eBook: John Carter of Mars · Return to Barsoom
I’m happy to announce the release of my first novel, Return to Barsoom, a modern look at Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars. Burroughs began his series of 11 books with A Princess of Mars in 1912, and ended with The Skeleton Men of Jupiter in 1942.
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Burroughs is one of the best of the early science fiction writers who started out in pulp magazines. He is better known for creating Tarzan.
When I began reading the Tarzan books I was 12 or 13, and I thought they were fantastic. The first few were the best. I continued on to read ERB’s other works, which included the Carter books. Whatever Burroughs may have lacked in subtlety in his writing, his stories were always imaginative and rich with detail.
Rereading the stories as an adult in the late 1980s, some of the underlying assumptions in Tarzan and John Carter were out of place in today’s world. Both series of books are in the genre of colonial fiction. The educated western man will invariably triumph and rule over savages. It is his rightful place in the order of things.
It was also a bit of a young man rejecting his childhood heroes that led me to look at the material with a critical eye. My other work was in comics, and that period of comics was all about deconstruction and reexamination of the form, so it followed if I was going to write a John Carter novel it would in part address what I felt would respect the source material while bringing it into the present.
The spirit of adventure – of not giving up in the face of insurmountable odds – that could stay. Strange aliens and weird customs, all good. But I didn’t buy the idea that the heroic man needed to be superior to all he met. Sure, he’s a hero, but does he need to be flawless? It’s a lot more fun to play off his failings and weaknesses.
Carter’s princess, Dejah Thoris, was always kidnapped as a plot device to give Carter something to quest after, but she never did a whole lot of talking. Carter worshipped her like no other, to be sure, but did they sit down and talk for a couple of pages? No. I wanted female characters to be just as important as the male ones.
The final idea was to reconcile ERB’s Barsoom (his name for Mars), with what we know about Mars in the real world. The juxtaposition of the two worlds I thought would help make Barsoom’s world more accessible to new readers, and for people who knew Barsoom the challenge to their assumptions would bring a freshness to their experience.
Not being the most focussed young man, work continued off and on for a number of years. By 2000, I was near the end of chapter 14 and there it stayed. A few years later we were up to the end of 18. The rest of the book was written in September 2009.
Writing a book from your mid 20s to your mid 40s is not for the faint of heart. 40-something guy invariably cringes at the exuberance… of 20-something guy. Part of the completion process involved editing and rewriting certain parts of the first 14 chapters.
I hope you enjoy the book, and I look forward to your comments.
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I’m still messing around with The Fire Gods of Venus, granted it’s illustrated too. But I started it when Julia was a toddler and she’s in junior high now.
Congratulations!
Thanks, Paul. Stopped by your blog. It’s nice to see the wealth of material you’re able to cover there.
Evening, Scott,
I found your book Return to Barsoom through Jeff Doten’s Barsoomia website on Thursday but didn’t have a quiet time to sit down and read until last night. I was going to read a few pages to get the gist of it and three hours later…
You write a very good story, sir! I found myself pulling for the various characters and losing track of time as the story drew me on. I especially enjoyed the use of The Gods of Mars data that Barsoomians are more directly related to plants than are Jasoomians. I never thought of it that way before. And made the viral attack so much more plausible. And that it would only attack the women! Wow, what a way to hit the red men who make such idols of the beauties. The intermixture of modern and Barsoomian data to explain the condition of the planet to 21st century eyes was very smoothly handled. The loss of the ochre moss and the resulting dust storms is a colossal touch! Oh, and you described the yellow tower of Lesser Helium, something that has long been in my imagination along with its scarlet twin in Greater Helium. Thank you for including it, even in its ruined state.
I thought the gradual erosion of the Heliumetic empire’s ethical behavior was classic. And somewhat inevitable considering they were caught up in their own mindset. Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak should have heard Dejah Thoris’ impassioned speech to Lorquas Ptomel and Tars Tarkas way back when. They might have learned something as well as the fact that she wasn’t just a pretty face. It seems Jasoomians just have enough difference to break the mold of their thinking. And helping us to realize John Carter was brave but unimaginative in matters other than warfare and rescue adventures was sadly necessary. Thanks for making Dejah Thoris three dimensional now!
I liked Sakoma Nu and the gradual transformation of his character. Tikhel Sen is another engaging man. He, of them all, seems the most in tune with Jasoomian modes of thought. I’d like to learn more about him and his own story.
And last, but not least, Chester Ventura. Wow! He’s a neat guy! Someone with imagination, insight and ideals tempered with a sense of history and the foibles of humanity. I’m hoping we don’t have to wait 20 years to learn about how he, Rajan Parl and Sakoma Nu are going to find the cruiser hidden near the moon. And what they’ll do once they find it. Or who they’ll find has run across it about the same time as they do.
I could ramble on about the story. I suppose you know by now that I’ll be reading it again to pick up on things I missed the first time. It’s a very good read, Scott. Thank you for being willing to share it with us. Do you have plans for a sequel? I think you’d have a ready-made audience.
All the best!
Bill Caldwell
P.S. I first found Barsoom via the gift of a 1918 first edition of The Gods of Mars from a neighbor way back in 1963. She thought a junior high boy might enjoy the story. The terrible part was getting to the end and not knowing what happened!! In ’63 the paperback editions of Ace and Ballantine had just begun to be released and I had no bookstores in the wilds of rural Missouri to search through. And who knew if there even was a sequel, after all, 1918 was a long time ago, even then. Maybe there was no sequel. It was a long wait of about a year before I found that Thuvia had been reissued and then Warlord was discovered. Whew! what a relief! They’ve occupied a treasured place in my library and are always fun to reread every now and again.
Let’s hope the upcoming movie by Pixar does the stories justice.
Thanks for the kind words, Bill. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and the story behind your interest in ERB’s writings. It seems like we all started early. I started with the Tarzan Ballantines with the Neal Adams covers, and continued on with the Michael Whelan-covered Carters.
My very first ERB book experience was in the elementary school library in the mid 1970s where they had a set of the Gino D’Achille-covered Carters. I took one look at The Chessmen of Mars cover and didn’t want anything to do with it. At 10 it creeped me out pretty badly. Of course, I now have a complete set of those.
To answer your question, yes, there will be a second book, continuing the survivors’ attempts to save Barsoom. Look for The Spaces Between sometime in the future, hopefully in a timespan less than decades.
Andrew Stanton – the director of the upcoming John Carter of Mars film for those that haven’t been following the news – is part of the Pixar crew. I hope that means he’ll respect the source material, but you never know given the disseminated decision-making process large projects like this have. I’ve been let down so many times in recent years by films that were adapted from books or comics I had invested myself in. I have a hard time understanding why studios don’t build on the source material to engage a vocal, established fan base that could do them only good by word of mouth, and then expand on the material to include people new to the story.
– Scott
I just finished reading your story. Being a long time fan of Burroughs Barsoom series (first read A Princess of Mars in 1969), I was a little skeptical. After reading many fairly ordinary fan written stories, I didn’t expect much.
Having said that, I would now like to say… Thank you for bringing my childhood hero into the 21st century. I like having John Carter as more human than super human. The comparison between the old world values and the modern is a great touch. I did find it a little preachy in parts, in regards to the environment, but we could all be a little more concerned with our own plight here on Earth. I think rebuilding Barsoom is going to prove a lot easier.
Ras Thavas was always one of my favourite characters, nice to see him in the thick of things.
A great read, I think Burroughs would have approved. Great characterizations, fleshing out the old and developing the new. I look forward to reading the second installment.
Thank you again,
Marc Weston
Townsville, Queensland
Australia
Via email, I received the following questions and comment :
Will the cat ever meet a sorak and get in an epic battle?
What the heck happened to the space cruiser and its crew?
What if they are unable to grow females?
What the heck happened to the therns?
And a part needs to be changed. You can’t have a bunch of green men be absent, then immediately the character eats green food. Unless that was the intention.
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***
Cat vs. sorak. Interesting idea, assuming soraks come back.
The space cruiser is a question that could be answered in a sequel. And it remains to be seen if Ras Thavas can restart the cycle of life. Barsoom needs women, but will it get them?
As it stands right now, most of the life on Barsoom is extinct. There’s the stuff under the ground and the remnants of the population they all know about. Who knows if anything else lies out in the wastes, let alone holy therns?
When Chester awakens after recovering from his rite of passage, the camp is quiet presumably because the other men are out hunting/gathering. Not too many people are around, and he’s taken on new status. Wandering from pot to pot unquestioned until Koldas scolds him is plausible.
As to sequels, yes, there are two additional stories planned. The second book is The Spaces Between. I’ve made an outline and hope to write it.
Here’s what I face :
I don’t hold the rights to work with ERB’s characters commercially. It doesn’t stop me from doing the project for fun, but it must be fit into free time.
Without holding a licence, I can’t use things like iTunes or Amazon to distribute the book. That means it goes out by search engine hits, word of mouth and recommendations from nice people like yourself. So far there hasn’t been a stampede of downloads. So if you like the book, tell people who like John Carter about it. The only way stuff like this gets made is if people support it. If I can’t get paid cash, I’ll take warm and fuzzies, but there must be warm and fuzzies. Or at least people commenting. I’m not proud.
I did try to use online forums to get the word out, but most of those have rules against joining just to promote. I also joined a couple of mailing lists with ERB fans. I don’t think the material appealed to that audience, which skewed to the older crowd, and as you know this is not a typical fan fiction pastiche that unfolds in a standard way. That makes some long-time fans feel uncomfortable. My goal was to bring the characters into the modern world, to allow the franchise to grow. Even if I can’t charge for this book, working through the process this way helps me understand what’s needed for projects I can capitalise on, whether it’s packaging my own books, or providing that service to others.
I just finished Return to Barsoom and thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it.
After years of rereading and proselytizing to all who would listen about John Carter and Barsoom, I was wary that this might be another fan fiction appropriation of the characters, but by the end, I find myself far less interested in John and far more so in the relationships between your new characters.
With Sakoma Nu, you may well have written one of my new favorite characters and I encourage you to finish your next two stories. I eagerly await the voyage of Chester, Rajan, Sakoma, and the cat.
Just finished reading it. I love the original ERB books and it is safe to say that I can include this in the same breath. Original yet familiar, and including some good characters and set pieces as well. I love the fact that the cat (“ghat”) comes along for the adventure too. Hope to read more of Chester’s adventures. Here’s a link to a review on my blog – https://geekynerfherder.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/currently-reading-return-to-barsoom-by.html
Thanks very much for commenting, Andy, and for taking the time to write up a review. Glad you enjoyed the book.
Scott, I just finished reading your novel. I’m almost 65 and you took me back to my teenage years as I was able to relive the excitement of Barsoom again. You captured the flavor of ERB’s world perfectly. I won’t divulge what you’ve done with the characters as I think many, many people will find your book to be a guilty pleasure. I encourage you to continue writing more novels in this genre. Well Done!
Hi Ed –
Thanks for the kind words. I do intend on writing the next book – The Spaces Between – sooner than later.
For all readers, I encourage you to comment on the book. Whether you liked the book or even if you didn’t, feedback is always appreciated.
One of the things I enjoyed about reading your book is that it allowed me to fill in the “visual aspect” of the characters in my mind’s eye, aided by your descriptions. The fact that you noted John Carter’s gray eyes and black hair was not lost on me. I wish I could say the same for the movie. Little details like that are important when describing a character, whether continuing a series in written form or scripting a movie. And, while I still enjoy Dejah’s semi-nude visage in my mind, as Burroughs described her, I loved the way you introduced a more modern couture for her. Keep up with your writing… I’ll look forward to reading the next one!
Thanks to Dayne Creveling at Moby’s Place for plugging the book. Stop by and tell him he needs to write more so he gets more traffic. 🙂
Scott,
I found your book through the TheJohnCarterFiles.com. Could not put it down! I think ERB himself would be proud, if not downright jealous of your accomplishment. It captured so much of the original spirit, yet projected things into an ultimate sadness and a most excellent read. Your portrayals of John and Dejah were so unique, projecting them into a situation like this could not have been easy. Thanks for the wonderful entertainment!!!
You’re welcome, Scott. Thanks for your comments.
Hello from France! I just finished the novel this morning.
The bad first: I cringed more than a few times seeing what you did to my beloved characters, alive or dead (or fearing the worst for those whose whereabouts are unknown), since I prefer my Barsoom light-hearted and innocent. To me, the Barsoom books are anything but colonial. Carter nor the red men ruled over other people, they collaborated with them when possible. All their links were based on friendship and mutual respect. I’ve never seen Carter enforcing anything to anybody, just retaliate when necessary, and leaving people alone the rest of the time. Is it realistic? Not in the least, but I’m fine with modern-day cynism being far away from my fantasy (that rules count for other favorite universes of mine, like Star Trek and superhero comic-books). And Dejah Thoris was far from being just a damsel in distress in her portrayal, even if that’s true, that was more than often her main function in the story. Strength is not just a measure of your role in a story, and I found that the way you wrote her was eventually not that different from Burroughs’.
Anyway. As you see, I’m not a fan of deconstruction at all, no matter where it comes from. But my mindset is probably a thing of the past too, that’s entirely possible!
That being said, your love for the Barsoom novels can’t be denied and is… contagious (wink). I really love your writing style and the humor. You wrote great characters and great action pieces. I especially liked the kaldanes parts (always thought these little buggers could be behind the sabotage of the air plant in A Princess of Mars). The ending came too soon to my taste! So congratulations for the great work (a labor of love, undeniably). In spite of my criticism, I can’t wait to read the sequel(s). I know it sounds contradictory, probably because it is, but I’m a weird person anyway.
Where are the Therns? Will we see what happened to the Kangaroo Men? Can Ras Thavas resurrect the dead since 1) he can grow anything from a single cell 2) Barsoomian corpses take a long time to decay and 3) Ras can transfer whole brains from one body to another? I hope so!
Kudos for your achievement sir, very well done! OK, back to regular Burroughs, just starting reading Lost on Venus!
Hi Pascal –
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate and respect your point of view, even if, as you say, I went down a less-innocent path for some of the underlying story.
Like you, I enjoy reading stories that exist in that kind of idealised world, but as a writer, I find it more fulfilling and authentic to human experience to not be so pure.
Glad you enjoyed the book in spite of your misgivings, and we’ll see what happens in the next one.
– Scott
hi im richard im 20 an im going throw a erg faze i loved the book man iv read almost all of erb works about the planets and any with dinosaurs sep the moon ones i got caught up in barsoom i liked all the barsoom fanfic iv read but i think i like yours the most i am hopeing to see a 2 noval… you can do it man i bealive in you i love barsoom an hope to read your 2 book soon just so ya no il be serching for your 2 book every month of every year till i see you book out you got one eger bever waiting or your work send me an email if you need any ideas or wanna talk barsoom
G’Day Scott,
I have just finished reading Return to Barsoom. And I must say I loved it.
You did an excellent job continuing the ERB world.
Trouble is now I have to wait for the next part. You just have to write it, you know.
We just have to know what happens when they look for the cruiser.
Will Barsoom survive? Will the population return? Only you can tell us. So Mr. Dutton, get your trusty keyboard warmed up and please continue the story.
Peace,
John P.
Australia
Thanks very much, John. I am working on the next book, but no release date yet.
Dear Scott,
I just finished Return to Barsoom and was very impressed; it was a real page-turner.
Before reading your book, i had just read a recently published anthology of new Barsoomian stories from varied writers and was sorely disappointed by that lackluster tome. The writing was generally poor, the writers seemed unfamiliar with even a basic grasp of the characters and mythology of Barsoom, and the entire volume lacked the wonder and romance that made the original stories so much fun to read.
So, when I heard that another Barsoom book was out there, I was a bit hesitant to read it. Gladly I sought out your book and took the plunge into your take on Barsoom.
And I was glad I did!
While I generally dislike revisionist deconstructions of my favorite literary heroes, I must say that you handled yourself quite skillfully, weaving a believeable, and enjoyable take on Barsoom, as seen through another’s eyes. It was an excellent read; so good, in fact, that it has left me with a question:
Why the heck did you publish it for free?
Seriously, given the quality of your book, why not go the standard route and publish this for sale? I assume you get paid for your art, why not for your writing as well?
Sincerely,
Roddy
Hi Roddy –
Thanks for your comments. Glad you enjoyed the book.
I read a number of the stories in the anthology as well, and came to the same conclusion as yourself. It had the feeling of being rushed to market to coincide with the film release. More commerce than commitment, and zero understanding of ERB’s writings and his readers.
As you read above, I started RtB in the late 80s. In 1992, I sent off what I had to Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. and received this reply a month later.
Not very encouraging, but not unexpected for the time period.
By the time ’09 came around, I was finishing the novel for myself. With no other info (at that point) than the letter I had received years earlier, I decided to release the book in its current form. It was an experiment in ebook publishing for myself, which was an important goal at the time. (And still is. I’m a designer by trade.)
Publicity for the film came along a couple of years later, and RtB enjoyed a bump in downloads because of it.
RtB has its fans (like yourself), but it also has a number of detractors – or fans downright ignoring it – in the established ERB fanbase. While I was connected to some of the ERB family and ERB Inc. staff on facebook during the past year, the book never came up. I also didn’t push it on them, either.
At the same time, I felt because I chose to be revisionist – a contentious thing for many fans who don’t like to see canon changed – my version of Barsoom might be too far afield for ERB Inc. to authorise. The lack of communication from them seemed to confirm that. I still strongly believe you can be respectful of source material while moving it forward into the timeframe of current audiences, making it relevant for them. Otherwise, your audience will age and shrink. We’ve seen that in ERB fandom as the baby boomers have not been replaced by equal numbers of Gen X, Y or the Millennials.
That brings us to the most important part of bringing the book to market. The rights and who gets to profit by them.
I created the book on my own, without input from ERB Inc. They had refused it, and I didn’t feel I’d benefit by trying to solicit them once more. I wasn’t up to making changes, ceding control to an editor, or purchasing a license from them for work they had not been involved in. So I was happy to release it as a free ebook.
The story doesn’t end there, though. Dynamite Comics has been publishing unauthorised editions of ERB characters (Tarzan and John Carter). ERB Inc. has sued them, as you might expect, to protect their rights. However, the main rights in dispute here are copyrights, and many of ERB’s works have lapsed into the public domain. In essence, ERB Inc. is trying to extend their expired copyrights by using their trademarks which, on the surface of things, you can’t do. You can find more detailed references to the case on the web, and at this writing it is still pending.
What it means for someone like me is that if John Carter falls into public domain because of this case, I can then legally charge for my stories. We’ll see what the future brings.
Scott,
I really enjoyed Return to Barsoom. The character development was marvelous and the tone of Barsoom was captured in a very satisfying and yet nuanced fashion. I had just finished reading the entire series of Burroughs’ work, so I don’t have much “fan” authority, but I believe ERB would have been proud of your adaptation.
I will say, for part of the book, my imagination was craving for some civilization to still be thriving underground or somehow immune to the plague, just to preserve a shard of the pomp of Barsoomian hospitality for Chester, but I think the darker, less romanticized story was perfect as a whole.
I’m looking forward to The Spaces Between and will gladly pay for it if you’re able to charge by the time it’s released.
Regards,
Joshua
Hi Joshua –
Thanks for reading the book and taking the time to comment. You never know what can happen on a world that has been wiped clean. I’ll certainly let people know when the next book is coming, and I haven’t put too much thought yet to the delivery mode whether it be free or paid.
Take care –
Scott
Scott,
I found your book through the TheJohnCarterFiles.com. Could not put it down! I think ERB himself would be proud, if not downright jealous of your accomplishment. It captured so much of the original spirit, yet projected things into an ultimate sadness and a most excellent read. Your portrayals of John and Dejah were so unique, projecting them into a situation like this could not have been easy.
Thanks for the wonderful entertainment!!!
Hi Scott –
Thanks for your comments. ERB was a great and revolutionary writer and we owe him a great debt. While he would undoubtedly have chosen a different path than the one I took, it was his example of going his own way that served as the greatest inspiration to revisit Barsoom esssentially a hundred years on.