Sometimes, as someone who enjoys writing, I find it entertaining to go back and read things I wrote years ago. On one hand, it’s completely embarrassing to see my first attempts at being a novelist, but, at the same time, it’s encouraging. I can see how I’ve developed as a writer.Reading the Barsoom series kind of feels the same way.Edgar Rice Burroughs plunged into the world of writing pulp fiction (“rot” as he called it) because he saw that people actually got paid to write such things. Admitting to absolutely no experience as a writer, he set out to do the same and accomplished it with the same wild success that has come to more modern writers of questionable ability (Twilight...50 Shades…). Literature this is not. But, a damned fine yarn it certainly is. It’s a fast-paced set of stories that’s all just plain good fun. The reader doesn’t need to think, doesn’t need to put forth any effort, and it all makes for a very good break for a burnt-out brain in today’s multitasking, non-stop society.I enjoy this series. The first three stories are told expressly from John Carter’s perspective (first person, the general default to new writers). Thuvia, Maid of Mars, is ERB’s first foray in his Barsoom novels to attempt a more omniscient third-person that is even bold and daring enough to trade off and put us in the minds of both protagonists in turn, Carthoris and Thuvia. Instead of watching our intrepid hero traipse across the vastly unknown expanse of Mars to find his captured love where all we know of Dejah Thoris is what John decides to tell us, we actually get to see both sides of the line this time. It threw me off, at first, but I jumped into reading this book immediately after finishing The Warlord of Mars. However, I appreciated that the shift to third-person slowed down the narrative enough that a few more details could be thrown in to flesh out the scenery (something that develops even further in The Chessmen of Mars...ERB’s paragraphs grow steadily larger). It still has an undeniably amateur quality...but I’m reading pulp fiction, not War and Peace. I glance over the sentences that ring of nonsense and move on.I won’t hash over any more of the quality, the formula plot, the logic gaps, or dropped plot threads. There are plenty of other reviews here that will spout off about that ad nauseam. I’ve also been reading back through these stories to see them through the eyes of an adult rather than a child with an overactive imagination. The hero still rescues his princess and “gets the girl” as it were, but something actually managed to impress me with Thuvia, Maid of Mars. Considering that this story was in the works between 1912 and 1916, Thuvia is actually given the opportunity to be more than the damsel in distress. By comparison of all we’re allowed to see of Dejah Thoris, Thuvia is a heroine in her own right thanks to her mysterious ability to control banths and her strength of will.No, she’s not what modern women want to see by way of a heroine. She’s not out there in armor, sword blazing, fighting her own way out of the horde of green men that captured her (though Gods of Mars hinted that she’s quite capable). The readers of ERB’s world, where women in the US still didn’t even have the right to vote, would have balked at the notion. Pulps, like comics, were written with a male audience in mind, and this was still before the World Wars where women showed how much of a bastion they could be to society. But for all this, there are few things in this story more satisfying than the first scene outside of Lothar. The scavenging banths have turned their attentions upon Carthoris and Thuvia. Carthoris moves to protect her, but then:“You may return your sword,” [Thuvia] said. “I told you that the banths would not harm us. Look!” and as she spoke she stepped quickly toward the nearest animal.Carthoris would have leaped after her to protect her, but with a gesture she motioned him back. He heard her calling to the banths in a low, singsong voice that was half purr.Instantly the great heads went up and all the wicked eyes were riveted upon the figure of the girl. Then, stealthily, they commenced moving toward her. She stopped now and was standing waiting them.One, closer to her than the others, hesitated. She spoke to him imperiously, as a master might speak to a refractory hound.The great carnivore let its head droop, and with tail between its legs came slinking to the girl’s feet, and after it came the others until she was entirely surrounded by the savage maneaters.Between that and the similar event John Carter witnessed in Gods of Mars, Thuvia has been cemented as my favorite character in the series. Warlord of Mars has Carter telling us that the women of Barsoom do not fight as men fight, though it is not for a lack of knowing how. If ERB had let Thuvia keep her small pack of banths, the remaining chapters of Maid of Mars could have gone quite differently...but that would have made Carthoris less of the hero that we’re meant to picture him as. Instead, Thuvia is separated from her most powerful weapon, captured, imprisoned, and fought over by five different men. And at least six armies/navies.I still wasn’t entirely disappointed by ERB falling back into his usual trope (which, I have to admit, is not as horrible as the more dangerous Women in Refrigerators). Thuvia was captured by the original Lustful Villain of the story and imprisoned in the royal palace. But, here, we got to see Thuvia facing down the spineless prince--not for the first time--even though death was the only other apparent option. What we see of Thuvia is what we should have seen of Dejah Thoris in the first three books when we were too busy following John Carter around because of that meddling first-person perspective. As expected, however, Carthoris rescues Thuvia from certain death (and I say “certain” only because Astok was a spineless nit and made sure she was outnumbered and out-muscled). The trope ends there, though. Carthoris isn’t the one to kill his own nemesis, which was refreshing. Kar Komak, a new supporting character from the newly introduced Lotharians, gets the glory kills usually reserved for the primary hero, and Thuvia, in her own feminine way, frees Carthoris from a prison of his own. It’s not the most satisfying twist, but I found it amusing.In all, the book definitely has its flaws, not the least of which being its abrupt ending. However, I definitely appreciated what was there.
“Thuvia, Maid of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the fourth book in the Barsoom series, and it is quite a bit different than the previous books. The first three books focused on John Carter, and his love of Dejah Thoris, but they are barely mentioned in this book. Instead, the focus switches to focus on John Carter’s son, Cathoris, prince of Helium, and the title character Thuvia, princess of Ptarth, both of which were introduced in the second book of the series “The Gods of Mars”, but were fairly minor characters in both that and the third book of the series. This book was originally published in three parts in “All-Story Weekly” on April 8, 15, and 22 of 1916. It was later published in book form in October of 1920.Most of the book deals with things with which the readers of the series are already familiar, such as the different kingdoms of Red Martians, and the warlike Green Martians, but there is one very interesting new development and that is in the ancient city of Lothar, and in particular the phantom bowmen who defend that city. The entire Lothar sequence is certainly the highlight of the book, with the unusual Jav, who is the first Lotharian they meet, and Tario, Jeddak of Lothar. Also, the character Kar Komak who is one of the phantom bowmen is a good addition to the cast of characters.The story is rather simple. Cathoris is in love with Thuvia, as is Astok, Prince of Dusar, but Thuvia herself is already promised to Kulan Tith, the Jeddak of Kaol. Who Thuvia favors is kept somewhat secret, though the reader can pretty much guess. Astok is determined to have her, and so he kidnaps her and frames Cathoris in the process, hoping to start a war and prevent the truth from being learned. Cathoris falls into their trap, and he and Thuvia disappear from the known world. Cathoris does his best to protect Thuvia as she gets passed from captor to captor, while the circumstances of what is going on in their kingdoms is unknown to them. This book falls short of the first books of the series for a number of reasons. Many of the devices used here were used before. One would think that so many plots and deceptions had taken place in the past, that it would not automatically work so easily in making people believe that Cathoris was a kidnapper. The fact is, though, that these hokey devices worked in the earlier books, because Burroughs did a much better job of keeping the action going and telling a complete story. This book is much shorter than any of the prior three, and the ending feels like it is cut at least a chapter short as only some of the issues raised during the story end up being resolved. One never really gets to know Kulan Tith, and so his actions in the end feel empty of significance, a mistake which Burroughs did not make in the earlier books.For those who were content with the first three books, there isn’t enough here to justify coming back to it, but for those who want more, it does add something to the series. I am only going to rate this one two stars, because I feel it is significantly weaker than its predecessors, but for those who are big fans of the series, you probably will still get something out of it.
What do You think about Thuvia, Maid Of Mars (1986)?
Grandmother Lajla had a cottage on a heavily wooded hill overlooking Lake Michigan which her mother and grandmother had had built during the great war in consort with other Chicagoans of Norwegian descent who had purchased land all about. Every year until high school I spent all summer there with my mother and, while he existed, little brother. Father would come up on weekends. Lajla would usually spend one month of the summer with us.The cabin was pretty rustic: no heat except from a fireplace, no insulation, no running water, no telephone, no television, no phonograph or tape player. There was electricity--at least when there wasn't a storm, strong wind or something else to perturb the powerlines snaked through the forest canopy. Then, of course, we'd switch to the oil lamps of grandmother's youth.At night there wasn't much to do but play cards, knit and read. By age ten I'd given up the knitting and committed myself to the books, most of which I'd pick up from the carousel at Knack's Drugstore in the nearest town, Bridgman. It would be years before they got a library. Paperbacks were only 35 to 75 cents. Ace even published "doubles"--two science fiction or fantasy novels inside one cover.Throughout early adolescence Ace was pumping out the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs in cheap paperback editions graced by lurid covers, often of scantily clad ladies chased by hideous monsters. Thuvia, Maid of Mars had a particularly eye-catching drawing--a sure buy. I devoured those things, sometimes up to two whole novels a day.This particular night, the night of Thuvia, grandmother was sitting to my right alongside the wicker coffee table in her matching wicker rocker, knitting. Sharing her light, I was spread out on the couch alongside the wall. Noting my avidity, she interrupted to ask what I was reading with such interest. I handed the book over. She looked at it, likely recognizing Burrough's name from the Tarzan books and movies at least, raised her painted eyebrow at the cover drawing, opened it and scanned a page."You like this?" she asked.
—Erik Graff
Burroughs is at his best when he combines the impetus of pulp adventures with the unselfconsciously far flung. When he gets too tied down to an idea or progression, it tends to hinder his imagination somewhat.The alien setting of the Mars books then proves a great boon to Burroughs, since it is unfettered by much need for suspension of disbelief. The series has its highs, but it also has lows, like this book.In it, he explores many of the same things he has in the previous books, casting John Carter's son in his father's image, and giving him the same class of adventure. He fights an endless succession of monsters and soldiers, rescuing a standoffish princess, navigating war and politics, facing a sex-starved sadist, befriending a noble local warrior, and uncovering an ancient, mysterious culture.Unfortunately, the story doesn't have quite the same punch the second time through, even if there is some enjoyable variance in the details. Carter had more character than his son, and Burroughs once again gets in the same trouble he did in Tarzan: trying to explain the main character's unusual powers.John Carter was a mighty warrior on Mars because its lower gravity gave him the ability to leap further, hit harder, and carry more. Why his son has the same powers, Burroughs seems less sure, suggesting that Earthlings are merely mightier, despite the fact that all the creatures on Mars are huge and massively muscled.Just as in Tarzan, his notion that 'blood will out' is poorly contrived, even by the scientific notions of the time. This book is a romp, but lacks the verve of the first book and the bizarre pseudospiritual metaphysics of the second.
—J.G. Keely
More of the same. Burroughs is a great storyteller, but this novel had more annoyances in it than the previous ones. For one, I didn't like the concept of the 'mentalists' that could conjure up an army with their minds. To follow along with that, the idea of people being killed by the power of suggestion is very far-fetched and really made the story harder to get into. This became especially true when fierce, 'green warriors' fell so easily to its power.As far as the plot is concerned, it's very similar to the rest of the series - just rehashed in a different way. Princess gets captured, hero has to rescue her, nations are threatening war, tyrannical man is evil in all the same ways, etc. It bothered me how easily the nations of Kaol and Ptarth were deceived into believing Helium was the cause of trouble, despite the jeddaks of those three nations being close friends and John Carter siding with Helium. You'd think they would have a little more doubt surrounding the situation and trust in their friends a bit more.I also wasn't a fan of Thuvia and her general attitude throughout the book, even though I liked her from the preceding two novels. The theme of religious deception is getting tiresome, not just because of my own personal beliefs, but because it was written poorly and basically tossed into the book as an afterthought by the author. It didn't seem to have a prominent purpose and that author added it half-heartedly.Overall, Thuvia, Maid of Mars was the weakest novel at this point in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series. However, I would say that it's still worth a read because of the author's ability to tell a fun, adventurous tale. The change from a first-person to third-person perspective was also refreshing.
—Jon
