Review by Tony Vicory
When
people are in love, they often make hyperbolic promises. “For you, I’d swim an
ocean!” “I’d climb the highest mountain!” “I’d do your taxes!” Of course, these
promises very rarely come to anything, and most of us would probably back off
should the chance to fulfill them actually arrive.
However, for Captain John
Carter of Virginia, an earthman mysteriously transported to Mars, a promise
made is a promise kept, and for his beloved, a princess of that distant
planet, he’ll cross dangerous terrain, defy gravity, do battle with monstrous
hordes, and topple ancient civilizations — just to win her “incomparable” hand.
(No wonder this Southern gentleman is science-fiction’s most enduring
hero, and one of literature’s finest, not to mention the inspiration for
Superman, Star Wars, Avatar and countless other pale imitations.)
John Carter’s debut in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ timeless adventure novel, A
Princess of Mars, stands tall even today, over a century after its original
publication in 1912, and packs more romance and thrills into its 198 pages than
most books deliver in twice that count. Never mind the cheesy cover. Never mind
the recent film adaptation. Never mind that voice in your ear saying, “I’d
sooner crack open my own skull!” A Princess of Mars is one of the best
books you’ve never read: a classic for the ages, filled with chivalry and
passion, suspense and derring-do, humor and — well, the occasional ten-legged
space dog. Sure, it’s a hard sell, but give it a few chapters; chances are,
you’ll find it even harder to put down.
Request it here.
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