John Carter Barsoom

[Jenn Smotherman]

Hewas a splendid specimen of manhood, standing a good two inches over six feet, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, with the carriage of the trained fighting man. His features were regular and clear cut, his hair black and closely cropped, while his eyes were of a steel gray, reflecting a strong and loyal character, filled with fire and initiative. His manners were perfect, and his courtliness was that of a typical southern gentleman of the highest type.

All property among the green Martians is owned in common by the community, except the personal weapons, ornaments and sleeping silks and furs of the individuals. These alone can one claim undisputed right to, nor may he accumulate more of these than are required for his actual needs. The surplus he holds merely as custodian, and it is passed on to the younger members of the community as necessity demands.

In theory it may sound well, as is often the case with theories, but the results of ages of this unnatural practice, coupled with the community interest in the offspring being held paramount to that of the mother, is shown in the cold, cruel creatures, and their gloomy, loveless, mirthless existence.

I need not describe the plot of the second Barsoom book, The Gods of Mars and much more of the first as it fits this generic description frightfully well, even in combining a polar paradise with an underground world in which a corrupt priesthood deceives the masses of Barsoom.

it is a rare treat to see john carter taken out of the used bookstore dollar racks (and now surely best buy 50% off dvd bins) and deconstructed with such careful precision. sadly, this sort of pulp science fiction only seems to live in the minds of young men (like those in gentlemen broncos), where it sits, unanalyzed, probably confusing just as much it delights. in particular, the dissection of the pro-colonial race theory permeating the john carter mythology seemed utterly on point and exhaustively researched, and was a pleasure to read.

3a8082e126