Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Chessmen of Mars
    The Chessmen of Mars
    The Chessmen of Mars
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Chessmen of Mars

    Written by Edgar Rice Burroughs

    Narrated by Gene Engene

    3.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    There is a game on Mars similar to chess-very similar, save that it is played on a board of a hundred squares, and with ornate pieces. The Martians call it jetan, and it is as old as the civilization of Barsoom. But in the Martian city of Manator, jetan is no game. The chiefs of Manator play with living pieces--criminals, slaves, or warriors eager for fame. The opposing chessmen duel to the death for possession of their squares. The chiefs of Mantor play for great stakes, but the most closely fought contest in the huge arena was that in which the prize was Tara, Princess of Helium and daughter of the Warlord of Mars--a prisoner and slave in Manator.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBooks in Motion Audio
    Release dateApr 15, 2005
    ISBN9781596072435
    Author

    Edgar Rice Burroughs

    Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) is best known for his creation of Tarzan of the jungle and of the heroic John Carter who adventured on Mars, although he is also the author of many other novels in a range of genres.

    More audiobooks from Edgar Rice Burroughs

    Related to The Chessmen of Mars

    Titles in the series (3)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Reviews for The Chessmen of Mars

    3.5/5

    273 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This story focuses on Tara, daughter of John Carter and Dehah Thoris, who is captured by the warriors of the city of Manatol, where they play living games of jetan or Martian chess, in which the living pieces fight to the death. These games are used as a form of social control --criminals may fight in the games, slaves, in theory, may win their freedom in them, nobles may command teams as a form of group duel.Tara is supposed to be a prize in one if these games, to be enjoyed by the entire team f criminals who wins her, but naturally this does not happen.The story includes an appendix with the rules for Martian chess, and I can recall making a set of pieces and playing it when young. To me, this is one of the more clever concepts in the Barsoom series.
    • 4/5
      This fifth volume of the Barsoom series is very entertaining. Again some very original populations of Barsoom are introduced, and in this volume the fighting and killing is not so dominant as in some previous volumes. The story has Tara, daughter of John Carter and Dejah Thoris as the main character. There is enough tension and - as I said - the new peoples that are introduced are quite original. A good read!
    • 2/5
      Ok, so I said in my last review (Thuvia, Maid of Mars) That I thought either book 3 or 4 was about rescuing a slave, but I think I was wrong and it was actually this one.
      It starts out promising, (sort of) with Tara (John Carter's daughter) standing up for herself and saying that she does not want to be forced to marry someone she has not chosen, and before she wants to get married. However, instead of coming off like that, she came off spoiled and pouty, like she was being a silly girl throwing a temper tantrum and ruining off because she didn't get her own way. (Which of course means, since a woman has gone off on her own, she will inevitably need rescued /sigh) Needless to say we find and declare evil a new race, (who, actually I found interesting, despite a touch of their own slavery of kind, or perhaps not?) our main man lies about who is is, and WAM! That silly girl realizes she really does love him (and is written in a nice excuse to marry him and not her betrothed).
    • 5/5
      Out of all the John Carter books I think I enjoyed this one the best.Burroughs introduced a couple pretty strange Barsoom creatures in this story, the Kaldanes, and the Rykors. Two separate creatures but dependent on one another.The story was kind of halloweenish in one regard with the horrible looking Kaldanes and other events that involve superstitious fear of the Manatarians.The story also has a philosophical aspect of maintaining a healthy balance between mind and body.
    • 5/5
      truly outstanding interpretation of the book. very enjoyable dramatic reading
    • 2/5
      John Carter's daughter gets kidnapped, a lot.Indifferent. There are some interesting weird creatures early in the book. But most of it's garbage, with only Burroughs' ridiculous prose style to give it any entertainment value.
    • 2/5
      In this standard frame narrative, John Carter pays another visit to Earth to impart the story of how his headstrong daughter found herself a husband. Tara is the second most beautiful woman on Mars. (It should be noted that this complement doesn't comprehend very much as she is very nearly the only woman on Mars.) She has very few other characteristics besides being the daughter of John Carter and extremely concerned with maintaining family honor. When a freak windstorm sends her far from home, her newest admirer will go to any lengths in order to rescue her and win her affection.This book is formulaic in the extreme. Cannot recommend.