silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
I’ve spent enough time on this series to be pretty sure there’s a fun adventure story somewhere past the awkward beginning. So it’s not the description of how healthy and fit and did we mention SUPER healthy our heroine is, or the symmetry of her foot (confusing as that comment was…) that has me putting this book off until later. It’s just that in order to make it through to the good part, I need a better narrator than LibriVox can currently provide, or to read the book for myself in print.
miocenemama's review against another edition
2.0
I found this, the fifth of the John Carter books, even more problematic than the others. It seemed even more sexist to me and the matter-0f-fact attitude towards slavery was disturbing. Burroughs does know how to write a plot. The book is the product of episodic storytelling and as such, can draw the story out with any number of new developments, although the ultimate resolution is pretty much a foregone conclusion. I was also disturbed by how much the one superstitious and barbaric culture in the book seemed to draw so much inspiration in appearances to some native American cultures. It felt entirely too much to me like the old and demeaning "noble savage" trope
srreid's review against another edition
3.0
A bit more adventurous than the last one, took a while to get to the actual chessmen part of the story, and it didn't seem to last very long for being the title. Also half the characters seemed to disappear around the middle and only showed up again right at the end, would have been better if we heard a bit more what happened to them in the big storm.
sean67's review against another edition
2.0
Book five in what normal people call the John Carter series, Goodreads has some weird name no one has ever heard of before but anyway, basically the series seems very dated and a little bit of a chore to get through.
maggotqueen666's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
theatlantean's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. The whole tale of adventure, rescue-capture, rescue-capture, and rescue and recapture was made pointless, by the Deus ex machina of john Carter turning up at the last minute.
quoththegirl's review against another edition
3.0
Burroughs' attitude towards plot is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," so once again we have a princess getting kidnapped and in need of a rescue. I will say, though, that I enjoyed this installment more than the previous one because for once the princess (in this case Tara, John Carter's and Dejah Thoris' daughter) is a character in her own right, and we actually follow her experiences more than those of her rescuer. Tara is also a lot more proactive than her predecessors, which was a nice change. Burroughs resurrects his frame narrative for this book, albeit perfunctorily. While I do wonder what he does with the series after this, I'm going to conclude my little adventure through Barsoom, at least for now. Gotta take a break from all these kidnappings.
murkymaster's review against another edition
5.0
Where as Thuvia was at times helpless, Tara of Helium, daughter of the Warlord of Mars, stacks bodies as well as her erstwhile lover and rescuer. This tale is also high in more political intrigue and infinitely interesting characters than the other Barsoomian yarns. A treat to be sure!
itheory's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Gave up after 100 pages or so. Loved the first three books, but the series becomes redundant after taht.
vintonole's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting story line, but predictable. I slogged through a few parts, but I am interested in reading the entire series. As with the comics and other media some stories are better than others. Like the last novel this story isn't about John Carter of Mars, but his daughter Tara and her adventure to a land far from Helium. The cover is cool and the Jetan sequences (Chess) were good, but very short considering it is the title of the book. Sadly no giant green Tharks in this one.