A princess of Mars

The Story

The narrative begins in the rugged hills of Arizona, where a former Confederate captain, John Carter, takes refuge in a cave while fleeing hostile Apache warriors. Overcome by a strange, paralyzing vapor, he experiences a sensation of weightlessness and drifts into a dreamlike state. When he opens his eyes, he finds himself transported to a desolate, alien landscape. This is Barsoom—a dying, archaic version of Mars. He soon encounters the Tharks, a nomadic, warlike race of green-skinned, four-armed humanoids who stand ten to fifteen feet tall. Because Mars has lower gravity than Earth, Carter discovers he possesses superhuman agility and strength, allowing him to leap great distances and dominate his captors in physical combat.

Carter’s initial status as a prisoner evolves as he proves his worth as a warrior. He earns the respect of Tars Tarkas, a powerful chieftain, and adopts a fierce, dog-like creature named Woola, who becomes his loyal protector. While with the Tharks, Carter encounters a group of red Martians—human-like beings who resemble Earth people but possess sophisticated technology. Among them is the Princess Dejah Thoris of Helium, who has been captured by the Tharks. Carter is instantly captivated by her, and his desire to protect her becomes the driving force of his life on Mars. He learns the local language and customs, navigating the brutal politics of the Thark tribe, where displays of emotion are seen as weaknesses and internal rivalries often end in public duels.

As tensions rise between the warring cities of Helium and Zodanga, Carter orchestrates a daring escape. He, Dejah Thoris, and their allies flee the Thark encampment, but their journey is perilous. Carter is eventually captured by the Warhoons, another savage tribe of green Martians, and forced into a series of brutal gladiatorial games. He manages to survive and escape once more, navigating the hostile, ruined cities and vast canals of the planet. His ultimate goal is to reach the atmosphere plant, a massive, impenetrable facility that provides the air for all of Barsoom. He realizes that if the plant’s complex machinery fails, the entire planet will suffocate.

After infiltrating the plant and securing its operation, Carter makes his way to the city of Zodanga, which is currently holding the Princess captive. He gains favor with the Zodangan leadership through his combat prowess and tactical ingenuity, rising through the ranks of their air navy. In a climactic sequence of aerial warfare, Carter leads a coordinated effort to liberate Dejah Thoris. The battle is ferocious, involving immense, gravity-defying warships that maneuver through the thin Martian air. Through his leadership and the support of his allies, the Heliumite forces triumph, and Dejah Thoris is rescued.

The resolution of the conflict, however, leaves Carter’s fate unresolved. During a final confrontation to save the atmosphere plant from a catastrophic malfunction, he is exposed to the same mysterious gases that brought him to Mars. He wakes up back in the Arizona cave, thousands of miles away from the woman he loves and the life he built on the red planet. He spends the next decade on Earth, wealthy but profoundly hollow, haunted by the memory of Mars. As the story closes, he sits in his study in New York, watching the planet shine in the night sky, forever longing for the day he might return to the side of his princess.

The People

• John Carter: A Virginian gentleman and veteran whose physical strength and sense of honor make him a legend on Mars. He is driven by a protective love for Dejah Thoris and a desire to impose justice on a society governed by cold cruelty.
• Dejah Thoris: A princess of Helium whose intelligence and courage match her beauty. She is the moral center of the story, providing Carter with his link to the culture and history of Barsoom. She wants only peace for her people and loyalty from the man she loves.
• Tars Tarkas: A mighty Thark chieftain who evolves from a brutal warlord into a friend and ally. He is a man of hidden sorrows and rigid codes of conduct, eventually finding redemption by helping Carter overturn the unjust rule of his own kind.
• Woola: A massive, multi-legged beast that Carter saves from death. Despite his terrifying, alien appearance, Woola possesses an unwavering devotion to his master, acting as a fearless, silent bodyguard throughout the most dangerous stages of the journey.
• Tal Hajus: The cruel, debased Jeddak of the Tharks. He represents the worst of the Martian wilderness—a leader who rules through fear and violence. He serves as the primary obstacle to Carter’s quest for peace and justice among the green tribes.

In Its Own Voice

The author establishes the romantic tone early, showing the instant, life-altering connection between the protagonist and the princess:

“I looked down at her; her beautiful face upturned, and her wonderful eyes opening up the very depth of her soul; and as my eyes met hers I knew why, and—I shuddered.”

Carter reflects on the difference between his own nature and the harsh, unyielding reality of his new home:

“I know that I can trust you, and because the knowledge may someday help you or him or Dejah Thoris or myself, I am going to tell you the name of my father, nor place any restrictions or conditions upon your tongue.”

The ending captures the bittersweet, lingering ache of the narrator, who remains physically on Earth while his heart stays on another world:

“I can see her shining in the sky through the little window by my desk, and tonight she seems calling to me again as she has not called before since that long dead night.”

What It's Really About

At its heart, this book explores the clash between two very different codes of honor. John Carter represents the "Southern gentleman"—a character archetype built on romantic idealism, absolute loyalty, and the performative nature of chivalry. When he lands on Barsoom, he brings these virtues into a world that has largely forgotten them. The green Martians are a society of pure utility and survival; they do not know love, they abandon their own young to hatch in incubators, and they view any display of sentiment as a mental defect. The conflict in the book is not merely one of swords or airships, but a struggle to prove that these "softer sentiments"—kindness, mercy, and romantic devotion—are not signs of weakness, but sources of superior strength.

The book also delves into the concept of the "civilizing mission." Carter does not just survive on Mars; he reforms it. He teaches the Tharks to treat their mounts with kindness, he introduces the concept of justice to a culture that only understands power, and he acts as a bridge between the fractured, warring red Martian cities. He is an outsider who believes he knows the "right" way to live, and the book validates this by showing that his interference leads to a more stable, unified Barsoom.

Yet, there is a deep undercurrent of melancholy regarding the "dead world." Barsoom is a planet of ruins, dried-up seas, and ancient, crumbling infrastructure. It is a place where history is physically present in the form of abandoned cities, and where the current inhabitants are living in the shadow of a much greater, vanished past. The struggle to keep the atmosphere plant running is a metaphor for the fragile nature of civilization itself—a thin, artificial barrier between life and the cold, encroaching void. Carter’s longing for his princess, even years after his return to Earth, reflects the idea that once a person has glimpsed a world of pure adventure and high stakes, the mundane reality of his home planet feels like a prison. The book asks whether it is better to live a long, safe life in the familiar, or to risk everything for a moment of genuine, heroic purpose in an alien land.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate high-stakes adventure and the roots of modern space opera will find much to admire here. The experience of reading this book is one of relentless, breathless momentum; it feels like a dream where every corner turned reveals a new, impossible wonder. There is a distinct "pulp" energy to the writing, where scenes shift with the speed of a silent film, focusing always on the next duel, the next escape, or the next sweeping landscape. It is a book that encourages the reader to suspend disbelief and embrace the scale of its imagination.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the period-specific attitudes that permeate the text. The narrator’s voice is that of a 19th-century soldier, and his views on gender, race, and military conflict are products of his time. The descriptions of the "savage" tribes and the courtly, almost fetishized portrayal of the princess reflect the colonial-era sensibilities of the early 20th century. While these elements are foundational to the book’s structure, they can feel jarring or restrictive when viewed through a modern lens.

The book is also marked by a certain lack of interiority. While the action is vivid, the characters often speak in declarations rather than intimate conversations. It is a work of broad strokes—courage, villainy, and love are presented as absolute, undeniable forces. If you are looking for complex, psychologically internal character studies, you may find the straightforward, almost archetypal nature of the cast to be simplistic. But for those who want to understand the source of the planetary romance genre—the DNA from which Star Wars and John Carter films were eventually drawn—this book remains an essential artifact. It stays with you not because of its nuance, but because of its sheer, unadulterated conviction. It is a reminder of the power of escapist literature: the ability to make a reader look at the red dot of Mars in the night sky and believe, if only for a second, that someone is looking back.