Summary
Summary of The Gods of Mars
The Gods of Mars at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 5 h 20 min4 h 15 min fast, 6 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 76,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1913by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
Paradise hides a deadly trap
John Carter prays above the Hudson, longing to return to Mars after ten years away. When his wish is answered, he wakes beside a quiet sea in a grove that seems carefully tended. The beauty promises safety, but plant men are attacking green Martians nearby. Among them is his old friend Tars Tarkas.
The Gods of Mars turns a homecoming into a fight for survival. Behind the swords and escapes lies a troubling question: what if the afterlife everyone hopes to reach is built on a lie?
Key idea 2
Carter risks everything for a friend
Carter returns to Mars hoping to find his wife, Dejah Thoris, but arrives naked and unarmed among creatures that kill.
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Key idea 3
The promised peace conceals a hunt
Besieged by plant men and white apes, Carter and Tars Tarkas escape through a hollow tree and into the cliffs.
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Key idea 4
Thuvia helps turn knowledge into escape
Among chained prisoners, Carter meets Thuvia, a young woman who can command the fierce banths.
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Key idea 5
Issus rules through fear and ceremony
Captured by the black pirates, Carter is taken beneath the frozen south pole to the hidden sea of Omean and the temple of Issus.
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Key idea 6
Rebellion brings Carter an unexpected bond
In prison, Carter meets a young red Martian whose face and fighting style seem familiar.
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Key idea 7
Homecoming turns truth into an accusation
After rescuing Tars Tarkas, Carter reaches the protection of Helium's warships, only to learn that Dejah Thoris has vanished.
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Key idea 8
Loyalty grows from mercy and courage
The therns and the First Born maintain power by deceiving those beneath them.
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Key idea 9
Every escape exposes another false promise
Carter comes to Mars seeking Dejah Thoris, but his search carries him through a supposed paradise, predatory priests, pirate captivity and the temple of a false goddess.
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Who it’s for
This book is for you if you love swashbuckling planetary adventure, daring escapes, loyal friendships and fierce duels. It also rewards anyone who likes stories that poke at false religion and tyrants.
What this book is
What if heaven were a trap? John Carter prays on a bluff above the Hudson in March 1886, and Mars answers. After ten years of waiting, he is flung across space and wakes in a lovely grove beside a quiet sea. The grass is cropped like a lawn and the trees shine like polished pianos. Then he sees plant men attacking a small band of green Martian men and women. A voice calls his name. It is his old friend Tars Tarkas, and the two of them are about to fight for their lives.
The Gods of Mars is the second Barsoom adventure from Edgar Rice Burroughs, the sequel to A Princess of Mars. It is told as John Carter's own account, framed by a foreword from his nephew. You get fast sword fights, daring escapes, secret passages, flying warships and one great question. What if the afterlife everyone longs for is a lie?
In this summary
- 1Paradise hides a deadly trapFree
- 2Carter risks everything for a friend
- 3The promised peace conceals a hunt
- 4Thuvia helps turn knowledge into escape
- 5Issus rules through fear and ceremony
- 6Rebellion brings Carter an unexpected bond
- 7Homecoming turns truth into an accusation
- 8Loyalty grows from mercy and courage
- 9Every escape exposes another false promise
Carter prays and lands in a trap
The story opens in March 1886. John Carter of Virginia has waited ten years on Earth, praying each night to Mars for a way back to his wife, Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. At last a wave of dizziness drops him on the bluff above the Hudson. His body stays behind, and he streaks across space toward the red planet.
He wakes in a grove of brightly colored trees, some black as ebony and some white as china. He leaps awkwardly in the light gravity, then walks toward a sea and a broad river that flows from the foot of enormous cliffs. The place looks tended, so he guesses he has landed among a civilized people.
There he meets the first horror of the book. A herd of plant men feeds on the meadow. They stand ten feet tall, with one white eye, a mouth in each palm and a mass of writhing hair that works as ears. Each has a heavy tail that can crush a skull like an eggshell. Small copies of them dangle from their armpits like fruit.
The herd attacks a small group of green Martian warriors. Carter, naked and unarmed, snatches a sword from the dead and rushes in. He fights beside the last survivor, a mighty warrior who then speaks his name. It is Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark, his closest friend on Barsoom. A shrill cry from a ledge in the cliff soon calls more beasts, and the two friends must run.
Carter arrives with nothing but his courage, and he spends it at once on someone else.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Check yourself
What does Carter discover in the Valley Dor?
Right. “Instead of peace, he found plant men and apes that devour pilgrims.”Not quite. “Instead of peace, he found plant men and apes that devour pilgrims.”
How is Carthoris related to Carter?
Right. “He is Carthoris, the son Carter left behind before his birth.”Not quite. “He is Carthoris, the son Carter left behind before his birth.”
What earns real loyalty in Carter's story?
Right. “Real loyalty is earned by acts of mercy and courage, not by claims to divinity.”Not quite. “Real loyalty is earned by acts of mercy and courage, not by claims to divinity.”
Go deeper: the whole of The Gods of Mars
About 5 h 30 min to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
Who’s who
- John Carter
- A Virginian swordsman called to Mars, he fights to rescue his wife Dejah Thoris and to expose a false heaven.
- Tars Tarkas
- The green jeddak of Thark, once a cruel warrior, he now follows his friend Carter wherever he leads.
- Thuvia
- A red Martian slave who commands beasts with her voice, she helps Carter escape and quietly loves him.
- Xodar
- A proud black noble disgraced by Issus, he comes to doubt his goddess and joins Carter's cause.
- Carthoris
- Carter's young son, a fearless fighter raised on stories of his lost father, he wants to protect his mother.
- Phaidor
- The proud daughter of the Father of Therns, she wants Carter's love and turns bitter when he refuses her.
- Issus
- The so-called Goddess of Eternal Life rules the First Born through fear and ceremony.
- Zat Arras
- The ambitious Jed of Zodanga, he rules Helium in its jeddak's absence and wants the throne for himself.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 76,200 words
- Reading timeAbout 5 h 20 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about The Gods of Mars
What is The Gods of Mars about?
John Carter returns to Mars and lands in the Valley Dor, the supposed paradise at the end of the River Iss. He discovers a deadly deception, escapes, finds his son, and tries to rescue Dejah Thoris.
Do I need to read A Princess of Mars first?
It helps, because the story builds on Carter's first Martian adventure and his marriage to Dejah Thoris. The book also recalls key events, so a newcomer can follow the plot and its fast action.
Who are the Holy Therns and the First Born?
The therns are bald, white-skinned priests who feed on pilgrims, wear yellow wigs and worship plant men. The First Born are black-skinned nobles who serve the goddess Issus and prey on the therns and others.
Who is Issus?
Issus is the so-called Goddess of Death and Eternal Life, worshipped by the First Born and the therns. Carter sees her as a mortal old woman who rules through fear and false promises.
What is the main message of The Gods of Mars?
The book urges readers to question comforting lies and false authority. It also praises loyalty, mercy to enemies, and the courage to tell the truth even when people may punish you for it.
Cite this edition
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. The Gods of Mars. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-gods-of-mars.
Burroughs, E. R. (2026). The gods of Mars. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-gods-of-mars (Original work published 1913)
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. The Gods of Mars. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-gods-of-mars.
@book{burroughs2026gods,
author = {Burroughs, Edgar Rice},
title = {The Gods of Mars},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-gods-of-mars},
note = {First published 1913}
}
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