Barsoom WorldFAQ
An Introduction to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom
This information has not been updated since 1998. Although the book summaries are accurate, the Web site, mailing list, and email references may not be. Email addresses for the contributors have been removed to protect them from spammers who scoop Web sites for email addresses.
From: Michael Martinez Subject: WorldFAQ: Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom (Mars) Date: 1998/11/28 Organization: The Xenite.Org Domain -- Worlds of Imagination on the Web X-Server-Date: 28 Nov 1998 04:11:53 GMT Followup-To: alt.fan.created-worlds,alt.fantasy,alt.fantasy.er-burroughs Newsgroups: alt.fan.created-worlds,alt.fantasy, alt.fantasy.er-burroughs,alt.pulp,rec.games.miniatures.misc, rec.arts.books,alt.books WorldFAQ: Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom (Mars) ----------------------------------------------------------- 1]. Quick Reference Barsoom is Edgar Rice Burroughs' science fantasy world of John Carter, an Earthman who is miraculously immortal and able to travel instantaneously from Earth to Mars and back again. John Carter is Burroughs' second best-known character (Tarzan being the best- known) and probably the most well-known of the early space-faring swashbucklers. Primary sources are the eleven books of the Martian Series (see bibliography below). Note: All of ERB's major series (Tarzan, John Carter, Carson Napier, Moon Men, etc.) are set in the same universe. ----------------------------------------------------------- 2]. Printed Sources Bibliography Note: These stories, originally published from 1912 through 1942, have been reprinted many times. The John Carter books have been reprinted too many times for ISBN values to be relevant. The Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club has offered various Martian books through the years, and Del Rey books still publishes the series in paperback. Older paperback editions were published by Ballantine and New English Library. The stories were originally serialized in various magazines. A PRINCESS OF MARS, 1912. John Carter is chased by American Indians into cave in 1866. Trapped, he looks upon Mars and finds himself transported there. He meets and befriends Tars Tarkas, who with Carter's help rises to become Jeddak of Thark, and Carter falls in love with Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium. Carter and Dejah Thoris settle in Helium for almost ten years, where they have an egg (in which a son forms), but just before the five-year incubation period ends someone assassinates the keeper of the atmosphere plant and his assistant. Carter helps the Barsoomians open and restart the plant, but he passes out from lack of air and awakes to find himself again on Earth (in approximately 1876). THE GODS OF MARS, 1912-1913. In 1886 John Carter returned to Barsoom, having figured out how to send himself back. (Burroughs maintains that Carter returned to Earth in 1898 to tell him this story.) On Barsoom John Carter learns that Dejah Thoris and Tars Tarkas have undertaken the final pilgrimage down Iss. He is himself trapped in the valley of Dor, where hideous green plant creatures and white apes attack and eat all the pilgrims who succeed in finishing the arduous journey. Carter learns that the Therns have been preying upon the pilgrims, and in turn the First Born have been preying on the Therns. After discovering (and meeting) his son Carthoris in the pits of the First Born, John Carter overthrows their corrupt religion and Issus is killed by her own people as the forces of Helium and the Green Hordes devastate the Therns and First Born. Dejah Thoris and Thuvia, a princess befriended by John Carter, are trapped in an underground dungeon with Phaidor, daughter of Matai Shang, for one year. THE WARLORD OF MARS, 1913-1914. Matai Shang secretly frees Dejah Thoris, Thuvia, and Phaidor from their prison but does so only for his own purposes. John Crater pursues Matai Shang and Thurid, a rebel Dator (prince) of the First Born, across Barsoom, eventually finding himself in Okar, the northern polar nation of the Yellow men. There he discovers that a powerful magnet has destroyed every fleet and ship which has attempted to explore the north, and kept the Okarians' secret refuge safe for countless ages. Carter also finds his father- in-law, Mors Kajak, a prisoner. With the aid of Thuvan Dihn, Thuvia's father, as well as Talu (a rebel prince of Okar), they overthrow the last vestiges of Thern power and rescue Dejah Thoris. But they call upon the nations which have befriended Carter through the years, who send a vast armada northward to rescue him. Carter thus has to destroy the great magnet as well as Matai Shang's plans. The Jeddaks of Barsoom's greatest nations proclaim John Carter Warlord of Mars. THUVIA, MAID OF MARS, 1916. Carthoris falls in love with Thuvia, princess of Ptarth, who was rescued by John Carter from the Therns (in THE GODS OF MARS and THE WARLORD OF MARS). Thuvia is stolen away by Astok, Prince of Dusar, Ptarth's rival. Carthoris follows her across Barsoom and rescues her, encountering some strange and fascinating creatures. Thuvia, unfortunately, is already betrothed to Kulan Tith, Jeddak of Kaol, ally of Helium. THE CHESSMEN OF MARS, 1922. John Carter, it seems, has a daughter: Tara of Helium, a petulant, spoiled princess. Nonetheless, Gahan, Jed (Prince) of Gathol, declares his love for her and asks for her hand. Tara rejects him and goes foolishly flying in a great storm. Gahan goes after her. By the time he finally catches up to Tara, she has forgotten who he is, and he assumes the name Turjun, pretending to be a panthan mercenary. Together they challenge the power of O-Tar, Jeddak of Manator, whose barbaric nation of Red Men have preyed upon Gathol for centuries. The Manatorians have elevated Jetan, the chess-like game played throughout Barsoom, to an unprecedented level of skill and excitement: they use live chessmen who fight for live princesses. Gahan finds himself fighting for Tara on the chessboard of Manator, and haunting O-Tar's palace. THE MASTER MIND OF MARS, 1927. Ulysses Paxton, a Captain in the United States infantry during World War I, is mortally wounded but finds himself on Barsoom, given a reprieve. He is taken in by Ras Thavas, an evil (or perhaps wayward) scientist who places the brains of criminals into young bodies as well as resurrects the dead (he buys their bodies for parts and slaves). Paxton falls in love with Valla Dia, whose young body Ras Thavas has sold to Xaxa, aged Jeddara (Queen) of Phundahl. The intrigues and mixed identities Burroughs tosses at the reader make the book pass quickly. A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS, 1930. Tan Hadron, a padwar in Helium's navy is poor but of noble blood (his mother being a princess of Gathol). He seeks the hand of Sanoma Tora, daughter of Tor Hatan, an odwar in Helium's navy. Sanoma Tora is interested only in men of wealth and power, but when she is abducted by agents of Tul Axtar, Jeddak of the distant nation of Jahar, Tan Hadron follows her in hopes of freeing her and winning her love. Hadron encounters and befriends Tavia, a slave-girl who escaped from Tul Axtar's harem by disguising herself as a panthan. Together with Nur An and Phao, Jaharians opposed to Tul Axtar's vicious rule, Tan Hadron and Tavia stumble onto Tul Axtar's fiendish plot to conquer all of Barsoom with the inventions of Phor Tak, an aged inventor who can destroy entire navies. It becomes a race against time as Jahar slowly destroys itself from the massive breeding program Tul Axtar has implemented and as Helium's navy approaches unaware of the incredible weapons of destruction the cowardly Tul Axtar possesses. Only his reluctance has prevented Tul Axtar from launching the war against Barsoom, but John Carter's arrival forces the issue and Tan Hadron must save Helium's navy, himself, Tavia, and Sanoma Tora. SWORDS OF MARS, 1934-1935. John Carter takes on the Assassins of Barsoom, a powerful guild who have for ages profited from the petty feuds and great rivalries of Barsoom's wealthy families. Along the way, he visits Thuria, one of the moons of Mars. SYNTHETIC MEN OF MARS, 1941. When Dejah Thoris is critically injured, John Carter goes to find Ras Thavas, Barsoom's greatest surgeon, to save her life. He takes Vor Daj, an officer in his service, with him. They find Ras Thavas a prisoner on Morbus, an island in the Toonolian Marshes (last remnant of Barsoom's oceans outside the polar areas). Morbus is the home of Ras Thavas' hormads, synthetic men who have rebelled against him and made him their slave. Vor Daj lets Ras Thavas transfer his brain to the body of a hormad so that he may move freely among the monsters. In this guise Vor Daj falls in love with Janai of Amhor, a young woman who is pursued by her Jed against her will or desire. But the worst horror arises when a culture vat goes out of control. LLANA OF GATHOL, 1941/1948. John Carter sets out to explore the ruined city of Horz, thought to be the most ancient of Barsoom's cities. He helps an Orovar escape from some green men but is taken prisoner and condemned to death to protect the city's secret: that Orovars continue to live in Horz. John Carter escapes with Pan Dan Chee, an Orovar warrior who befriends him. They discover Llana of Gathol, Carter's grand-daughter, in the pits of Horz and escape with her. Llana reveals that she is fleeing from Hin Abtol, a northern Jeddak who has hatched an insane scheme to conquer all of Barsoom. John Carter inevitibly confronts Hin Abtol in a battle for Barsoom. JOHN CARTER OF MARS, 1940/1942. This book combines two unrelated novellets: "The Giant of Mars" and "The Skeleton Men of Jupiter". "Giant" was actually written by ERB's son, John Coleman Burroughs, who admitted this on at least two occasions. "The Skeleton Men of Jupiter", sadly, is only the first of an otherwise incomplete series of novelettes (thought to be four). ERB never wrote any of the remaining stories, so John Carter's adventures end on Jupiter, although he is reunited at the end of this story with the incomparable Dejah Thoris. ----------------------------------------------------------- 3]. Visual Sources Bibliography 1941-42 Sunday strip drawn by John Coleman Burroughs. (Reprinted in one volume in 1970 by the House of Greystoke, and reprinted again in 1995 by Dark Horse as a backup feature to the "Tarzan: The Lost Adventure" serialization.) John Carter appeared in FOUR COLOR -- issues 375, 437 and 488 (early-to-mid 1950's), and in THE FUNNIES (Circa 1940) issues 30-56. The FOUR COLOR issues were later reprinted in a three-issue series titled JOHN CARTER OF MARS. DC Comics published a brief adaptation of these books in the early 1970s. The first three installments were in issues 207 - 209 of TARZAN (which DC took over from Gold Key). The next seven installments were in WEIRD WORLDS. Some non-ERB stories appeared in the TARZAN FAMILY series. There was a series of John Carter comics published by Marvel in the 1980s. JOHN CARTER: WARLORD OF MARS ran for 27 issues and three annuals, but they contained mostly non-ERB stories, covering the 9-year period not described by ERB in A PRINCESS OF MARS. Dark Horse Comics published TARZAN VS. JOHN CARTER in 1996. I am told it wasn't faithful to ERB's characterizations. But I don't know anything more about this. (Thanks to Curt Wiederhoeft and Fredrik Ekman for the above info.) There was a weekly adaptation of A PRINCESS OF MARS in a British weekly. It was called "The Martian" and was drawn by Robert Forrest and ran for 31 weeks in 1958-9. MAPS OF BARSOOM: This list was posted to ERB-list in February 1998. It is included here by permission but the author suggests it may not be complete (though at the time of posting it included all the maps he knew about). 1 -- ERB's own map, probably drawn between 1933 & 1938, and published in J. B. Post's AN ATLAS OF FANTASY (Baltimore, The Mirage Press, Ltd., 1973) 2 -- Robert H. Schlutter, 1948, published in the BURROUGHS BULLETIN #14 (1963). 3 -- Henry Hardy Heins, 1949, published in Alvin Fick, THE DREAM WEAVER (Fort Johnson, N.Y., Pinion Private Press, 1962) 4 -- Frank J. Brueckel, 1962, published in the BURROUGHS BULLETIN #14. 5 -- Larry Ivie, 1962, published in Dave Van Arnam's THE READER'S GUIDE TO BARSOOM AND AMTOR (New York, Richard Lupoff, 1963) 6 -- Michael D. Resnick, published in Caz's ERB-dom, #6, Apr. 1963. 7 -- Mine, done up in 1966 for publication in Caz's ERB-dom, but not published until ERB-APA #50, Summer 1996. 8 -- John F. Roy, 1968(?), published in ERB-dom #27, August 1969. 9 -- Ballantine's wall map (approx. 42" x 66") published about 1972 in connection with the release of the Gino D'Achille covers of the Mars books. 10 -- Greg Bell, published in Gygax & Blume, WARRIORS OF MARS; THE WARFARE OF BARSOOM IN MINIATURE (Lake Geneva, Wisc., Tactical Studies Rules, 1974) 11 -- The Ballantine map of 1972 was reprinted in Scott Bizar's BARSOOMIAN BATTLE MANUAL (Dallas, American Heritage Models, Inc., 1978) 12 -- Scott Tracy Griffin (our own Lord Passmore), in ERB-APA #46, Summer 1995. This is actually a complete atlas, consisting of Azimuthal Equal-Area projections of each hemisphere, supplemented by Mercator projections of each of the four quadrants. ----------------------------------------------------------- 4]. Related Materials Bibliography There is a biography of ERB, EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS: MASTER OF ADVENTURE, by Richard A. Lupoff, published by Canaveral Press in hardcover and then published by ACE in 1865 and reprinted in 1968. A GUIDE TO BARSOOM, John Flint Roy, Ballantine, 1976. Contains the following chapters: I. History (pre-Carter) II. Geography (including maps!) III. Biographies of major characters IV. Flora and Fauna V. Measurements of distance, time and money VI. Language, Religion and Customs VII. Glossary of terms VIII. Quotations and Proverbs IX. Science and Invention X. Where is Barsoom? XI. Who is ERB? EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS: AN EXHAUSTIVE SCHOLAR'S AND COLLECTOR'S DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY, McFarland, 1996. ERB fan clubs which publish magazines (according to the 1979 ACE imprints and the ERBCOF-L welcome message) include: ERB-dom & THE FANTASTIC COLLECTOR -- $12 for 4 issues (only partially related to Burroughs) Ed., Caz Cazedessus P.O. Box 2340 Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 THE BURROUGHS BIBLIOPHILES -- $28/Year George McWhorter 505-852-8729 BURROUGHS BULLETIN and THE GRIDLEY WAVE Ekstrom Library - Burroughs Memorial Collection University of Louisville Louisville, KY 40492 GTMCWH01@ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU ERBANIA {old, possibly outdated info) 8001 Fernview Lane Tampa, Florida 33615 TBN (THE BURROUGHS NEWSBEAT) (old, possible outdated info) 110 South Shore Drive Clear Lake, Iowa 50428 EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS AMATEUR PRESS ASSOCIATION Ed., John Martin (Limited Membership) P.O. Box 157 Galvin, WA 98544 THE L.A. Sub-ERB NEWSLINE From the L.A. Chapter of the Burroughs Bibliophiles Ed., James Van Hise* (619) 365-5836 57754 Onaga Trail Yucca Valley, CA 92264 ERB-NOTIZEN (in German) Ed., Kurt Denkena Postfach 750 331 D-28723 Bremen, Germany Fan publications include: EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS NEWS DATELINE -- $12 for 4 issues Ed., Mike Conran 616-457-1446 1990 Pine Grove Drive Jenison, Michigan 49428 ERBANIA -- $8 for 4 issues Ed., Pete Ogden 813-884-8144 8410 Lopez Drive, Tampa, FL 33615 FANTASTIC WORLDS OF ERB -- $17.50 for 4 issues ED., Frank Westwood 77 Pembroke Road Seven Kings, Ilford Essex, IG3 8PQ England George Alec Effinger sent a character (Muffy Birnbaum) to Barsoom. The story is available in various collections. Effinger also contributed piece presenting a Barsoomian opinion on ERB to WAR OF THE WORLDS: GLOBAL DISPATCHES. One of Phillip Jose Farmer's Tier World books has a scene set on a moon constructed to resemble Barsoom. Disney has the rights for a movie based on A PRINCESS OF MARS, and it now appears that MASS ILLUSIONS is developing special effects for the movie. THE EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS LIBRARY OF ILLUSTRATION, edited by Russ Cochran and printed by Russ. It is three oversized volumes beginning with J. Allen St. John (the majority of the surviving St. John works are reproduced here), and then John Coleman Burroughs, some Frazetta and RG Krenkel, and comic book art. These are out of print and rather expensive, running from $300 to $600 for the set. ART OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS, Joe Jusko. (Paperback & hardback) Devoted to reproducing many of the illustrations done originally for the card sets. A Tzaran/John Carter pastiche may be published in late 1998 or 1999. No further word at this time. GAMES BASED ON BARSOOM ====================== Heritage Models, Inc. produced a battle miniatures game based on Barsoom in the late 1970s. There was a BARSOOM BATTLE MANUAL and miniatures. They also apparently produced an ADVENTURE GAMING HANDBOOK (for RPGs). I have no further information at this time. A UK company called Hinchcliffe produced Barsoom miniatures which were distributed by Heritage Models. Green Men were supposedly 10-12' scale. The line was not finished as it seems the Heritage figures replaced these. I have read that TSR produced a Barsoom-based RPG in the 1970s (apparently before Heritage Models made their wargame). Some people have reportedly made their own miniatures from scratch, especially for Green Men. Simulations Publications Inc. published a board game in the 1970s or 1980s. I'm told there were other games but as yet have no information on them. The SPI game is no longer available. The Simulations Publications Inc game was called John Carter, Warlord of Mars and published in 1979. Designers were Mark Herman and Eric Goldberg. The game included a map of Barsoom, a city, and an arena. It was a quest-style RPG where each player ran a hero and villain (as a foil to other player's heroes). The game came with a 16-page booklet titled "The World of Barsoom". The game box cover was done by Don Maltz. The SPI game had four scenarios: A hero-versus-villain duel; a hero-roaming-city scenario; a strategic planetary roaming scenario; and a military conquest of all Barsoom. The game was officially licensed and SPI claimed complete faithfulness to the books. The game is no longer in distribution. I'm told SPI folded in 1982. I'm told there was an unlicensed computer game called "The Sands of Mars" by T. Swartz released in 1988. It is game #163 in the Eamon Adventurers' Guild's library. It can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/appleII/eamon/guild/dsk/dos33/edos3163. dsk.gz (also requires an Apple II emulator and ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/appleII/eamon/guild/dsk/dos33/edos3001. dsk.gz to run). CHIPCO's Fantasy Rules! was supposed to introduce a Barsoom supplement in June, 1998. I have no further information at this time. ----------------------------------------------------------- 5]. Online References A) News Groups alt.fantasy.er-burroughs. See section 6-C. Also, Burroughs' works can be discussed in alt.fantasy, alt.pulp, rec.arts.sf.written, alt.books, rec.arts.books, and alt.fan.created-worlds. There have been occasional threads about Barsoom based gaming or miniatures in rec.games.miniatures.misc. B) Mailing/Discussion Lists The Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain Of Friends List (ERBCOF-List). Send email to: LISTSERV@APSU01.APSU.EDU [Note: That is APSU.] Send one or more of these function commands to the Listserver in the body of the mail message: SUBSCRIBE ERBCOF-L Subscribes you to ERBCOF-L. [Replace with your own full name.] UNSUBSCRIBE ERBCOF-L Removes you from the list. [Replace with your own full name.] To participate in the ERBCOF-LIST discussion, send your e-mail "post" [message] to ERBCOF-L itself at: ERBCOF-L@APSU01.APSU.EDU [Note: ] The Edgar Rice Burroughs List (ERBlist) To Subscribe to the ERBlist listserver send e-mail with the word SUBSCRIBE as the message subject to ERBList@worldnet.att.net Moderated by Tangor (bruce.bozarth@worldnet.att.net) To Unsubscribe: email ERBList@worldnet.att.net put UNSUBSCRIBE in the SUBJECT line The TARZAN-L list is devoted to discussion of the new TV series TARZAN: THE EPIC ADVENTURES. To subscribe, send the word 'subscribe' (without quotes) to: Tarzan-L-request@cuenet.com C) Web sites The Edgar Rice Burroughs WebsiteHome PageThis domain has been sold to ERB, Inc. and apparently a reorganization/redesign process is underway. For now, the only content is a message saying the official Web site will be coming soon. The Barsoomian Blade http://www.geocities.com/Area51/5236/ Although it's main focus is Barsoom parody, there is also quite a bit of stuff relating other ERB worlds. The ERB Web Ring Homepage http://www.bolthy.com/erbring/ The alt.fantasy.er-burroughs Information Page https://www.xenite.org/usenet/af_erb.htm This site contains the charter for alt.fantasy.er-burroughs, links to several Web-based Usenet interfaces that provide fast, easy access to the Usenet, and links to a few of the major ERB Web sites. Talk About Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Guide To Burroughs Discussion On The Web https://www.xenite.org/talk/erb.htm Tangor's Beyond http://home.att.net/~bruce.bozarth General ERB interest. Contains copies of the WorldFAQs. D) Online services No special forums. NOTE: There is now a Message Board Directory which provides links to individual Web-based boards, message board providers, and large indexes of boards. Some of these indexes include Science Fiction and Fantasy boards and may contain content of interest to people who read the WorldFAQs. The Message Board Directory is located at: https://www.xenite.org/mb_direct.htm E) IRC None. However, Jeff Long ("The Barsoomian Blade") has set up a java-based ERBChat at this URL: http://members.xoom.com/Elmo_Lincoln/index.htm F) Comprehensive lists of resources The ERBCOF-L welcome message, which is sent to you after subscribing to the list, contains bibliographical information, a brief history of the ERB Circle of Friends, and contact information for various ERB groups and publications. Other WorldFAQs posted in alt.fan.created-worlds and alt.fantasy.er-burroughs are "Edgar Rice Burroughs' Va-nah (Interior of Luna)", "Edgar Rice Burroughs' Amtor(Venus)", "Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar (Earth's Core)", and "Edgar Rice Burroughs' Caspak". The article ONLINE BOOKS: THE WORKS OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS is posted occasionally to alt.fan.created-worlds, alt.fantasy, alt.pulp, and alt.fantasy.er-burroughs. It may also be cross-posted to other groups like rec.arts.sf.written and alt.books. This article lists ERB books that can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg and alternative sources. Tangor has developed the ERBFAQ for ERBList and it is posted to alt.fantasy.er-burroughs, alt.fantasy, and alt.fan.created-worlds. ----------------------------------------------------------- 6]. Description Barsoom is geologically as old as Earth but for unexplained reasons developed intelligent life eons before Earth did. The dominant races of Barsoom are humanoids but they differ from us biologically in that they lay eggs (being oviporous) in their reproductive processes. They are also extremely long-lived (some living to be nearly 4,000 Earth years of age) and highly intelligent. The original races were the First Born (Black Men of the South), the Okar (Yellow Men of the North), and the Orovars (the White Men of the Seas). Ancient Barsoom had been covered by five great oceans, of which Throxus was the greatest. Through the ages the oceans dried up and the atmosphere began to wither away. A fourth race of men, the Red Men, developed out of the blending of the other three races. But the Men of Barsoom were not the only intelligent species to arise. The green Men increased in number and eventually adapted better to the thinning air and dry lands than the original races. They gradually took over the ancient cities and the growing plains. Most of the First Born retreated to the southern polar region, where the lost Sea of Korus fed the underground sea of Omean. There they made a refuge for themselves. Some of the First Born settled in the lush valley of Kamtol. The Okar fled north, ravaged by the green barbarians, but finally found a refuge in the northern polar region. The Orovars dwindled but a few survived in three groups: the Therns, who also settled in the southern polar area, the Orovars of Horz (the ancient capitol of their world-spanning empire), and the Lotharians, a small group of men who built a new city of Lothar in a hidden valley. The Therns propagated the worship of Issus throughout Barsoom, acting as a secret priesthood. But they in turn worshipped an Issus they never saw. Issus, it turns out, was an extremely ancient First Born princess who persuaded her people to treat her like a goddess. The First Born and the Lotharians refused to die, and effectively proved to be immortal. But the Therns, the Okar, the Red Men, and even the Green Men all came to believe they needed to sail down the Iss, the last river of Barsoom which flowed to the valley of Dor and the lost sea of Korus, when they reached their 1,000th year. Despite the threat of the green hordes (which developed into nations such as Thark, Warhoon, and Torquas), the Red Men persevered in their efforts to survive. They created huge atmosphere plants to replenish the vanishing air of Barsoom, and built new cities near the dwindling water supplies, creating great canals that traversed the planet. They harnassed the mysterious "eighth ray" which enabled them to create large fleets of flying ships. Barsoomian technology flourished in the hands of the Red Men, and the other races took what was needed from them. When John Carter arrives on Barsoom he rises to prominence among the Red Men of Helium, marrying Dejah Thoris, their princess, and befriending Tars Tarkas, Jeddak (Emperor) of Thark. Through the following decades the immortal John Carter and his children lead the peoples of Barsoom into a revolutionary period of peace, prosperity, and increasing unity and friendship. Barsoom is full of danger and mystery. The great banths, huge lion-like creatures, the fierce apts (white, centaur-like monsters), and the great white apes are only the most well known perils. Every line of hills on the horizon hides a lost tribe or kingdom, and not all the nations of Barsoom have developed or adapted the advanced technology Carter finds in Helium. Nearly all men are trained in arms, and they still favor the use of swords even though they have developed much more potent weapons. Burroughs presents a world rich in history, strange creatures, mythology, legend, and intricate politics unlike any other author. ----------------------------------------------------------- 7]. Maintainer Information FAQ owner: Michael Martinez Last Updated: November 27, 1998 Some information was (knowingly or unknowingly) supplied by: Pat Adkins Jerome Bigge doctorw Fredrik Ekman William George Ferguson Greywolf Huck Iron Czar Jeff Long Tim Peterson Mike Resnick Pete de Rosa Kyle Silfer Tangor Jim Thompson Curt J. Wiederhoeft George J. Wong Bob Zeuschner ----------------------End of WorldFAQ-------------------- -- \\ // Worlds of Imagination on the Web \\// RealName: Science Fiction and Fantasy Xenite.Org //\\ [https://www.xenite.org/] // \\ENITE.org...............................................