Sunday, July 29, 2012

Rashmi bookmarks “The Gods of Mars”


In this second book of the series “John Carter of Mars”, Edgar Rice Burroughs (again, as John Carter’s nephew) continues his narration of Carter’s life on Mars. Since we last met him in ‘A Princess of Mars’, Carter has spent 12 years trying to return to his beloved planet. Finally he does, and once more we visit the wildly creative world of Barsoom!

When I saw the title of the book, I thought it was in reference to the theme of war, and “gods” were the great warriors the Barsoomians looked up to as gods… but no, it is quite literally about their Gods! From the banks of River Hudson on Earth we travel to River Iss on Mars, on the other side of the planet; in fact, on the other side of Life! We reach Heaven, a land of beautiful trees and gorgeous blossoms, brilliant flying creatures, blue seas and amazing cliffs made of gold! The idea of afterlife introduced in the first book, is explored at length, as we journey through Valley Dor and meet The First Born, the Plant Men, the White Apes, the primaeval Black Man, the Holy Therns, and Goddess Issus!

What was really interesting was the handling of topics like religion, heaven and gods. The book questions, and - in most instances - debunks, superstitions usually linked to these topics. For example, when Thuvia, Tars Tarkas, and John Carter are discussing escaping the Gods’ lair, Tarkas has doubts, and Thuvia considers it sacrilegious to even try. It is Carter who shows the folly in blindly following baseless beliefs, and speaks in favour of exposing reality, even at the risk of being hated or tortured by their own people.

Unfortunately however, thereafter the brilliance of the book dropped. The balance of the story seemed to be a series of unlucky imprisonments and ingenious escapes. While definitely action-packed, the sequences started getting monotonous, which was a bit of a letdown, especially in view of the preceding abundant and brilliant themes.

I also felt that, beyond a few characters, such as Pirate Xodar, the slave girl Thuvia, the young Carthoris, and Zat Arras, a Jed of Zodanga, no one was especially memorable.

I also noted one or two incongruities in the character sketch of Carter, where he seemed to say what would best suit the scenario. One such example was on the aircraft, fighting the Black Pirates. Justifying throwing a sleeping pirate off the aircraft, Carter feels, “This was no time for fine compunctions, nor for a chivalry that these cruel demons would neither appreciate nor reciprocate”. Yet, moments later, when Phaidor suggests he repeat the attack on another pirate, he says, “I am no murderer, I kill in self-defence only”.

The book did however end on a fantastic note! The closing events of the Temple of the Sun, whose rooms open only once per year, and where Dejah Thoris, Thuvia, and Phaidor are imprisoned, leave us with a shocking murder attempt and a cliff hanger!

Overall, although not as good as the first one, this book was still an interesting read… I shall leave you with this thought: John Carter goes to a new land, finds the existing value system faulty, and tries to teach people a new way of thinking… do you think the choice of his initials was intentional?!

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