John Carter: Terrible yet Entertaining

Reviewing the John Carter series is extremely difficult because Edgar Rice Burrough's writing style is such an enigma. He is an utterly atrocious author, yet despite this, or largely because of this, his books are very entertaining. The John Carter series is about the adventures of the titular John Carter after finding himself stranded on Mars. Throughout the book, we see John Carter meet, and often times fight, all manner of strange creatures and peoples.

It's abundantly clear that Edgar made the story up as he went. The series is full of inconsistencies and plot points that never get resolved. For example, John Carter has a pet called Woola with multiple legs. The problem is that Edgard just can't seem to remember how many legs he has. Throughout the series, he has had six, eight and ten legs on different occasions. 

These inconsistencies can be very funny at times, but they can also be extremely frustrating. One thing that has always bothered me about John Carter is that he continually forgets that he has superpowers. Because of Mars's low gravity, John Carter has gained immense strength as well as the ability to jump great distances. The problem is that he continually encounters obstacles that could easily be resolved by a feat of strength or by jumping, but he seems to have forgotten that he has powers for no apparent reason.

I remain convinced that the series started as a western. The Princes of Mars (the first book in the series) starts with John Carter fighting a large group of Indians. He runs away and goes to hide in a cave. He then just appears on Mars. No explanation is ever given as to how this happened. 

Despite all its glaring flaws, I enjoyed the John Carter series immensely. I love the series for its continuous over-the-top action scenes and the absurd world it takes place in. I also must admit that I enjoyed laughing at the series's many inconsistencies. The series is perfect for anyone who likes stories with lots of action, but who doesn't mind if the plot isn't entirely coherent.

copyright reserved © Baloyi 2024