The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs [PDF]
by InfoBooks
"The Gods of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the second novel in the Barsoom series, and it wastes no time. John Carter returns to Mars only to find himself trapped in a valley where pilgrims go to die and gods turn out to be parasites.
Download your free PDF of "The Gods of Mars" and follow Carter through one of early science fiction's most relentless adventures. Burroughs builds a world where every certainty crumbles, every ally is suspect, and the only way out is through.
Sword fights in underground seas, escapes from floating fortresses, and a cliffhanger ending that will have you reaching for the next book. This is pulp storytelling at full speed, and it holds up better than you might expect.
The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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Information: The Gods of Mars
- Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Publication Date: 1913
- Main Characters:
- John Carter: A former Confederate officer and Warlord of Mars, whose return to Barsoom plunges him into a fight against the planet's most entrenched religious fraud
- Tars Tarkas: Jeddak of the Tharks and Carter's loyal green Martian friend, who arrives in the Valley Dor on the same pilgrimage and fights alongside him
- Thuvia: A red Martian woman enslaved by the Therns, who proves resourceful and brave as she helps Carter navigate the dangers of the Valley Dor
- Phaidor: Daughter of the Holy Hekkador of the Therns, torn between her upbringing and her growing fascination with John Carter
- Issus: The ancient, self-proclaimed Goddess of Mars who rules the First Born through fear and deception, hiding a grotesque truth behind her divine facade
- Brief Summary: John Carter is mysteriously transported back to Mars after ten years on Earth, but instead of reuniting with his beloved Dejah Thoris, he lands in the Valley Dor. There he discovers that the Martian afterlife is a cruel fraud maintained by the Therns, who enslave and devour those who make the sacred pilgrimage. Carter allies with Tars Tarkas and his own son Carthoris to fight through layers of deception, eventually confronting the First Born and their false goddess Issus. The novel ends on a dramatic cliffhanger, with Dejah Thoris imprisoned and Carter powerless to save her.
- Thematic Analysis: The novel is a pointed critique of organized religion and blind faith, showing how those in power exploit belief systems to control and consume the faithful. Burroughs also explores loyalty, the courage to challenge sacred institutions, and the tension between personal devotion and duty to a larger cause.
- Historical Context: "The Gods of Mars" was first serialized in "The All-Story" magazine from January to May 1913, then published as a novel in 1918. Burroughs wrote it during a period of growing public skepticism toward institutional authority, and the story's anti-dogma themes resonated with early twentieth-century readers questioning established power structures.