The Gods of Mars (John Carter of Mars)

I just finished rereading this remarkable adventure story, and must say, some of the capsule summaries above leave a bit to be desired.
Yes, John Carter returns to Mars after 10 years absence, and finds himself in a paradise. But ironically, it's a paradise that soon turns into a kind of violent warring hell. The plant men are only the beginning. The bitterest enemies are a race of almost diabolical priests, the Tharns, who set loose white apes and plant men to slaughter thousands of religious pilgrims. I'm not spoiling the plot at all, since this becomes clear in the first two or three chapters.
Again, there's a deep bond between the hero, John Carter, and a brave and stunning young woman named Thuvia. John Carter, a warlord, is not content to merely escape. He must somehow end this evil empire of hypocritical priests and mass slaughter.
One fine element is the reintroduction of the green warrior chieftan, John's dear friend from the first novel in the series.
There are strains of deeper thought woven throughout. For example, the biting satire against mindless "fanatic" religions.
Heck of a book. Burroughs writes in a style that would seem a bit heavy today. But after a chapter or two, the reader usually can get in the stride. These books read fast-- you can't put them down. The heroines are GORGEOUS-- but the language is "clean" and the books can be recommended for teens. The description-- often in battle scenes-- is up to anything written in adventure science fiction today. This book was written-- amazingly-- in about 1917.

It'll be hard to write this review without including spoilers, but I'll give it a shot.
The main problem I had with The Gods Of Mars is its inconsistent depiction of John Carter's intelligence. Carter's supposed to be this brilliant guy, a master strategist, a think-on-his-feet kind of fella who can puzzle his way out of any dilemma, no matter how difficult. So why is it that when he is presented with something so simple as the "mystery" of the identity of one of the major characters, said identity being so glaringly obvious that the reader has it figured out within a paragraph of the character's introduction, it takes Carter SEVERAL CHAPTERS to figure out who this guy is?
This inconsistency (not the only one, I'm afraid), isn't really all that bothersome in and of itself, but it's problematic in that it (sin of sins!) takes the reader out of the story. In a novel like The Gods Of Mars, all you've GOT is story. Anything that takes you out of it is therefore a major flaw.
I still enjoyed a lot of The Gods Of Mars, and will probably read The Warlord Of Mars (the next book in the series) if for no other reason than to see how TGOM's cliffhanger ending is resolved (yes, I admit it, I wanna find out). I just hope it's an improvement upon its predecessor.

It would be difficult for this book to top its predecessor. In fact I would say this is a step down from A Princess of Mars in general quality. However, A Princess of Mars is, in my opinion, the best story ever written. If you're looking for an interesting, fun sequel, this book delivers well. John Carter returns to Mars after a ten year exile on Earth. There he is reunited with his old friend Tars Tarkas. Together they fight their way through the Martian "heaven" (which turns out to be a living hell) past giant apes, plant men and false gods. Along the way they meet new people, discover hidden races of "gods," and find new quests.
However, this book fails to reunite John Carter with his wife Dejah Thoris until late in the book (very late in the book). Their relationship was always my favorite part of the original, A Princess of Mars. Naturally, I am a bit disappointed in this. However, I feel that The Gods of Mars holds up better than most sequels--it is fun and exciting, and returns the reader to one of the most interesting worlds ever conceived in all of fiction. As an avid Sci Fi reader, I can honestly say this is one of the better science fiction books I have read.

ERB is a pioneer in science fiction and I can see the influence his work has had on many of my favorite authors. What I find truely amazing about this story is that deals with things such as aerial warfare but was written in 1913 when people were still debating if airplanes could ever have military value.
Although the author was looking to the future with life on Mars and flying battleships, his values are anchored in the Victorian era. John Carter looks to fight the good fight, rescue the damsels in distress and still stay true to his princess. He's a think man's Conan and a monogumous James Bond all rolled into one. The plot line takes several unexpected turns and your pulse will be pounding as the story builds towards its climax.
The story is written in the flowery prose that were typical of the Victorian era and it takes a little getting used to. As another reviewer mentioned, you just need to slow down, sit back and enjoy this one. It's definately worth it.
The copy I had was about a few years old and the binding completely came apart and as I tried to keep the pages in order while reading I felt like I had uncovered a first addition from 1913. Normally, I would not have been to happy about that, but given the situation it just added charachter to the experience.
If you pick this book up, make sure you also get a copy of the next book in the series "Warlord of Mars". Once you finish "Gods of Mars" you'll want to jump right into the next book.

The Martian Tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs continue in this second entry into the saga. While the initial novel (A PRINCESS OF MARS) had a lot of elements to put into place when introducing readers to this new world of wonders, THE GODS OF MARS allows us to leap into the action much more quickly. Old friends join John Carter against new foes and threats. Exotic creatures and alien locales make you wonder why Hollywood took so long to bring any of these books to the screen. (Although they certainly helped themselves when it came to "borrowing" character types and concepts for film and television over the years.) These books make the perfect way to spend a wintery weekend or lazy summer evening.

The Viking lander in the 70's proved there was no life on Mars. If you just forget that while reading this book you will enjoy it from beginning to end. Gods of Mars takes place ten years after the first John Carter Mars book, A Princess of Mars, but you really don't have to read it to enjoy this one. Another note, this there is a John Carter of Mars movie in the works due out some time in 2006-(7?). Check out this imdb link to learn more:

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Was very happy to get this book. I started reading this series a couple of years back and have been wanting to collect it since.

Nothing needs to be said here... Burroughs!

Great book

Must have if your a fan of his work