Swords of Mars

What It's About

The eighth novel in the Barsoom series, and the first since The Warlord of Mars to put John Carter back at the centre of the story. Carter infiltrates the Assassins' Guild of Zodanga under a false identity, intent on destroying it from within, and finds himself drawn into a bitter rivalry between two scientist-inventors racing to build a working spaceship. When his wife, Dejah Thoris, is kidnapped and spirited away to Thuria, one of Mars's two moons, Carter must follow her there, aided by his loyal padwar Jat Or and a vengeful slave girl named Zanda.

Key Concepts

Disguise and false identity drive much of the plot, as Carter operates undercover among people who would kill him on sight. The rivalry between the two inventors introduces a rare science-fictional element for the series — interplanetary travel by spacecraft rather than Carter's usual astral projection — and the journey to Thuria brings a new setting and new Barsoomian races into the story.

About the Author

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) was an American writer, best known as the creator of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars. He was one of the most popular and influential pulp fiction authors of the early twentieth century.