The Martian Tales Trilogy: A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, and The Warlord of Mars

Combining other worldly, adventures with elements of classical myth and fast-paced plots with cliffhanging tension, Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Martian Tales Trilogy helped define a new literary genre emerging in the early twentieth century: science fiction.

In the first installment of The Martian Tales Trilogy, hero John Carter wins the affections of the princess of Mars and the respect of the Martian warlords whom he befriends. The excitement continues in The Gods of Mars, when Carter engages the Black Pirates in airborne combat above the dead seas of Mars and leads a revolt to free the Martian races from a religion that thrives on living sacrifices. In the third book, The Warlord of Mars, Carter overcomes the forces of evil that would destroy the planet.

Edgar Rice Burroughs Born in Chicago on September 1, 1875, Edgar Rice Burroughs grew to maturity during the height of the Industrial Revolution and witnessed the emergence of the United States as a twentieth-century world power. The author of Tarzan of the Apes (1912), Burroughs did not confine himself to a single genre; he also wrote medieval romances (The Outlaw of Torn, 1914), westerns (The Wur Chief of the Apaches, 1927), and mainstream novels (The Girl from Hollywood, 1922).