Book Review: A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

John Carter is awesome. I know this, because John Carter told me so. Everyone is impressed by John Carter. I know this, because John Carter said so. Dejah Thoris is beautiful. I know this, because John Carter said so. Dejah Thoris is incomparable. I know this, because John Carter told me so.

And for these reasons of awesome impressive incomparableness, these two fine specimens of Earthan and Martian perfection fell in love. The fact that they wear very little clothing may also have had something to do with their fated romance.

Oh who am I kidding. I’d totally fall for this too. Dejah Thoris by Artgerm

To be fair, this is pulp fiction and I assume the “story” told here is standard for the time and genre. Maybe if I read it back then, I’d appreciate it more. Maybe if read the comic version instead, I’d appreciate Dejah Thoris’ jewel covered pretty bits and John Carter’s manly manliness more. For now, I can safely confirm that  this style of writing just doesn’t work for me, though I’ll give credit to Burroughs’ rich descriptions of the planet and its inhabitants. Plus “Barsoom” (a.k.a. Mars) is really fun to say.

My husband and I watched the movie prior to me reading the book and it wasn’t bad at all. Clearly it suffered from Disney’s poor marketing decision, but otherwise, it was a passable film and thankfully it did not follow the story it originated from too closely, at least in terms of characterization. I don’t think it would have translated very well in our times. Instead, they opted to make the story a bit more interesting and slightly less about John Carter being awesome. Most importantly, Dejah Thoris got to serve a greater purpose than mere trophy princess.