Synthetic Men of Mars

What It's About

When his wife Dejah Thoris is critically injured, John Carter sets out with his lieutenant Vor Daj to find Ras Thavas, the brilliant surgeon from The Master Mind of Mars. They discover that Thavas has been enslaved by his own creations: the hormads, monstrous synthetic men grown in vats, who now scheme to conquer all of Barsoom. To infiltrate their stronghold, Vor Daj has his brain transplanted into a hormad body, an act that puts both his humanity and his growing love for a fellow captive at risk. As the hormads turn on one another and a runaway mass of living tissue threatens to engulf the region, the group must find a way to escape the nightmare they've stumbled into.

Key Concepts

The novel is built around body-swapping and brain transplantation, themes Burroughs had already explored in The Master Mind of Mars, to which this book is a direct sequel. It leans into body-horror and mad-science ideas, including a self-replicating mass of grown flesh, executed with the pulp inventiveness typical of the series rather than any scientific rigor.

About the Author

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) was an American writer best known for his adventure and science fiction novels. A former soldier and businessman who took up writing in his thirties, he became one of the most popular authors of the pulp era, creating richly imagined adventure worlds that captivated generations of readers.