Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom Kindle Edition

I first acquired this book back in 2012 in the lead up to the release of the John Carter movie. My interest in Barsoom and Burroughs was at an all-time high and I was wanting to get into the literary adventures of John Carter before I saw the movie. I figured this would be a good place to start, to ease into the waters as it were. I didn't read the stories in the order they are in the book. I would pick and choose which one sounded the most interesting. I was really enjoying the book...until I came to Ape-Man of Mars by Peter S. Beagle. At first I couldn't believe it, 'A John Carter/Tarzan crossover from the guy that wrote Last Unicorn? Sign me up!' I thought. Then I actually read it. It is no exaggeration when I say that this story is one of the worst I've ever read. Both John Carter and Tarzan act out of character and both come across badly. I expected more from the Last Unicorn guy and I was disappointed. Anyway, the other stories in this collection are very much worth reading. I would suggest however that you pass over the Ape-Man of Mars and head on to the next story. You'll be glad you did.

This is a great book if you are an ERB fan (as I am). Takes the Barsoom chronicles and expands on it through other writers. Fun to read but you should go back and re-read the originals as mention is made of characters Burroughs created.

This collection of stories inspired by the original work of Edgar Rice Burroughs takes the situations established in the original novels and builds new stories around them. As a tribute to Burroughs, it lives up to its antecedents.

I'm not a fan of the original Barsoom stuff, but this anthology made me actually like the world. My favorites were Sidekick of Mars, Coming of an Age, Death Song, and Metal Men.

Some of the stories are very good and you feel like you are on Barsoom. Some of the stories are ok. I love the art. It's definitely a tribute to the Princess of Mars.

3.5 out of 5 stars.Kaor, Jasoomians! Well, the Disney live action film may have underperformed at the box office (while still being a terrific film), but one of the side benefits of releasing a big budget motion picture like JOHN CARTER is that it does regenerate interest in the pulp adventure literature of E.R. Burroughs. And me, I've long preferred the immortal fighting Virginian over the more earthbound Lord Greystoke. So this new anthology is a bit of a vindication.Burroughs' magnificent Martian adventures exemplified the pulp genre of the interplanetary romance. I challenge you to mention a hero more indomitable than John Carter. UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS, as if you didn't know, was the original title of the first John Carter story which was serialized in 1912 in THE ALL-STORY magazine, and later published in 1917 in book edition under the more familiar title of A PRINCESS OF MARS. Burroughs ended up writing ten Barsoom novels and one collection of two stories (JOHN CARTER OF MARS). John Carter was a major influence in my childhood. I went on to read Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Leigh Brackett, etc.A stack of celebrated authors contributes to this anthology, to the tune of fourteen stories, some riveting, some not so much. Several stories bristle with thrilling derring-do. Several assume a contemplative, even a bittersweet, tone. One is pretty damn epic. This compilation unveils a few of Carter's "unrecorded" adventures. But the focus isn't solely on him. Descendants of Carter and the incomparable Dejah Thoris are showcased. Other tales examine side characters that had inhabited Burroughs' Martian novels. Perilous and far flung territories upon this dying planet are revisited. And others yet indulge in awesome fan gratification, the two best examples of which are Peter S. Beagle's controversial "The Ape-Man of Mars" and S.M. Stirling's "The Jasoom Project." Interestingly, we observe moments of startling revisionism. This volume posits that not everyone shares the same high opinion of the Warlord of Mars. John Carter, transplanted gentleman of the Antebellum South, is widely heralded for his courtesy and chivalry and fighting spirit. But viewed thru a different, more cynical prism, these attributes may translate to elitism and pridefulness and obliviousness. You only have to ask Lamentation Jones or Lord Greystoke or Falm Rojut.Popular fantasy writer Tamora Pierce writes the foreword. Editor John Joseph Adams pens the intro. Note that the pages are peppered with illustrations by the likes of Gregory Manchess, Charlves Vess, Michael Wm Kaluta, and other artists whose stuff, regrettably, fail to make an impact. Indispensable is Richard A. Lupoff's "Appendix: A Barsoomian Gazetteer, or, Who's Who and What's What on Mars." This is an invaluable guide for those wracking their brain regarding the more obscure characters. Each story is prefaced by an introductory page that delves into the inspiration behind the story, as well as referencing relevant Burroughs material. For what it's worth, my favorites happen to be "The Ape-Man of Mars," "A Tinker of Warhoon," "A Sidekick of Mars," and "The Jasoom Project."The fourteen stories:- "The Metal Men of Mars" (by Joe R. Lansdale) - A bored John Carter departs from Helium in search of adventure. He stumbles across it in the shapes of terrifying golden cyborgs, an army of which will soon spread across the globe to assimilate Barsoom's sentient races. However, the Warlord of Mars isn't down with that "Resistance is futile" bullcrap.- "Three Deaths" (by David Barr Kirtley) - The mettle of Ghar Han, doughty warrior of the 15-foot-tall race of Green Men, is tested when he challenges John Carter to a duel. Only, duels with John Carter never work out well for his opponents. In the aftermath, a devastated Ghar Han surveys his two hacked off limbs, and he burns for revenge. But Ghar Han is wholly unprepared for the onslaught of scorn heaped upon him by his fellow warriors. Good story.- "The Ape-Man of Mars" (Peter S. Beagle) - Kreegah! Have you ever wondered what a meeting between two of Burroughs' most iconic literary creations - Tarzan of the Apes and John Carter of Mars - would be like? The Ape-Man finds himself on Barsoom and clashing with the haughty Virginian tarmangani. A very different perspective from Peter S. Beagle.- "A Tinker of Warhoon" (Tobias S. Buckell) - Here's a wondrous thing! A Green Martian whose greatest asset is his brain, not his brawn. Kaz, whose story is set in the backdrop of A PRINCESS OF MARS, ends up being one my favorite Green Martians, after Tars Tarkas and Sola and, of course, J'onn J'onzz.- "Vengeance of Mars" (Robin Wasserman) - From the pages of A PRINCESS OF MARS, we learn the fate of the sadistic Sarkoja after she was banished by Tars Tarkas from the tribe of the Tharks.- "Woola's Song" (Theodora Goss) - A retelling of how John Carter first met his faithful canine-like calot, Woola... as recounted thru Woola's eyes.- "The River Gods of Mars" (Austin Grossman) - In 1971 John Carter is once more transported to Barsoom and, for the umpteenth time, sets off to rescue Dejah Thoris who had vanished in Barsoom's southern hemisphere on a scientific expedition, tracking a mysterious moving phenomenon in the sky.- "The Bronze Man of Mars" (L.E. Modesitt, Jr.) - In this tangential sequel to LLANA OF GATHOL, the unproven son of Llana and the white-skinned Orovar warrior, Pan Dan Chee, journeys to Horz, ruined capital of a long vanished empire, in a bid for fame and glory.- "A Game of Mars" (Genevieve Valentine) - Follow-up to THE CHESSMEN OF MARS. When her brother Carthoris's flier crashlands near the nightmarish city of Manator - home to grotesque bodiless heads that force their captives to act as duelling pieces in their fatal chess matches - Tara, brave daughter of John Carter and Dejah Thoris, races to the rescue.- "A Sidekick of Mars" (Garth Nix) - It seems that John Carter, in his periodic reminisces of Mars, has neglected to make mention of Lam Jones, the ornery ex-Union quartermaster and gold prospector who had accompanied Carter on many of his otherworldly adventures. Maybe it's because, on the red planet, Lam (short for "Lamentation of Worldy Sin") Jones shares Carter's extraordinary abilities, and the Jeddak of Jeddaks doesn't like that. After all, Lam Jones can lift more prodigiously than Carter. Garth Nix needs to expand on this short story.- "The Ghost That Haunts the Superstition Mountains" (Chris Claremont) - What if John Carter, Dejah Thoris, and Tars Tarkas were stranded on Earth? What if this were a boring story? Not even the trio's run-in with the Apache chief Cochise can prevent this from being a flat and unsatisfying read for me. I did appreciate that Dejah Thoris is allowed to demonstrate her warrior skills.- "The Jasoom Project" (S.M. Stirling) - This is an epic nod to the sweeping canvas of Burrough's imagination. John Carter's great-grandson strives to cross the vast reaches of space to Carter's home world of Jasoom ("Earth" to you and me). This one marries elements from THE MASTER MIND OF MARS, THE MOON MAID, THE MOON MEN, and others in Burroughs' bibliography which I don't want to spoiler. Like "A Sidekick of Mars," I would absolutely love for there to be a novelization or a follow-up story to this one.- "Coming of Age on Barsoom" (as "translated" by Catherynne M. Valente) - If you thought that John Carter had the right of it in his views of the Green Martians and their unforgiving culture, hear now the fierce musings of the Thark, Falm Rojut.- "The Death Song of Dwar Guntha" (Jonathan Maberry) - In the distant future, Barsoom lies on the cusp of global peace, with one last great battle left for John Carter to fight. Except that he's barely in this one. Dipped in melancholia, this, instead, tells of the last stand of sixteen Free Riders of Helium as a horde of one hundred thousand Black Pirates falls on them.

Good book. Continues the adventures on Mars with a new author. Came quickly.

This was the single item of Barsoomia (Burroughsabilia?) I plucked from the foam of cash-in material around Disney’s debatably shabby John Carter film, after I’d heard free audio adaptations of a couple of the stories.7 years later I’m finally over the movie and I’ve read it, and it’s mostly not-bad fan fiction by variably well-known writers.The book exists in the weird legal space around the ERB stories and characters, which are differently out of copyright in different parts of the world. Because they’re unauthorised the stories will never be Carter canon, which makes them easier to accept on their limited merits.As a whole, it’s worth the price of admission. None of the stories are amazing. Most of the content makes a decent stab at pastiche, in ERB’s spirit or style. Some are simple, direct sequels that involve John Carter or other original Barsoomians and some are pure-quill freestyle. A couple of stories cross the line. Robin Wasserman’s contribution isn’t the worst, but only thanks to Theodora Goss.Anyone who treasures John Carter should have a warm place under their harness for contributor Chris Claremont. There should be a plaque somewhere in the ochre moss for his work on the not-entirely-first but certainly best Barsoom comics. Sadly, his story here isn’t in the top rank. It’s a decent writing pastiche – he’s had plenty of practise – but it’s in present tense, which is just too comics-writer. It’s also presented as a mid to late chapter in a longer story, potentially lifted from a writer’s trunk project. The comics writer in him can’t resist infodump flashbacks to earlier events, which don’t make sense in what's supposed to be a chapter not an "issue", and there’s no ending.I’d recommend Under the Moons of Mars to well-disposed fans. I think the dead tree reprint tome of the Chris Claremont Warlord of Mars comics is now out of print. Permissions tend to revert to estate rights holders – see Conan – so I don’t think Marvel even has a digital version, but if one appears it’s worth saving up for.

I picked this up on a whim and I have to say it was very entertaining. The majority of the stories were page-turners and the work in total was one of pure escapist fun. Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy some Sword & Planet tales, and Burroughs' Mars tales in particular. Recommended.

Good read - not as good as the Edgar Rice Burroughs but still worth a read.The adventure goes on.