Plot summary
Mars, a world with a culture ages older than that of Earth, is a dying world, and has been in decline for eons. By the twenty-second century it has become a colony of the younger civilization of Earth, its natives oppressed by the rapacious Colonial Authority.
In a ruined city, Terran outlaw and prospector Jim Brant discovers two native women who have been staked out and left to die for the offense of loving each other. He frees the couple, named Zuarra and Suoli. Their affection has not survived the experience, as Suoli betrayed cowardice when left to their fate, in contrast to the stoic Zuarra.
The ill-sorted trio soon encounters other wanderers in the waste, Terran archeologist Will Harbin and his native guide Agila, a strong figure to whom the dependent Suoli soon attaches herself. This brings new complications, as Agila is a fugitive from the bandit chief Tuan, from whom he stole an ancient disc engraved with a treasure map.
The combined party follows the map to a cave containing a stairwell descending into unknown depths. Exploring to see where it leads, they discover a huge cavern containing an underground sea. They have been trailed, however, by Tuan's bandits, who capture them and propose to burn Agila alive. The operation is interrupted by children riding giant dragonflies, which carry everyone away to their base, the floating raft-city of Zhar.
The Zharians are a nation of innocents, primitive but possessed of strong psychic powers. Agila and Suoli, taking advantage of their hosts' seeming weakness, attempt to rob the sea people's prince Azuri, whom they end up killing. Shocked and offended, the remaining Zharians demonstrate their power by psychically suffocating the two and compelling the rest of the outsiders to reconcile and return to the surface.
Back in the Martian wastes, Brant's party and Tuan's bandits all part ways. Brant and Zuarra, now an item, intend to wed.
Reception
Den Valdron, assessing the series in ERBzine, rates the book as the least interesting of the series, "but each has their [sic] particular strengths." Over all, he feels "[t]here’s something a little extra in his Martian novels that puts them at the upper registers of Carter’s work," and "commend[s] them to the reader." [1]
J. G. Huckenpohler, also writing in ERBzine, rated the series "among my favorites" of Carter's stories, "show[ing] more originality" than Carter's Zanthodon and Callisto books. Nonetheless, he "found them to be uneven," growing "increasingly repetitious, the last two [including "Sea"] especially." He considers it "the weakest and most derivative of the four [novels], drawing plot elements from Verne, Burroughs, and Brackett, among others," but credits it "for blending them in an imaginative way." It shares what he identifies as the sequence's standard plot: "[a] Terran outlaw, an older Dok-i-tar, a Martian sidekick, originally an enemy, and a Martian girl find a lost city known only to the oldest legends of the Martians, unlock its secrets, and either remain as its rulers or escape to begin a new life." [2]
The novel was also reviewed by Don D'Ammassa in Science Fiction Chronicle no. 60, September 1984, and William M. Schuyler, Jr. in Fantasy Review, October 1984. [3]
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American speculative fiction writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction and fantasy genres. His most well-known creations include Tarzan of the Apes, John Carter of Mars and Carson Napier of Venus.
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The Chessmen of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fifth of his Barsoom series. Burroughs began writing it in January, 1921, and the finished story was first published in Argosy All-Story Weekly as a six-part serial in the issues for February 18 and 25 and March 4, 11, 18 and 25, 1922. It was later published as a complete novel by A. C. McClurg in November 1922.
The Master Mind of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the sixth of his Barsoom series. Burroughs' working titles for the novel were A Weird Adventure on Mars and Vad Varo of Barsoom. It was first published in the magazine Amazing Stories Annual vol. 1, on July 15, 1927. The first book edition was published by A. C. McClurg in March, 1928.
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Black Legion of Callisto is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the second in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in December 1972, and reprinted twice through January 1974. The first British edition was published by Orbit Books in 1975. It was later gathered together with Jandar of Callisto into the omnibus collection Callisto: Volume 1 (2000). The book includes an appendix collating background information from this and the previous volume.
Jandar of Callisto is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the first in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in December 1972, and reprinted twice through September 1977. The first British edition was published by Orbit Books in 1974. It was later gathered together with Black Legion of Callisto into the omnibus collection Callisto: Volume 1 (2000). The book includes a map of Callisto as envisioned in the story.
The Man Who Loved Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the first in his Edgar Rice Burroughs- and Leigh Brackett-inspired series The Mysteries of Mars. It was first published in paperback by Fawcett Gold Medal in March 1973. The first British edition was published in hardcover by White Lion in August of the same year. It was reissued by Wildside Press in December 1999. The novel has also been translated into German.
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Zanthodon is a science fiction novel by American writer Lin Carter, the second in his series about the fictional "Hollow Earth" land of Zanthodon. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1980, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in October 2018. It was also gathered together with the other volumes in the series into the omnibus ebook collection The Zanthodon Megapack.
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Darya of the Bronze Age is a science fiction novel by American writer Lin Carter, the fourth in his series about the fictional "Hollow Earth" land of Zanthodon. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in September 1981, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in October 2018. It was also gathered together with the other volumes in the series into the omnibus ebook collection The Zanthodon Megapack.
Eric of Zanthodon is a science fiction novel by American writer Lin Carter, the fifth and last in his series about the fictional "Hollow Earth" land of Zanthodon. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1982, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in October 2018. It was also gathered together with the other volumes in the series into the omnibus ebook collection The Zanthodon Megapack.
