I Claim This Blog Post in the Name of Barsoom, Isn't That Lovely?

Before Life on Mars was the title of a couple television shows, it was the concept of science fiction. While perhaps overdone to the point of triteness today, it was still very much a new concept when Edgar Rice Burroughs began writing A Princess of Mars a little over a century ago.

Burroughs' Barsoom series (that's what the native Martians--er, Barsoomians?--call their red home planet) straddles the line between the science fiction and fantasy genres. Fantasy is one of the oldest (perhaps the oldest, if you include ancient myths in this category), while science fiction is by comparison a newcomer to the art of storytelling. So it strikes me as odd that these two genres, somewhat on the opposite ends of time, are often blended and confused for one another. 

Starting with A Princess of Mars, Burroughs creates a literary world that is reminiscent of myths: his hero, John Carter, is a human with superhuman abilities--in the first chapters Carter confides in the reader that he never seems to age, that he is incredibly strong, and that he accidentally transported himself to Mars apparently by his own mental powers. Once on Mars, he finds his physical strength is amplified by the lighter gravity (he's able to leap tall buildings in a single bound). He falls in love with a princess, fights villains, befriends warriors...all things that one might expect from an Ancient Greek demigod.

Yet while Burroughs does gloss over the "hard science" (I mean, c'mon! He could have at least had John Carter abducted by aliens or something to explain the interplanetary travel!), this is nevertheless a science fiction story. Despite flaunting the Rule of Cool and taking vast artistic license, Burroughs does seem to try to incorporate the "modern" theories at his disposal to describe what Mars is like. This planet is a desert, with pockets of subterranean lakes and rivers (the presence of water on Mars is still a hot topic in scientific circles today, inevitably sparking debate on whether life of even the most basic variety might exist there as well). Like the desert cultures of Earth, the sources of water on Barsoom are its most coveted resource, and is the prize fought over by all the various tribes and factions of alien species on the planet. Also in short supply is planetary atmosphere: in fact, the air supply is artificially generated by an "atmosphere plant," which of course is a point of contention as whoever controls the plant effectively holds power over the rest of the world.

A lot of these species are humanoid, such as John Carter's love interest, the Princess Dejah Thoris of Helium, whose main characteristic is having red skin. The other "species" of Barsoom tend to be humans of various colors: where the principle characters like Dejah Thoris are Red Martians, there are also White Martians, Yellow Martians, Black Martians, and Green Martians. Either because he thought that it would make them seem "unhuman" or just because he assumed they would be hot on that desert planet, Burroughs likes to mention how little clothing most of these cultures wear. (Luckily for Disney, the movie adaptation didn't interpret that little detail quite so literally!)

Only the Green Martians, also known as Tharks, are the conventional idea of "alien" in their bizarre appearance, with tusks and two sets of arms. As might be expected in such a harsh climate and with dwindling natural resources, these cultures are all warlike in various degrees. As the books play out, it seems that just as John Carter defeats or makes peace with one warrior race, and even Bigger Bad comes along to take their place. 

Dejah Thoris is kind of like Princess Peach from Super Mario Bros. and is always being kidnapped and then moved to another castle just as John Carter is about to rescue her. Nevertheless most of the women characters, despite being abduction-prone, usually reveal themselves to be strong-minded, independent and brave. In fact, one of my favorite entries of the series departs from following Carter as a protagonist in favor of a female lead, in Thuvia, Maid of Mars. While defeating bad guys or rescuing innocents is a usual theme throughout the books, Burroughs manages to incorporate new plot twists or characters throughout the series that maintains the freshness and excitement over nearly a dozen books. Burroughs supplements his protagonists Carter and Dejah Thoris with a cast of similarly awesome and (often literally) colorful characters: Tars Tarkas the Thark, the Red Martian warrior Kantos Kan, and the doglike (in behavior, though very UN-doglike in appearance) Woola. 

Sometimes I do admit to finding John Carter's narration of his own glorious battles and daring exploits to be a bit over-the-top macho. However, there's no denying that these stories are fast-paced, thrilling, and fun to read. For the most part the reader can root for John Carter not because he's strong or even because he's the only human character, but because he protects the innocent and the weak, respects even his enemies, and tries to fight for justice and do the right thing. And that's the sort of thing that transcends genre lines, time, and even the space between planets.