Being the first three books in the Barsoom series, this is a fun classic adventure written back when fantasy and sci-fi shared rooms and got along extremely well. Highly recommended. ( )

I closed my eyes, stretched out my arms toward the god of my vocation ande felt myself drawn with the suddenness of thought through the tracless immensity of space. There was an instant of extreme cold and utter darkness.
(page 18)

...but where are the words to describe the glorious colors that are unknown to earthly eyes?
(page 248)


...there rose and fell the glorious words: "For Helium! For Helium!" that for countless ages have spurred on the bravest of the brave to those deeds of valor that have sent the fame of Helium's heroes broadcast throughout the lenght and breadth of a world.
(page 476)
( )

This book was a little slow in some places, but overall it was a lot of fun. ( )

Great stories, although they get a little repetitive. John Carter is so thoroughly badass that it is hard to ever really feel tension at the danger he is in. It's a little like watching an old Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick; no matter how many bullets and explosions there are, you know Arnie will come out on top just fine. Still, rollicking and fast-paced entertainment.

A word of warning though about its datedness. Since we now know much better what Mars is like, the ideas of swashbuckling green dudes, vast beds of yellow moss, and vicious white apes might strike you as pretty silly. I suggest that you just take it in stride and think of these stories more as wholesale fantasy, rather than science fiction.

A note about this particular Barnes & Noble omnibus volume: the editing is a bit crummy. There are many typos, and you will often find yourself re-reading nonsense sentences before realizing that "fat" should be "far" or somesuch. ( )

This is a great omnibus edition of the first 3 John Carter books. These books were the first of the Mars swords-and-guns style fantasy/science fiction and Burroughs is still the best. After 100 years the stories are still interesting and the 'science' still out there. True, these are massively dated now - no computers, no spacechips (wait, we still can't get to Mars...) but there are still flying boats and complex weather machines. ray guhs, etc. What really makes these good though are the characters. Great stuff! ( )