"The Warlord of Mars" (1914) is the 3rd of ll John Carter novels from the pen of Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is a direct continuation of the first two in the series--"A Princess of Mars" and "The Gods of Mars"--and a reading of those earlier titles is absolutely essential before going into this one. Here, Carter tries to rescue his princess, Dejah Thoris, from the clutches of some particularly nasty villains. In his relentless pursuit, one that makes Indiana Jones look like a slacker, Carter travels from the south pole of Mars to the forbidden lands of the north. He encounters many varieties of monster, such as the apt and the sith, and gets into more fights and cliffhanging situations than a reader would believe could be packed into a mere 160 pages. The pace of the book is furious, never pausing for breath, and the final battle in the north polar city of Kadabra, in which the combined armies of Barsoomian green, red and black men attack the yellow tribes of the north, is thrilling in the extreme. What amazing films these first three John Carter novels would make, if done faithfully and with the requisite $200+ million thrown into each one!So why the 3-star rating? Well, there are numerous problems with the book that prevent me from giving it top grades, despite the fun I had reading it. For one, there are countless inconsistencies and implausibilities. For example, it is difficult for the reader to accept that Carter's enemies cannot recognize him, just because he has smeared some red tint over his skin. Difficult to believe that Carter is able to scale the side of a tower in the pitch black of night. Difficult to believe that Carter (or any man) could live in a pit for nine days without food and especially water. Verrry hard to believe that Thurid, Carter's archenemy, could carry the struggling captive princess over a foot-wide ledge without toppling into the abyss beneath. Impossible to believe that Dejah Thoris couldn't recognize Carter by his voice alone, despite his yellow-man disguise. All these are hard to swallow in the extreme. As for the inconsistencies: It is stated that Carter saved Thuvia from the Warhoons in book 2, when in actuality it was Carthoris, Carter's son. The city of Kaol is said to be rendered invisible by the forest that surrounds and tops it, but later it is stated that this forest is cut back from the city. Huh? Worst of all is the aforementioned tower-scaling scene, in which dusk becomes early afternoon in a matter of minutes. Here's something that Ed Wood would have appreciated! This day/night confusion is straight out of "Plan 9," but for me is the hallmark of incredibly sloppy writing and even poorer copyediting. Further, Burroughs' descriptions of the Valley of the Therns, and its geographic proximity to the land of the First Born, are simply impossible to visualize. Throw in a bunch of misplaced modifiers and some awkward turns of phrase and you've got a real mess of a manuscript. So why did I have a tear in my eye by the book's end, when Carter gets his rewards and the entire city of Helium turns out to greet him? I guess that the power of storytelling can outweigh petty matters of consistency and grammar. And Burroughs WAS a great teller of tales, and this book IS as thrilling as they come.
6 Marsmonate sind seit den Ereignissen des zweiten Bandes “The Gods of Mars” vergangen. Dejah Thoris ist immer noch zusammen mit Phaidor der biestigen Tochter des heiligen Thern und Thuvia of Ptarth in einem Gefängnis unter dem Tempel der Sonne eingeschlossen. John Carter durchstreift währenddessen die Wälder und schlägt die Zeit tot, bis sich die Gefängniszelle endlich wieder öffnet, als er „zufällig“ Xodar sieht und ihm zu einem Treffen mit dem im Untergrund lebenden heiligen Hekkador Matai Shang verfolgt. Die beiden kennen „zufällig“ einen Geheimgang in dieses Gefängnis und wollen die Frauen herausholen. Warum sie 6 Monate dafür gewartet haben, keine Ahnung. Jedenfalls verfolgen John Carter und sein Marshund die Fieslinge aus Band 2, die die Frauen befreien und entwischen. John Carter und sein Hund verfolgen sie in die nächste Stadt, und erneut entwischen die beiden, um dann in eine dritte und vierte Stadt immer weiter Richtung Norden zu verschwinden, immer mit Carter und dem Marshund auf den Fersen. In Jeder Stadt macht sich Carter neue Freunde und findet Verbündete und verfährt mit dem Nordpol in Teil 3 so wie mit dem Südpol in Teil 2. Letztendlich passiert in diesem Buch… nichts. Xodar, Mathai Shang, Paidor, Thuvia und Dejah flüchten vor John Carter (OK, Thuvia und Dejah werden eher gezwungen mitzukommen), der sie andauernd knapp verpasst oder es kommt halt was dazwischen. Alle stehen auf Dejah und gleich drei Kerle (ja da kommt noch einer dazu), wollen sie unbedingt heiraten und klauen sie sich unter der Nase weg, während sie nur ihren John hinterherheult. Dazu noch ein paar Logikfehler, wie Städte, die von der Luft aus nicht zu sehen sind, aber doch Landeplattformen haben die über den Wald hinausragen, Magnete die Aluminium anziehen, und zuletzt die Frage, warum Paidor Thuvia und Dejah in den 6 Monaten nicht umgebracht hat oder umgekehrt, warum die beiden sie nicht getötet haben. 6 Monate Zickenkrieg in einem kleinen Raum? Das kann doch nicht spurlos an den Mädels vorbeigegangen sein, zumal es auch nicht wirklich viel zu essen gab. Warum rettet Matai Shang seine Tochter erst nach 6 Monaten? Warum redet John Carter von sich in der dritten Person?Überhaupt, John Carter vereint den Mars mit Feuer und Schwert und setzt die Herrscher nach seinem Gutdünken ein, weil es seine Freunde sind, das scheint eine gute, alte amerikanische Tradition zu sein. Ich weiß nicht, ob ich einen vereinten Mars unter der Herrschaft eines einzelnen Warlords wirklich eine so prickelnde Idee finde, vor allem, da dieser zugibt nicht der Hellste zu sein und eher aus dem Bauch heraus zu handeln. Fazit: Handlungsarm, milde ausgedrückt. Eher eine Reise über den Mars und eine kleine Expedition zu den verschiedenen Völkern. Nach den Grünen und Rothäutigen Marsianern in Band 1 und den weißen und schwarzen Marsianern in Band 3 nun, sehr vorhersehbar, die mysteriösen gelben Marsianer, die abgeschottet hinter einer großen Mauer dafür sorgen, dass keiner mehr ihr Land verlässt (kommt irgendwie bekannt vor).
What do You think about The Warlord Of Mars (2001)?
Just before turning eight, I got a little brother, Fin, the only sibling I grew up with. Mom and Dad were lucky because I was generally bored and, so, actually wanted to spend time with him when he got old enough to toddle about and talk. I read to him, but mostly I told him stories, crazy stories featuring lots of naughty things that little kids delight in like poop and farting and talking animals.Since I was into the John Carter books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the whole Mars/Barsoom thing, silly as it was, constituted part of the entertainment for both of us. One day on the beach I convinced him that he could--indeed, that he was--John Carter of Barsoom. I had him crayon a bunch of paper plates, then cut holes in them, fitting one on his head, four others on his ankles and wrists. Then, with a beach towel for a cape and a stick for a sword, I let him loose on the public beach just north of us. Amidst the family picnics and the amorous couples he pranced around, shouting "I am John Carter of Barsoom" while wielding his weapon. I was highly amused.He was much more fun then than he is now.
—Erik Graff
Il libro è molto simile ai due precedenti,quindi se piace il primo piace anche il terzo. Devo puntualizzare che questo romanzo è forse il meno divertente tra i tre e in generale il meno ispirato della trilogia di John Carter,principalmente perchè iniziava inesorabilmente ad essere monotono. Burroughs stesso se ne era accorto probabilmente,accorciando il romanzo a 16 capitoli rispetto ai 28 del primo libro. Comunque sa divertire, ed è questo l'importante in un libro del genere. John è sfortunatamente da solo in questo caso, quantomeno per buonaparte del libro è costretto a vere e proprie odissee solo soletto, con al massimo il suo fedele "cane" o un altro compagno poco caratterizzato. Fortunatamente le descrizioni di Burroughs sono sempre vivide e e precise, rendendo l'ecosistema marziano credibile, o quantomeno trascinante. I cattivoni del romanzo non sono come Issus di "gods of mars" ma quantomeno sono più presenti e odiosi di quelli del primo romanzo,"princess of mars" che sono quasi del tutto assenti e poco interessanti. John è sempre arrogante e spavaldo, sempre razzista (anche se meno rispetto al primo romanzo, che di pregiudizi e commenti xenofobi era stracolmo) diventando non solo eroe, ma anche colonizzatore, nel senso più brutale del termine, a suon di spada. Non è un capolavoro ma mi a divertito, ecco perchè non mi sentivo di penalizzarlo.
—Valerio Rossetti
The Warlord of Mars is the third in the John Carter of Mars series by renowned author Edgar Rice Burroughs. Once again he entertains the imagination with non-stop action, suspense and some of the greatest characters in science fiction. Join John Cater on another awesome adventure as he seeks to save his Princess of Helium, Dejah Thoris and Thuvia of Ptarth from the clutches of Matai Shang, the Holy Thern and his evil minions who seek to destroy everything John Carter holds dear. Follow the exciting journey of John Carter as he seeks to save his love as he travels from the extreme south to the extreme north where we meet for the first time, the yellow men of Mars. Recommended to those whole like science fiction in the vein of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne.**Highly recommended to begin the series with book one: A Princess of Mars and book two: The Gods of Mars before proceeding to Warlord of Mars because much of the plot builds on the events of the previous books in the series.
—Allison
