Amazon.com
In this terrific thriller, Poppy Rice, director of the FBI's crime lab, reinvestigates the case of an unlikely young female killer on death row in Texas. Poppy's puzzled that the jury accepted evidence that an 88-pound drug addict could murder two people with an ax, based on the testimony of a quack. But she's working against the clock (the execution of Rona Leigh Glueck, now a saintly and eloquent born-again Christian, is rapidly approaching) and against a network of good old boys, including the governor, who aren't eager to see the evidence reexamined. Though Poppy (whom some readers may remember as a sidekick in Mary-Ann Smith's An American Killing) is whip-smart and tenacious as an alligator, she can't get a stay of execution.
But Rona Leigh manages to cheat death dramatically: she survives Texas's lethal-injection cocktail and escapes, with the help of a rebel preacher and his group of New Shakers, who believe she's the second coming of Christ. Now Poppy's task is threefold: find Rona Leigh Glueck, find out how she survived, and find out if she's innocent. Smith's pacing and plot development are subtly perfect, and she renders just enough of Poppy's personal life to make her interestingly enigmatic. Good news: Love Her Madly is the first in a series. --Barrie Trinkle
Book Description
A tense, death-row drama--meet brash FBI investigator Poppy Rice in the first of a winning new series Poppy Rice is home in her D.C. apartment with very little furniture and lots of boxes she still hasn't unpacked after five years. It's three a.m. and she's suffering from her usual insomnia. While polishing her nails, she watches a tape of the CBS Evening NewsDan Rather is interviewing convicted ax-murderer Rona Leigh Glueck. In ten days, Rona Leigh will be the first woman executed in Texas since the Civil War. Poppy pauses the tape on a close-up of Rona Leigh's small, delicate hands. Okay, she thinks, so maybe it was a lightweight ax.Poppy digs out Rona Leigh's case file to find-along with the grisly crime-scene photos-a physician's testimony that glee, not muscle, gave her the strength to commit the crime. When her public defender asked the crime lab for help determining whether such a small woman could physically commit these murders, he was turned away for not filing the correct paperwork.With the reluctant support of her colleague and sometime lover, Joe Barnow, the relentless Poppy reopens the investigation to find out if Rona Leigh deserves to receive a certificate that will read: Death by Legal Homicide as Ordered by the State of Texas.Funny and fearless, Poppy Rice is just about unstoppable. In fact, she's already on to her next case-Smith is currently at work on the second novel in this smart new series.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointed a bit.......2006-08-03
I loved this author's memoir and An American Killing. I am an avid mystery reader. I eagerly purchased this book. I was moderately disappointed. The characters lacked depth. The writing needed a better editor to tighten it up. I'm not from Texas nor am I a Republican, still I found the broad stereotyping of Texans to be offensive and a cheap device. The glaring error in the book is that a law enforcement officer would never shoot into the air as Poppy does. That bullet has to come down somewhere and that somewhere might be into an innocent person.
Deep in the Heart of "What" State?????.......2006-07-27
I'm not going to give you the in depth story that others before me have filled in. Suffice to say I was determined to finish this piece of trash (I don't know why) and it didn't get any easier as I finally got to the end. Praise Jesus!! as they'd say in this very heavy on religion story about a convicted axe murderess. Yes, Tirone Smith took a real person, Karla Faye Tucker, and made up a pretty boring tale. I think it was boring because it needed serious editing (I had to skim most of it) because, Mary-Ann, Yes! we got it. We don't need every bit of the born again language put down in print. Also, as others before me have commented, her knowledge of Texas must be zero, especially the Houston, Waco, Austin areas. I hate that in a book; far too many mistakes in this one to excuse. One more thing, having lived there for over 25 years I am ever so weary about movies, tv shows and, now, books buying into the dumber than dirt, Texans who fit into some make believe stereotype. Houston is a very sophisticated city and has been since at least the 70s through the 90s when I lived there. Oh, wait! People from Dallas may enjoy this as they feel quite superior to Houstonians (I never figured out why). I read this author once before and thought she was OK. Was I ever mistaken!!!!!!
A psychological thriller based on fact + a super savvy protagtonist = an unbeatable combo! .......2006-05-02
"Love Her Madly" marks author Mary-Ann Tirone Smith's first foray into the adventures of protagonist Poppy (Penelope) Rice, FBI agent, super smart, independent, sassy, savvy, professional 21st century lady that she is. Says Ms. Smith, "The women in my books have lives that simply aren't ordinary. They don't take crap from anyone. This makes them interesting." Poppy has recently been promoted to the directorship of the FBI's new crime lab in Washington, DC, but she prefers to work in the field rather than the office or laboratory. Her boss, appreciative of her talents, accommodates her whenever possible.
When Poppy is up late one night, coping with her chronic insomnia by watching taped news broadcasts on her VCR, she hears Dan Rather interviewing Rona Leigh Glueck, a woman condemned to die by lethal injection in just ten days. Glueck will become the first woman executed by the State of Texas since the Civil War. She readily confesses to having participated, along with her boyfriend, in the brutal ax murder of two adults while high on drugs and who knows what else.
When Poppy notices that the condemned woman is a 90 pound weakling with small delicate wrists, she wonders how the woman could have heaved that ax so many times. Agent Bright receives permission from her boss to travel to Texas and become a temporary "full-time pseudo-district attorney." And thus begins our entertaining, fast-paced tale.
Apparently Rona Leigh was born again on death row and is ready to return to Jesus. At the time of her conviction, seventeen years before, she had just turned seventeen herself, was a drug addict, an alcoholic, a prostitute (had been a child prostitute), and suffered from malnutrition. Poppy uncovers evidence which makes it obvious that the doomed woman did not receive a fair trial. In fact, some of the evidence presented by the prosecution was just plain laughable. And no one paid much attention to the objections and appeals of the defense attorney.
Mary-Ann Tirone Smith frequently writes about injustices suffered, especially by poor women denied choices in life. Says Ms. Smith, "as an FBI agent, Poppy is the first of my characters who has the official capacity to treat injustice and the means to do so at her fingertips and she takes to the task with a vengeance. As Poppy might put it: 'If I'm not outraged at least once a day, bury me. I'm dead.'"
This story is based on the case of Karla Fay Tucker, killed by lethal injection, (legal homicide), on February 3, 1998 by the State of Texas. She was a born-again Christian convicted of the ax murder of two people and the first woman to be executed by Texas since the 1860's. The Texas clemency board follows no written criteria, is not required to meet in person, and hasn't granted anyone clemency in many years. One of the more bizarre Texas laws deprives a prisoner from having his case reopened once thirty days have passed since the conviction. No exceptions!
Before Tucker was executed, there were appeals for clemency from Waly Bacre Ndiaye, the United Nations commissioner on summary and arbitrary executions, the World Council of Churches, Pope John Paul II, and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, among other world figures. Unusual appeals came from conservative American political figures such as Newt Gingrich and Pat Robertson, interceding on her behalf. Tucker did not ask for a pardon, only commutation of her death sentence to life in prison. Huntsville Prison's warden testified that she was a model prisoner and that, after 14 years on death row, she likely had been reformed. Despite these pleas, then Govenor George W.Bush signed her death warrant. (above information from Wikipedia.com)
This suspense thriller is not written to make a case against capital punishment, however. Nor is it predictable. There are some interesting and unexpected twists and turns in the storyline. Oddly, with such a dark topic, the humor is outstanding. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the snappy dialogue. Really good satire! Recommended!
JANA
Love Her Madly .......2005-07-13
My thoughts on this book are extremely high. I thought of it being one of the best books I actually read this year. The reason I was so addicted to this book I think is because of the Rona Leigh Mystery that was going on. This book was so good that it was impossible for me to put down. I was reading at least 3-5 hours a day and on weekends. For me it was a quick read. I highly recommend it to people who love mysteries. I am the kind of person who love books that leave me wanting more at the end of the story and Love Her Madly was on of those books. I plan on reading alot more of the Poppy Rice Mysteries and also other books that this author have written because they seem to just interest me and catch my eye. Another suggestion that I would give to the author is that this would be a great movie that would hit the top charts. I would surely love to go see it.
OK, But More Background To Explain Actions.......2004-06-07
Always on the search for good women thriller writers, I picked this up because of the intriguing plot synopsis. I found it a decent read, but not an exceptional one like Linda Fairstein or Alex Kava. There was too little background on what 'made' the Protagonist, why she feels and acts the way she does. I didn't much care for her one-night stand despite having a 'beau' back in DC. I wouldn't like that in a man; I certainly didn't in a woman. Some of the dialogue was a bit stilted, but that's to be expected for a first book in a series; the characters will fill out and appear more natural in subsequent sequels (I hope). Good twist at the end, though - keep that up.
Average customer rating:
- A book that will last.
- Living poetically: life in fragments
- Zen in the Art of Loving
- A beautiful and original book
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Madly: A Novel
William Benton
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Birds
ASIN: 1593760833 |
Book Description
Love, with its fear, exhilaration and transcendence, is perhaps the most enduring subject in the literature of the world.
About 11 o’clock on a late August night in Manhattan, Bill stops by his local Blockbuster, and in the nearly vacant shop meets an exotic stranger looking for advice on which movie to rent. In their fragmented and awkward first conversation, they exchange phone numbers and she rides away on her bicycle with a copy of Jules and Jim.
“At two that morning my phone rang. The machine answered; it was Irina saying how much she liked the movie.” Not long after, they meet and soon begin a love affair, filled with tension and tenderness, as they navigate through their separate pasts to find a road to travel together, for as long as their fates allow. Madly is a story of accident and inflected passion, of disruption, erotic and doomed. As Bill comes to realize Irina’s disturbed, tenuous hold on reality, his own hold on Irina turns relentless and obsessive.
Customer Reviews:
A book that will last........2006-06-02
If you have truly loved someone in your life you will love this book. If you haven't, you must read this book.
Living poetically: life in fragments.......2006-04-19
This is quite a remarkable book, and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten more attention. As others have noted, it is the account of an affair between a fairly accomplished middle aged professional New Yorker poet and a beautiful and very confused young Russian woman with poetic ambitions and immense but undisciplined talent. What makes it remarkable is that it is told as it is experienced and as all such matters can only be experienced, in a series of reflections and fragmented recollections, brilliantly written in such a way as to yield maximum insight with the minimum of words: in that sense even the most prosaic passages border on poetry, without being in any way pretentious. In addition, since some of their most significant acts of coming together involve translating Russian poetry (mostly Pasternak) and writing original poems, the story is interspersed with their works, all quite stunning and suggestive. The book shows that and why poetry is perhaps most fitting as an evocation of the kind of unity we bring to our lives: a poem is always a kind of fragment, that invokes a larger set of meanings than it can explicitly announce, and yet it can be in its own way and on its own terms complete. We are not unities, we are never simply whole, and yet we strive to bring the fragments of our selves and our lives (the multiple obsessions and fragmented concerns that drive us in incompatible ways) into coherence and that drive towards coherence, towards articulation of ourselves is akin to the urge to poetry. What is most intriguing in this story is the way in which the urge to fragmentation, the inability and unwillingness to pin herself down exhibited by Irena, is shown in the story to be not merely a flaw or disease or the result of damage (even if it is partly the result of a troubled childhood). While the story takes the perspective of Bill, and from his perspective the task is to bring unity to her life (in a way analogous to his efforts to bring her poetry to coherence through editing, raising the question: is life capable of such editing?), to find a voice that can overcome the dispersion of her life, the story also reveals indirectly that this is in part his own issue and concern and that it stems from his own need. In some sense, Irena does not need him and the wholeness and healing he aims to impose as much as he needs her to be whole. The novel hints that one of the reasons poetry speaks so directly to our lives is that wholeness is not our native state: we do not come whole and every unity we generate for ourselves is artificial (well, a poetic creation, which is the giving birth to something as if natural), and what counts as "madness" may just as much be the "divine madness" that Plato held to be the inspiration for poetry (and that we can ignore or seek to bring to an untroubled unity only at the cost of the vitality of our inspiration).
Zen in the Art of Loving.......2006-03-20
The Wikipedia defines the word "koan" as follows: "A koan (pronounced /ko.an/) is a story, dialog, question, or statement in the history and lore of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, generally containing aspects that are inaccessible to rational understanding, yet that may be accessible to intuition." In *Madly: A Novel*, William Benton creates a love story in which the protagonist, Bill, meets Irina shortly after his wife Irene, dies of cancer. Although his wife was unable to love him after the death of their son Daniel in a car accident, he staunchly remains with her until the relationship became impossible. And he is unable to love again until after his wife Irene dies. Bill's passionately sexual and romantic love affair with Irina can be interpreted on innumerable levels: psychological, literary, poetic, philosophical. It is an extended meditatiion on the complexities of the love relationship on both the literal and the symbolic level. Irina and Bill shortly after their meeting decide to translate a number of poems by Pasternak as Irina, from Moscow, like Bill, is in love with poetry. In many ways both Bill and Irina's psychological difficulties and committments to an artistic and bohemian lifestyle make day to day living almost impossibly difficult- yet their struggle to accomplsh a successful and meaningful relaitonship is both touching and fascinating. Their many Pasternak translations also track in a profound and moving way, the vicissitudes of their relationship. Numerous contemporary poets are mentioned : TS Eliot, Rainer Maria Rilke, William Carlos Williams, Joseph Brodsky, Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Hardwick, HD. Djuna Barnes is also mentioned, and the main character, Bill, (known to Iriina as Zaichik) writes a play in which Chekhov, Gogol and Pasternak have speaking parts. The Pasternak translations which appear throughout the book are presented unabridged, and although I cannot vouch for their accuracy, they are enchanting to read and contemplate as their movement and interpretations become a resonant allegory for the relationship in all its complex layers and meanings. One also can't help but think about the film *Dr Zhivago* concerning the passionate love affair that Pasternak was writing about in these poems. I must mention that I enjoyed and admired this book far more than the sentimentalized film of long ago. This is novel to brood by in the best possible sense of that word. You might not recall all the details of the story someday, but you probably won't forget the many things the book caused you to consider and remember.
This is the rarest of novels: not only is it a page turner on a sensual and narrative level- but a thought turner on a psychological and philsophical level, a novel that becomes a meditation, a provocative koan concerning sex, love, poetry and human destiny.
A beautiful and original book.......2005-09-20
The jacket copy on William Benton's novel MADLY describes the meeting of Bill and Irina - an incident in a New York video store - in a way that suggests that the book will unfold along the normal lines of a plot-driven novel. In fact, MADLY is much better than that. It is a novel of incidents, but one whose connections are woven together by a heightened use and fusion of language, which creates its own structure, its own delicate and unexpected scaffolding. " It isn't that facts have to be assembled or dramatized, but that truths have to be faced. Not plot, but destiny." The book is "about" a love affair between Bill, a New York writer, and Irina, a beautiful but unbalanced Russian woman. "She was a tower girl, like Herodiade, standing at the barred window with fierce eyes. An allure reigned, defying any lover not to be overcome by its perfection - and therefore despised." He is forty-nine and she is twenty-five when they meet. Yet their age difference is only a minor piece of the kaleidoscopic struggle that confronts them. They negotiate a world of mirrors, where love and sex exist in stark contention. Through their lives a complex portrait emerges of loss and impossibility that for all its particularity resonates deeply with our own lives. Benton tells the story in first person (the narrator has the same given name as the author's). The novel moves along a precarious line, but holds its fictional edge. An inordinate reality exists, of tenderness and despair, in almost every syllable of this beautiful and original book.
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- Waley Still Hip & Cool In the New Millennium!
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Madly Singing in the Mountains
Manufacturer: Routledge
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ASIN: 0048280038 |
Customer Reviews:
Waley Still Hip & Cool In the New Millennium!.......2003-11-22
What a great book! Starts out with anecdotes of friends and acquaintances of Waley's, giving a fascinating picture of a very original person. In his book "The Dharma Bums", Jack Kerouac refers to some of the poems Waley translated (which were also translated by beat poet Gary Snyder) but if you read some of Waley's translations, which appear in the second half of the book, nothing can beat them -- the poems seem as though they were written yesterday, not thousands of years ago. It's a grand culture trip to discover Arthur Waley, a member of the famous Bloomsbury Group who taught himself Chinese and Japanese and translated some of their finest ancient works with the delicacy and sensibility of a true poet. If this book turns you on to the beautiful culture, art and poetry of ancient Japan and China, you'll be on the road to some amazing discoveries, for it'll make you want to read more and learn more, and what you learn will illuminate the strange and crazy times we are living through here and now in the new millennium. I highly recommend this book.
Book Description
John Carter of Mars Volume 2. Warlord of Mars & Thuvia Maid of Mars John Carter of Mars, the Prince of Helium, returns in Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous series. In Warlord of Mars, Carter embarks on a relentless search for his wife, Dejah Thoris, and must pit his wits against the remaining Therns and the renegade black dator, Thurid of the First Born. In Thuvia, Maid of Mars, Cathoris, son of John Carter, embarks on a hair-raising adventure to save the beautiful Thuvia of Ptarth from treachery, mind manipulators and the green horde! The planet Mars itself, as always, plays a colourful and exotic role in these fantastical adventures.
Customer Reviews:
Leonaur Ltd. is publishing the definitive Edgar Rice Burroughs 21st century editions........2007-04-13
Leonaur Ltd. is publishing the definitive Edgar Rice Burroughs 21st century editions. These usually contain 2 books of the different ERB major series in order - thus far John Carter, Pellucidar, and Carson of Venus. In the future, possibly Tarzan!
These books are handsome and my rating is mainly based on this - the ERB fan knows best about the rest of it.
This volume contains the 3rd part of the John Carter of Mars trilogy as it brings the saga of John Carter and Dejah Thoris' romance, marriage, dissaperances, et al to a close. It also contains "Thuvia, Maid of Mars", the adventures of Carthoris, JC and DT's son. It should be acquired by ERB fans.
Wartlord of Mars & Thuvia, Maid of Mars; CONFUSED REVIEWS.......2007-03-30
For some reason, Amazon has mixed in reviews here that have NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS VOLUME. All the talk about "the 11th book" in the series pertain to another volume altogether. I hope someone from Amazon reads this and finds the mistake.
That said . . .
The Mars series by ERB is excellent. I've read each book half a dozen times over the course of my life. Burroughs had an amazingly fertile imagination, but the Tarzan movies his mind look vapid.
But these books are his masterworks.
If you like adventurous science fiction you should love these.
John Carter of Mars - volume 2 - Warlord of Mars & Thuvia, Maid of Mars.......2007-02-21
Great reprint of this great classic science fiction / fantasy series. Much appreciated. Looking forward to purchasing the remainder of the series when they are published.
The truth.......2005-03-05
Alot of reviews are saying the Edgar Rice Burroughs did not actually write "John Carter and the Giant of Mars". The truth is that he did. This is what happened and what causes confusion: a childrens publisher wanted a short version of a Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel. Mr. Burroughs was concerned that he could not keep it short enough for the publisher so he asked his son to help craft a shorter story. At the same time, Amazing Stories asked Edgar Rice Burroughs for another Mars novel. A full lenght one to serialize. Edgar took the short story and stretched it to a full novel. This is confirmed by several sources and by Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. It explains why some of the novel strays from the rest of the series. So, yes his son was involved, but it is wrong to say that Edgar Rice Burroughs did not write it. He did. Especially the novel version.
Anyway, all of the Mars books are exciting and I recomend all the books in the series.
The final adventures of ERB's hero, John Carter of Mars.......2003-08-29
This is the 11th and final volume in the celebrated Martian series by Edgar Rice Burroughs has a couple of shorter stories featuring John Carter. "John Carter and the Giant of Mars" first appeared in the January 1941 issue of "Amazing Stories," and was written by Burroughs and his youngest son John Coleman Burroughs. The story was originally intended for a Whitman Big Little Book, which meant the story had to be 15,000 words long and have facing pages illustrating the action. The younger Burroughs was also the illustrator. At some point 6,000 words were added to the story and it was published in "Amazing," with no one ever knowing for sure how much ERB actually wrote of this story, which was the final complete John Carter tale. As you would expect when ERB was writing for children, he goes back to his standard formula. John Carter and Dejah Thoris are having a nice ride of a thoat when they are attacked and his beloved princess is once again captured. Carter is off to the rescue with help from his old friend Tars Tarkas. Along the way they encounter Joog, a 130-foot tall giant, and a city of rats; just the sort of fantastic characters kids would be looking for in a story. Beyond sticking to the standard Burroughs formula, there is not much here of interest.
"Skeleton Men of Jupiter" was originally published in "Amazing Stories," and was intended to be the first of a four-part story, but ERB died before it could be completed. Since then it has been, by several pastiche writers. John Carter is called away from his beloved princess Dejah Thoris to meet with Tardox Mors in the Hall of Jeddaks, when he is captured by men that look like human skeletons speaking a strange language. It turns out the Morgors are from Sasoom, the Barsoomian name for Jupiter, which is where our hero ends up. ERB has to play fast and loose with science, arguing that Jupiter rotates fast enough that Carter is not crushed by the gravity. Still, he has lost the advantage he had on Barsoom with its lower-than-Earth gravity. Anyway, it would not be a Burroughs Martian novel if the hero did not have to rescue his beloved, and it turns out Dejah Thoris has been captured as well. Consequently, Carter has to escape and tracked down his princess. Slightly better than "The Giant of Mars," the story is hurt by the lack of an ending. Fans will read these stories out of a sense of completeness, but clearly ERB's Barsoom series went out with a whimper.
Book Description
Far to the north, in the frozen wastes of Polar Mars, lay the home of the Holy Therns, sacred and inviolate. Only John Carter dared to go there to find his lost Dejah Thoris. But between him and his goal lay the bones of all who had gone before.
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The Warlord of mars is the last book in the trilogy that Mr. Burroughs did not intend to write. The first book being: "The Princess of Mars" and the second being: "The God of Mars". The book takes up 6 months after "The Princess of Mars" Where our hero Carter is relentless in trying to find his princess and the villain "Thurid" whom has taken her. Please Note: This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. This eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year.
Customer Reviews:
mostly satisfying, but..........2007-01-21
Burroughs' creative peak was clearly in the timeframe when he wrote this. He had begun three of his four primary series and was rapidly gaining fame and fortune because of his breathtaking tales of adventure and romance. This displays no flagging of his creative juices. Burroughs takes Carter from one end of Mars to the other with some amazing creations on display in the interim. Here Carter has matured and but for two slips, betrays none of the stupidity usually associated with pulp heroes. (Unfortunately Burroughs made up for Carter's intelligence in later books by having Gahan of Gathol and Tan Hadron of Hastor become just shy of braindead.) With all the wonders on display in the book, though, one major flaw shines through: the ending. For those who have not read the book, you may want to look away at this point. Right after a spectacular extended fight scene which must leave the reader breathless, Burroughs has Carter face Thurid and Matai Shang in what one would expect to be the tour de force finale when good conquers evil and makes all well in the world. Only--well, it doesn't quite happen. Thurid and Matai Shang are running like scared rabbits when Carter catches them just as they turn against each other. Then someone else saves the day. Why Burroughs ended the book this way will always mystify me unless he really felt the butchery Carter would wreak on these two villains would offend sensibilities. The bloody deaths of both Thurid and Matai Shang at Carter's hands would have made for a great passage in the book. Instead, a literal deus ex machina appears to rescue our superman hero. If not for this anticlimactic scene, the book would deserve five stars. Ah, well...
The Fate Worse than Death.......2006-08-18
"Do you know where we are going?" she said.
"To solve the mystery of the eternal hereafter, I imagine," I replied.
"I am going to a fate worse than that," she said, with a little shudder.
"What do you mean?"
-- _The Gods of Mars_
In a delightful article, "Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Fate Worse than Death," Richard D. Mullen (1969-70) gives a detailed table of Edgar Rice Burroughs novels from 1911 through 1915. In them, he lists the times and circumstances in which a heroine is threatened with rape (the "fate worse than death") and how she is saved in the proverbial nick of time. (As you may know, an Edgar Rice Burroughs heroine is frequently unclothed but always pure and virtuous.) For those readers interested in such statistics, there are 76 cases recorded by Mullen.
In _The Warlord of Mars_ (_Argosy_, 1913-14), there are at least three such incidents recorded for our moral edification. In each case, Dejah Thoris is the threatened heroine. In the first case, she is threatened by the yellow Martian king Salensus Oll (even his name is oily). In the second instance, she is kidnapped by the white Martian Matai Shang, his brave but ruthless daughter Phaidor, and the black Martian Thurid. And in the third case, she is menaced by a band of yellow Martians, who plan to preserve her "as a plaything for [the] nobles" (151).
Mullen states that in each case, Dejah Thoris is rescued by the stalwart John Carter. This is certainly true of the first and third cases. But it is not strictly true in the second case. Carter certainly _attempts_ to save her, but he is not really very effective. It is disagreement and double-crossing among the villains that really preserves the honor of the Princess. (Burroughs heroines are frequently rescued by the hero, or they may save themselves. On rare occasions, the menacer may have a change of heart. Sometimes Providence-- in the form of lions, earthquakes, or passing pterodactyls-- may lend a hand.)
All of the previous incidents occur in the latter chapters of the novel. But the sharp-eyed reader may have noted that I said that there were "at least three" fate-worse-than death scenarios in _Warlord_. There is in fact a fourth one as well, and it is truly remarkable. Near the end of chapter one, Matai Shang and Thurid, on friendier terms than they are at the close of the novel, are in a boat plotting how to make John Carter's life more miserable. Unbeknownst to them, Carter is following in another boat and listening to them. They have Dejah Thoris prisoner. Thurid generously allows Matai Shang first turn: "You shall have your way with her before another day has passed" (15). Carter refrains from slaying "the vile plotters" (16) only because they are the only ones who can lead him to Dejah Thoris. And then... _Matai Shang never gets around to having his way with the princess for the next twelve chapters_! This is not quite a record in Burroughs's novels. In _The Gods of Mars_, we learn that Thuvia has been a slave to the white Martians for 15 years without being molested. Still Dejah Thoris's good fortune is certainly worthy of comment.
One final note. The female speaking in the quote above is _not_ a virtuous heroine. It is the imperious, willful, sometimes villainous Phaidor who will attempt to kill Dejah Thoris on several occasions. Perhaps some future Burroughs scholar will compile a list of Not So Nice Girls who are menaced by the fate worse than death.
WONDERFUL STUFF HERE.......2006-06-25
I must admit to having sort of cut my teeth on the stories of John Carter and this author. Here the tale continues. I enjoy SiFi and enjoy pulp fiction. Here we have some of the best of both. The author's imagination is without match and his characters truely jump off the page. I first started reading the John Carter series well over fifty years ago, and must admit to going back ever few years and rereading the entire group. This is one of my favories. Recommend this one highly.
The start of Mars exploration.......2004-09-24
First written in 1914, this series of John Carter novels is perhaps the start of the science fiction writing about Mars. Ray Bradbury traces his Martian Chronicles to reading these as a child. This is high on action and around every turn there is a life-threatening event across the Barsoom landscape. John Carter "the prince of Helium" must fight with his beloved "pet" Woola, "As large as a Shetland pony, with hideous head and frightful fangs, he was indeed an awesome spectacle, as he crept after me on his ten short, muscular legs; but to me he was the embodiment of love and loyalty". One review called John Carter "a natural man", which seems appropriate. There is the undying love for Dejah Thorus and the final sly "Why not?" as he draws her close after the triumphs. Carter is a man of courage, and that word spoken from an unknown ally, leads him out of the tortuous Pit of Plenty. This might be considered the third of the trilogy started with "A Princes of Mars" and continued with "The Gods of Mars", but in fact there were 7 more John Carter stories.
John Carter fights across Barsoom for Dejah Thoris.......2003-09-28
Edgar Rice Burroughs did not intended to write a trilogy, but his 1914 pulp novel "The Warlord of Mars" completes the story begun in "A Princess of Mars" and continued in "The Gods of Mars" and finally brings John Carter and his beloved Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium (i.e., no cliffhanger this time around, boys and girls). The story picks up six months after the conclusion of "The Gods of Mars," with our hero not knowing whether she is dead or alive in the Temple of the Sun of the Holy Therns where he last saw here with the blade of Phaidor was descending towards her heart as the evil Issus, queen of the First Born, had locked his mate in a cell that would not open for another year. However, it turns out that the exiled leader of the Therns has reached the trapped women to rescue his daughter and to seek revenge on Carter for exposing his evil cult.
The focus of "The Warlord of Mars" is on Carter's relentless pursuit of the villainous Thurid who have taken his beloved princess from the south pole of Barsoom across rivers, desert, jungles, and ice to the forbidden lands of the north in the city of Kadabra where the combined armies of the green, red and black races attack the yellow tribes of the north, thereby justifying the book's title. It is interesting to note that Carter's heroics in this novel have the same sort of over the top implausibility we find in contemporary Hollywood blockbusters as ERB pours on the action sequences one on top of another. Whether he is scaling towers in the dark of night or surviving in a pit for over a week without food and water, John Carter is a manly hero in the great pulp fiction tradition of which ERB was an admitted master. Overall, the Martian series is Burrough's best work, avoiding the repetition that overwhelmed his Tarzan series and providing a lot more creativity (ever play Martian chess?). There is also, Dejah Thoris, one of the great names in science fiction history.
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- John Carter fights his way across Barsoom for Dejah Thoris
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The Warlord of Mars
E.R.Burroughs
Manufacturer: BookSurge Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1594568529
Release Date: 2004-02-02 |
Customer Reviews:
John Carter fights his way across Barsoom for Dejah Thoris.......2004-07-15
Edgar Rice Burroughs did not intended to write a trilogy, but his 1914 pulp novel "The Warlord of Mars" completes the story begun in "A Princess of Mars" and continued in "The Gods of Mars" and finally brings John Carter and his beloved Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium (i.e., no cliffhanger this time around, boys and girls). The story picks up six months after the conclusion of "The Gods of Mars," with our hero not knowing whether she is dead or alive in the Temple of the Sun of the Holy Therns where he last saw here with the blade of Phaidor was descending towards her heart as the evil Issus, queen of the First Born, had locked his mate in a cell that would not open for another year. However, it turns out that the exiled leader of the Therns has reached the trapped women to rescue his daughter and to seek revenge on Carter for exposing his evil cult.
The focus of "The Warlord of Mars" is on Carter's relentless pursuit of the villainous Thurid who have taken his beloved princess from the south pole of Barsoom across rivers, desert, jungles, and ice to the forbidden lands of the north in the city of Kadabra where the combined armies of the green, red and black races attack the yellow tribes of the north, thereby justifying the book's title. It is interesting to note that Carter's heroics in this novel have the same sort of over the top implausibility we find in contemporary Hollywood blockbusters as ERB pours on the action sequences one on top of another. Whether he is scaling towers in the dark of night or surviving in a pit for over a week without food and water, John Carter is a manly hero in the great pulp fiction tradition of which ERB was an admitted master. Overall, the Martian series is Burrough's best work, avoiding the repetition that overwhelmed his Tarzan series and providing a lot more creativity (ever play Martian chess?). There is also, Dejah Thoris, one of the great names in science fiction history.
Book Description
A Princess of Mars is the first of eleven thrilling novels that comprise Edgar Rice Burroughs' most exciting saga, known as The Martian Series. It's the beginning of an incredible odyssey in which John Carter, a gentleman from Virginia and a Civil War veteran, unexpectedly finds himself on to the red planet, scene of continuing combat among rival tribes. Captured by a band of six-limbed, green-skinned savage giants called Tharks, Carter soon is accorded all the honor of a chieftain after it's discovered that his muscles, accustomed to Earth's greater gravity, now give him a decided advantage in strength. And when his captors take as prisoner Dejah Thoris, the lovely human-looking princess of the city of Helium, Carter must call upon every ounce of strength, courage, and ingenuity to rescue her-before Dejah becomes the slave of the depraved Thark leader, Tal Hajus!
Customer Reviews:
A Princess of Barsoom .......2006-07-21
"I have never told this story nor shall mortal man see this manuscript until I have passed over for eternity. I know that the average human mind will not believe what it can not grasp......"
Written in 1912 this book is well written for its time. Captain Carter is telling the story form memory as an old man of his adventures here on earth and on the planet of Barsoom (Mars). There are encounters with many strain creatures, situations, and yes even a "Princess of Mars." The forward to the book alone will capture your imagination.
Product Description
Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
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Edgar Rice Burroughs' Warlord of Mars Annual #1 1977
Marv Wolfman
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Marvel | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000V9G7NE |
Books:
- Magic's Promise (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 2)
- Monkey Hunting
- No Time to Die
- Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda
- Novels of Testimony and Resistance from Central America
- Outside Valentine: A Novel
- Over Her Dead Body
- People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves To Unsuspecting bystanders and what to do about it
- Philip Roth: Novels 1967-1972: When She Was Good / Portnoy's Complaint / Our Gang / The Breast (Library of America)
- Red Bird (Prairie Winds Series #3)
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