John Carter of Mars Books In Order

Publication Order of John Carter Of Mars Books

John Carter of Mars series is written by the author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who started writing about the adventure on Mars in the year 1911. Although everyone knows that life on Mars is not possible, but Burroughs’ writing is so natural and real that it makes people wonder sometimes. The tales of Mars are very fascinating and adventurous and the author went to the depth to give the timeless tales. Many people got inspired by the work of Edgar Rice Burrough and Carl Sagan, who is a scientist and Ray Bradbury, who is a writer acknowledged that their career rose because of the Martian tales given by Burroughs. A vast epic is created by Burroughs and the opening trilogy is considered among the most notorious work ever done in science fiction history. Barsoom, the name given to Mars by the Martians is a world with different kinds of creatures. Captain of the Confederate Army, John Carter is a person who somehow travels to Mars and finds a world that is dying, the ocean beds are dry and barbarians who rule there have four arms. The civilization is advanced on the planet, but is decaying and the world is full of savage combat and strange beasts, a place with no love, loyalty and honor. There are ten books written by author Edgar Rice Burroughs in John Carter of Mars series and it covers everything from the red planet and the excitement in all the books never go down, not even a bit. At the south pole of Barsoom, there is a River Iss to the Valley Dor, a sacred river where there are plant men that have flesh in their meals. Chess is played by the citizens in the city of Manator, the only difference is that they play with the life of the others and the game ends with death. If you want to transfer your brain into the body of someone else or even into the body some other creature like a giant ape, Ras Thavas is your man. He is also known as the Master Mind of Mars. The series is full of fun and adventure with anti-gravity fliers, the fight between the four armed creatures and John Carter is the center of attraction all the time.

One of the books in John Carter of Mars series written by author Burroughs is titled ‘The Warlord of Mars’ and All-Story Magazine first published the finished story in the year 1914 and the complete novel was published in September of the year 1919 by A. C. McClurg. In this book the vile pretender goddess named Issus has imprisoned Dejah Thoris, princess and wife of John Carter in the Temple of the Sun. There are two other women along with the princess who are locked in the cell and the cell is rotating slowly and it only opens once every Barsoomian year. Xodar, friend of John Carter is the black Martians First Born’s new Jeddak (king or chief) and the old religion has been rejected by the white Martian Therns and they also have a new leader. Including the Holy Hekkador Matai Shang, the erstwhile leader of Therns and some other still wants the old religion to keep going. Thurid is a First born and John Carter comes to know that the Temple of the Sun’s secret is known to him and he is trying to rescue Phaidor along with the help of Matai Shang. Phaidor is the daughter of the Holy Thern and is imprisoned in the rotating prison along with John Carter’s wife and princess Dejah Thoris and there is another princess along with them named Thuvia of Ptarth. Both of them have been locked in the prison for several hundred days and Carter follows them in the hope of rescuing his beloved wife. The three women are taken to the north by the antagonists. Kulan Tith is the Jeddak of a place on the planet’s opposite side named the Land of Kaol. They still follow the old religion and have joined hands with Matai Shang. There is an ambush on the forces of Jeddak, but they are rescued by Carter. Kaol makes him a good friend and a neighboring Jeddak.

Carter’s heresies are disguised and denounced by Thurid and Matai Shang, but Thuvan Dihn of Ptarth, the visiting jeddak and the father of Thuvia defends John Carter. Thurid and Matai Shand betray all of them and took Dejah Thoris and Thuvia along with them to the north. Due to this treachery the old religion is finally abjured by Kulam Tith and promises to provide all sort help that he can. Thereafter Thurid and Matai Shang are followed by John Carter in the polar region and he encounters Yellow Martians there. There John Carter and Thuvan Dihn come across Talu, who is ruling the yellow Martians and is tyrant Salensus Oll’s rebellious nephew. They somehow enter into the court of Salensus Oll, but Carter is thrown into a pit after he is discovered by Thurid and Matai Shang. Carter somehow escapes from the pit and during this time he rescues Mors Kajak and Tardos Mors of Helium. Soon a rebel generates among the Heliumite prisoners and when carter deactivates the magnetic tower of the yellow Martians the rebellion turns into an invasion. In the battle, Matai Shang and Thurid flee and Salensus Oll dies. Matai Shang and Thurid are followed by Carter and they go into an airship. Thrurid first kills Matai Shang by throwing him overboard and when he is about to do the same thing to Carter, Phaidor kills Thurid with a knife and is thrown overboard. Lastly, Phaidor recognizes the love between Dejah Thoris and carter and she repents the mistake of jealousy by jumping from the airship. Afterwards, Carter is given the title of ‘Warlord of Barsoom’ in the Zat Arrras’ trial by his allies.

Another book in John Carter of Mars series by author Burroughs is titled ‘Swords of Mars’ and Blue Book magazine first published it. In this book John Carter, along with his follower has started a private war against the Guild of Assassins. These assassins are led by Ur Jan and John Carter is trying to remove the threat from its root. The city of Zodanga that was once defeated by a horde of Tharks and the Empire of Helium is now the base of the Assassins. John Carter travels undercover into the city and calls himself as a freelance bravo called Vandor. He depicts himself as someone who is trying to penetrate the Guild’s ranks and does criminal Rapas called the Ulsio. At the same time he gets stuck in between the rivalry of two scientists. Gar Nal and Fal Sivas are two scientists who are a competitor of each other and are trying to create a spacecraft that can be controlled by ‘synthetic brain’. Complication starts when the Guild kidnaps Dejah Thoris, wife of John Carter and the princess of Helium. In the all the books written previously in John Carter of Mars series the fight goes off the planet for the first time. Thuria is the Martian moon and Ur Jan flee along with Gar Nal to this moon taking Dejah Thoris along with them. John Carter takes another spacecraft to the moon along with Zanda and Jat Or. Soon the moon that was looking tiny becomes the size of a big planet. The natives of Thuria capture all of them on the moon. They have blue hair, white skin and they worship the sun and call themselves Ladan. They are invisible to spacefarers because of the mental powers they posses. In order to get their freedom Carter has to join forces with the antagonists. They also take help of another prisoner who name is Umka and has one eye and two mouths. After heroic sacrifice and betrayal, they return to Mars, but Dejah is still not with Carter. It is revealed in the final twist that Gar Nal has Dejah Thoris, but Ur Jan has made a promise to carter before and hence returns his honor by dispatching Dejah.

2 Responses to “John Carter of Mars”

1. Palidyn ap Hewyl: 2 years ago

   Doubleday Publications reprinted the entire series in the 1970’s. You can find them via Amazon.

   Reply
2. Ian Juniper: 2 years ago

   I read four of the Martian series as a youngster in the 1950s and would love to read them (all?) again, Where can I obtain copies? I doubt whether any public libraries still have copies of them. The one about the breaking down atmosphere generating machine seems horribly relevant in the present world situation, but John Carter didn’t have gales and floods to contend with!

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