A Princess of Mars

While escaping some Apache, John Carter unknowingly enters a cursed cave and finds himself suddenly projected to Mars. There he becomes the captive of the savage green men known as Tharks. A raid by the Tharks introduces him to Dejah Thoris, the lovely Princess of Helium, who he becomes instantly smitten with. The drive to escape and be with Dejah throws Carter into a war between three different Martian factions.

Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs spins this first tale in his lengthy Barsoom (the name for Mars by its inhabitants) saga. Initially written as a serial for the pulp magazines, Burroughs eventually re-edited and collected the stories into a standalone novel.

Fans of classic science fiction and adventure will find a lot to like in this book. There is a lot of action, as well as some political intrigue and the love story between John Carter and Dejah Thoris.

Burroughs's light writing style makes this a quick and easy read, and he has a great imagination for writing this story well in advance of any interstellar travel. The book's only fault is John Carter being almost instinctively knowledgable about the various goings-on and his plans always resulting into some degree of success.

Nevertheless, this is essential reading for any fan of the genre and fans of the recent movie would do themselves a service to visit the source material. In addition, the book's public domain status makes this a very affordable book for anyone interested in checking it out.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Overstock.com, and Project Gutenberg.

Title: A Princess of Mars
Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
Year: 1912 (serial) / 1917 (novel)
Pages: 216

Creatures of Light and Darkness

To save his kingdom, Anubis, Lord of the Dead, sends his servant Wakim on a mission to destroy The Prince Who Was a Thousand. Simultaneously, Osiris, Lord of Life, sends forth his son, Horus, on the same mission. However, neither of them is prepared for the world of mortals, and The Thing That Cries in the Night may well destroy everything, mortal or otherwise.

Roger Zelanzy originally wrote this novel as an exercise with no intention of publishing it. However, professor and critic, Samuel R. Delany, convinced an editor at Doubleday to publish the manuscript, earning Mr. Delany a dedication at the beginning of the novel.

Basing the characters around Egyptian mythological characters, Zelanzy constructs a universe where gods battle in nontraditional manners, often time-travelling a few seconds into the past to gain an advantage against an opponent (known as the "temporal fugue"). Conspiracies are layered on top of each other, resulting in a novel that is incredibly dense for its sub-200 page count.

This novel is also famous for bringing The Agnostic's Prayer into popular culture, especially after its use in Larry Niven's short story "What Can You Say About Chocolate-Covered Manhole Covers". The nondenominational cleric Madrak provides some much-needed humor and levity to the supradimensional activies, grounding the story a bit for the reader.

This isn't going to be a novel for everyone. It can be a bit difficult to follow in places, and some of Zelanzy's experiments with poetry and script can throw off the reader. However, its rich use of language and imaginative presentation of how gods interact make this a fine read for someone who can appreciate this type of material.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Overstock.com.

Title: Creatures of Light and Darkness
Author: Roger Zelazny
Year: 1969
Pages: 190

2012: The War For Souls

There exists three versions of Earth: the one we're accustomed to, a two-moon world with no wars, and another populated by a race of sadistic, reptilian humanoids. As the sacred date of December 21, 2012 approaches, the quantum boundaries separating the three worlds grow weaker. The reptilian world of Abaddon needs souls and resources, and its inhabitants possess the knowledge to overcome the other two worlds if their plans succeed. One human in each of the other two worlds possesses a piece of knowledge to save humanity from a fate beyond death.

Whitley Strieber goes to great lengths in creating a universe where not only bodies can be destroyed, but souls as well. As the story progresses, the two-moon Earth begins to succumb to Abaddon, and the population begins to lose faith entirely. However, humanity's greatest strength is its ability to adapt to a desperate situation and overcome, and a small group of people won't just stand by and let themselves and everything they hold dear be destroyed.

I'm not sure what the hatred of this book is all about. Admittedly, it wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but it was certainly far from the worst. While there are a few deus ex machina moments in the plot, I thought Strieber had some great imaginary moments, especially as they relate to the world of Abaddon.

I doubt I'd read it again or put it on my list of recommended books, but I certainly didn't hate it.

Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

Title: 2012: The War For Souls
Author: Whitley Strieber
Year: 2007
Pages: 319