Going old school in my Sci-fi ... all the way to "Barsoom"

[PepperElf]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsoom

I just started the original trilogy a few days ago - one giant book containing, "A Princess of Mars", "The Gods of Mars", and "The Warlord of Mars". I'm only a few chapters into the first book but so far I'm pretty impressed.


I didn't think 100-year old sci-fi would be that good. Sure I saw that John Carter movie and liked it... but I didn't realize the book would be that much better. I mean, yeah, books are almost always better than the movies but... this one even more than I expected.


I glanced at the wiki - but not too much cos I don't want spoilers beyond what I saw in the movie - but I noted one thing of interest:

The author had many kinds of martians - green, red, yellow, white, and black. But not blue. I wonder if that's why John Cameron picked blue for Avatar.


Wait, what? Avatar? Yeah. my BF had told me that the mars series was a serious inspiration for the sci-fi smurf movie but ... I didn't realize just how right that was until I started reading the book. I mean sure there's details that are different but it's pretty clear that some were pretty much lifted directly from "A Princess of Mars" and run through a blue filter.


Right now the only thing wrong with it is that it's not my book. I checked it out from the library. But maybe later on i'll get my own copy. For the meantime though I'll enjoy the free version.

[AnaKhouri]

Hooray hooray! Burroughs' doesn't get nearly the love he deserves these days.

I have loads of other old SF recommendations if you continue liking it (we have a massive collection of New Wave SF -1950s-1970s- but unfortunately many titles are out of print).

The thing I was most excited to see in John Carter was Woola...

[bhskittykatt]

The thing I was most excited to see in John Carter was Woola...

Woola was adorable!

I've read "A Princess of Mars" (which I enjoyed), but not the others. I'll have to pick them up sometime.

[Kal]

Haven't seen the film myself, but I've read the full set of Barsoom books. You can find them free on the Gutenberg project (most anyway) as well as his Tarzan series. Also the full set, I think, on http://arthursbookshelf.com/ in various formats. Not that I'm a huge fan at all. :P
I did see the entire set in an antiques store, and was really tempted to buy them, but couldn't really justify spending £2.00 per book just to have the hard-copy as well.

[MoonCat]

My grandfather had some of those books. The original paperbacks, at 25 cents each...

They were among the first fantasy/SF that I ever read.

Burroughs also wrote Tarzan books.

[PepperElf]

Haven't seen the film myself, but I've read the full set of Barsoom books. You can find them free on the Gutenberg project (most anyway) as well as his Tarzan series. Also the full set, I think, on http://arthursbookshelf.com/ in various formats. Not that I'm a huge fan at all. :P
I did see the entire set in an antiques store, and was really tempted to buy them, but couldn't really justify spending £2.00 per book just to have the hard-copy as well.

I figured it would be there too but haven't bothered looking. For now though I'm enjoying the other version of free - large paperback from the library!


Although ... that would be very tempting to download too. seeing that it's free and all.
and then make my mac read it out loud to me. (or rather read it to an aiff file and then convert to mp3 and voila! an audiobook!)

but for now the book form is fine

[bhskittykatt]

I figured it would be there too but haven't bothered looking. For now though I'm enjoying the other version of free - large paperback from the library!


Although ... that would be very tempting to download too. seeing that it's free and all.
and then make my mac read it out loud to me. (or rather read it to an aiff file and then convert to mp3 and voila! an audiobook!)

but for now the book form is fine

If you want audiobook format, you can get those for free too: https://catalog.librivox.org/search....&action=Search

[sms001]

I just reread these myself Pepper, and appreciated them more today than as a youngin' Enjoy the adventure!

[PepperElf]

o true. i keep forgetting about librivox. i have phantom of the opera on podcast through them. maybe if i can't get this finished before it's due etc i'll consider it.

[Taurus52]

Try E. E. "Doc" Smith's Lensmen series. Classic adventure with the flavor of the Mauve decade.

[Kal]

I was lucky in my school library, it had all the standard books plus a decent section of oldies. Some of the Tarzan series, the first Barsoom and the entire Lensman series. Then I moved to where I live now, and found an old bookshop with a massive section of reduced old books - £1 each and I've now got most of the Tarzan series (as well as a bunch of Conans too). It's still odd to me that so few people have read them all.

[AccountingDrone]

I love Project Gutenberg - I have this love of purple prose
Feedbook also has a bunch of oldies but goodies. I see they have a bunch of Burroughs! [Also check out Abraham Merritt if you like Burroughs!]

[dbuzman]

It's funny you posted the op. I just bought a collection of all the martian books on nook for $2.99 and another collection that has Tarzan, Pellucidar, and some of his other books.

[aqutalion]

I love this series to bits and pieces, especially "Gods of Mars" (There's a nice piccy of Xodar in my art gallery). I need to start reading more of Burroughs' stuff.

[Ceir]

As a matter of fact, I have the entire series on one of my shelves. Quick reads and good stuff; goes well alongside the old Conan stories.

Seconding the recommendation of Doc Smith and the Lensman series; check out some of Asimov's lighter fare as well - the Lucky Starr series is another round of quick, short reads, full of oldschool charm even if the science is way out of date.

Longer stuff, there's always Heinlein, and I've also started working my way through Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat novels.