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Swordsman of Mars #1
The Swordsman of Mars
In Swordsman of Mars, Harry Thorne, outcast scion of a wealthy East Coast family, seeks the greatest adventure of his life. He exchanges bodies with his look-alike, Martian Sheb Takkor, and is transported millions of years into the past to a Mars peopled with mighty warriors, beautiful women, and fearsome beasts. Sheb Takkor, a great swordsman in his own right, must fight his way across the deserts and jungles of ancient Mars to save the lovely Princess Thane and to defeat his arch-enemy Sel Han -- or die trying! Edgar Rice Burroughs was the first great writer of planetary adventures. His one true rival and equal at writing planet stories was Otis Adelbert Kline. Kline was on the original editorial staff of Weird Tales, and was literary agent to Robert E. Howard of Conan fame.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1933
About the author
Otis Adelbert Kline
196 books23 followersA popular pulp era writer who served on the original Weird Tales editorial staff & appeared frequently in the magazine's early issues, Kline is perhaps best known for his novelistic feud with Edgar Rice Burroughs. He wrote "Planet of Peril" (1929) and two other novels set on the planet Venus and written in the storytelling form of the John Carter of Mars novels, prompting Burroughs to write his own stories set on Venus. In return, Kline wrote two novels set on Mars, as well as several jungle adventurers quite reminiscent of Burroughs's Tarzan.
In the mid-1930s Kline largely abandoned writing to concentrate on his career as a literary agent (most famously for fellow Weird Tales author Robert E. Howard, pioneer sword and sorcery writer and creator of Conan the Barbarian). Kline represented Howard from the Spring of 1933 until Howard's death in June 1936, and continued to act as literary agent for Howard's estate thereafter.
In the mid-1930s Kline largely abandoned writing to concentrate on his career as a literary agent (most famously for fellow Weird Tales author Robert E. Howard, pioneer sword and sorcery writer and creator of Conan the Barbarian). Kline represented Howard from the Spring of 1933 until Howard's death in June 1936, and continued to act as literary agent for Howard's estate thereafter.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 24, 2020
The reader is introduced to a man named Harry Thorne. Typical for this book, doles out heavy details in some aspects yet is woefully sketchy in others, we never learn much about Harry’s past life, other than that he had lost both his business and his girl to his own business partner, and had subsequently attempted suicide. Thorne is rescued from this attempt by one Dr. Morgan, who makes the miserable man a remarkable offer. It seems that Morgan had been conducting experiments in the area of telepathy, and had discovered that mind-to-mind communication is not hampered by space, or by time! As a matter of fact, Morgan had recently been in communication with a Martian scientist named Lal Vak, who had lived millions of years ago. Lal Vak had suggested an experiment, in which the mind of an Earth man from today might be placed in the body of an ancient Martian, and vice versa. The experiment had been performed, but with unfortunate results.
May 9, 2018
A few weeks back, I had some words to say about a book that was supposedly a major inspiration for Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series, particularly the first two of the 11: "A Princess of Mars" (1912) and "The Gods of Mars" (1913). The book was Edwin L. Arnold's "Gulliver of Mars" (1905), and anyone who's read it must be forcibly struck by the similarities between the two authors' conceptions of the distant Red Planet. Anyway, today I am here to tell you of an author who was not an influence on Burroughs, but who was rather heavily influenced by him. The author is Otis Adelbert Kline, who has long been considered one of the few serious competitors of the ERB style. Indeed, so closely did Kline's style hew to Burroughs' that the two were said to be in a competition bordering on actual enmity, although those reports of antagonism between the two have since been proven to be apocryphal. This reader had read lots of Burroughs before but never any Kline, so when I happened to see the 1960 Ace paperback of the author's "The Swordsman of Mars" at a used bookstore, and selling for a mere four bucks, I bought it on the spot. This novel was originally released as a six-part serial in the pages of "Argosy" magazine, from January 7, 1933 (it copped the cover illustration for that first installment; a beautiful piece of art by Robert A. Graef) to February 11. ("Argosy," I should perhaps mention, was a weekly periodical from 1920 to '41. It is considered the very first American pulp magazine, and published from 1882 – 1978. Burroughs himself had previously seen some of his Tarzan and John Carter novels debut in its pages.) Kline, 42 when the novel debuted, would soon ease back on his writing, and from his assistant editor duties at "Weird Tales" magazine, to concentrate on a new career as a literary agent (most notably, for Robert E. Howard, from 1933 – ’36), and if "The Swordsman of Mars" is a good example of his writing, that easing back was a pity, as the book is a colorful, at times thrilling swashbuckler that demonstrates very well how adept a study Kline had been of the ERB style. In short, the novel is a blast.
In it, the reader is introduced to a man named Harry Thorne. Typical for this book, which doles out heavy details in some aspects yet is woefully sketchy in others, we never learn much about Harry's past life, other than that he had lost both his business and his girl to his own business partner, and had subsequently attempted suicide. Thorne is rescued from this attempt by one Dr. Morgan, who makes the miserable man a remarkable offer. It seems that Morgan had been conducting experiments in the area of telepathy, and had discovered that mind-to-mind communication is not hampered by space...or by time! As a matter of fact, Morgan had recently been in communication with a Martian scientist named Lal Vak, who had lived millions of years ago. Lal Vak had suggested an experiment, in which the mind of an Earthman from today might be placed in the body of an ancient Martian, and vice versa. The experiment had been performed, but with unfortunate results. Morgan had found a suitable volunteer, an unscrupulous Alaskan miner named Frank Boyd, and his consciousness had been sent back to occupy the body of a Martian named Sel Han; meanwhile, Han's consciousness was brought forward, where it took over Boyd's body here on Earth. Sel Han had adapted well to his Terran home, and indeed was Morgan's servant today. But Boyd, once on Mars, had gone a little berserk, and indeed was now plotting with an alien race, the Ma Gongi, to usurp power from the depraved emperor Irintz Tel, who himself had usurped the throne 19 (Earth) years earlier from the good and beloved emperor Miradon Vil, of the nation of Xancibar. Thorne's mission, "should he choose to accept it," would be to have his consciousness put into the body of Martian Sheb Takkor, and stop Boyd/Han in his quest for power. Got all that? Good, because that's just the first eight pages of what turns out to be a very wild ride indeed....
"The Swordsman of Mars" is something of a misnomer title, as it turns out, with its implication that there is only one swordsman on the entire planet. Actually, Kline's Mars is pretty much a medieval society (with the benefits of some surprising bits of super-science), and swords, javelins, maces, knives and arrows are the weapons of choice sported by just about every single character. Fortunately for Thorne, he had been a master fencer back on Earth, we later find out, a skill that helps him immeasurably as the book proceeds. The author uses an accumulation of detail to make his Mars an interesting world, although his writing, as mentioned, can be frustratingly sketchy at times. Thus, he gives us gawrs, flying creatures that the Martians travel on like horses of the sky; a fairly detailed Martian history; jembal, an unctuous adhesive used to heal wounds; steaks made from the hind legs of monstrous anuba beetles; 20-foot-high, stiltlike "desert legs," for attaching to the lower body when traveling across thick sands; water shoes, for zipping across lakes; the dalfs, humongous, otterlike creatures that can be made into loyal and powerful pets; the "fire powder" that can start a blaze when sprinkled with water; the fact that all Martian chairs, beds and divans are suspended on cables from the ceiling; and the Ulfi, a race of yard-high, winged, elfin creatures who come to Thorne's assistance (and practically turn this sci-fi tale into one of hard-core fantasy whenever they are present).
Kline, knowing his readers' tastes, has Thorne fight off several Martian monstrosities (a furred yet reptilian lake creature, as well as the 30-foot-high koree bird of the desert regions) and offers his audience some instances of whizbang superscience (that initial mind transfer, as well as the disintegrator beams of those alien Ma Gongi). He also peppers "The Swordsman of Mars" with any number of thrilling sequences, including Thorne's escape from a slave mine and into the desert; the battle at Takkor Castle, between Thorne's followers on one side and Sel Han's army and Ma Gongi allies on the other; and the climactic duel between Thorne and Boyd, on the edge of a chasm deep within a mountain. And for the ladies, there is some romance, too...actually, a double romance, as Thorne is torn between Miradon Vil's kindly brunette daughter Thaine, and the blonde, scheming, but nevertheless bewitching Neva, daughter of Irintz Tel. It is all wild, exciting, colorful and improbable fare, yet undeniably entertaining withal.
And yet, there are any number of problems that crop up. Besides the frequent fuzzy writing, Kline's novel, though ironically not lacking in detail and color, is yet rather loosely plotted, and the book often seems as if it’s jerking Thorne back and forth across the planet, willy-nilly, from one set piece to the next; "one damned thing after another," and all that. There is one character, Yirl Du, the captain of Thorne's "Free Swordsmen," who coincidentally pops up so often during Thorne's journeys that I began to be suspicious of him, and thought it would be an interesting plot development if there were something more to this supposedly trustworthy henchman than met the eye. But nope...just a series of unlikely coincidences, I'm afraid. In one early chapter, Yirl Du mentions that he knows of Miradon Vil's disappearance because Thorne had mentioned it earlier; the only problem is, Thorne never had. And, oh...the Martians are shown to possess metallic flying craft, besides those gawrs, but we never learn what powers them and keeps them aloft. That's part of what I mean by "sketchy writing." And while I'm carping, this reader did not appreciate the repeated references to the Ma Gongi's yellow skin color, a factor that almost places this sci-fi/fantasy novel into the realm of the "yellow menace" genre, as typified by Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu books.
Still, these are quibbles, and ones that most readers will not mind very much as they breathlessly flip those pages. And make no mistake about it, "The Swordsman of Mars" is most definitely a page-turner, and one in which every character, from minor villain to major ally, gets precisely what he/she deserves. OAK may not have been as talented or original a writer as ERB, but he sure was an entertaining one. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed my first Kline book so much that I am now looking forward to reading its sequel, 1933's "The Outlaws of Mars." Stay tuned....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Otis Adelbert Kline....)
In it, the reader is introduced to a man named Harry Thorne. Typical for this book, which doles out heavy details in some aspects yet is woefully sketchy in others, we never learn much about Harry's past life, other than that he had lost both his business and his girl to his own business partner, and had subsequently attempted suicide. Thorne is rescued from this attempt by one Dr. Morgan, who makes the miserable man a remarkable offer. It seems that Morgan had been conducting experiments in the area of telepathy, and had discovered that mind-to-mind communication is not hampered by space...or by time! As a matter of fact, Morgan had recently been in communication with a Martian scientist named Lal Vak, who had lived millions of years ago. Lal Vak had suggested an experiment, in which the mind of an Earthman from today might be placed in the body of an ancient Martian, and vice versa. The experiment had been performed, but with unfortunate results. Morgan had found a suitable volunteer, an unscrupulous Alaskan miner named Frank Boyd, and his consciousness had been sent back to occupy the body of a Martian named Sel Han; meanwhile, Han's consciousness was brought forward, where it took over Boyd's body here on Earth. Sel Han had adapted well to his Terran home, and indeed was Morgan's servant today. But Boyd, once on Mars, had gone a little berserk, and indeed was now plotting with an alien race, the Ma Gongi, to usurp power from the depraved emperor Irintz Tel, who himself had usurped the throne 19 (Earth) years earlier from the good and beloved emperor Miradon Vil, of the nation of Xancibar. Thorne's mission, "should he choose to accept it," would be to have his consciousness put into the body of Martian Sheb Takkor, and stop Boyd/Han in his quest for power. Got all that? Good, because that's just the first eight pages of what turns out to be a very wild ride indeed....
"The Swordsman of Mars" is something of a misnomer title, as it turns out, with its implication that there is only one swordsman on the entire planet. Actually, Kline's Mars is pretty much a medieval society (with the benefits of some surprising bits of super-science), and swords, javelins, maces, knives and arrows are the weapons of choice sported by just about every single character. Fortunately for Thorne, he had been a master fencer back on Earth, we later find out, a skill that helps him immeasurably as the book proceeds. The author uses an accumulation of detail to make his Mars an interesting world, although his writing, as mentioned, can be frustratingly sketchy at times. Thus, he gives us gawrs, flying creatures that the Martians travel on like horses of the sky; a fairly detailed Martian history; jembal, an unctuous adhesive used to heal wounds; steaks made from the hind legs of monstrous anuba beetles; 20-foot-high, stiltlike "desert legs," for attaching to the lower body when traveling across thick sands; water shoes, for zipping across lakes; the dalfs, humongous, otterlike creatures that can be made into loyal and powerful pets; the "fire powder" that can start a blaze when sprinkled with water; the fact that all Martian chairs, beds and divans are suspended on cables from the ceiling; and the Ulfi, a race of yard-high, winged, elfin creatures who come to Thorne's assistance (and practically turn this sci-fi tale into one of hard-core fantasy whenever they are present).
Kline, knowing his readers' tastes, has Thorne fight off several Martian monstrosities (a furred yet reptilian lake creature, as well as the 30-foot-high koree bird of the desert regions) and offers his audience some instances of whizbang superscience (that initial mind transfer, as well as the disintegrator beams of those alien Ma Gongi). He also peppers "The Swordsman of Mars" with any number of thrilling sequences, including Thorne's escape from a slave mine and into the desert; the battle at Takkor Castle, between Thorne's followers on one side and Sel Han's army and Ma Gongi allies on the other; and the climactic duel between Thorne and Boyd, on the edge of a chasm deep within a mountain. And for the ladies, there is some romance, too...actually, a double romance, as Thorne is torn between Miradon Vil's kindly brunette daughter Thaine, and the blonde, scheming, but nevertheless bewitching Neva, daughter of Irintz Tel. It is all wild, exciting, colorful and improbable fare, yet undeniably entertaining withal.
And yet, there are any number of problems that crop up. Besides the frequent fuzzy writing, Kline's novel, though ironically not lacking in detail and color, is yet rather loosely plotted, and the book often seems as if it’s jerking Thorne back and forth across the planet, willy-nilly, from one set piece to the next; "one damned thing after another," and all that. There is one character, Yirl Du, the captain of Thorne's "Free Swordsmen," who coincidentally pops up so often during Thorne's journeys that I began to be suspicious of him, and thought it would be an interesting plot development if there were something more to this supposedly trustworthy henchman than met the eye. But nope...just a series of unlikely coincidences, I'm afraid. In one early chapter, Yirl Du mentions that he knows of Miradon Vil's disappearance because Thorne had mentioned it earlier; the only problem is, Thorne never had. And, oh...the Martians are shown to possess metallic flying craft, besides those gawrs, but we never learn what powers them and keeps them aloft. That's part of what I mean by "sketchy writing." And while I'm carping, this reader did not appreciate the repeated references to the Ma Gongi's yellow skin color, a factor that almost places this sci-fi/fantasy novel into the realm of the "yellow menace" genre, as typified by Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu books.
Still, these are quibbles, and ones that most readers will not mind very much as they breathlessly flip those pages. And make no mistake about it, "The Swordsman of Mars" is most definitely a page-turner, and one in which every character, from minor villain to major ally, gets precisely what he/she deserves. OAK may not have been as talented or original a writer as ERB, but he sure was an entertaining one. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed my first Kline book so much that I am now looking forward to reading its sequel, 1933's "The Outlaws of Mars." Stay tuned....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Otis Adelbert Kline....)
August 8, 2008
The first in Otis Adelbert Kline's two book Martian series. Sword and Planet like Burroughs, but not as imaginative, I thought. Still, good reading.
I have two versions of this, the old Ace edtion and a facsimile edition from James Van Hise.
I have two versions of this, the old Ace edtion and a facsimile edition from James Van Hise.
February 13, 2011
A twist of fate put me in a position to compare the 1960 Ace edition ("Complete & Unabridged") and the 2007 Planet Stories edition, which has the original text from its 1933 serial appearance in Argosy Magazine. While I preferred the appearance and vintage charm of the Ace edition, its contents compare unfavorably. The opening had been rewritten to bring it into the later decade, in the forms of a reference to Korea and a lampshade hung on known scientific facts of the day, and the text itself had received a going-over in either the name of controlling the page count or in making it read like the product of a later generation. It had removed some rough edges in the language as well as the underlying charm. Some differences felt like changes for change's sake.
In all, the novel is more grounded than Burroughs's comparable novel. There is less outré science and events, and the language itself is not in the same grand style. While Burroughs's Mars series expanded over time to include ever more outlandish things, Kline sets an initial boundary of setting and may just live within it.
On its face, it is more considered: a postapocalyptic solar system, the warring planets driven to near-destruction and barbarism by the mutual use of superweapons. This explains the presence of intermittent high technology (vehicles, mostly) on a world where swordfighting is the norm.
I am very curious to see how much of this setting is present in his other books.
In all, the novel is more grounded than Burroughs's comparable novel. There is less outré science and events, and the language itself is not in the same grand style. While Burroughs's Mars series expanded over time to include ever more outlandish things, Kline sets an initial boundary of setting and may just live within it.
On its face, it is more considered: a postapocalyptic solar system, the warring planets driven to near-destruction and barbarism by the mutual use of superweapons. This explains the presence of intermittent high technology (vehicles, mostly) on a world where swordfighting is the norm.
I am very curious to see how much of this setting is present in his other books.
October 15, 2017
Ah, there's nothing like a good unapologetic planetary romance.
I read the ACE edition, which invites comparison between Otis Adelbert Kline and Edgar Rice Burroughs. On reading the book, I can see why Kline was considered serious competition for Burroughs. “The Swordsman of Mars” is more than a Barsoom clone, though, it is very much it's own thing. Like Burroughs himself, Kline draws on various adventure and fantasy tropes and applies them for maximum effect.
Our hero is a man on Earth in “present day” (30s when written, adjusted to look more like 60s for the ACE version), Harry Thorne, who a scientist rescues from suicide so he can send his consciousness into another body on Mars. Mars has got swords, monsters, airships, castles, awesomeness... Oooo and there are space-commies! Harry Thorne must take out another guy from Earth who is second in command of the space-commies and trying to take over all of Mars for himself.
Most writer don't seem to give the sword-and-planet genre its due credit, it's actually a delicate balance that's equal parts Jules Verne, Dumas, and (oddly) Horatio Alger.
The story races along nicely with a series of attacks and escapes and sneaking and plotting. Thorne winds up separated from the Martian scientist who knows he's from Earth and doesn't know anything about Mars, so he has to wing it much of the time. The romantic element is present, Thorne winds up juggling two attractive princesses. There's also some fae little-people who are basically magic.
Oh! There's also a race of yellow aliens apart from the hot-looking humanoids, and these guys have a death-ray which becomes important to the conflict.
Stacking this up against other major sword-and-planet series, it isn't quite the high that “A Princess of Mars” was, objectively it's probably better than “Gulliver of Mars”, mostly due to the tight pacing here, and it soars above later attempts like Moorcock's “City of the Beast” or the Dray Prescott books. Oh, and I think John Norman's Gor plucked a few things from this, like people flying around on bird-monsters and the cylinder cities.
“The Swordsman of Mars” was a lot of fun and there's plenty right with it. It's got the conflict, the Murphy's Law factor where the hero is always up against it, plenty of random planet stuff, and it's got a duel where the hero carves his name on a guy.
This was a worthwhile example of the genre and it's got me excited to read more from Kline.
I read the ACE edition, which invites comparison between Otis Adelbert Kline and Edgar Rice Burroughs. On reading the book, I can see why Kline was considered serious competition for Burroughs. “The Swordsman of Mars” is more than a Barsoom clone, though, it is very much it's own thing. Like Burroughs himself, Kline draws on various adventure and fantasy tropes and applies them for maximum effect.
Our hero is a man on Earth in “present day” (30s when written, adjusted to look more like 60s for the ACE version), Harry Thorne, who a scientist rescues from suicide so he can send his consciousness into another body on Mars. Mars has got swords, monsters, airships, castles, awesomeness... Oooo and there are space-commies! Harry Thorne must take out another guy from Earth who is second in command of the space-commies and trying to take over all of Mars for himself.
Most writer don't seem to give the sword-and-planet genre its due credit, it's actually a delicate balance that's equal parts Jules Verne, Dumas, and (oddly) Horatio Alger.
The story races along nicely with a series of attacks and escapes and sneaking and plotting. Thorne winds up separated from the Martian scientist who knows he's from Earth and doesn't know anything about Mars, so he has to wing it much of the time. The romantic element is present, Thorne winds up juggling two attractive princesses. There's also some fae little-people who are basically magic.
Oh! There's also a race of yellow aliens apart from the hot-looking humanoids, and these guys have a death-ray which becomes important to the conflict.
Stacking this up against other major sword-and-planet series, it isn't quite the high that “A Princess of Mars” was, objectively it's probably better than “Gulliver of Mars”, mostly due to the tight pacing here, and it soars above later attempts like Moorcock's “City of the Beast” or the Dray Prescott books. Oh, and I think John Norman's Gor plucked a few things from this, like people flying around on bird-monsters and the cylinder cities.
“The Swordsman of Mars” was a lot of fun and there's plenty right with it. It's got the conflict, the Murphy's Law factor where the hero is always up against it, plenty of random planet stuff, and it's got a duel where the hero carves his name on a guy.
This was a worthwhile example of the genre and it's got me excited to read more from Kline.
December 19, 2022
A wonderful trip back to the intolerance of the '30s. Yellow fear, Red fear, a veritable bingo card of fear of anything and everything that doesn't fit into the cultural zeitgeist. Gets points for the surprising depth that the female love interest displays, but isn't really worth anything more as a read other than the pleasure of a shocked gasp.
May 24, 2014
Wer würde bei dieser Damsel in Distress nicht auf den Mars wollen, um eine helfende Hand zu reichen?
Es heißt, dass Otis Adelbert Kline der einzige Autor sei, der den Anspruch erheben dürfe, eine Konkurrenz zu Edgar Rice Burroughs zu sein.
SWORDSMAN OF MARS ist eine kräftige Anleihe an ERBs A PRINCESS OF MARS (um nicht des böse Wort Plagiat zu bemühen, dass bei den Pulps ohnehin kaum Sinn macht), allerdings lange nicht so unterhaltsam. Auch wenn sicherlich niemand ERB als großen Stilisten bezeichnen würde, so ist ihm erzählerisches Talent keinesfalls abzusprechen. Schon am Erzählerischen hapert es beim SWORDSMAN aber, mich hat die Handlung einfach nicht mitgerissen. Wäre der Roman straffer und hätte er 40 Seiten weniger, wäre er als durchschnittlicher Pulp-Roman für mich OK gewesen, aber so hat sich die Lektüre wie Kaugummi gezogen. Die genretypischen Schwächen muss man verzeihen, und das tue ich auch gerne, aber wenn es an der Unterhaltsamkeit mangelt, an der Spannung, dann bleibt nur ein Fazit: wegen des coolen Covers den alten ACE-Band kaufen, wenn man ihn billig findet, zum Verzehr aber ist der SWORDSMAN eher ungeeignet.
Es heißt, dass Otis Adelbert Kline der einzige Autor sei, der den Anspruch erheben dürfe, eine Konkurrenz zu Edgar Rice Burroughs zu sein.
SWORDSMAN OF MARS ist eine kräftige Anleihe an ERBs A PRINCESS OF MARS (um nicht des böse Wort Plagiat zu bemühen, dass bei den Pulps ohnehin kaum Sinn macht), allerdings lange nicht so unterhaltsam. Auch wenn sicherlich niemand ERB als großen Stilisten bezeichnen würde, so ist ihm erzählerisches Talent keinesfalls abzusprechen. Schon am Erzählerischen hapert es beim SWORDSMAN aber, mich hat die Handlung einfach nicht mitgerissen. Wäre der Roman straffer und hätte er 40 Seiten weniger, wäre er als durchschnittlicher Pulp-Roman für mich OK gewesen, aber so hat sich die Lektüre wie Kaugummi gezogen. Die genretypischen Schwächen muss man verzeihen, und das tue ich auch gerne, aber wenn es an der Unterhaltsamkeit mangelt, an der Spannung, dann bleibt nur ein Fazit: wegen des coolen Covers den alten ACE-Band kaufen, wenn man ihn billig findet, zum Verzehr aber ist der SWORDSMAN eher ungeeignet.
Want to Read
November 9, 2008A post at Fantasy Book Critic really raved about this book. Because I like the sci fi fantasy from that era, I marked it to read so I wouldn't forget about it.
March 10, 2018
This book has its amusing moments and various points of interest. But I suppose it's rather "average" sword-and-planet fare. It was originally published in the pulp magazine Argosy (1933), and has a definite period vibe about it. Note: I read the RGL edition based on the PG Australia text.
In those days, perhaps in the shadow of ERB, it seems like people needed a gimmick to get their Earthling hero up to Mars (or what have you). This book's gimmick is mind transference machinery that is said to transcend space and time, so the big-wig scientist is able to communicate telepathically with counterparts millions of years ago when the Red Planet was habitable and much like Earth. And with a compatible-enough pair of doppelganger bodies, they are able to transfer minds across all that space-time. The first Earth guy to be transferred (before the story opens) went rogue so they decided to transfer gallant Harry Thorne to go fix things. (His mind goes into the Martian body of the person he swapped with, naturally.) Of course he's great with a sword and he's super dependable and wholesome and so forth. One of the first people he meets upon arrival on Mars, aside from the counterpart scientist, is a woman named Thaine, every bit this equal with a sword, which is good. She's the bee's knees. So of course he falls in love with her immediately, but they're just good friends, sort of.
There's another (evil) race on this version of Mars that's kind of a "yellow-peril" analogue typical of American SF in the 1930s. The Martian technology is swords and similar, but centuries before the story begins someone had made destructive "green ray" machines and now the evil government (aided by that previous rogue Earthling) has re-invented the technology. So part of Harry's mission is to overcome and restore the good government. Through various events, he becomes a guard over a "princess" named Neva who's so beautiful everyone falls instantly in love with her, she spurns Harry, etc. But he ends up in prison (sent to labor in the mines), gets away, goes through one harrowing crisis after another, etc. There are a few too many coincidences and lucky breaks along the way, but this is after all red-blooded men's magazine adventure fare of the thirties, so we'll cut it some slack.
In addition to the human-like Martians and the evil yellow-peril type Martians, there are fairies! Well, they're called Ulfi, but they're tiny little people with wings, but they come in handy to help the protagonist who saves their princess' life. And they give him a glittery ring which he can rub to produce a scent that will summon them when needed. Uh huh.
Oh, at one point Thaine, the "girl" (because of course everyone in the 1930s who wasn't a man was a girl), actually gets carried off over the shoulder of the brutish antagonist. LOL. I kid you not. I won't tell you how the "war" was won, or which of the male protagonists ends up with which of the females, but I was mildly surprised when I got there.
Now, moving on to points of interest in the realm of world-building... The machine technology is kind of "big" in the Flash Gordon sense. The flying machines are mechanical birds. And the land vehicles are propelled by legs instead of wheels, basically like mechanical caterpillars with a varying number of legs depending on size and passenger capacity. They have some huge cities with interesting architecture and "baridium" lighting technology.
There are plenty of jungles and some dangerous creatures, too.
In those days, perhaps in the shadow of ERB, it seems like people needed a gimmick to get their Earthling hero up to Mars (or what have you). This book's gimmick is mind transference machinery that is said to transcend space and time, so the big-wig scientist is able to communicate telepathically with counterparts millions of years ago when the Red Planet was habitable and much like Earth. And with a compatible-enough pair of doppelganger bodies, they are able to transfer minds across all that space-time. The first Earth guy to be transferred (before the story opens) went rogue so they decided to transfer gallant Harry Thorne to go fix things. (His mind goes into the Martian body of the person he swapped with, naturally.) Of course he's great with a sword and he's super dependable and wholesome and so forth. One of the first people he meets upon arrival on Mars, aside from the counterpart scientist, is a woman named Thaine, every bit this equal with a sword, which is good. She's the bee's knees. So of course he falls in love with her immediately, but they're just good friends, sort of.
There's another (evil) race on this version of Mars that's kind of a "yellow-peril" analogue typical of American SF in the 1930s. The Martian technology is swords and similar, but centuries before the story begins someone had made destructive "green ray" machines and now the evil government (aided by that previous rogue Earthling) has re-invented the technology. So part of Harry's mission is to overcome and restore the good government. Through various events, he becomes a guard over a "princess" named Neva who's so beautiful everyone falls instantly in love with her, she spurns Harry, etc. But he ends up in prison (sent to labor in the mines), gets away, goes through one harrowing crisis after another, etc. There are a few too many coincidences and lucky breaks along the way, but this is after all red-blooded men's magazine adventure fare of the thirties, so we'll cut it some slack.
In addition to the human-like Martians and the evil yellow-peril type Martians, there are fairies! Well, they're called Ulfi, but they're tiny little people with wings, but they come in handy to help the protagonist who saves their princess' life. And they give him a glittery ring which he can rub to produce a scent that will summon them when needed. Uh huh.
Oh, at one point Thaine, the "girl" (because of course everyone in the 1930s who wasn't a man was a girl), actually gets carried off over the shoulder of the brutish antagonist. LOL. I kid you not. I won't tell you how the "war" was won, or which of the male protagonists ends up with which of the females, but I was mildly surprised when I got there.
Now, moving on to points of interest in the realm of world-building... The machine technology is kind of "big" in the Flash Gordon sense. The flying machines are mechanical birds. And the land vehicles are propelled by legs instead of wheels, basically like mechanical caterpillars with a varying number of legs depending on size and passenger capacity. They have some huge cities with interesting architecture and "baridium" lighting technology.
There are plenty of jungles and some dangerous creatures, too.
March 15, 2022
Objectively, this is a bad book. There world-building is poor, the plot is contrived with tons of plot-holes big enough throw an army of Ma Gongi through, and the character-building is pretty much non-existent. And there are whiffs of racism (the positive characters are described as 'white' and the evil Ma Gongi are 'yellow'). The sexism is off the charts (every female character is referred to a 'little,' even Thaine, who is a total badass with a sword through most of the book; just one example.)
Part of me wants to say that, well, it's pulp and I should expect some of that. But I feel like experts at writing pulp science fantasy (Friz Leiber, Vance, Moorcock) don't fall prey to as many issues and have more postives than Kline did.
Still, I guess I won't say that I disliked it, exactly. It is fast-paced, never lacking for action, and has some imaginative ideas (though nothing that stood out to me over other sword-and-planet works).
Part of me wants to say that, well, it's pulp and I should expect some of that. But I feel like experts at writing pulp science fantasy (Friz Leiber, Vance, Moorcock) don't fall prey to as many issues and have more postives than Kline did.
Still, I guess I won't say that I disliked it, exactly. It is fast-paced, never lacking for action, and has some imaginative ideas (though nothing that stood out to me over other sword-and-planet works).
July 27, 2020
This was very readable. It’s compared to Burroughs fairly often but I’d note the differences.
At its core its a sword and planet like any Barsoom book. However, the world building feels a bit stronger than ERB, but the adventure and romance weaker. The politically allegory lacks any subtlety but is amusing. Like anything long form published in weird tales the end was a bit weak.
I mostly really liked this. As a huge fan of Sword and Planet this feels a bit “harder” SF than most books in the genre. Not that it is in any way hard SF. If you like ERB, Leigh Brackett, Lin Carter etc do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s good.
At its core its a sword and planet like any Barsoom book. However, the world building feels a bit stronger than ERB, but the adventure and romance weaker. The politically allegory lacks any subtlety but is amusing. Like anything long form published in weird tales the end was a bit weak.
I mostly really liked this. As a huge fan of Sword and Planet this feels a bit “harder” SF than most books in the genre. Not that it is in any way hard SF. If you like ERB, Leigh Brackett, Lin Carter etc do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s good.
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August 12, 2022“Problematic” doesn’t even begin to cover the race, gender and class issues in this book, but high marks for pure entertainment value in this swashbuckling tale.
Henry Throne finds himself on a Mars filled with damsels in distress, evil communists, noble royals, giant reptile-dogs, flying beasts, ancient traditions, weapons of mass destruction, swords and ray guns, and all the other trappings of a world that is half Futurism and half Arabian Nights, with a lot of 1930’s issues and politics thrown in.
A classic “sword and planet” story of Old Mars.
April 27, 2021
The reason I like vintage science fiction novels, those of the 1930s through the early 1970s, is because I feel a lot of these authors took care in their craft. Even though the novels are short and generally not a complex read, it feels like the authors took care in word choice and reveled in descriptions.
The Swordsman of Mars is no exception. It's not as impressive a read as other authors who tackled adventures on Mars, but it was a fun, quick read. I'm looking forward to his other works.
The Swordsman of Mars is no exception. It's not as impressive a read as other authors who tackled adventures on Mars, but it was a fun, quick read. I'm looking forward to his other works.
October 6, 2017
Read this back in the 70s along with several other Kline novels.
January 14, 2019
Utter pulp, I loved it
Did Not Finish
September 8, 2019Why I didn't finish this: I wanted another Princess of Mars (Burroughs), but got whatever this one, and it turns out I am NOT here for this.
March 3, 2020
A grand adventure in true Sword and Planet style! I enjoyed the creatures of Mars that the author created, and the adventurous tale was action-packed. Enjoyable read!
March 30, 2020
Good planetary adventure, more differences than similarities to Burroughs works, this isn't Barsoom and it's not John Carter, different world with different cultures...
September 25, 2024
Written 18 years after A Princess of Mars, it is derivative and offers little new to the genre.
February 23, 2025
It was fun to jump back to one of the old planetary romances. It's a brisk, swashbuckling read. While dated in many ways, it's still a good time.
October 21, 2012
The story of Harry Thorne, outcast scion of a wealthy East Coast family, who agrees to swap bodies with a Martian noble, thrusting him into a fierce and vibrant world of strange beasts and stranger people, where a man's future is determined by the strength of his sword arm. Tasked with tracking down and neutralizing another Earthman before he establishes a corrupt empire, and trapped between the love of two beautiful and dangerous women, will Harry Thorne wind up a slave in the dolorous baridium mines, or will he step forward and claim his destiny as a swordsman of Mars?
I've not read any stories by Otis Kline before, but after reading Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter/Barsoom series of stories, and discovering about it and reading good recommendations from the 'Take Me Back To Barsoom' Facebook group, I took the plunge and gave 'The Swordsman Of Mars' a go - the first in a two book Mars series from Kline.
I have to say, 'Swordsman' is a very enjoyable read. Harry Thorne is very similar to Burroughs' John Carter, so if you enjoyed those books you're sure to enjoy this. Nearly every chapter is packed with action and is fast paced that you're swept into 'Hahr Ree Thorne's' Martian adventure.
All the good pulp action sci-fi is there; an outsider who's very adept with a sword, turns up in a foreign land that's populated with strange races, fantastical beasts, death rays, flying machines, chases, escapes, battles, a princess or two and a kingdom that needs saving from a tyrannical fiend.
If anything, Thorne does come across as a bit more cerebral than the gung-ho John Carter of Burroughs' stories, but if you like planetary romance and pulp science fiction then you can do no wrong in picking this up and giving it a read.
I've not read any stories by Otis Kline before, but after reading Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter/Barsoom series of stories, and discovering about it and reading good recommendations from the 'Take Me Back To Barsoom' Facebook group, I took the plunge and gave 'The Swordsman Of Mars' a go - the first in a two book Mars series from Kline.
I have to say, 'Swordsman' is a very enjoyable read. Harry Thorne is very similar to Burroughs' John Carter, so if you enjoyed those books you're sure to enjoy this. Nearly every chapter is packed with action and is fast paced that you're swept into 'Hahr Ree Thorne's' Martian adventure.
All the good pulp action sci-fi is there; an outsider who's very adept with a sword, turns up in a foreign land that's populated with strange races, fantastical beasts, death rays, flying machines, chases, escapes, battles, a princess or two and a kingdom that needs saving from a tyrannical fiend.
If anything, Thorne does come across as a bit more cerebral than the gung-ho John Carter of Burroughs' stories, but if you like planetary romance and pulp science fiction then you can do no wrong in picking this up and giving it a read.
December 22, 2012
Kline has an interesting take on the Mars and action adventure genre. His Mars seems more swampy than Burroughs, and his Ulfa (elves) are a parallel to our faerie folk of tradition. His 'ancient history' of how the moon became a satellite of Earth, how peoples mixed and interacted in the 'bad old days' before the current age of barbaric splendour, is really a rival to Burroughs' best (who left much unsaid in his own works). are told in a terse, unadorned style, which speak to me something of the midwest. The protagonist, Harry Thorne, goes to Mars in search of a better life to replace his failed one on Earth, and without ruining anything, I can say he finds it, although not without an assortment of however improbable progressions and reversals. Definitely a more vulnerable and sympathetic (but not pathetic) character than most used to propel readers into the alternate worlds of fantasy and science fiction; I found myself cheering at the end.
November 29, 2013
For those of you like me who have run out of Edgar Rice Burroughs Kline is the next obvious step - the style is so similar it could almost BE ERB - (ERB has a fighting man of mars and swords of mars - very similar titles)
TSOM is a lightening paced pulp science fantasy novel with everything from disintegrator rays (a cold energy decreasing interrotating green ray), fairies (ulfs) giant birds and bats, princesses and evil tyrants. At times its a little too fast and you fear that scenes have been missed out - but never fear, its not quite the breakneck pace of lin carter's early stuff, and doesn't seriously detract from the novel over all.
It's not as memorable as ERB's John Carter series and I found the women less interesting, nevertheless its a fun, trashy read that kept me thoroughly entertained throughout.
TSOM is a lightening paced pulp science fantasy novel with everything from disintegrator rays (a cold energy decreasing interrotating green ray), fairies (ulfs) giant birds and bats, princesses and evil tyrants. At times its a little too fast and you fear that scenes have been missed out - but never fear, its not quite the breakneck pace of lin carter's early stuff, and doesn't seriously detract from the novel over all.
It's not as memorable as ERB's John Carter series and I found the women less interesting, nevertheless its a fun, trashy read that kept me thoroughly entertained throughout.
August 21, 2009
The Swordsman of Mars by Otis Adelbert Kline was the first novel I ever read. I read it under the bedcovers by flashlight, while hiding it inside my desk in Mrs. Loosmore's 4th grade class, and while riding my bicycle home from Glenmoor Elementary School. It didn't just capture my imagination, it created it. As a ten-year-old boy, I became a better swordsman than Zorro, rode giant birds into battle in the red skys of Mars, saved the rebellion and fell in love with the leader's strangely-attractive daughter. As the first of a thousand science fiction novels it is dearest of all books to me, more dear than Red Planet by Robert A. Heinlein...or even The White Rabbit.
November 14, 2010
Not a bad story but also not a great one either. It is extremely fast paced so much so that it felt like there was stuff missing. There was a number of errors in the wording that made me actually stop and reread them a number of times, this to me seriously detracts from a story. The world he was creating in the story had a great deal of potential to be built upon though.
April 2, 2014
This pulpy sword and planet tale is a swift, action-packed read. The world is vivid, the dangers menacing. But I think it suffers slightly from its generic lead character. While serviceable, he likes the inherent nobility of John Carter, the roguish craft of Eric John Stark, or the primal atavism of Esau Cairn.
June 2, 2015
Great sword and planet story in the vein of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Better in some ways because it doesn't follow the Burroughs formula present in so many of his stories.
This book is also enjoyable because with some wiggling and reading of Den Valdron's blogs, this book actually can fit into Burroughs' Barsoom series.
Kline is a classic of his era.
This book is also enjoyable because with some wiggling and reading of Den Valdron's blogs, this book actually can fit into Burroughs' Barsoom series.
Kline is a classic of his era.
October 19, 2016
Not as good as ERB, and I probably should only give it a 3 rating, but I just enjoyed it too much. Call it a guilty pleasure. I liked it in spite of itself. I wish Amazon had a separate category for the genre of "planetary romance" or "sword and planet", as they are my favorite type of story. Even more than zombies. :)
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August 22, 2008The Swordsman Of Mars by Otis Adelbert Kline (2008)
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