A Princess of Mars

A Princess of Mars is Edgar Rice Burroughs first novel in his "John Carter of Mars" book series. It is the story of John Carter; John describes himself as not knowing how old he is or of ever having a childhood, but of always being about 30 years old. A Civil War veteran, he fought for the south, and who after the war went west to make his fortune hunting for gold in Arizona. While being attacked by Indians, he is thrust from his body by some means never explained in the novel and finds himself naked and alone on Mars. It turns out the while on Mars he has very superman like powers; you know the ability to leap tall building, super strength, etc. John finds that there are 2 types of Martians, the Green Martians, and the red Martians. The green ones are a nomadic people who resemble North America's Indian culture as envisioned by someone writing a novel in 1917. The Red aliens are the more civilized, human-like aliens, although all reproduce by laying eggs, live to be about 1000 years old and are ultra-violent. Gun fire and sword fighting ensue, with John Carter being instrumental in "taming" the wild Green aliens, oh yeah and he marries a princess, and lives out 10 years on Mars before being dragged back to Earth, again by some unknown power.

I can see why this is considered a Science Fiction classic. It is full of action and adventure, sword and gun play and battles for the control of the planet of Mars. The story also ends in what can only be described as a cliff-hanger, which harkens back to the serials found in Newspapers, radio dramas and movies of the time. My problem with the novel is the overall attitude of Mr. Burroughs main character. He is the "White Savior", the civilized mind among a planet of uneducated savages. I had the distinct feeling that John Carter looks down his nose at the people of Mars. And even though he comes to be accepted by both the red and the green Martians, he always feels he is better than these backwater people. That did not stop him from taking a native bride, and one does get the impression that he loves his Red Martian Princess at the end of the novel. I guess I would have liked it more if I just tried to enjoy the novel without trying to make it into a political statement on the treatment of Native populations by white explorers. Damn you 21st century political correctness. 3.5 out of 5 stars.