Another of the books I picked up at Books-A-Million was an omnibus of the first three of E. R. Burrough's John Carter books. Of course, I'm familiar with many of the things that originated with Burroughs - Tarzan, Pellucidar, Barsoom; I think the first time I encountered the last of these was in a book on variations on chess, which included a description of Martian chess. But I'd never actually read any Burroughs.
I've finished A Princess of Mars and am about halfway through Gods of Mars. They aren't terrifically nuanced books; there are heroes and there are monsters, and precious little in between. (Some people - e.g., Tars Tarkas - appear to be the latter but are eventually revealed as the former.) Nor are the "surprises" all that surprising; I recognized who John Carter's fellow prisoner in Gods of Mars had to be almost immediately. Still, Burroughs tells a pretty good story, He's actually a bit better at characterization, in my judgment, than H. G. Wells, though Wells is in most other respects a better writer.
Is it obvious that John Carter's physical superiority to the Martians, owing to his originating on a heavier planet, is a direct precursor to Superman, especially as originally conceived? ("Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound" could apply to Carter perfectly well....)
An interesting read; flawed, as most seminal works are flawed, but entertaining.
Addendum re Superman: I just ran across the following passage.
I've finished A Princess of Mars and am about halfway through Gods of Mars. They aren't terrifically nuanced books; there are heroes and there are monsters, and precious little in between. (Some people - e.g., Tars Tarkas - appear to be the latter but are eventually revealed as the former.) Nor are the "surprises" all that surprising; I recognized who John Carter's fellow prisoner in Gods of Mars had to be almost immediately. Still, Burroughs tells a pretty good story, He's actually a bit better at characterization, in my judgment, than H. G. Wells, though Wells is in most other respects a better writer.
Is it obvious that John Carter's physical superiority to the Martians, owing to his originating on a heavier planet, is a direct precursor to Superman, especially as originally conceived? ("Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound" could apply to Carter perfectly well....)
An interesting read; flawed, as most seminal works are flawed, but entertaining.
Addendum re Superman: I just ran across the following passage.
[A]ccept from John Carter upon his sacred honor the assurance that he will never call upon you to draw this sword other than in the cause of truth, justice, and righteousness.