nataliya

Old-school pulpy goodness. Fun classic full of manly adventures and good cheesy romance between an awesomely manly man John Carter (did I mention manly?) and a scantily-clad beautiful (and at necessary times appropriately helpless) princess Dejah Thoris among the red landscapes of Mars Barsoom. And let's not forget John Carter's favorite Barsoomian "dog" Woola. Who in my head, thanks to the otherwise forgettable movie, will always look like this insanely adorable menacing monster-cutie - SQUEEEEEE!!!!Dear Santa, if I'm REALLY REALLY NICE this year, can I pretty please get a Woola puppy for Christmas??? Please??? What's not to love about Burroughs' classic? Well, yeah, it's chock-full of machismo, with a generous helping of sexism, a touch of colonialism attitude, a bit of stereotyping, and with mostly wooden characters... Doesn't it sound awful? I kid, I kid, Barsoom fans. I actually enjoyed this book, believe it or not. I mean, we get a dying red planet, an atmosphere plant (!), red men, green men, Jeddaks, princesses, and of course WOOLA!!!!A Princess of Mars may not always appeal to the modern reader (thanks to changing values in the last hundred years!), and yet once you start reading it you realize that it's addictive like crack and seems to have aged alright, like decent wine. Burroughs' portrayal of Mars Barsoom is pretty awesome, the adventures are fun, and the pacing is good. Ahhhh, John Carter... Your story may be neither deep nor profound, but it's an entertaining classic, and I still love you.