The gods of Mars

The Story

John Carter returns to the planet Mars, known to its inhabitants as Barsoom, hoping to reunite with his wife, Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Helium, and the son he has only seen in dreams. Upon his arrival, he finds himself far from the royal gardens of Helium, deposited instead in the mysterious Valley Dor. This region is the center of a profound religious deception; for eons, the peoples of Mars have believed that those who make a voluntary pilgrimage down the river of mystery, the Iss, find a paradise at the end of their journey. In reality, the valley is a place of horror, occupied by man-eating plant men and white apes. Carter discovers that the "paradise" is a myth maintained by a race of priests known as the Therns, who harvest the pilgrims as slaves or food.

Carter forms an unlikely alliance with Tars Tarkas, a noble Thark warrior who has also journeyed to the valley, and Thuvia, a princess of a neighboring nation. Together, they navigate the treacherous Golden Cliffs that border the valley, discovering that the Therns are themselves subservient to a darker, more ancient race: the First Born, black-skinned pirates who rule the hidden sea of Omean. From their subterranean island of Shador, the First Born launch raids across the planet, capturing women and treasures. Carter is eventually taken prisoner by the black pirates and brought before Issus, the self-proclaimed Goddess of Life Eternal. Issus is revealed to be no deity, but a cruel and withered creature who uses her position to enforce a reign of terror, demanding absolute submission and periodic sacrifices from all who fall into her clutches.

While captive in the dark pits of Omean, Carter meets Xodar, a First Born warrior he previously defeated in combat. Impressed by Carter’s mercy, Xodar becomes a loyal ally. They begin to organize a desperate escape, mapping the subterranean tunnels and plotting to hijack a submarine vessel. Their efforts are complicated by the machinations of Phaidor, a daughter of the high priest of the Therns, whose obsession with Carter leads her into a web of jealousy directed toward Dejah Thoris. As Carter and Xodar navigate the treacherous politics of the underworld, they realize that a massive conflict is brewing. The forces of Helium, led by Carter’s son Carthoris, have mounted a rescue mission, unaware that they are sailing into a trap set by the First Born.

The narrative culminates in a vast aerial conflict. Helium’s fleet, arriving in the Valley Dor, engages the black pirates in a display of tactical warfare. Carter, having escaped the pits, takes command of the Heliumetic forces, turning the tide of the battle through daring maneuvers. However, the victory is bittersweet. In the ensuing chaos, Dejah Thoris and her companions are locked away within the impenetrable Temple of Issus, a prison that operates on a cycle of one year. Despite the military victory, Carter is forced to abandon his wife to the sealed chamber, leaving him consumed by grief and uncertainty. The book ends with the agonizing knowledge that he must wait a full year before the doors open, leaving the fate of his family hanging in a balance that feels as precarious as the planet’s own thin, cold atmosphere.

The People

• John Carter: A man of Earth, he possesses exceptional strength and agility due to the lower gravity of Mars. Driven by a singular, unyielding devotion to his wife, he navigates the complex social hierarchies of Barsoom with a mix of martial prowess and a restless, strategic mind.
• Dejah Thoris: The Princess of Helium, she is a figure of resilience and dignity. Despite her status and the adoration of her people, she spends much of the narrative in dire peril, serving as the central motivation for Carter’s crusade against the corrupt religious establishment of the planet.
• Tars Tarkas: A chieftain among the green men of Barsoom, he is a warrior of few words and immense physical power. Once a creature of ruthless logic, his friendship with Carter humanizes him, revealing a capacity for profound loyalty and a grim, stoic sense of honor.
• Xodar: A high-ranking officer of the black-skinned First Born who becomes disillusioned with the tyranny of his own race. His transformation from a captor to one of Carter’s most trusted lieutenants highlights the book’s exploration of honor transcending racial and political lines.
• Phaidor: The daughter of a high-ranking Thern priest, she represents the volatile intersection of vanity and obsession. Her descent into hatred serves as a dangerous counterpoint to the noble motivations of the heroes, complicating every attempt at rescue.

In Its Own Voice

The descriptions of Mars often emphasize its alien, harsh beauty, particularly during the transition from day to night.

So rare is the atmosphere of Mars that it absorbs very little heat from the sun. During the daylight hours it is always extremely hot; at night it is intensely cold. Nor does the thin atmosphere refract the sun’s rays or diffuse its light as upon Earth. There is no twilight on Mars.

The book frequently centers on the moral weight of a warrior's pledge, which carries profound significance in Martian culture.

With these words the noble fellow unbuckled his scabbard and flung his sword upon the ground before me. The thing was equivalent to saying, “My sword, my body, my life, my soul are yours to do with as you wish.”

The cruelty of the antagonists is often presented with a cold, almost clinical detachment, underscoring the stakes for the heroes.

“All life on Barsoom,” she said, “is created solely for the support of the race of therns. How else could we live did the outer world not furnish our labour and our food?”

What It's Really About

At its heart, this is a study of the interplay between institutional corruption and personal agency. The narrative is deeply concerned with how established systems—in this case, the religious monopoly of the Therns and the subterranean tyranny of the First Born—use superstition to maintain control over the masses. The "goddess" Issus is the ultimate manifestation of this, as she is revealed to be a fragile, mortal dictator hiding behind a veil of eternal holiness. The book argues that "divine" mandates are frequently nothing more than human (or alien) inventions designed to justify slavery, predation, and the consumption of the weak by the strong.

There is also a strong focus on the nature of honor and the definition of a "civilized" person. Through the character of Tars Tarkas, the narrative explores whether morality is innate or learned. The green Martians are initially presented as heartless, yet they prove to be capable of profound loyalty and self-sacrifice, suggesting that individual character is always distinct from the perceived nature of one’s group. The story frequently tests its characters by placing them in situations where the "correct" action is not self-evident, forcing them to balance their personal desires against the potential for wider societal catastrophe.

Furthermore, the book is preoccupied with the concept of the "alien." Because the narrator is an Earthman, he is constantly forced to translate his own values into the context of Barsoom. He experiences a sense of being both an outsider and an essential catalyst for change. This tension—between being a part of a culture and being an observer of it—drives his actions. He does not seek to conquer, but to liberate, yet his presence inevitably disrupts the social order of every nation he touches. The question of whether he is a savior or an agent of chaos is never fully resolved, as the consequences of his victories often bring as much peril as they do salvation. The story remains a testament to the idea that absolute loyalty to a single ideal—whether it be love or justice—often requires the sacrifice of all other certainties.

Why Read It Today

This work is for readers who enjoy high-stakes adventure where the environment is as much an antagonist as any villain. The experience of reading it feels like stepping into a vivid, color-saturated dream. The world-building is expansive and unapologetically strange, filled with sprawling underground empires, flying warships, and a constant, driving sense of momentum. It captures a specific, breathless quality of old-fashioned pulp storytelling where the hero is constantly leaping from one life-or-death predicament to another, and where the moral lines are drawn in bold, unwavering strokes.

However, a modern reader should be prepared for the stylistic conventions of the era. The prose is earnest and dramatic, leaning heavily into hyperbole, and the pacing is relentless, sometimes leaving little room for psychological interiority. There are also period attitudes present, particularly in the way the characters discuss slavery and social hierarchy, which reflect the sensibilities of the early 20th century. These elements are not subtle, and they can feel jarring to a contemporary audience.

What stays with the reader after the final page is not necessarily the technical details of the air battles or the geography of the planet, but the feeling of the desperate, ticking clock. The agony of the year-long wait that concludes the story is a powerful, lingering image—a moment where the grand, sweeping action suddenly collapses into a single, intimate point of human suffering. If you can appreciate the work as a product of its time—a bold, imaginative leap into a world where honor is the only currency that matters—you will find it an immersive, if occasionally difficult, journey. It is a story about the stubborn, irrational refusal to give up when all odds are stacked against you, and that is a sentiment that remains resonant even across the span of a century.