 | By: Edgar Rice Burroughs Binding: Mass Market Paperback Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc. ISBN: 0345278356 ISBN-13: 9780345278357 Released: 27 Aug 1981 RRP: Average Rating:  |
Yes, John Carter returns to Mars after 10 years absence, & finds himself in a paradise. But ironicallly, 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 & plant men to slaughter thousands of religious pilgrims. I'm not spoiling the plot at alll, since this becomes clear in the first two or three chapters.
Again, there's a deep bond between the hero, John Carter, & a brave & 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 & 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 usuallly can get in the stride. These books read fast-- you can't put them down. The heroines are GORGEOUS-- but the language is "clean" & 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.
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