6 h 54 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 54 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A rocket meant for Mars carries Carson Napier to Venus, where homes rise above beasts in giant trees.
Carson Napier has wealth, restless courage, and a plan to reach Mars. Instead, his rocket takes him to a world hidden beneath thick clouds. In Pirates of Venus, Edgar Rice Burroughs sends this American adventurer into Vepaja, where the tree people live high above the forest floor and danger waits below.
There Carson meets Duare, a proud princess bound by her people's customs. Her father, King Mintep, guards both his daughter and his realm. As Carson faces pirates, monsters, and cruel rulers, his loyalty to Duare gives his adventures a deeper purpose. Across strange cities and dangerous seas, a sword, quick thinking, and a stubborn code of honor matter more than machines.
What you’ll discover
- A world above the beasts Explore Vepaja, where the tree people build their homes high in giant trees.
- A princess bound by custom Meet Duare as she weighs whom to trust within the rules of her people.
- Pirates on alien seas Follow Carson onto dangerous waters, where ships carry strange devices and travel promises trouble.
- Honor among thieves Discover what Carson refuses to surrender when loyalty and his code of conduct face pressure.
- Danger at every turn Enjoy swift scenes that leave Carson facing another threat or an unexpected surprise.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love fast adventure, ships and swords, strange worlds with their own customs, and a hero who talks his way out of trouble.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A ghost tests an unlikely messenger
- A missed calculation opens another world
- Vepaja survives by protecting its knowledge
- Love and loyalty draw Napier closer
- Winning freedom requires more than rebellion
- Duare's identity makes love more dangerous
- Adventure carries questions about freedom
- Strange sights reveal familiar human concerns
Who’s who
- Carson NapierA fearless young Earthman and stunt flier who sets out for Mars, lands on Venus, and falls in love with a princess he may not touch.
- DuareThe daughter of the Vepajan king, bound by strict custom, who longs to speak freely and is torn between duty and Napier.
- KamlotA skilled hunter of Vepaja who becomes Napier's closest friend and guards the princess he is sworn to protect.
- DanusThe king's physician and librarian, a gentle scholar who teaches Napier the language and history of Amtor.
- KironA Thoran soldier who despises his officers and helps plan and carry out the mutiny aboard the Sofal.
- ZogA huge, good-natured former slave who prefers a kind master to cold freedom and fights fiercely for Napier.
- VilorA Thoran spy among the captives who is infatuated with Duare and poses as a quiet scholar.
- MooskoA fat, proud Thoran official, one of the hundred rulers, who is taken hostage and wants to escape.
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Pirates of Venus
by Edgar Rice Burroughs · 1932
A ghost walks through a wall, and a rocket aimed at Mars sails on toward a cloud-wrapped world of giant trees.
Medium level2–5 hours to read2 languages
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In short
Would you answer a letter that tells you to watch for a woman in a white shroud at midnight on the thirteenth? A writer in California nearly bins that very letter.
Pirates of Venus at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 50 min3 h 5 min fast, 4 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 55,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1932by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A ghost and a test open the tale
The story begins with a crank letter that nearly lands in the wastebasket. Its writer, Carson Napier, asks the recipient to watch for a woman in a white shroud at midnight on the thirteenth. If she comes and speaks, he is to remember her words and answer. The busy recipient forgets the letter within five minutes.
On the night of the thirteenth a woman enters through a closed door. She says someone left Guadalupe today and will wait in Guaymas for a letter. Then she leaves through the solid wall. In the morning the letter is found in the files, postmarked Guaymas.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1932
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Pirates of Venus. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/pirates-of-venus.
Burroughs, E. R. (2026). Pirates of Venus. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/pirates-of-venus (Original work published 1932)
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Pirates of Venus. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/pirates-of-venus.
@book{burroughs2026pirates,
author = {Burroughs, Edgar Rice},
title = {Pirates of Venus},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/pirates-of-venus},
note = {First published 1932}
}
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What is Pirates of Venus about?
It follows Carson Napier, who rockets toward Mars, lands on Venus instead, meets the tree-dwelling Vepajans, falls in love with a princess, and leads a mutiny aboard a Thoran ship while searching for her.
Who is Duare in Pirates of Venus?
Duare is the daughter of the Vepajan king Mintep. Custom forbids her from speaking to men outside her family until she is twenty, and Vepajans call her the hope of their land.
What is Thorism in the book?
Thorism is a creed of class hatred founded by a laborer named Thor. His followers overthrew the educated classes of Vepaja, then ruled as greedy masters of an unhappy people.
The author
Edgar Rice Burroughs
1875–1950 · American adventure novelist
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American writer born in Chicago in 1875. He wrote novels about Tarzan and novels set on Mars. His first Mars story appeared in 1912 and became the book A Princess of Mars in 1917. He later lived in California and died in Encino in 1950.
More by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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