The John Carter Trilogy of Edgar Rice Burroughs

A Princess of Mars; The Gods of Mars; A Warlord of Mars

De: Finn J.D. John, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Narrado por: Finn J.D. John

This Annotated Omnibus Edition contains the first three novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian tales (the Barsoom series).

The first of these novels, A Princess of Mars, was Burroughs' first book, and he wrote the next two novels in quick succession. Together they tell the story of John Carter of Mars - how he came to Mars, met the love of his life, and quickly found himself occupied full-time defending her and saving his adopted planet from interplanetary evildoers.

This trilogy opened the doors of popular science fiction to an entire nation and world. It launched the original pulp science fiction storyworld and series, often imitated but never duplicated, and has inspired four generations of young sci-fi and fantasy writers, artists, moviemakers and videogame designers.

And, of course, it's a ripping great story.

This Pulp-Lit Press Annotated Omnibus Edition takes those three novels together as a coherent story. Each is gracefully and unobtrusively annotated, to help the modern reader put it in the proper literary and historical context for maximum reading enjoyment. All annotations are presented together in a single chapter, easily skipped by readers who prefer to get on with the story.

©2014 Finn J.D. John (P)2014 Finn J.D. John

I Love the annotations.

the annotations are great, well worth the Credit. You can tell the Narrator has a love for the series and does an excellent job.

Visionary Pulp Fiction at its best!

What can anyone really say about ERB? He was the pulp fiction master and writing serials like these for publication in the early 1900’s. Listening to them in this context is a window into the mindset of that era. I also found the “notes” on each book to be interesting and insightful.

Moreover, it is fun to consider just how many of the images of his creations are currently reflected in reality and the differences between the two. One really has to give the man credit for creative thinking.

That said, this reading perhaps would have been more satisfying if the reader would have familiarized himself with the common pronunciations of common words that appear throughout the store such as “sword,” “craven,” “succor,” “tumult,” “genera,” and “accoutrement” to name but a few. The way they were pronounced stopped the story in my head like a truck hitting a brick wall every time it happened.

Trilogy

I loved the series. Good reader. I can visualize the story as it is being read.

Great Series, bad narration

The narrator really struggles with long sentences, which are quite common in Edgar Rice Borroughs' wordy writing style.

Very entertaining but don't like the narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'd recommend someone to buy this and read it, but not buy this book on audible. This trilogy is so full of detail and feeling that I don't feel the narrator does a sufficient job portraying the story in a way that would keep most readers further interested.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The John Carter Trilogy of Edgar Rice Burroughs?

I love the conversation that Carter has with Deja, when in captivity, about love amongst the inhabitants on Mars.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Finn J.D. John?

He talks too fast and sometimes blends critical thoughts in the story with those that are less impactful to the detailing of the storyline. I feel like he tries too hard to carry out his own takes from these stories and emphasize there impact to the reader. Each reader should determine which elements are most important to them in a book, not have a narrator predetermine and point it out.

Good story, bad production

The author’s tone does not match that of an otherworldly action adventure. He sounds like he’s talking about the mundane facts of life on a podcast.

Beyond that, the technical issues are present. He misread the story and they leave it in as he restarted the sentence. There’s long pauses after each chapter. I would seek out a different recording

The John Carter Trilogy

After reading an article recently on Disney’s movie, John Carter of Mars, I learn that it was in fact based on a book and a trilogy!
It is fascinating to think that this was written between 1910-14. Listen to the synopsis’ after each chapter, Great story!

Excellent annotations

The reading and annotations were excellent. I read the series as a teen and was a big fan. Now some 35 years later I was able to enjoy once again but through a more mature and different lens. JD Finn does a great job as a narrator and listening to the annotations was as enjoyable as the book.

Classic

A Princess of Mars

This book, written more than 100 years ago, is still entertaining today. For its time, it was absolutely remarkable, but it definitely shows that age.

As a piece of adventure fiction, it's fast moving, with interesting aliens, a world that feels very different from earth, and a plot that carries you along. That said, even for its time it's rather more fantasy than SF (though that changes a bit in later volumes in the series).

Still worth a look today, both for its entertaining writing and its historical interest.

The Gods of Mars

After the sudden and unexpected ending of the previous book in the series, Carter finds himself back on Mars a decade after his first visit. In the process, he needs to rescue his wife from yet another horrible fate.

Decent action, harmed considerably by the contrived cliff-hanger ending. The weakest book of the three in this package.

The Warlord of Mars

Non-stop action, ranging from the south pole to the north pole of Mars. One escape from certain death after another and one near rescue of Dejah Thoris after another, each foiled either by enemies or coincidence.

This book probably doesn't deserve 4 stars, but with its age and the influence of this series on the history of SF, I'm giving it 4 stars anyway. The action, while driven by coincidence and auctorial artifice, is entertaining throughout and the relentless drive of the story is very memorable.

Recommended, but only if you can take it on its own terms and with the understanding that the art of novel writing has advanced tremendously in the last 111 years.

Overall, this omnibus is valuable for what it did for science fiction and for its endurance. It would not be seen as brilliant if it were published today, but much that is brilliant today would likely not exist if it weren't for this series.

John F-ING CARTER

awesome book in and of itself I wish there was more in this trilogy but then that would make it longer