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What if the paradise a whole world believes in is a prison—and escape means challenging its gods?
In Edgar Rice Burroughs’s The Gods of Mars, John Carter returns to Barsoom after years apart from his wife, Dejah Thoris. But he arrives in the Valley Dor, where Martians believe they go at life’s end. Here, the promise of paradise conceals captivity, deception, and creatures ready to kill.
Reunited with his warrior friend Tars Tarkas, Carter fights plant men and white apes. Thuvia, a captive, helps him understand the valley’s dangers. Beyond it lie the flying ships of the First Born and the power of Issus, worshipped as a goddess. To seek his family, Carter must confront rulers whose authority depends on keeping the truth buried.
What you’ll discover
- A paradise with teeth Enter the Valley Dor, where sacred promises hide captivity and every escape carries danger.
- Friendship under pressure Stand beside Carter and Tars Tarkas as courage and loyalty face monstrous enemies.
- Knowledge that threatens rulers Follow Thuvia’s guidance through a world where learning the truth makes you dangerous.
- Battle above Barsoom Meet the First Born as flying ships carry the struggle into another powerful society.
- A reason to fight Feel Carter’s longing for Dejah Thoris give his battles a deeply personal purpose.
Who will love it
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’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Paradise hides a deadly trap
- Carter risks everything for a friend
- The promised peace conceals a hunt
- Thuvia helps turn knowledge into escape
- Issus rules through fear and ceremony
- Rebellion brings Carter an unexpected bond
- Homecoming turns truth into an accusation
- Loyalty grows from mercy and courage
- Every escape exposes another false promise
Who’s who
- John CarterA Virginian swordsman called to Mars, he fights to rescue his wife Dejah Thoris and to expose a false heaven.
- Tars TarkasThe green jeddak of Thark, once a cruel warrior, he now follows his friend Carter wherever he leads.
- ThuviaA red Martian slave who commands beasts with her voice, she helps Carter escape and quietly loves him.
- XodarA proud black noble disgraced by Issus, he comes to doubt his goddess and joins Carter's cause.
- CarthorisCarter's young son, a fearless fighter raised on stories of his lost father, he wants to protect his mother.
- PhaidorThe proud daughter of the Father of Therns, she wants Carter's love and turns bitter when he refuses her.
- IssusThe so-called Goddess of Eternal Life rules the First Born through fear and ceremony.
- Zat ArrasThe ambitious Jed of Zodanga, he rules Helium in its jeddak's absence and wants the throne for himself.
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The Gods of Mars
by Edgar Rice Burroughs · 1913
A man prays on a Hudson bluff, then wakes in a Martian paradise where hungry plant men and white apes wait.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Leave a Thark his head and one hand, and he may yet conquer.”
In short
What if heaven were a trap? John Carter prays on a bluff above the Hudson in March 1886, and Mars answers.
The Gods of Mars at a glance
- 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
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
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.
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Details
- First published
- 1913
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
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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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.
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.
“Leave a Thark his head and one hand, and he may yet conquer.”
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