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Book Review: A Princess of Mars

    Hey, everyone. I am currently reading several books. I received several as Christmas gifts and they are all interesting, forcing me to shuttle between them. I think we can agree that this is not the optimum way to read a book. I just finished a book which I have read many times before called A Princess Of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. You can pick this book up free of charge as an e-book, on most of the on-line stores. Here's the recipe. John Carter is a southern gentleman from Virginia. He is prospecting for gold in the western United States when he is transported to Mars through a magical spell, dream, or hallucination. When he arrives on Mars, he has the ability to jump 40 feet, has great strength and is, in general, a superman.
    John has always been a warlike guy and his penchant for swordplay stands him in good stead, because Mars is a warlike planet. They have Radium Guns, which can dissolve metal, but swordplay is highly popular.
    John's first exposure to Martians is to a race of giant green men. They stand 10 or 12 feet tall and have 4 arms and 2 legs. John is captured by these less than charming creatures. They have none of the higher emotions, as a rule, but he does make one friend, the mighty Tars Tarkas.
     John, being white, is an object of curiosity. The principle races of Mars seem to be the green men and the red men. They are perpetually at war with one another. When a red woman is captured by the green warriors, John Carter falls in love with the beautiful Dejah Thoris. She is a Princess of Helium. Not the gas, but the city. Fortunately for John, she is neither 10 feet tall, nor does she have 4 arms. She is, in most ways, anatomically comparable with earth women.
     Without giving away too much of the plot, let me say that this is the story of John Carter's struggle to return the lovely Dejah Thoris to her home and to learn to survive on a planet which has to manufacture its own atmosphere. Also, it appears that he is not even in the same time period as he was on earth. Can he return to earth? Would he even want to, with a fine lady like Dejah Thoris available? Check it out. By the way, you may as well go ahead and download The Gods of Mars while you're at it. It is the second book of this series. There are 11 or 12 of these in the series. You will enjoy them, if you like sci-fi. Also, they are strictly 'G' rated, so they would be fine for your youngsters as well. Some of the high ideals represented would certainly be a plus for a youngster, I would think. Things like loyalty and honor. All that stuff.
     From the surface of Barsoom (Mars), this is CE Wills.
P.S. By the way, a movie about this character is coming out in March. It is a Disney movie and it is titled John Carter of Mars.

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