and fun. Looking forward to seeing _John Carter_ despite the reviews.
    • 5/5
      A unique beginning to a very unique series. The impact ERB had on science fiction is unmistakable. His ideas have stood the test of time, and his characters are memorable.
    • 2/5
      I will read without audible- I think it’ll be a better way for enjoyment
    • 3/5
      John Carter dies on earth and awakens on Mars.
    • 3/5
      John Carter is a prospector in the US shortly after the civil war. He finds himself magically transported to Mars, and so begins an adventure with the 2 races of intelligent being, the red and the green peoples. The plot tends to support colonialism, where the white man has a civilising influence on other races and proves to be their salvation. The red people are even directly compared with Native Americans. The writing style is like much early science fiction, using many words where few would suffice. I found the love story a little too much, but then I don't really like romances. An good book, unashamedly copied by many later writers.
    • 4/5
      John Carter of Mars! A classic!
    • 3/5
      Good fantasy series from the author of Tarzan. I only read the first three but enjoyed them.
    • 4/5
      It was one of the first librivox recordings I listened to, and I was hooked. Yes, it is cliched and everything, but I still enjoyed it and its sequels very much. I then went on and listened to more audio books from libri vox, and I never looked back. I'm only sorry I didn't discover it a lot earlier.
    • 4/5
      I wasn't 100% impressed, but for the era it was groundbreaking. I loved seeing where Bradbury, et al got some of their ideas for future work.
    • 3/5
      Written 95 years ago, it was Burrough’s first novel. I’d first come across the Barsoom saga in the library while I was still in grammar school. The first novel I found was The Chessmen of Mars, having just learned how to play chess, I was interested in anything to do with the game. Soon after reading the book I discovered the rest of the series and read them all numerous times. It’s been years since I picked up one of his books so I wanted to give this a reread. It didn’t disappoint, the action and fast plot and the travelogue of Mars were as interesting as ever.

      Dejah Thoris (the princess)
      “She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who accompanied her; indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she was entirely naked, nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty of her perfect and symmetrical figure.”
      Bet this won’t be in the Disney adaption.

      “In one respect at least the Martians are a happy people; they have no lawyers.”
      Burrough wasn’t noted for humor but a lawyer joke is always welcome.

      The Hero
      “There was one slight, desperate chance, and that I decided I must take--it was for Dejah Thoris, and no man has lived who would not risk a thousand deaths for such as she.”
      This just about sums up the book heroic fantasy at it’s most heroic.
    • 4/5
      Written in 1912 and centered around a Confederate soldier, this book has some problematic elements you have to overlook to enjoy it. John Carter, through unexplained magic / science, finds himself on Mars and immediately begins describing his disgust with the appearance and customs of the green martians he encounters. For the rest of the novel, we see an insta-love story play out and John Carter play the role of white savior for the entire planet of Mars (Barsoom).All that being said, it's just a pulp fiction romp. There's enough plot to keep it entertaining and I especially loved the subplot of Tars Tarkas and Sola, two green martians. It's disappointing, but not at all surprising, that this subplot was removed from some editions, since it gives humanity to the "savage race." Princess of Mars is actually a great example of how minority races have been viewed in the past and present. The green martians are labeled ugly savage brutes and the red female martians of Helium are fetishized. The women are valued by how well they take care of their men and how beautiful they are. Typical sexist and racist shit you'd expect from a book written in 1912.
    • 2/5
      Not a fantastic start to this series, to be honest.

      To me, everything came far to easily to John Carter, whether it was learning the Barsoom language, integrating himself to a position of wealth and power, finding his One True Love, or fighting...anything.

      Seriously, there were times where I felt ERB basically had a list of things for Carter to do and he just kind of wrote them out in shorthand, all tell and no show, then put a checkmark beside the plot point.

      I love pulp.But hell, even Doc Savage struggled more than this. Give me some real conflict, and SHOW me it, don't tell me.

      Let's see what the next one has in store.
    • 4/5
      It was still good after all this time. And a good cliffhanger for an ending. Don't expect a flat boring story here. This is good story telling and fun characters on an adventure. It may seem dated but you can get past that feeling very quickly when this book gets going.
    • 5/5
      I read this one during NASA's heyday in the sixties. I liked it then, and despite the lack of knowledge when Mr. Burroughs wrote the book, it has aged well as a story. Barsoom is not a place for faint-hearted modern persons. There is violence and death. Men on Barsoom wear weapons, women wear jewelry and little else (in case you didn't know this from the cover). Human relationships are a bit dated, I suppose, but in my view, refreshingly so. Edgar Rice Burroughs is perhaps better known for being the creator of Tarzan, but his venture into what would eventually be called "science-fiction" was, in my view a resounding success. There are a number of sequels to this story, but if you only read one of the Barsoom stories, this should be the one.
    • 3/5
      In post-Civil War Arizona John Carter has found a gold rich mine. His partner sets out to buy machinery to let them work it properly, but as he leaves the mine site he is set upon by a party of Apaches. Carter sets out to rescue him, but is too late, he does however manage to locate the dead body and free it from the clutches of the “evil injuns”. In doing so he himself is perused and, getting lost, ends up finding refuge in a cave. There he is overcome by something, and finds himself transported, naked, to the surface of the planet Mars.

      He meets up with various Martians. Red ones and green ones. Intelligent ones and beast. None of them even half as civilised as a proper human of course.

      And, he meets with the princess of the title.

      Okay, so they say you should never judge a book by its cover, but I’m going to give you a moment to glance at that cover image. Take it all in. Now, make a judgement call. What do you think this book is like?

      If you answered pulp adventure of the swords and sorcery variety with an unbelievable hero who saves the day and gets the girl, well, you’d be right. And if you further speculated that there was plenty of violence and that “the girl” in question was often to be found in distress, that means bonus points for you :)

      It isn’t terrible. But it isn’t good. And it is full of dodgy colonial white-man knows best sentiment. Which might give me a topic for my coursera course, we’ll see. Oh, and anti-Bolshvevik sentiment. But if you can ignore all that then, yes, it does have plenty of adventure and derring-do, so if you are looking for that sort of thing, this is the book for you.

      As for me? Well, I have to admit that I am sortof interested in reading more about the adventures of John Carter, and I’m definitely interested in the film that came out recently enough. It got a bit hammered in certain sectors but most people seem to say that it is a fine bit of entertainment too. So we will keep an open mind.
    • 4/5
      No-nonsense sci-fi swashbuckler. Being human on Mars apparently gives our hero John Carter an edge in fighting (some gravity thing) - and boy, does he fight to save the fair princess. Enjoyed it thorouhgly.
    • 5/5
      Let me be honest, I loved every awful minute of this entire series of books. It's ridiculous, and so cool that I shared the librivox recordings of them with my husband who also loved their awful goodness. I really did not care about the bits that would not have flown in today's culture. I noted them, sure, but it did not spoil the fun for me in the least, probably because I did not take it seriously. This is a book for people who like silly, over-the-top adventures in another world filled with every trope imaginable. If plot holes bother you, there are a few, but they struck me as funny, and part of the charm of the story. Did you know that someone made a tabletop role-play game based on these books? Did you know that these books are out of copyright and can be found for free online? Well, now you do. And, as a side note, I enjoyed the movie, but the books were better.
    • 5/5
      A Princess of Mars (Under the Moons of Mars)by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1911/1912)A Princess of Mars, the start of a legacy and first John Carter of Mars tale. This is Burroughs first sale and showcases his wondrous imagination, heralding the creation of fantastic worlds and fantastic creatures. Princess begins Burroughs conceit of placing himself within the tale via the introduction. This conceit loosely connects the work of ERB into a shared universe. Stephen King will use a similar idea to concept to connect his works. This year (2020) ERB would use this conceit to continue the ERB shared Universe making it more than just a passing easter egg in the novels. The introduction gives us the first of ERBs ideas of the ageless hero, something Philip Jose Farmer will expand and exploit in his “Tarzan Alive” and “Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life” workds. Carter is an officer of the confederated officer who does not age being a relative of the author Norman Bean. Little side note originally ERB authored the book as Normal Being but an editor of All Story Magazine changed it to Norman Bean. The first two chapters mine Burrough’s experience in the old west as a member of the cavalry. It is with the next chapter that ERB opens up his imagination and transports us to Barsoom (Mars0. John Carter first meets the Tharks, giant green martians with two sets of arms. Carter is only able to compete with the Tharks due to the lower gravity of Mars which allows him to have superior strength and stamina. As he lives among Tharks, Carter is exposed to some of the creatures of Barsoom including the White Apes, Banths and Thoats. Also introduced while Carter is captive of the Tharks is the beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. A Red Martian who’s physiology is similar to the human race except that they lay eggs. Burroughs puts our hero through his paces with him ultimately saving the Dejah Thoris but we are left with a cliffhanger. Another device that will appear in some of ERB’s earlier works. Burroughs is a product of his times and John Carter is a prime example of the Burrough’s hero. They have an internal set of honor, defend women at all cost, and although seemingly selfish always act with chivalry and justice. In today’s world, the tendency is to go more into the psyche and motivations of characters so it is refreshing to return to a time when heroes were motivated to do the right thing because well, it was the right thing. Being his first published work there are some flaws in pacing at times but Princess of Mars is well worth the read setting the scene for subsequent Barsoom novels and the beginning of the career of one of the great authors of the 20 century.
    • 3/5
      A Princess of Mars starts out with the discovery of a manuscript by the author himself, and his memories of “Uncle Jack”. Burroughs uses the device effectively to set up the mythology of John Carter, Confederate War veteran who is mysteriously transported to the planet Mars, captured by little green Martians, and eventually meets the lovely Princess Dejah Thoris of Helium.

      The storytelling itself compared to today’s standards is kind of silly but this book was originally published in 1912. At the time it was written there was scientific speculation about the potential for life on Mars. It must have captured Burroughs attention because he came up with some wild ideas about the people and cultures who could be inhabiting Mars.

      For the most part I really enjoyed the book. There was lots of adventure, interesting scenery and worldbuilding. I suspended my credulity and had an epic time on Mars.


      1399
    • 3/5
      Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

      This is a classic pulp science-fiction/fantasy novel, with all that that title entails. So, there's colonialism (albeit turned kind of on its head), sexism (with an appropriately beautiful damsel in distress), and a hero who can practically accomplish anything. Very little goes wrong for our illustrious hero (aside from the events that land him on Mars to begin with and a few others).

      The writing isn't spectacular, but it's serviceable. While ostensibly a science-fiction story due to its setting, this story has more to do with its contemporaries of Kull/Conan than the science-fiction of say E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series.

      I'd probably rate this higher if it weren't for the last chapter which lessened my enjoyment of the rest of the book for me. It seems to be there just to set up a sequel while pulling the rug out from the rest of the book. I
      don't mind the set up for a sequel, it's the undermining of the book I disliked.

      The narration by Scott Brick isn't outstanding, but it's not bad. He's certainly done a better job for other books.
    • 5/5
      A unique beginning to a very unique series. The impact ERB had on science fiction is unmistakable. His ideas have stood the test of time, and his characters are memorable.
    • 4/5
      An easy read, John Carter's perfection is only a mild annoyance. I see why it is pulp, and fantasy and science fiction. It was fun, and that's all. I love Sola the best.
    • 4/5
      Ignoring the fact that we've disproved some of the myths of "Mars," actually quite a good read.
    • 4/5
      The first in the John Carter series, this book is a very quick, entertaining read.Mr. Carter seems to be about thirty, but his true age is unknown. When he hides from his pursuers in the back of a dark cave, he’s suddenly and unexpectedly transported to Mars. This book covers his initial encounters with the strange Martian “humans” and his romance with his true love, the inimitable Dajah Thoris, the princess of the title.Author Burroughs never pretended to be anything but a writer of pulp action stories. Thank goodness he excelled at his chosen field. The John Carter books have had an enormous influence on sci-fi thrillers over the years, and reading them is both entertaining and informative about how the genre started.Not every book has to be deep, meaningful, and important. Sometimes a reader just wants to have fun, and this book provides plenty of that.
    • 2/5
      This book is a science fiction adventure. It is filled with combat and a romance. The story line is interesting but the plausibility of the actions of the characters is poor. This book is appropriate for a young reader as it is without any significant meaning and is merely entertaining.
    • 4/5
      This is the first of Burroughs Mars series, not as well known as Tarzan but fairly good. It is frankly pulp fiction and makes no pretense of serious science: John Carter, a Confederate veteran (but apparently immortal --he has no memory of his birth), while escaping from Indians in the southwest, wishes to be on Mars and is there, a Mars based loosely on Percival Lowell, with drylands stretching between canals on which are ancient cities. The first is captured by the barbaric nomad green martians, giants with four arms, but later wins the love of a red Martian princess, fully human aside from laying eggs. While they are waiting for their first child to hatch, the machine that maintains the Martian atmosphere breaks down; Carter saves it but loses consciousness ad wakes on earth, where he tells his story to a young Burroughs and then vanishes, presumably back to Mars (where the second volume picks up.)