John Carter of Mars (collection)

Last updated
John Carter of Mars
John carter of mars burroughs cover.jpg
Dust-jacket of first edition
Author Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Coleman Burroughs
LanguageEnglish
Series Barsoom
Genre Science fantasy
Publisher Canaveral Press
Publication date
1964
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Preceded by Llana of Gathol  

John Carter of Mars is the eleventh and final book in the Barsoom series by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is not a novel, but rather a collection of two John Carter of Mars stories.

Contents

The first story was originally published in 1940 by Whitman as a Better Little Book entitled John Carter of Mars. Although credited to Edgar Rice Burroughs, it was written (and illustrated) by his son, John Coleman Burroughs [1] and was later expanded and re-published in the January issue of Amazing Stories in 1941 as "John Carter and the Giant of Mars", the name it goes under in the collection. [2]

The second story, "Skeleton Men of Jupiter", was first published in Amazing Stories in 1943. Intended as the first in a series of novelettes to be later collected in book form, in the fashion of Llana of Gathol , it ends with the plot unresolved, and the intended sequels were never written. Several other writers have written pastiche endings for the story.[ citation needed ]

The first edition of John Carter of Mars (a title that Burroughs never used for any book in the Barsoom series) was published in 1964 by Canaveral Press, fourteen years after his death.

Cover of the "Better Little Book" John Carter of Mars. JohnCarterBetter.jpg
Cover of the "Better Little Book" John Carter of Mars.

Reception

This book is not highly regarded by fans of the Barsoom series and is generally considered something of an afterthought. However, in the book Master of Adventure: The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs , Richard A. Lupoff, the editor of the 1964 Canaveral Press edition of John Carter of Mars, writes that it is interesting for its contrast between "real" Burroughs (Skeleton Men of Jupiter) and "ersatz" Burroughs (John Carter and the Giant of Mars).

The copyright for this book has expired in Australia, and thus now resides in the public domain there. The text is available via Project Gutenberg Australia.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Rice Burroughs</span> American writer (1875–1950)

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he also wrote the Pellucidar series, the Amtor series, and the Caspak trilogy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Carter of Mars</span> Fictional character who appears in the Barsoom novels

John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian soldier who acts as the initial protagonist of the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A veteran of the American Civil War, he is transported to the planet Mars, called Barsoom by its inhabitants, where he becomes a warrior battling various mythological beasts, alien armies and malevolent foes. Created in 1911, the character has appeared in novels and short stories, comic books, television shows and films, including the 2012 feature film John Carter, which marked the 100th anniversary of the character's first appearance.

<i>A Fighting Man of Mars</i> 1931 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

A Fighting Man of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the seventh of his Barsoom series. Burroughs began writing it on February 28, 1929, and the finished story was first published in The Blue Book Magazine as a six-part serial in the issues for April to September 1930. It was later published as a complete novel by Metropolitan in May 1931.

<i>A Princess of Mars</i> 1912 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

A Princess of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine from February–July, 1912. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the novel is considered a classic example of 20th-century pulp fiction. It is also a seminal instance of the planetary romance, a subgenre of science fantasy that became highly popular in the decades following its publication. Its early chapters also contain elements of the Western. The story is set on Mars, imagined as a dying planet with a harsh desert environment. This vision of Mars was based on the work of the astronomer Percival Lowell, whose ideas were widely popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

<i>Thuvia, Maid of Mars</i> 1916 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Thuvia, Maid of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourth of the Barsoom series. The principal characters are Carthoris and Thuvia of Ptarth, each of whom appeared in the previous two novels.

<i>The Gods of Mars</i> 1913 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Gods of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs and the second of Burroughs' Barsoom series. It features the characters of John Carter and Carter's wife Dejah Thoris. It was first published in The All-Story as a five-part serial in the issues for January–May 1913. It was later published as a complete novel by A. C. McClurg in September, 1918 and in many editions subsequently.

<i>The Warlord of Mars</i> 1914 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Warlord of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the third of his Barsoom series. Burroughs began writing it in June, 1913, going through five working titles; Yellow Men of Barsoom, The Fighting Prince of Mars, Across Savage Mars, The Prince of Helium, and The War Lord of Mars.

<i>The Chessmen of Mars</i> 1922 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

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.

<i>The Master Mind of Mars</i> 1928 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

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.

<i>Pirates of Venus</i> 1932 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Pirates of Venus is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first book in the Venus series, the last major series in Burroughs's career. It was first serialized in six parts in Argosy in 1932 and published in book form two years later by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. The events occur on a fictionalized version of the planet Venus, known as "Amtor" to its inhabitants.

<i>John Carter, Warlord of Mars</i> Marvel Comics series

John Carter, Warlord of Mars is a comics series published from 1977 by American company Marvel Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman (writer) and Gil Kane (penciller), it was based on the Barsoom series of Edgar Rice Burroughs and featured the eponymous character.

<i>Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation</i> 1905 novel by Edwin Lester Arnold

Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation is a novel by English writer Edwin Lester Arnold, combining elements of both fantasy and science fiction, first published in 1905. Its lukewarm reception led Arnold to stop writing fiction. It has since become his best-known work, and is considered important in the development of 20th century science fiction in that it is a precursor and likely inspiration to Edgar Rice Burroughs's classic A Princess of Mars (1917), which spawned the planetary romance and sword and planet genres. Ace Books reprinted Arnold's novel in paperback in 1964, retitling it Gulliver [sic] of Mars. A more recent Bison Books edition (2003) was issued as Gullivar of Mars, adapting the Ace title to Arnold's spelling.

<i>Tarzan and the Foreign Legion</i> Novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan and the Foreign Legion is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the twenty-second in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. The book, written June–September 1944 while Burroughs was living in Honolulu and published in 1947, was the last new work by Burroughs to be published during his life. The novel is set during World War II in Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. The term "foreign legion" does not refer to the French Foreign Legion, but is the name given in the book to a small international force fighting the Empire of Japan.

<i>Swords of Mars</i> 1935 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Swords of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the eighth of his Barsoom series. It was first published in the magazine Blue Book as a six-part serial in the issues for November 1934 to April 1935. The first book edition was published by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in February 1936.

"Mars: The Home Front" is a short story by American writer George Alec Effinger, published in the 1996 anthology War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches. It is a crossover between H. G. Wells' 1898 novel The War of the Worlds and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series.

<i>Synthetic Men of Mars</i> 1940 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Synthetic Men of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the ninth of his Barsoom series. It was first published in the magazine Argosy Weekly in six parts in early 1939. The first complete edition of the novel was published in 1940 by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

<i>Llana of Gathol</i> 1941 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Llana of Gathol is a collection of four science fantasy stories by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, which were originally published in Amazing Stories in 1941. The first collected edition of Llana of Gathol was published in 1948 with an apparently new foreword. It is the penultimate book in the Barsoom series and the last to be published during Burroughs's lifetime.

<i>Barsoom</i> Fictional representation of the planet Mars

Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The first Barsoom tale was serialized as Under the Moons of Mars in pulp magazine The All-Story from February to July 1912 and published compiled as a novel as A Princess of Mars in 1917. It features John Carter, a late-19th-century American Confederate veteran who is mysteriously transported from Earth to the dying world of Mars where he meets and romances the beautiful Martian princess Dejah Thoris. Ten sequels followed over the next three decades, further extending his vision of Barsoom and adding other characters.

<i>Amazing Stories Annual</i> Science fiction magazine

Amazing Stories Annual was a pulp magazine which published a single issue in July 1927. It was edited by Hugo Gernsback, and featured the first publication of The Master Mind of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which had been rejected by several other magazines, perhaps because the plot included a satire on religious fundamentalism. The other stories in Amazing Stories Annual were reprints, including two stories by A. Merritt, and one by H.G. Wells. The magazine sold out, and its success led Gernsback to launch Amazing Stories Quarterly the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulysses Paxton</span> Fictional character

Ulysses Paxton is a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his novel The Master Mind of Mars. Within the narrative framework of the novel, Captain Paxton, United States Army Infantry, is a fan of Burroughs' Barsoom series, and after having a shell blow off his legs during trench warfare in World War I, he finds himself drawn across the gulfs of space to Mars like John Carter before him. He sends Burroughs a first person manuscript of his adventures on the dying planet, which Burroughs publishes.

References

"John Carter and the Giant of Mars" was the cover story in the January 1941 Amazing Stories Amazing stories 194101.jpg
"John Carter and the Giant of Mars" was the cover story in the January 1941 Amazing Stories
  1. Bleiler, Everett Franklin; Bleiler, Richard (1990). Science Fiction, the Early Years . Kent State University Press. p.  101. ISBN   0-87338-416-4.
  2. "JCB 0335: John Coleman Burroughs".