A Princess of Mars

A year before Tarzan made his debut in a 1912 issue of ALL-STORY MAGAZINE, his creator penned this novel about a former Confederate captain mysteriously transported to the Martian kingdom of Barsoom, where he battles tall four-armed creatures in order to rescue Princess Deja Thoris. The Mars series, which ran for 11 novels, was eclipsed by the Tarzan novels but has remained popular among adventure and science fiction devotees. This reading by Dennis McKee comes across as flat and dreary, undermining the heroic, swashbuckling spirit of the novel. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

A Princess Of Mars (1912) is arguably the most influential science fiction novel of the twentieth century. It was the first novel from the man who would create Tarzan of the Apes, and most science fiction novelists and many scientists (notably, Carl Sagan) credit it and Burroughs's gigantic later output for their fascination with space. The novel exudes tremendous energy, even in this abridgment. Winiarski's voice is mature, his characters well distinguished, his pacing more contemplative, in keeping with the narrative tone. As Burroughs's books pass out of copyright, we can expect to see a flood of his titles in audio format. D.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

A century after its serial publication in a magazine, this book has found new popularity with the film JOHN CARTER. Narrator Scott Brick brings to the production a wealth of experience with science fiction books that have long explicatory passages and many battles. As the first-person narrator to whom John Carter told his story, Brick recounts the adventures of the hero, who starts out as a prospector in Arizona. When John Carter is pursued by Apaches, he takes refuge in a cave, is overcome by a gas, and wakes up on Mars. Once there, he becomes one of the green Martian horde, falls in love with a princess, and hurls himself from one exploit to another. Brick's introspective delivery adds dimension to this popular example of interplanetary pulp fiction. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine