Deborah
ENGL 3850-02N
Sci-Fi Lit
Dr. Coats
13 February, 1997
A Princess of Mars
A Princess of Mars, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs in serial form, was first printed in 1912. It reads like a novelization of an adventure movie. If the reader has a vivid imagination, he will experience this novel in the manner ERB intended. A hero from Earth wakes up on Mars naked, helpless, and soon taken captive. However, through his Humanity, he leads his former Martian captors into a new era of peace and cooperation they never dreamed possible. When utter destruction threatens his new home, he alone has the capability to save it.
I was immediately enraptured by this book. In contrast to the often less-than-swift passages in H.G. Wells' The War of The Worlds, A Princess of Mars moves rapidly and does not seem to slow down until the very last pages. It is more like a roller coaster than a novel. I was raised in an era when speed-- in cars, park rides, movies, and music-- was the measure of quality. The faster the (fill in your word here), the better. I read this novel at a fast clip, closed it, then reopened it and read it again. This is high praise, indeed, from a "speed" addict.
Mars is seen in this novel as a "final frontier," to borrow a phrase. Captain John Carter, a former Confederate officer, has pushed West to seek his fortune. The West was considered by many to be the last untouched wilderness.