John Carter is prospecting in Arizona when he finds himself on the run from Apaches. He hides in a cave and is mysteriously transported to Mars! There he meets the Tharks, green martians who stand fifteen feet tall and have six arms. Carter discovers he has incredible strength on Mars because of the lesser gravity, and soon becomes a respected warrior. Carter soon meets Dejah Thoris, a princess of Mars from the red martian race. He rescues her and falls in love, but must fight to protect her. A Princess of Mars was originally serialized in All Story Magazine back in 1912. Edgar Rice Burroughs was worried that the far-out nature of the tale would make it difficult for him to keep a job because employers would think he was too strange, so he asked for Under the Moons of Mars (as it was called when it ran in the magazine) to have Normal Bean as the author to drive home the fact that he was still a regular guy. Alas, the typesetter thought Normal was a typo, so the author was presented as Norman Bean. A Princess of Mars was made into a fun movie by Disney, but it tanked at the box office, so the further adventures are unlikely to make it to the silver screen any time soon. A Princess of Mars is a classic science fiction Romance (with a capital R) and has been influential on authors, artists and filmmakers from James Cameron to Ray Bradbury. Carl Sagan had a map of Barsoom hanging in the hallway outside his Cornell University office.

Author Biography

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was an American writer best known for creating Tarzan and John Carter. He wrote science fiction, fantasy, adventure, westerns, and others. His work influenced so many people, it would be impossible to name them all, but the list includes James Cameron, Ray Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein, Michael Crichton, Carl Sagan, George Lucas, Jack Vance, and others.