Llana of Gathol

What It's About

Llana of Gathol is the tenth Barsoom novel, set on a dying, desert Mars of warring cities and strange civilizations. It follows Llana, granddaughter of the famous John Carter, and the adventures she and those around her meet across the Martian landscape. The book is made up of four linked episodes, first serialized separately and later gathered into a single volume. Each stands fairly well alone, so the pace is brisk and episodic rather than tightly plotted. It is a light, fast-moving read built on peril, rescue and close escapes.

Key Concepts

The book is a good example of "planetary romance" or "sword-and-planet" fiction, in which swordsmen, airships and exotic alien societies share a single invented world. Recurring ideas include ancient, half-forgotten cities, rival races and hidden dangers, and courage and loyalty tested against them. Like much pulp fiction of its era, it reflects the attitudes and conventions of its time, and modern readers may notice its stock characterizations. The later Barsoom books are also generally regarded as more formulaic than the earlier ones.

About the Author

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) was an American writer born in Chicago. He tried a variety of jobs before turning to fiction in his mid-thirties, and became one of the most commercially successful pulp authors of the twentieth century. His imaginative adventure stories were hugely popular and influenced generations of science fiction and fantasy writers.