Reviews for John Carter's Chronicles of Mars

The average rating for John Carter's Chronicles of Mars based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-04-06 00:00:00 David Benedetti Whatever you do, do not read all three books one after the other without pause. I did and by the end had developed an overwhelming urge to punch a certain Virginian gentleman in the face. Yes, the writing is from a different time when attitudes were substantially different to what they are now. Yes, these novels are an early example of the sci-fi genre so we can expect them to be a bit formulaic. But after a while the whole "supremacy of man" schtick, (particularly white anglo-saxon man) gets a little bit tiresome. And it's made worse by the complete and utter lack of suspense. It becomes remarkably apparent very early on that Messr Carter and his friends are all but invulnerable while those who play the role of the villains will meet a messy, and terminal, end.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-07-30 00:00:00 Seth Johnson A series of rip-roaring, thigh-slapping, red-blooded (and sometimes green-blooded) pulp adventure yarns within Burrough's vividly imagined Martian setting of Barsoom. It's astonishing to think that Burroughs wrote the first of these highly imaginative tales in 1911. The plots get a bit samey after a while - let's face it there's only so far you can stretch the 'impossibly muscular, combat-worthy rough-diamond hero chases across half the world to rescue his impossibly-beautiful-but-feisty princess' theme before it gets a bit tired. But the thing that keeps you reading is Burrough's raw, unrestrained creativity, and the passion and excitement that comes through in his writing. These stories straddle the boundaries between science, fantasy and weird fiction in their flavour, but never lack a healthy dose (some might say an overdose!) of good old-fashioned swashbuckling romance. On Barsoom, men are real men, women are real women, and giant green four-armed people with antennae and eyes on the sides of their heads are real giant green four-armed people with antennae and eyes on the sides of their heads. (Well, OK, so I only added that sentence to qualify for a super review!)