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Barsoom #6
The Master Mind of Mars
Burroughs, Edgar Rice, Master Mind Of Mars, The
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
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About the author
Edgar Rice Burroughs
2,701 books2,752 followersEdgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
April 11, 2024
This one was difficult to judge, my friends; because on the one hand, I love ERB's prose, but on the other hand, I believe that there's a step back in the writing by bringing in the no name dude playing right field to come in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. Up to Chessmen of Mars, I have enjoyed the exploits of John Carter and his children, so here we are introduced to an entirely new character who has traveled from earth to mars just like John Carter did.
I get that the Warlord of Mars has become too famous on Mars to travel incognito, but I bought the ticket to see the star of the show and we don't get the star; in fact, we don't even get to see his kids either. I don't hate Ulysses Paxton or Vad Varo, as he is called on Barsoom, but I'm not overly impressed with the Frankenstein-like story beats. It brings into focus the reasons why most Barsoomian Collections only collect the first seven of the John Carter novels.
Ulysses Paxton is on a World War I battlefield when he is transported to Mars. The scientist Ras Thavas has need of someone trustworthy who can learn the art of transplanting brains in order to prolong life. Thavas has a nice business transplanting the brains of affluent elderly people into the bodies of young, healthy, gorgeous people.
When Paxton falls in love with one of the young women that he is supposed to transplant, he must go on a mission to switch her back. Slight problem, the body now belongs to an empress / Jeddara named Xaxa, and she doesn't want to give the body back. Luckily, there are others unhappy with the process of elites getting to covet the bodies of their subjects and then switching brains with them.
It's kind of a horrific tale, so you can see the Frankenstein connection, but I really feel that the story doesn't fit tonally with the things that have gone before. For me, three stars is a "good" rating, but really poor for a Burroughs book.
I get that the Warlord of Mars has become too famous on Mars to travel incognito, but I bought the ticket to see the star of the show and we don't get the star; in fact, we don't even get to see his kids either. I don't hate Ulysses Paxton or Vad Varo, as he is called on Barsoom, but I'm not overly impressed with the Frankenstein-like story beats. It brings into focus the reasons why most Barsoomian Collections only collect the first seven of the John Carter novels.
Ulysses Paxton is on a World War I battlefield when he is transported to Mars. The scientist Ras Thavas has need of someone trustworthy who can learn the art of transplanting brains in order to prolong life. Thavas has a nice business transplanting the brains of affluent elderly people into the bodies of young, healthy, gorgeous people.
When Paxton falls in love with one of the young women that he is supposed to transplant, he must go on a mission to switch her back. Slight problem, the body now belongs to an empress / Jeddara named Xaxa, and she doesn't want to give the body back. Luckily, there are others unhappy with the process of elites getting to covet the bodies of their subjects and then switching brains with them.
It's kind of a horrific tale, so you can see the Frankenstein connection, but I really feel that the story doesn't fit tonally with the things that have gone before. For me, three stars is a "good" rating, but really poor for a Burroughs book.
June 7, 2023
Probably more like a 4.5 or 4.75 . . .
For this volume we're back to first-person narration, but it's not John Carter -- it's Ulysses Paxton, another Earth man who makes his way to Barsoom from the trenches of WWI-era Europe. Paxton already has a basic familiarity with Barsoom because he's read ERB's previous books, although he thought they were fiction. (Burroughs was meta before meta was a thing.)
This is an interesting installment -- it has much more of a science fictional feel to it than other volumes (well, a 1920's SF feel), what with elaborate medical procedures up to and including brain transplants. There's also relatively little swordplay. As always, though, there's more adventure, intrigue, and True Love at First Sight than you can shake a stick at.
For this volume we're back to first-person narration, but it's not John Carter -- it's Ulysses Paxton, another Earth man who makes his way to Barsoom from the trenches of WWI-era Europe. Paxton already has a basic familiarity with Barsoom because he's read ERB's previous books, although he thought they were fiction. (Burroughs was meta before meta was a thing.)
This is an interesting installment -- it has much more of a science fictional feel to it than other volumes (well, a 1920's SF feel), what with elaborate medical procedures up to and including brain transplants. There's also relatively little swordplay. As always, though, there's more adventure, intrigue, and True Love at First Sight than you can shake a stick at.
December 6, 2020
Do you know those old Frankenstein movies, not the original but all the then-popular knock-offs with even more brains in jars and mad scientists putting their brains in monkeys and then wondering why they got elected to public office and started a revolution?
Yeah. That's what this one was like.
Maybe it's good for the craving for a different time that is so very different that it's hard to imagine that ANYONE thought this was a good idea... and then I see the ongoing debate about face masks during a pandemic.
So, um, is anyone doing a Kickstarter for the brain transplant business?
Yeah. That's what this one was like.
Maybe it's good for the craving for a different time that is so very different that it's hard to imagine that ANYONE thought this was a good idea... and then I see the ongoing debate about face masks during a pandemic.
So, um, is anyone doing a Kickstarter for the brain transplant business?
December 20, 2022
Another great read in this SiFi action series. ERB always delivers an action packed and fast paced story. Recommended
March 4, 2023
I have been reading Burroughs since I was a teenager back in the 1960s. When I was 10 years old, my father gave me a copy of Tarzan and the Golden Lion for Christmas. I don't think I read it until a few years later but when I did, I became hooked on Burroughs. My father also had an old copy of A Princess of Mars, the first book in the Mars series which I also read as a teenager. Later in the 70s and 80s, I reread most of the Tarzan series as well as some Mars books and my favorites, the Pellucidar series. Since then, I have collected most of Burroughs books in hardcover and read them somewhat sporadically. I had never read Master Mind before — the last Mars book I read about 20 years ago was Chessmen of Mars so I decided to see what happens in the next book in the series.
Master Mind is the sixth book in the Mars series. It was originally published in the magazine Amazing Stories Annual vol. 1, on July 15, 1927 and then published in book form in 1928.
In this book, Burroughs uses a new character, Ulysses Paxton, to tell a really unusual tale involving brain and other organ and limb transplants by an elderly mad scientist named Ras Thavas. Paxton was serving in the trenches of WWI when he is magically transported to Mars where he meets Thavas and becomes his apprentice. At first Paxton is thrilled to gain the knowledge of Ras but then he discovers that Ras has transplanted brains and uses this skill to provide rich elderly Martians with youthful new bodies for a profit. Paxton falls in love with one of the women who has had her brain replaced by that of an old hag and the novel proceeds as an adventure to get the rightful brain back into the beautiful body. Of course, all is well that ends well and Paxton gets his beautiful bride.
I was kind of disappointed in this novel. It really didn't seem like the John Carter novels I had read in the past. The plot about brain transplants was right out of Frankenstein or H.P. Lovecraft's Reanimator. It was like the plot of a very bad B movie from the 50s. The writing to me also seemed very juvenile (maybe it always was) and the dialog was not very realistic. Also all the Martian names became very confusing. I guess mostly I read this for nostalgia's sake but I'm not sure if I will be reading any more of these anytime soon. However, I still have Burroughs Venus series which I have not read — maybe I'll sneak one of them in just to see what happened on Venus. :-)
Master Mind is the sixth book in the Mars series. It was originally published in the magazine Amazing Stories Annual vol. 1, on July 15, 1927 and then published in book form in 1928.
In this book, Burroughs uses a new character, Ulysses Paxton, to tell a really unusual tale involving brain and other organ and limb transplants by an elderly mad scientist named Ras Thavas. Paxton was serving in the trenches of WWI when he is magically transported to Mars where he meets Thavas and becomes his apprentice. At first Paxton is thrilled to gain the knowledge of Ras but then he discovers that Ras has transplanted brains and uses this skill to provide rich elderly Martians with youthful new bodies for a profit. Paxton falls in love with one of the women who has had her brain replaced by that of an old hag and the novel proceeds as an adventure to get the rightful brain back into the beautiful body. Of course, all is well that ends well and Paxton gets his beautiful bride.
I was kind of disappointed in this novel. It really didn't seem like the John Carter novels I had read in the past. The plot about brain transplants was right out of Frankenstein or H.P. Lovecraft's Reanimator. It was like the plot of a very bad B movie from the 50s. The writing to me also seemed very juvenile (maybe it always was) and the dialog was not very realistic. Also all the Martian names became very confusing. I guess mostly I read this for nostalgia's sake but I'm not sure if I will be reading any more of these anytime soon. However, I still have Burroughs Venus series which I have not read — maybe I'll sneak one of them in just to see what happened on Venus. :-)
August 22, 2011
"The Master Mind of Mars" is book #6 of 11 John Carter adventures that Edgar Rice Burroughs gave to the world. It first appeared in the magazine "Amazing Stories Annual" in July 1927, and John Carter himself only puts in a cameo appearance near the book's end. Instead, our hero is another Earthman, Ulysses Paxton, who mysteriously gets transported to Barsoom (Mars) after being critically wounded on the battlefields of WW1. Paxton becomes an apprentice of the eponymous mastermind Ras Thavas, and from him learns all manner of surgical miracles, including brain transplantation. Paxton falls in love with a young woman, Valla Dia, whose body has been sold to an old empress, so that that empress can now live on in her new hotty body. Paxton vows to travel across Mars, kidnap the empress, and restore his beloved's body to her. He enlists the aid of some of Ras Thavas' medical subjects: a Barsoomian white ape with a half-human mind; a professional assassin; and another Martian who has had his body bought/stolen by another.
This is a short but extremely entertaining and fast-moving fantasy novel. In it, Burroughs gives us some interesting philosophy on the correlation of mind and body (as he did with the kaldanes in "Chessmen of Mars"), as well as some interesting speculations on the necessity of war in any culture. He also pokes fun at the mumbo-jumbo aspects of organized religion. So there is some actual food for thought, in addition to the fun. And that equilibrimotor chase and scene in the Temple of Tur ARE very much fun! The heart, lung and other assorted transplants that Ras Thavas is engaged in must have seemed like real sci-fi improbabilities back in 1927, although these things are fairly commonplace today. The brain transplants are another matter, of course. (Perhaps one day...)
"Master Mind" seems to be slightly better written than some of the earlier Barsoomian novels; Burroughs DID improve with age, at least as far as technique is concerned. Still, there are the usual inconsistencies that crop up. For example, in one scene Thavas complains of the new young blood in his new young body, when it has been established that recipients of new bodies receive their old blood back. I was confused by this. In another scene, the 15-foot-tall ape/man puts on the leather harness of a regular-sized man. Does this seem possible? Clouds are said to obscure the moon in another scene, yet in earlier books, Burroughs has told us that clouds exist on Barsoom only at the poles. A body of a dozen Toonolian soldiers at one point mysteriously turns into 20, and the great scarlet tower of Lesser Helium, which was destroyed in "Chessmen," is inexplicably back again in this book. (I grant that it may have been rebuilt, but Burroughs might have said something to this effect.) The surprise regarding Valla Dia at the book's conclusion was one that was so obvious to me that I don't even think it was really meant to be a surprise after all. And here's another quibble: Paxton falls in love with Valla Dia only after he has seen what her actual body looks like. It might have been more effective had he fallen in love with her only AFTER she was trapped in the haggish body of the empress. A young, strapping American male falling in love with an old ugly woman, based solely on her gracious personality. Now THAT would have been a REAL fantasy!
This is a short but extremely entertaining and fast-moving fantasy novel. In it, Burroughs gives us some interesting philosophy on the correlation of mind and body (as he did with the kaldanes in "Chessmen of Mars"), as well as some interesting speculations on the necessity of war in any culture. He also pokes fun at the mumbo-jumbo aspects of organized religion. So there is some actual food for thought, in addition to the fun. And that equilibrimotor chase and scene in the Temple of Tur ARE very much fun! The heart, lung and other assorted transplants that Ras Thavas is engaged in must have seemed like real sci-fi improbabilities back in 1927, although these things are fairly commonplace today. The brain transplants are another matter, of course. (Perhaps one day...)
"Master Mind" seems to be slightly better written than some of the earlier Barsoomian novels; Burroughs DID improve with age, at least as far as technique is concerned. Still, there are the usual inconsistencies that crop up. For example, in one scene Thavas complains of the new young blood in his new young body, when it has been established that recipients of new bodies receive their old blood back. I was confused by this. In another scene, the 15-foot-tall ape/man puts on the leather harness of a regular-sized man. Does this seem possible? Clouds are said to obscure the moon in another scene, yet in earlier books, Burroughs has told us that clouds exist on Barsoom only at the poles. A body of a dozen Toonolian soldiers at one point mysteriously turns into 20, and the great scarlet tower of Lesser Helium, which was destroyed in "Chessmen," is inexplicably back again in this book. (I grant that it may have been rebuilt, but Burroughs might have said something to this effect.) The surprise regarding Valla Dia at the book's conclusion was one that was so obvious to me that I don't even think it was really meant to be a surprise after all. And here's another quibble: Paxton falls in love with Valla Dia only after he has seen what her actual body looks like. It might have been more effective had he fallen in love with her only AFTER she was trapped in the haggish body of the empress. A young, strapping American male falling in love with an old ugly woman, based solely on her gracious personality. Now THAT would have been a REAL fantasy!
July 20, 2025
Extended ERB Mars series read June 2025
Aaaggghh, GR just wiped my review, so here goes take 2.
Dying on a WW1 battlefield, Ulysses Paxton, always fascinated by Mars is staring up at the planet, when with his life ebbing away he feels himself transported to Barsoom.
Trapped in the castle of an evil Martian scientist he is forced to help in all the scientist’s transplant experiments. That is until he falls in love with the character of a young girl that has been transplanted into the body of an evil ruler of a local kingdom who wanted a new young body.
Determined to help the young woman return to her original body he tricks the scientist into allowing him out of the castle on certain errands and so his adventures begin, as he tries to track down the original body, now inhabited by the evil ruler .
Not a bad story but, i think I enjoy the John Carter stories more
Aaaggghh, GR just wiped my review, so here goes take 2.
Dying on a WW1 battlefield, Ulysses Paxton, always fascinated by Mars is staring up at the planet, when with his life ebbing away he feels himself transported to Barsoom.
Trapped in the castle of an evil Martian scientist he is forced to help in all the scientist’s transplant experiments. That is until he falls in love with the character of a young girl that has been transplanted into the body of an evil ruler of a local kingdom who wanted a new young body.
Determined to help the young woman return to her original body he tricks the scientist into allowing him out of the castle on certain errands and so his adventures begin, as he tries to track down the original body, now inhabited by the evil ruler .
Not a bad story but, i think I enjoy the John Carter stories more
June 10, 2015
Ulysses Paxton, fighting in World War I, finds himself transported to Mars with no more reason than John Carter -- though this goes more briskly than in Princess. He finds himself in the lair of Ras Thavas, a slightly mad scientist who transplants organs, including brains, and can often revive the dead. He has room after room of bodies suspended as if time did not pass.
He trains Paxton, thinking that a man with nowhere to go is the most trustworthy he can find, and knowing he needs someone to transplant his own.
But Paxton finds him aiding both the injured and the corrupt -- in particular, selling the body of a stunning young woman to a ugly old jeddaka -- in stunning indifference to cruelty, kindness, money, and anything else but knowledge. When Paxton revives the ugly old jeddaka with the young woman's mind, she can cope with the change, observing that her beauty had its upside and its downside, and even refuses transplantation into a body that is younger and healther, because Ras Thavas might sell it. But when Paxton demands, as a price of operating on him, that he restore her if Paxton brings back her original body, he finds that Ras Thavas ordered her death, and he restores her to suspension.
But he has his task before him. The rest of the tale involves launching an unmanned flyer, a young man assassinated so that a court favorite could woo his love, a jeddak's popular nephew, an apparent white ape that can talk and read, an empty idol, a promise technically fulfilled, someone who aids him while believing his plan mad, and much more.
He trains Paxton, thinking that a man with nowhere to go is the most trustworthy he can find, and knowing he needs someone to transplant his own.
But Paxton finds him aiding both the injured and the corrupt -- in particular, selling the body of a stunning young woman to a ugly old jeddaka -- in stunning indifference to cruelty, kindness, money, and anything else but knowledge. When Paxton revives the ugly old jeddaka with the young woman's mind, she can cope with the change, observing that her beauty had its upside and its downside, and even refuses transplantation into a body that is younger and healther, because Ras Thavas might sell it. But when Paxton demands, as a price of operating on him, that he restore her if Paxton brings back her original body, he finds that Ras Thavas ordered her death, and he restores her to suspension.
But he has his task before him. The rest of the tale involves launching an unmanned flyer, a young man assassinated so that a court favorite could woo his love, a jeddak's popular nephew, an apparent white ape that can talk and read, an empty idol, a promise technically fulfilled, someone who aids him while believing his plan mad, and much more.
February 26, 2024
The sixth book in the Barsoom series goes in a completely new direction. Sort of. Instead of endless sword-fighting as square-jawed heroes rescue scantily-clad nubile princesses, we get a more cerebral mad scientist tale full of body horror and philosophical puzzles that really injects new life in the series.
A World War I soldier named Ulysses gets blown to smithereens by a shell, and as he lays bleeding out, he is projected onto Mars where he has a brand new body and a brand new peril. He is discovered by an old genius who takes him under his wing, teaching him the secrets of his surgical science. His specialty? Brain transplants.
Ulysses has the most complex character arc of the series thus far. Sure, he loves fighting and killing as much as John Carter, but his situation is such that, rather than simply run his mentor through with a blade like his predecessor would likely have done, he is forced to assist in the gruesome experiments despite his ethical misgivings. Burroughs arranges this dilemma brilliantly. Things come to a head, literally, when the mad surgeon swaps the brains of a beautiful young woman and a withered old tyrant. Ulysses must nurse the old woman to recovery, but over time begins to appreciate and love the young mind trapped within. But can he bring himself to actually love this deformed and pitiful creature as she is now? And if he can't, then what does that say about love?
For me, this is the best of the Barsoom chronicles thus far. Burroughs does a great job at characterizing a young, good-natured, and graceful soul in the body of a hideous and evil person, an exercise which forced the author to create his most "fleshed-out" female character perhaps of his whole career. In so doing, he gives us a more complex and dark side to his Martian world other than the Star Wars, Ren Faire, Mountain Dew otaku kind of appeal we've seen in earlier books, and he cleverly and accessibly presents complex metaphysical questions of identity and soul to a pop-culture audience.
Ironically, I think it is because this is one of the Barsoom stories that the book has tended to fall flat with some readers. Falling squarely in the middle of the series, this is far from what devourers of pulp had come to expect in 1927, and will feel like an abrupt change in tone for modern readers who may be binging all the entries. However, it seems Burroughs was aware of this at the time of writing, and so he eventually tried not to stray too far from his original winning formula. The second half of the book is more in line with the swashbuckling adventures of the John Carter era. As such, the story does feel like it has a bit of an identity crisis of its own, a sci-fi horror brain in the body of light sword-and-planet fantasy.
The overall score loses half a star for this reason, but it still results in a strong and thoughtful tale that is incredibly simple to read and a hell of a lot of fun.
SCORE: 4.5 masterminds, rounded to 5/5
A World War I soldier named Ulysses gets blown to smithereens by a shell, and as he lays bleeding out, he is projected onto Mars where he has a brand new body and a brand new peril. He is discovered by an old genius who takes him under his wing, teaching him the secrets of his surgical science. His specialty? Brain transplants.
Ulysses has the most complex character arc of the series thus far. Sure, he loves fighting and killing as much as John Carter, but his situation is such that, rather than simply run his mentor through with a blade like his predecessor would likely have done, he is forced to assist in the gruesome experiments despite his ethical misgivings. Burroughs arranges this dilemma brilliantly. Things come to a head, literally, when the mad surgeon swaps the brains of a beautiful young woman and a withered old tyrant. Ulysses must nurse the old woman to recovery, but over time begins to appreciate and love the young mind trapped within. But can he bring himself to actually love this deformed and pitiful creature as she is now? And if he can't, then what does that say about love?
For me, this is the best of the Barsoom chronicles thus far. Burroughs does a great job at characterizing a young, good-natured, and graceful soul in the body of a hideous and evil person, an exercise which forced the author to create his most "fleshed-out" female character perhaps of his whole career. In so doing, he gives us a more complex and dark side to his Martian world other than the Star Wars, Ren Faire, Mountain Dew otaku kind of appeal we've seen in earlier books, and he cleverly and accessibly presents complex metaphysical questions of identity and soul to a pop-culture audience.
Ironically, I think it is because this is one of the Barsoom stories that the book has tended to fall flat with some readers. Falling squarely in the middle of the series, this is far from what devourers of pulp had come to expect in 1927, and will feel like an abrupt change in tone for modern readers who may be binging all the entries. However, it seems Burroughs was aware of this at the time of writing, and so he eventually tried not to stray too far from his original winning formula. The second half of the book is more in line with the swashbuckling adventures of the John Carter era. As such, the story does feel like it has a bit of an identity crisis of its own, a sci-fi horror brain in the body of light sword-and-planet fantasy.
The overall score loses half a star for this reason, but it still results in a strong and thoughtful tale that is incredibly simple to read and a hell of a lot of fun.
SCORE: 4.5 masterminds, rounded to 5/5
August 30, 2023
Burroughs makes things way too easy for his protagonist at times. And even though he's the first of the series' heroes not to be a member of the Carter family either by birth or marriage, he's not that different from John Carter, Carthoris, and Gahan of Gathol, which was kind of disappointing. Still, I had fun reading The Master Mind of Mars.
March 24, 2024
One of the weakest entries of the Barsoom series.
July 7, 2009
“The Master Mind of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the sixth book in the Barsoom series. Burroughs moves further away from John Carter by introducing a new hero, Ulysses Paxton, who uses his Martian name Vad Varo for most of the book. Ulysses is a much different hero than John Carter, or for that matter Cathoris or Thuvia from “Thuvia Maid of Mars” or Gahan of Gathol or Tara of Helium from “The Chessmen of Mars”. Ulysses’s connection with John Carter is that when on Earth he read the stories of John Carter and believed them to be real. The difference is that unlike those who came before, Ulysses/Vlad does not have the skill in hand-to-hand combat that they possessed. This was a very smart move by Burroughs, for what would be the point of making yet another great warrior to repeat the epic adventures which already exist in the series? Instead, the story has a much different feel, smaller in scope, and yet just as absorbing.
Ulysses is a soldier in World War I, and when he becomes wounded and stranded on the battlefield, he uses the force of his mind to transport himself to Mars. Not surprisingly, though severely wounded as Ulysses on Earth, Vad finds his body whole and healthy on Mars. The first person Vad meets on Mars is Ras Thavas, a.k.a “The Master Mind”. When circumstances result in Vad’s saving Ras, he is taken on as a trusted servant and bodyguard. Ras shows Vad medical techniques far in advanced of those which exist on Earth, and Vad learns quickly. One key difference though is that Ras has no moral conscience, though he often does very good things, he is just as willing to do horrible things, and when one of the horrible things is to give the body of Valla Dia to the evil Xaxa, Vad realizes that he needs to do something.
Through the course of the adventure, Vad gains allies to work with, and he is resolved to capture Xaxa and force the return of Valla Dia’s body. Because of the help he has provided them in escaping from the sleeping storage of Ras’ lab, his allies are willing to help, and of course Vad is keen to help them achieve their goals as well. Unlike the previous adventures, there is no great evil in this story, though Xaxa is fairly close to it. Vad is not trying to kill those who oppose him, but rather set things right with the woman he has fallen in love with, as well as help his allies regain their lives. John Carter is referred to in the letter which opens the story, and he shows up in the last chapter, so Burroughs maintains the connection to the rest of the series well.
This book ranks fairly high in the series for me. I would consider “The Chessmen of Mars” which comes right before it to be superior, but this one would rank very close to “A Princess of Mars” which opens the series. Because of the key role “A Princess of Mars” plays in the series I would rank that one above “The Master Mind of Mars” as well, but only slightly, and I feel that this story is better than the rest. While “The Gods of Mars” and “The Warlord of Mars” are good, they do become a bit repetitious and neither one of them are complete in and of themselves. “The Master Mind of Mars” does not have that problem as it can stand on its own, as long as you are familiar with the setting of the series as a whole.
Ulysses is a soldier in World War I, and when he becomes wounded and stranded on the battlefield, he uses the force of his mind to transport himself to Mars. Not surprisingly, though severely wounded as Ulysses on Earth, Vad finds his body whole and healthy on Mars. The first person Vad meets on Mars is Ras Thavas, a.k.a “The Master Mind”. When circumstances result in Vad’s saving Ras, he is taken on as a trusted servant and bodyguard. Ras shows Vad medical techniques far in advanced of those which exist on Earth, and Vad learns quickly. One key difference though is that Ras has no moral conscience, though he often does very good things, he is just as willing to do horrible things, and when one of the horrible things is to give the body of Valla Dia to the evil Xaxa, Vad realizes that he needs to do something.
Through the course of the adventure, Vad gains allies to work with, and he is resolved to capture Xaxa and force the return of Valla Dia’s body. Because of the help he has provided them in escaping from the sleeping storage of Ras’ lab, his allies are willing to help, and of course Vad is keen to help them achieve their goals as well. Unlike the previous adventures, there is no great evil in this story, though Xaxa is fairly close to it. Vad is not trying to kill those who oppose him, but rather set things right with the woman he has fallen in love with, as well as help his allies regain their lives. John Carter is referred to in the letter which opens the story, and he shows up in the last chapter, so Burroughs maintains the connection to the rest of the series well.
This book ranks fairly high in the series for me. I would consider “The Chessmen of Mars” which comes right before it to be superior, but this one would rank very close to “A Princess of Mars” which opens the series. Because of the key role “A Princess of Mars” plays in the series I would rank that one above “The Master Mind of Mars” as well, but only slightly, and I feel that this story is better than the rest. While “The Gods of Mars” and “The Warlord of Mars” are good, they do become a bit repetitious and neither one of them are complete in and of themselves. “The Master Mind of Mars” does not have that problem as it can stand on its own, as long as you are familiar with the setting of the series as a whole.
January 4, 2015
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Fun body switches. Do you love the person inside? Or does outside / inside influence other side?
Ulysses Paxton narrates death in Civil War, waking naked on Mars, apprenticeship to transplant expert ancient Ras Thavas of Toonol, who calls him 'Vad Varo'. Ras does good, giving arm to worker whose own was crushed, new brain to "demented child .. from violent deaths" p 394
Into lovely body, they put brain of Xaxa, old ruler of Phundahlia although "She is an ignorant, arrogant, selfish, stupid, cruel virago, yet" p 390, keeps throne because descends from jeddaks.
Vad suggests waking young brain now in old body. She was bought in group of war prisoners ten years ago alive, "preserved" p 391 till customer could afford beauty. Valla Dia is sweet as her outside was, not like harsh voice now. Vad decides to give her back young body.
Half-human brain in white ape body "ten or fifteen feet tall" p 395 struggles to verbalize without vocal apparatus. He lay on "ersite slab" p 396 12 years. Ras orders put back to sleep. Vad promises to revive him again.
Ras has "lived more than a thousand years .. passed the allotted natural span" p 399. If he and Vad transplant brains into young bodies, both can be immortal. He is "young, in love, and reckless of consequences" p 405. When he tries to blackmail Ras before transferring his brain to a young body, Ras orders Valla taken away and killed. Vad has to hide her asleep.
Vad wants three cases with him on trip for Valla's original body. First is Dar Tarus, large red man angrily attacked Ras on Vad's first day. Xaxa had Dar's handsome young body killed for saggy Phundahl noble to woo young woman. Second is Hovan Du, man half-brain in white ape (new part grows, stimulated by transplant). Third is Gor Hajus, notorious Toolian assassin, who "never struck down a woman or a good man .. [or] from behind" and loyal to friends p 406, there "six years" p 411. Vad works late nights for secrecy, notes work in case caught.
"Young blood changed Ras Thavas" p 409. He wanders nights. Vad suggests exercise, that Ras call for Vad, so Vad will not be caught unawares. To escape island in vast marshes, Vad must steal flyer.
Pilot Bal Zak is indebted to Gor, who refused to kill his father, helps, suggests individual flying motors. Vad, inexperienced, suddenly turns "upside down" p 417. Dar fixes. Gor guides to friend Mu Tel. Air patrol flyer blows whistle.
In Phundahl, Dar borrows gold from Gor to worship at temple of Tur. "Toonalians are atheists" p 426. "Tur is Tur" reverses to opposite. Are rituals to make fun of Earth religions? Dar has to stay behind; noble Sag Or stole his body.
Typos
p 48 oftentimes may be often times?
p 65 "I had never been sorrier that I had lots them" lots is lost
p 72 "able o make them" o is to
p 116 ofsTario is "of Tario"
p 231 "cut him t o the quick" is "cut him to"
p 287 "insert my tenacles" tenacles is tentacles
"superior to the anth" anth is banth
p 292 "killed f it seems the logical thing" is "killed if it seems"
p 298 pefectly is perfectly
p 307 "slim brown hand" brown is red
p 308 paragraph "To the red man .. inhabited" delete paragraph that repeats
p 331 gorgious is gorgeous
p 336 "to fair trail" trail is trial
p 348 "on his fae" fae is face
p 349 "know to the art of fence" is known to the art of fencing
p 363 "seventh zodeßin" is "seventh zode in"
p 364 "andlittle" is "and little"
p 371 "be of you the story" is "beg of you"
p 392 "Speel-bound" is spell-bound
p 427 "not four against us" is "now four"
p 433 "Any why would you" is "And why .."
Fun body switches. Do you love the person inside? Or does outside / inside influence other side?
Ulysses Paxton narrates death in Civil War, waking naked on Mars, apprenticeship to transplant expert ancient Ras Thavas of Toonol, who calls him 'Vad Varo'. Ras does good, giving arm to worker whose own was crushed, new brain to "demented child .. from violent deaths" p 394
Into lovely body, they put brain of Xaxa, old ruler of Phundahlia although "She is an ignorant, arrogant, selfish, stupid, cruel virago, yet" p 390, keeps throne because descends from jeddaks.
Vad suggests waking young brain now in old body. She was bought in group of war prisoners ten years ago alive, "preserved" p 391 till customer could afford beauty. Valla Dia is sweet as her outside was, not like harsh voice now. Vad decides to give her back young body.
Half-human brain in white ape body "ten or fifteen feet tall" p 395 struggles to verbalize without vocal apparatus. He lay on "ersite slab" p 396 12 years. Ras orders put back to sleep. Vad promises to revive him again.
Ras has "lived more than a thousand years .. passed the allotted natural span" p 399. If he and Vad transplant brains into young bodies, both can be immortal. He is "young, in love, and reckless of consequences" p 405. When he tries to blackmail Ras before transferring his brain to a young body, Ras orders Valla taken away and killed. Vad has to hide her asleep.
Vad wants three cases with him on trip for Valla's original body. First is Dar Tarus, large red man angrily attacked Ras on Vad's first day. Xaxa had Dar's handsome young body killed for saggy Phundahl noble to woo young woman. Second is Hovan Du, man half-brain in white ape (new part grows, stimulated by transplant). Third is Gor Hajus, notorious Toolian assassin, who "never struck down a woman or a good man .. [or] from behind" and loyal to friends p 406, there "six years" p 411. Vad works late nights for secrecy, notes work in case caught.
"Young blood changed Ras Thavas" p 409. He wanders nights. Vad suggests exercise, that Ras call for Vad, so Vad will not be caught unawares. To escape island in vast marshes, Vad must steal flyer.
Pilot Bal Zak is indebted to Gor, who refused to kill his father, helps, suggests individual flying motors. Vad, inexperienced, suddenly turns "upside down" p 417. Dar fixes. Gor guides to friend Mu Tel. Air patrol flyer blows whistle.
In Phundahl, Dar borrows gold from Gor to worship at temple of Tur. "Toonalians are atheists" p 426. "Tur is Tur" reverses to opposite. Are rituals to make fun of Earth religions? Dar has to stay behind; noble Sag Or stole his body.
Typos
p 48 oftentimes may be often times?
p 65 "I had never been sorrier that I had lots them" lots is lost
p 72 "able o make them" o is to
p 116 ofsTario is "of Tario"
p 231 "cut him t o the quick" is "cut him to"
p 287 "insert my tenacles" tenacles is tentacles
"superior to the anth" anth is banth
p 292 "killed f it seems the logical thing" is "killed if it seems"
p 298 pefectly is perfectly
p 307 "slim brown hand" brown is red
p 308 paragraph "To the red man .. inhabited" delete paragraph that repeats
p 331 gorgious is gorgeous
p 336 "to fair trail" trail is trial
p 348 "on his fae" fae is face
p 349 "know to the art of fence" is known to the art of fencing
p 363 "seventh zodeßin" is "seventh zode in"
p 364 "andlittle" is "and little"
p 371 "be of you the story" is "beg of you"
p 392 "Speel-bound" is spell-bound
p 427 "not four against us" is "now four"
p 433 "Any why would you" is "And why .."
October 13, 2019
In this book, the series takes on a new dimension by introducing a character outside of the family of John Carter. In my opinion, it's not the best step. The character introduced, Ulysses Paxton, fails to take any real advantage of his superior abilities an Earthman has over a Martian, something well played with John Carter.
The story itself, a mad scientist with the skill to transfer brains from one body to another, is intriguing and harkened somewhat to Frankenstein and other horror scifi's of the day. Perhaps this is the darkest book of the series, something that breaks away from the heroism of the others.
As in many of the earlier books, the author also returns to his tried and true formula of the hero having to travel to unique distant lands to achieve the expected rescue of the woman of his desire. Throw in a cast of sidekicks and in some ways it has more fun than the solo adventures.
The story itself, a mad scientist with the skill to transfer brains from one body to another, is intriguing and harkened somewhat to Frankenstein and other horror scifi's of the day. Perhaps this is the darkest book of the series, something that breaks away from the heroism of the others.
As in many of the earlier books, the author also returns to his tried and true formula of the hero having to travel to unique distant lands to achieve the expected rescue of the woman of his desire. Throw in a cast of sidekicks and in some ways it has more fun than the solo adventures.
July 23, 2012
The Master Mind of Mars completes the little mini-arc of philosophy I've described. In Thuvia, Maid of Mars, we meet a city of realists and etherealists, the latter of whom believe that none of us exist but both of whom are so focused on the creations of their minds as to ignore reality; in The Chessmen of Mars, we meet a race of Martians who have developed into all brain (the kaldanes) and all body (the rykors), neither of whom enjoys the fullest pleasures of life; and in The Master Mind of Mars, we meet two cities, one that is wholly rational and one that is wholly spiritual.
The Master Mind of Mars opens with Ulysses Paxton, a soldier in WWI, sustaining severe injuries and, through the same tremendous effort of will that transported John Carter in A Princess of Mars, transporting himself to Barsoom. (Ulysses Paxton has read A Princess of Mars and therefore knows all about John Carter; this sort of metahumor is a literary tradition going back to the second half of Don Quixote.)
Paxton finds himself in a new, unexplored part of Mars (OF COURSE...did you expect anything different?) and promptly proceeds to find employment and friendship...and love (again, OF COURSE). He is working for the titular mastermind, Ras Thavas. The interesting thing about Paxton is that even though he's a warrior, he doesn't accomplish everything through feats of arms like the preceding heroes in this series. Instead, he is clever and works obliquely, forming a talented team and using them well. (John Carter, in contrast, is a lone wolf rather than a true team player despite his loyalty and love.)
Back to the rationalist/spiritualist thing. Paxton starts out up against the rationalists, like Ras Thavas. They are, of course, an extreme; Ras Thavas does not trust Paxton, but he does believe that Paxton will always act in his own self-interest and that he is therefore predictable. Paxton tries to explain the value of friendship, but is unsuccessful. Later in the book, Paxton travels to the city of spiritualists, the opposite extreme. He finds their religious rites to be silly, and he discovers (through a convenient coincidence, OF COURSE) that a large statue of their god can be opened and that its eyes and mouth can be controlled, allowing him to make religious pronouncements to the people.
(Sadly, Burroughs misses an opportunity here; one of the members of Paxton's party is a devout follower of the religion, and we never hear how he reacts to learning that the high priests have been controlling the statue. In fact, at the end of the book, that guy ends up becoming the new high priest and making his own pronouncements from the statue. So I guess he dealt with his disillusionment "off camera".) (Really, did no one ever notice that the high priest is always conveniently absent when the statue is talking?)
At the end of the book, Ulysses Paxton has fixed everything, demonstrated the importance of balancing rationalism and spiritualism, won his lady's love, won some new friends, and met John Carter in a brief cameo. Everyone lives happily ever after (and I do mean ever, because Barsoomians are effectively immortal. Speaking of Burroughs's missed opportunities).
If I were to rank the Barsoom books I've read (#1-7), this one would probably come in around the middle. It's not bad and has some nice changes from the others, but it's not quite as good as the two immediately preceding.
The Master Mind of Mars opens with Ulysses Paxton, a soldier in WWI, sustaining severe injuries and, through the same tremendous effort of will that transported John Carter in A Princess of Mars, transporting himself to Barsoom. (Ulysses Paxton has read A Princess of Mars and therefore knows all about John Carter; this sort of metahumor is a literary tradition going back to the second half of Don Quixote.)
Paxton finds himself in a new, unexplored part of Mars (OF COURSE...did you expect anything different?) and promptly proceeds to find employment and friendship...and love (again, OF COURSE). He is working for the titular mastermind, Ras Thavas. The interesting thing about Paxton is that even though he's a warrior, he doesn't accomplish everything through feats of arms like the preceding heroes in this series. Instead, he is clever and works obliquely, forming a talented team and using them well. (John Carter, in contrast, is a lone wolf rather than a true team player despite his loyalty and love.)
Back to the rationalist/spiritualist thing. Paxton starts out up against the rationalists, like Ras Thavas. They are, of course, an extreme; Ras Thavas does not trust Paxton, but he does believe that Paxton will always act in his own self-interest and that he is therefore predictable. Paxton tries to explain the value of friendship, but is unsuccessful. Later in the book, Paxton travels to the city of spiritualists, the opposite extreme. He finds their religious rites to be silly, and he discovers (through a convenient coincidence, OF COURSE) that a large statue of their god can be opened and that its eyes and mouth can be controlled, allowing him to make religious pronouncements to the people.
(Sadly, Burroughs misses an opportunity here; one of the members of Paxton's party is a devout follower of the religion, and we never hear how he reacts to learning that the high priests have been controlling the statue. In fact, at the end of the book, that guy ends up becoming the new high priest and making his own pronouncements from the statue. So I guess he dealt with his disillusionment "off camera".) (Really, did no one ever notice that the high priest is always conveniently absent when the statue is talking?)
At the end of the book, Ulysses Paxton has fixed everything, demonstrated the importance of balancing rationalism and spiritualism, won his lady's love, won some new friends, and met John Carter in a brief cameo. Everyone lives happily ever after (and I do mean ever, because Barsoomians are effectively immortal. Speaking of Burroughs's missed opportunities).
If I were to rank the Barsoom books I've read (#1-7), this one would probably come in around the middle. It's not bad and has some nice changes from the others, but it's not quite as good as the two immediately preceding.
June 20, 2021
Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1927 The Master Mind of Mars, sixth of the eleven-book Barsoom series, begins with the narrative frame of a letter the fictionalized Burroughs received from Helium on Mars, dated June 8th, 1925, and written by Ulysses S. Paxton, "Late Captain, --th Inf., U.S. Army" (1981 Del Rey paperback, page 9), who in France during the First World War "regain[s] consciousness after dark" in a crater to find that a nearby shell hit had "blown away [his legs] midway between the hips and knees" (page 8). Somehow he is not dead from loss of blood, perhaps because he is, after all, a clean-limbed fighting man of the Burroughs tradition. That is, although of course life in the trenches with "the rats, the vermin, the mud" was "hideous," to be ordered "over the top" in a charge was a "glorious break in the monotony": "I loved it then and I loved the bursting shells, [and] the mad, wild chaos of the thundering guns" (pages 7-8). And the friends cut in half by German machinegun fire, or caught sliced and bleeding on the razor wire of no-man's land, or, as contemporaneous poet Wilfred Own puts it, "stumbling as in fire, or in lime" during a gas attack-- Well, these things would be for realistic literature, not for pulp fiction.
Yes, for Paxton praises the popular pulp novel A Princess of Mars, and he reports to Burroughs that "while [his] better judgment assured [him] that it was but a highly imaginative piece of fiction," still he "found [him]self dreaming of Mars and John Carter, of Dejah Thoris, of Tars Tarkas and of Woola as if they had been entities of [his] own experience rather than figments of [Burroughs'] imagination" (page 7). This fits Burroughs' schtick, since of course Barsoom is real, right? I mean, the original trilogy came from a "found manuscript" narrative frame of the No-one-will-believe-this-yet-but-one-day-they-will variety, and the author seems to love building this mythos of a real Barsoom. In any event, Paxton when sleeping literally dreamed of Mars, and when awake he purposefully sought out the alluring red gleam in the night sky, and now, "tortured with pain" and near death, he "stretche[s] out [his] arms toward Mars," and then there is that familiar "sharp click as of the snapping of a steel wire" and the "instant of extreme cold and utter darkness, then--" (page 9).
Then Paxton is on Barsoom. Later, John Carter, apparently through astral projection, will help him "transmit" the letter and manuscript to Burroughs (page 9), but right now, at the beginning of the tale, Paxton is flat on his back, naked, with a weird, shrunken, ancient little geezer gazing down at him through "enormous many lensed spectacles" (page 10)...and suddenly a nut flourishing a club runs up, and Paxton, grabbing the dropped sword of the "elderly victim" now "groveling, mole-like, for its lost spectacles" (page 10), charges into the fray and wins himself an ally. Sort of.
The peculiar old fellow with the "cranium...large and well developed" in such contrast to the rest of his body "wrinkled and withered beyond description" and "his ribs show[ing] distinctly beneath his shrunken hide" (page 10) is, apparently, the "master mind of Mars": Ras Thavas, the master experimental surgeon who can preserve the dead in a form of chemical suspended animation and then later graft from them a healthy organ into, or healthy limb onto, the infirm. So masterful is he that he even can transplant a brain from a tired ol' body into a nice new'un. Of course... Well, he also dabbles in weird stuff like switching brains between genders, moving "human brains...to the craniums of beasts, and vice versa," and performing a half-and-half brain switcheroo between a human and a white ape (page 30). And the bodies he gets aren't always necessarily dead before he gets 'em either. No matter, though--his rich clients sure do pay!
Thus Ras Thavas is not, as he sneers about many others, "a sentimentalist." When he takes Ulysses Paxton, whom he now calls by the more Barsoomian name of Vad Varo, under his creepy wing to become first his bodyguard--the only armed person besides himself in the isolated compound in the middle of a swamp--and then his assistant, it is not, he explains, from mere sentiment. "[S]entimentalists have words: love, loyalty, friendship, enmity, jealousy, hate, a thousand words; a waste of words--one word defines them all: self-interest" (page 23). Ras Thavas knows that the Earthling without him "would find [him]self in a world of enemies, for all are suspicious of a stranger. [He] would not survive a dozen dawns...," whereas now he enjoys "every luxury that the mind of man can devise or the hand of man can create, and [he is] occupied with work of such engrossing interest that [his] every hour must be fruitful of unparalleled satisfaction" (page 22). Perhaps he overrates not only his logic but also allure of his vocation, but Paxton merely "smile[s]" and "[holds his] peace" (page 24). Certainly buckling on that sword is a good feeling.
And, besides, Vad Varo is talented in this mad scientist racket, and eventually his skill equals that of the old master (page 42). The one thing that starts to stick in his craw, however, is case #4296-E-2631-H, or Valla Dia, "the beautiful girl whose perfect body had been stolen to furnish a gorgeous setting for the cruel brain of a [female] tyrant" (page 28). Burroughs seems to have a thing for the "perfect" female form, especially when draped only in jeweled harness that veritably call the eye rather than guard against it, and while many a man can understand this, in the grand pulp tradition he also carefully turns this never-quite-named lust into the holiest sort of love. It's predictable, and it's rather unbelievable, and the ogling of the bare form upon the table can be more than a tad creepy, but...well, it gives us a grand plot.
Valla Dia, when revived in "the hideous carcass" of the tyrannical old queen of Phundahl, actually is very game about her predicament. Unlike many a shallower pulp character, she knows that "[t]his old body cannot change [her], or make [her] different from what [she has] always been. The good in [her] remains and whatever of sweetness and kindness..." (page 33). Like I say, though, somewhere out there, animated by a nasty, hateful old brain is that body, that "sweet and lovely," smooth, bare, dare we even say desirable young body, of which Vad Vero reports that he cannot "even consider for a moment the frightful ravishing...for even the holiest of purposes, much less...for filthy pelf" (page 28).
So--and completely regardless of the fact, by the way, that one who eventually might become a loving husband perhaps one day could be forced, just for the sake of politeness, of course, to perform some form of hallowed ravishment upon that supple flesh--the devoted Vad Varo is committed to returning the stolen body to its rightful owner. It will require another few resurrections, including a famed and yet very honorable and hence revered assassin, another young man whose body was switched with that of a vain and grasping old clod, and half of a human brain controlling a huge and savage white ape, but the disaffected protege of the "master mind of Mars," and his sworn compatriots, have villains to overcome, a false religion to tweak, and a queendom to overthrow before they are satisfied.
Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Master Mind of Mars is no Shakespeare, but it is pleasantly rousing pulp fiction from the beginning days of science fiction, replete with adventure and friendship and occasional humor, and is a very decent 4-star read.
Yes, for Paxton praises the popular pulp novel A Princess of Mars, and he reports to Burroughs that "while [his] better judgment assured [him] that it was but a highly imaginative piece of fiction," still he "found [him]self dreaming of Mars and John Carter, of Dejah Thoris, of Tars Tarkas and of Woola as if they had been entities of [his] own experience rather than figments of [Burroughs'] imagination" (page 7). This fits Burroughs' schtick, since of course Barsoom is real, right? I mean, the original trilogy came from a "found manuscript" narrative frame of the No-one-will-believe-this-yet-but-one-day-they-will variety, and the author seems to love building this mythos of a real Barsoom. In any event, Paxton when sleeping literally dreamed of Mars, and when awake he purposefully sought out the alluring red gleam in the night sky, and now, "tortured with pain" and near death, he "stretche[s] out [his] arms toward Mars," and then there is that familiar "sharp click as of the snapping of a steel wire" and the "instant of extreme cold and utter darkness, then--" (page 9).
Then Paxton is on Barsoom. Later, John Carter, apparently through astral projection, will help him "transmit" the letter and manuscript to Burroughs (page 9), but right now, at the beginning of the tale, Paxton is flat on his back, naked, with a weird, shrunken, ancient little geezer gazing down at him through "enormous many lensed spectacles" (page 10)...and suddenly a nut flourishing a club runs up, and Paxton, grabbing the dropped sword of the "elderly victim" now "groveling, mole-like, for its lost spectacles" (page 10), charges into the fray and wins himself an ally. Sort of.
The peculiar old fellow with the "cranium...large and well developed" in such contrast to the rest of his body "wrinkled and withered beyond description" and "his ribs show[ing] distinctly beneath his shrunken hide" (page 10) is, apparently, the "master mind of Mars": Ras Thavas, the master experimental surgeon who can preserve the dead in a form of chemical suspended animation and then later graft from them a healthy organ into, or healthy limb onto, the infirm. So masterful is he that he even can transplant a brain from a tired ol' body into a nice new'un. Of course... Well, he also dabbles in weird stuff like switching brains between genders, moving "human brains...to the craniums of beasts, and vice versa," and performing a half-and-half brain switcheroo between a human and a white ape (page 30). And the bodies he gets aren't always necessarily dead before he gets 'em either. No matter, though--his rich clients sure do pay!
Thus Ras Thavas is not, as he sneers about many others, "a sentimentalist." When he takes Ulysses Paxton, whom he now calls by the more Barsoomian name of Vad Varo, under his creepy wing to become first his bodyguard--the only armed person besides himself in the isolated compound in the middle of a swamp--and then his assistant, it is not, he explains, from mere sentiment. "[S]entimentalists have words: love, loyalty, friendship, enmity, jealousy, hate, a thousand words; a waste of words--one word defines them all: self-interest" (page 23). Ras Thavas knows that the Earthling without him "would find [him]self in a world of enemies, for all are suspicious of a stranger. [He] would not survive a dozen dawns...," whereas now he enjoys "every luxury that the mind of man can devise or the hand of man can create, and [he is] occupied with work of such engrossing interest that [his] every hour must be fruitful of unparalleled satisfaction" (page 22). Perhaps he overrates not only his logic but also allure of his vocation, but Paxton merely "smile[s]" and "[holds his] peace" (page 24). Certainly buckling on that sword is a good feeling.
And, besides, Vad Varo is talented in this mad scientist racket, and eventually his skill equals that of the old master (page 42). The one thing that starts to stick in his craw, however, is case #4296-E-2631-H, or Valla Dia, "the beautiful girl whose perfect body had been stolen to furnish a gorgeous setting for the cruel brain of a [female] tyrant" (page 28). Burroughs seems to have a thing for the "perfect" female form, especially when draped only in jeweled harness that veritably call the eye rather than guard against it, and while many a man can understand this, in the grand pulp tradition he also carefully turns this never-quite-named lust into the holiest sort of love. It's predictable, and it's rather unbelievable, and the ogling of the bare form upon the table can be more than a tad creepy, but...well, it gives us a grand plot.
Valla Dia, when revived in "the hideous carcass" of the tyrannical old queen of Phundahl, actually is very game about her predicament. Unlike many a shallower pulp character, she knows that "[t]his old body cannot change [her], or make [her] different from what [she has] always been. The good in [her] remains and whatever of sweetness and kindness..." (page 33). Like I say, though, somewhere out there, animated by a nasty, hateful old brain is that body, that "sweet and lovely," smooth, bare, dare we even say desirable young body, of which Vad Vero reports that he cannot "even consider for a moment the frightful ravishing...for even the holiest of purposes, much less...for filthy pelf" (page 28).
So--and completely regardless of the fact, by the way, that one who eventually might become a loving husband perhaps one day could be forced, just for the sake of politeness, of course, to perform some form of hallowed ravishment upon that supple flesh--the devoted Vad Varo is committed to returning the stolen body to its rightful owner. It will require another few resurrections, including a famed and yet very honorable and hence revered assassin, another young man whose body was switched with that of a vain and grasping old clod, and half of a human brain controlling a huge and savage white ape, but the disaffected protege of the "master mind of Mars," and his sworn compatriots, have villains to overcome, a false religion to tweak, and a queendom to overthrow before they are satisfied.
Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Master Mind of Mars is no Shakespeare, but it is pleasantly rousing pulp fiction from the beginning days of science fiction, replete with adventure and friendship and occasional humor, and is a very decent 4-star read.
February 7, 2012
This story follows the adventures of an unrelated hero, Ulysses Paxton, an Earthman. Like John Carter, Paxton arrives on Mars via astral projection and ends up being trained by mad scientist Ras Thavas, the titular Mastermind of Mars, in the techniques of mind-body transfer. Paxton uses these techniques to restore his beloved Valla Dia's brain into her own beautiful body after her brain had been swapped with that of the hideous Xaxa of Phundahl.
These stories are not high art, or even good sci-fi/fantasy; but they are terrific yarns with exotic Barsoomian locales, fantastic beasts, flamboyant princesses, dastardly villains, and cliff-hanging adventures in which the hero gets the girl and the bad guy meets his (or her) just deserts.
I've read and re-read these stories over the years, and even recorded them onto DVD for the local radio station for blind and reading-impaired listeners.
These stories are not high art, or even good sci-fi/fantasy; but they are terrific yarns with exotic Barsoomian locales, fantastic beasts, flamboyant princesses, dastardly villains, and cliff-hanging adventures in which the hero gets the girl and the bad guy meets his (or her) just deserts.
I've read and re-read these stories over the years, and even recorded them onto DVD for the local radio station for blind and reading-impaired listeners.
October 11, 2015
John Carter is not the only one who travels to Mars. Enter Captain Ulysses Paxton, US Army. While on the fields of battle in the Great War, Paxton suddenly mortally wounded and fixes his gaze on the twinkling red planet in the dark night sky. He stretches out his arms toward this sparkling light and in almost a blink of an eye finds himself laying flat on his back gazing up into a bright sun-lit sky. Standing over him is Ras Thavas, Barsoom’s greatest scientist. Thus begins the adventurers of another earthling gone to Mars. A quick and entertaining read.
July 27, 2008
This one has some horror elements in it that really make it sing. Sword & Planet as it should be done. However, it doesn't feature John Carter but Ulysses Paxton, an admirer of John Carter who also gets transported to Mars. I didn't think there was any letdown for going with a new character.
October 28, 2025
As with many pulp series, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom saga is remembered primarily for its early entries. Very few readers complete all of the books, whereas modern omnibus additions tend to include only the first 3-5 volumes. This means that the specifics of the later Barsoom novels are actually quite obscure. In fact, I wasn't even aware of those later stories when I started to read Burrough's original trilogy, and when I finished Warlord of Mars I had little inkling about how the story could progress. It seemed that John Carter's story had come to its natural end… Well, Burroughs was able to milk Carter's children for an additional pair of adventures, but by the time you reach The Master Mind of Mars (Book 6) you're dealing with unrelated novels set in the same universe. Glorified fan-fiction that just happens to have been written by the series' original author. I guess this makes The Master Mind of Mars to first truly skippable Barsoom novel. Certainly not a bad read, but a mostly forgettable book that's best left to hardcore "Sword and Planet" enthusiasts.
The Master Mind of Mars is the first Barsoom novel that doesn't include a member of John Carter's family as a core protagonist. We are instead introduced to Ulysses Paxton, an American WWI veteran who is magically transported to Mars after seemingly dying in the trenches of the Eastern Front. Paxton awakens to find himself within the compound of Ras Thavas of Tonool- an elderly Martian scientist who is renowned for his ability to transplant of human brains (and hence consciousness) between different bodies. After saving Thavas' life, Paxton is taken in as the scientist's protégé, but he is soon disgusted by the callousness of Thavas' experimentation. The novel's primary plotline is set into motion when Paxton falls in love with Valla Dia- one of the beautiful young women whose body has been sold to the highest bidder. When Valla Dia is body-swapped with Xaxa, the decrepit dictator of Phundahl, Paxton assembles a motley crew to abduct Xaxa and reverse the procedure. In addition to Burroughs' usual swashbuckling adventure, The Master Mind of Mars incorporates an atypical amount of social commentary, mostly contrasting the heartless atheism of Tonool to the religious fundamentalism of Phundahl.
Despite the criticisms above, I found The Master Mind of Mars to be roughly similar in quality to both of the novels centering upon John Carter's children (Thuvia, Maid of Mars, The Chessmen of Mars). Decent fun yet thoroughly unspectacular. Where this volume differs from all of its predecessors is via its more deliberate pacing and the disposition of its hero, who rarely uses his Earth-imbued superstrength as a crutch. More generally, the focus here appears to have shifted away from grand action sequences and towards an investigation of the story's philosophical concepts, even if smaller-scale action scenes still exist. Burroughs also never becomes as cerebral as your average (less pulpy) science-fiction author. In short, everything still falls well within the "Sword and Planet" sub-genre, but it's a slightly more thoughtful take on that basic formula.
All of this means that, at least when compared to other Barsoom novels, The Master Mind of Mars is heavily dependent upon the strength of its characters. And from that perspective, the book is a modest success. For starters, Ulysses Paxton is surprisingly easy to root for: although he's given minimal backstory, and although he rather implausibly falls for the first woman he sees, he has an everyman quality that John Carter lacked. Ras Thuvas is also an interesting pseudo-antagonist, and I was super intrigued the implications of his consciousness swapping. Where The Master Mind of Mars falls short is in its predictability and in the ham-fisted nature of its social commentary. The latter is especially true once our heroes get to Phundahl, where the mindlessness of the people's religious devotion is borderline silly. It's little wonder that Burroughs' usual publishers balked at releasing the story, fearing that it would insult religious conservatives.
In retrospect, I can't fault Burroughs for trying something slightly different for this story, even if the results are less than spectacular. And despite the book's obvious shortcomings, none of Burroughs' decisions are confounding enough to upset established fans of the author's work (assuming you aren't insulted by unsympathetic portrayals of organized religion…). As with The Chessmen of Mars, I'd ultimately place The Master Mind of Mars near the top of the three-star tier.
The Master Mind of Mars is the first Barsoom novel that doesn't include a member of John Carter's family as a core protagonist. We are instead introduced to Ulysses Paxton, an American WWI veteran who is magically transported to Mars after seemingly dying in the trenches of the Eastern Front. Paxton awakens to find himself within the compound of Ras Thavas of Tonool- an elderly Martian scientist who is renowned for his ability to transplant of human brains (and hence consciousness) between different bodies. After saving Thavas' life, Paxton is taken in as the scientist's protégé, but he is soon disgusted by the callousness of Thavas' experimentation. The novel's primary plotline is set into motion when Paxton falls in love with Valla Dia- one of the beautiful young women whose body has been sold to the highest bidder. When Valla Dia is body-swapped with Xaxa, the decrepit dictator of Phundahl, Paxton assembles a motley crew to abduct Xaxa and reverse the procedure. In addition to Burroughs' usual swashbuckling adventure, The Master Mind of Mars incorporates an atypical amount of social commentary, mostly contrasting the heartless atheism of Tonool to the religious fundamentalism of Phundahl.
Despite the criticisms above, I found The Master Mind of Mars to be roughly similar in quality to both of the novels centering upon John Carter's children (Thuvia, Maid of Mars, The Chessmen of Mars). Decent fun yet thoroughly unspectacular. Where this volume differs from all of its predecessors is via its more deliberate pacing and the disposition of its hero, who rarely uses his Earth-imbued superstrength as a crutch. More generally, the focus here appears to have shifted away from grand action sequences and towards an investigation of the story's philosophical concepts, even if smaller-scale action scenes still exist. Burroughs also never becomes as cerebral as your average (less pulpy) science-fiction author. In short, everything still falls well within the "Sword and Planet" sub-genre, but it's a slightly more thoughtful take on that basic formula.
All of this means that, at least when compared to other Barsoom novels, The Master Mind of Mars is heavily dependent upon the strength of its characters. And from that perspective, the book is a modest success. For starters, Ulysses Paxton is surprisingly easy to root for: although he's given minimal backstory, and although he rather implausibly falls for the first woman he sees, he has an everyman quality that John Carter lacked. Ras Thuvas is also an interesting pseudo-antagonist, and I was super intrigued the implications of his consciousness swapping. Where The Master Mind of Mars falls short is in its predictability and in the ham-fisted nature of its social commentary. The latter is especially true once our heroes get to Phundahl, where the mindlessness of the people's religious devotion is borderline silly. It's little wonder that Burroughs' usual publishers balked at releasing the story, fearing that it would insult religious conservatives.
In retrospect, I can't fault Burroughs for trying something slightly different for this story, even if the results are less than spectacular. And despite the book's obvious shortcomings, none of Burroughs' decisions are confounding enough to upset established fans of the author's work (assuming you aren't insulted by unsympathetic portrayals of organized religion…). As with The Chessmen of Mars, I'd ultimately place The Master Mind of Mars near the top of the three-star tier.
June 18, 2019
Burroughs continues his post-script Barsoom trilogy with another well-meaning, idea-laden, and unfortunately rather rote experience.
"Master Mind" embraces yet more self-awareness of Barsoom's offbeat pseudoscience. Ulysses Paxton, a World War I soldier, is familiarized with John Carter's past adventures (in yet more of Burroughs' low-key humour). A dire injury and desperate reach send him to the red planet, where he becomes the involuntary aide to the eponymous mastermind. He hatches a plan to escape and help a brain-swapped woman and becomes tied up in conflict between two diametrically-opposed regions.
There's a great deal of new content here. Unlike "Thuvia" or "Chessmen," "Master Mind" doesn't employ relatives or secondary characters drawn from Carter's adventures. Paxton is a new protagonist, and the supporting cast is similarly original. This does mean, yet again, favourite characters from past outings (Tars Tarkas, Sola, Woola, et al.) are absent. But the book means well in its effort.
This 'second trilogy' in Barsoom has been noted for its more philosophical bent, lending more ideological weight to a series that previously leaned more into fantasy than science fiction. "Thuvia" examined the divisions between idealist and subjective worldviews, "Chessmen" developed characters divided by strictly logical and emotional thinking, and now "Master Mind" demonstrates the folly in extremist thinking. Paxton's adventure leads him between a city of ruthlessly rational egoist atheists and one of hopelessly naive religious sheep.
The main advantages of this book are its brevity and colour. This is a story that recognizes its own limitations and refuses to overstay its welcome, which I appreciate (given Burroughs' ongoing tendency toward purple prose). The cast--which is acknowledged as motley indeed--is absolutely bizarre, and demonstrates some fun teamwork. The food for thought, while simple (the thesis: balance), gives this something at least to hold on to.
The downsides largely stem from its antiquity. At its worst, it's downright patronizing. Paxton's quest emerges from a sloppily-paced romance, and is not written delicately enough to come off as anything other than wholly superficial. The idea has potential, but smacks of a gang of men fighting to win a woman's bodily autonomy for her. The characters lack personality, consisting of informed qualities and minimal interaction. Many of these, unfortunately, could come off better were the book longer! The thesis of balance between inflated scientific worship and mindless faith is one that appeals to me personally, but I must admit it's hardly graceful. Your mileage will vary.
I can't say I didn't enjoy "Master Mind." It was a fun little romp, and one that tried to leave a decent impression in its short time. I love the world of Barsoom as much as ever, but I see how criticism of the series spinning its wheels set in. I lack confidence that "A Fighting Man of Mars" will truly rectify any of the usual faults in the series, but there was just enough here to whet my appetite. Not recommended for anyone besides a would-be Barsoom enthusiast.
"Master Mind" embraces yet more self-awareness of Barsoom's offbeat pseudoscience. Ulysses Paxton, a World War I soldier, is familiarized with John Carter's past adventures (in yet more of Burroughs' low-key humour). A dire injury and desperate reach send him to the red planet, where he becomes the involuntary aide to the eponymous mastermind. He hatches a plan to escape and help a brain-swapped woman and becomes tied up in conflict between two diametrically-opposed regions.
There's a great deal of new content here. Unlike "Thuvia" or "Chessmen," "Master Mind" doesn't employ relatives or secondary characters drawn from Carter's adventures. Paxton is a new protagonist, and the supporting cast is similarly original. This does mean, yet again, favourite characters from past outings (Tars Tarkas, Sola, Woola, et al.) are absent. But the book means well in its effort.
This 'second trilogy' in Barsoom has been noted for its more philosophical bent, lending more ideological weight to a series that previously leaned more into fantasy than science fiction. "Thuvia" examined the divisions between idealist and subjective worldviews, "Chessmen" developed characters divided by strictly logical and emotional thinking, and now "Master Mind" demonstrates the folly in extremist thinking. Paxton's adventure leads him between a city of ruthlessly rational egoist atheists and one of hopelessly naive religious sheep.
The main advantages of this book are its brevity and colour. This is a story that recognizes its own limitations and refuses to overstay its welcome, which I appreciate (given Burroughs' ongoing tendency toward purple prose). The cast--which is acknowledged as motley indeed--is absolutely bizarre, and demonstrates some fun teamwork. The food for thought, while simple (the thesis: balance), gives this something at least to hold on to.
The downsides largely stem from its antiquity. At its worst, it's downright patronizing. Paxton's quest emerges from a sloppily-paced romance, and is not written delicately enough to come off as anything other than wholly superficial. The idea has potential, but smacks of a gang of men fighting to win a woman's bodily autonomy for her. The characters lack personality, consisting of informed qualities and minimal interaction. Many of these, unfortunately, could come off better were the book longer! The thesis of balance between inflated scientific worship and mindless faith is one that appeals to me personally, but I must admit it's hardly graceful. Your mileage will vary.
I can't say I didn't enjoy "Master Mind." It was a fun little romp, and one that tried to leave a decent impression in its short time. I love the world of Barsoom as much as ever, but I see how criticism of the series spinning its wheels set in. I lack confidence that "A Fighting Man of Mars" will truly rectify any of the usual faults in the series, but there was just enough here to whet my appetite. Not recommended for anyone besides a would-be Barsoom enthusiast.
November 30, 2017
In this tale of Barsoom, author Edgar Rice Burroughs shifts perspectives again, this time focusing on a newcomer to the franchise named Ulysses Paxton, who became acquainted with John Carter in the autumn of 1917. While on the battlefields of the First World War, with maimed legs, Paxton becomes drawn by the scarlet glow of Mars, where he becomes whole again. Paxton first meets an old man on Barsoom, whose life he saves, after which the elder leads him to a cave where he conducts sundry experiments upon Martians, his name being Ras Thavas, the titular Master Mind.
Paxton receives the Martian name Vad Varo, and sees Thavas transplant a brain from the aged despotic Jeddara of Phundahl, Xaxa, to the body of a younger girl named Valla Dia, and in turn places the younger girl’s mind into the old woman’s head. Thavas himself receives a brain transplant, having lived over a millennium, to a younger body, with Paxton, along with characters serving as Thuvas’ other experiments named Dar Tarus, Gor Hajus, and the ape with a human mind Hovan Du, fleeing in search of Valla Dia’s rightful body, with Paxton having fallen in love with her upon conversing with her antediluvian body.
The party flies to Phundahl and gains access to Xaxa’s palace thanks to the exhibition of Hovan Du, with several complexities arising involving the religious followers of the god Tur, and eventual conclusion with a few marriages of major characters and appearance by John Carter. Overall, this is another enjoyable yarn of Barsoom, and includes a smidgeon of commentary on religious fundamentalism, controversial in the book’s time of publication in the first half of the twentieth century, although there are some occasional plot points that are somewhat unclear. Even so, a good read.
Paxton receives the Martian name Vad Varo, and sees Thavas transplant a brain from the aged despotic Jeddara of Phundahl, Xaxa, to the body of a younger girl named Valla Dia, and in turn places the younger girl’s mind into the old woman’s head. Thavas himself receives a brain transplant, having lived over a millennium, to a younger body, with Paxton, along with characters serving as Thuvas’ other experiments named Dar Tarus, Gor Hajus, and the ape with a human mind Hovan Du, fleeing in search of Valla Dia’s rightful body, with Paxton having fallen in love with her upon conversing with her antediluvian body.
The party flies to Phundahl and gains access to Xaxa’s palace thanks to the exhibition of Hovan Du, with several complexities arising involving the religious followers of the god Tur, and eventual conclusion with a few marriages of major characters and appearance by John Carter. Overall, this is another enjoyable yarn of Barsoom, and includes a smidgeon of commentary on religious fundamentalism, controversial in the book’s time of publication in the first half of the twentieth century, although there are some occasional plot points that are somewhat unclear. Even so, a good read.
January 26, 2026
The sixth book of the Barsoom series introduces a new protagonist; Ulysseys Paxton.
A Captain of the US Army, Paxton is terribly wounded in the trenches of the First World War but is then spontaneously transported to Mars and made whole once more. He finds himself in the laboratory of Ras Thavas, an amoral scientist who specialises in revivifying the dead, replacing organs and in swapping the brains of one individual into the body of another. Paxton, now called Vad Varo, falls in love with Valla Dia, a young woman whose body has been stolen by the tyrant Xaxa and whose mind has been trapped in Xaxa's ageing body. He then sets out on a quest to restore youth and beauty to the woman he loves.
To get any enjoyment out of this book, you really have to be okay with having a large number of important questions totally hand-waved away.
How does having his entire unit killed and his legs blown off in WWI affect Paxton mentally? Not worth discussing. How does he even get to Mars? Doesn't matter. Why, upon arriving on an alien world, does Paxton happily get on with the job of being apprentice to a mad scientist with no questions asked? Don't ask questions!
It also doesn't do too well to dwell on the realisation that Paxton falls in love with Valla Dia's body when it's lying dead on a morgue slab. He does, at least, continue to grow his affections for her whilst she's in the body of a deformed old woman, so there's that at least.
However, once the set up of 'escape mad scientist and save beautiful woman who has fallen afoul of an evil priestess' is established, this is a fun, if unremarkable, adventure story set amid the warrior nations of Burroughs' Barsoom.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
A Captain of the US Army, Paxton is terribly wounded in the trenches of the First World War but is then spontaneously transported to Mars and made whole once more. He finds himself in the laboratory of Ras Thavas, an amoral scientist who specialises in revivifying the dead, replacing organs and in swapping the brains of one individual into the body of another. Paxton, now called Vad Varo, falls in love with Valla Dia, a young woman whose body has been stolen by the tyrant Xaxa and whose mind has been trapped in Xaxa's ageing body. He then sets out on a quest to restore youth and beauty to the woman he loves.
To get any enjoyment out of this book, you really have to be okay with having a large number of important questions totally hand-waved away.
How does having his entire unit killed and his legs blown off in WWI affect Paxton mentally? Not worth discussing. How does he even get to Mars? Doesn't matter. Why, upon arriving on an alien world, does Paxton happily get on with the job of being apprentice to a mad scientist with no questions asked? Don't ask questions!
It also doesn't do too well to dwell on the realisation that Paxton falls in love with Valla Dia's body when it's lying dead on a morgue slab. He does, at least, continue to grow his affections for her whilst she's in the body of a deformed old woman, so there's that at least.
However, once the set up of 'escape mad scientist and save beautiful woman who has fallen afoul of an evil priestess' is established, this is a fun, if unremarkable, adventure story set amid the warrior nations of Burroughs' Barsoom.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
July 21, 2025
might be the biggest barsoom boy on the planet rn - absolutely loved every second of this one! edgar rice burroughs is back with sci-fi ideas so out there for the 1920s that it’s insane. we’ve got a new human protagonist ulysses paxton stepping in for john carter and the whole story style completely swerves away from big martian battles into this wild little tale about a ragtag crew of body-swapped nobodies.
the meat of the plot sees ulysses become an assistant to this mad scientist/brain transplant guy who’s casually swapping brains between different bodies and wants to train ulysses up so he can one day move his own brain out of his decrepit body and into a fresh new one. but then ulysses catches feelings for this ugly old lady who actually has the brain of a hot young barsoomian local in her and he’s like “no wait i love you but before we get married we’re going to have to get your brain back into your original body because there’s no way i’m marrying a wrinkly ol’ crone”.
from there it just spirals. brains getting tossed into the wrong bodies, people waking up as the opposite sex, martian monkeys with the brains of men, legendary assassins brought back to life with new hearts, a whole society of wacky religious fanatics duped into believing their 100% fake god is 100% real.
burroughs frickin’ does it again.
builds a world and a story so wildly original and full of bizarro sci-fi charm that i’m completely in awe. am i ever reading another series again??
the meat of the plot sees ulysses become an assistant to this mad scientist/brain transplant guy who’s casually swapping brains between different bodies and wants to train ulysses up so he can one day move his own brain out of his decrepit body and into a fresh new one. but then ulysses catches feelings for this ugly old lady who actually has the brain of a hot young barsoomian local in her and he’s like “no wait i love you but before we get married we’re going to have to get your brain back into your original body because there’s no way i’m marrying a wrinkly ol’ crone”.
from there it just spirals. brains getting tossed into the wrong bodies, people waking up as the opposite sex, martian monkeys with the brains of men, legendary assassins brought back to life with new hearts, a whole society of wacky religious fanatics duped into believing their 100% fake god is 100% real.
burroughs frickin’ does it again.
builds a world and a story so wildly original and full of bizarro sci-fi charm that i’m completely in awe. am i ever reading another series again??
March 18, 2024
1917 yılınca Ulysses Paxton adlı bir yüzbaşı savaş esnasında bomba faciasında yaralanıyor ve o arada gökyüzüne baktığında Mars’ı görüyor.John Carter’ın güncelerini okuduğu için az çok bilgili ve o günden beri de Mars’a ışınlanma hayalleri kuruyor derken işte o gece bir anda kendisini Mars’ta buluyor ve adı Vad Varo oluyor.
Ras Thavas adlı yaşlı bir cerrahın adasında gözlerini açıyor.Ras Thavas ise benzersiz ve ürkütücü işler yapan bir cerrah.Mesela yaşlı birinin bedenini genciyle değiştirmek veya bir maymunla insanın beyinlerini değiştirmek ve daha nicesi gibi enteresan çalışmalar yapıyor laboratuvarlarında.
Yüzbaşına Mars dilini ve kendi mesleğiyle ilgili bir çok şey öğreterek onu asistanı yapıyor derken Vad Varo deneklerinden birine aşık oluveriyor.Genç bedeni yaşlı bir insanın bedeniyle değiştirilen Valla Dia.Vad Varo bu durumu değiştireceğine dair sevdiği kıza söz veriyor, genç bedenini ondan çalan kadından geri alacak ve Valla Dia’ya geri verecek.Ancak önce Ras Thavas’ı ve daha birçok engeli aşması gerek.
Thavas’tan Phundahl’a uzanan eşsiz bir macera.Serideki okuduğum en iyi kitaptı.Konusu, karakterleri ve daha nicesiyle gerçekten benzersiz ve ilginçti.Bir günde bitiriverdim.
Ras Thavas adlı yaşlı bir cerrahın adasında gözlerini açıyor.Ras Thavas ise benzersiz ve ürkütücü işler yapan bir cerrah.Mesela yaşlı birinin bedenini genciyle değiştirmek veya bir maymunla insanın beyinlerini değiştirmek ve daha nicesi gibi enteresan çalışmalar yapıyor laboratuvarlarında.
Yüzbaşına Mars dilini ve kendi mesleğiyle ilgili bir çok şey öğreterek onu asistanı yapıyor derken Vad Varo deneklerinden birine aşık oluveriyor.Genç bedeni yaşlı bir insanın bedeniyle değiştirilen Valla Dia.Vad Varo bu durumu değiştireceğine dair sevdiği kıza söz veriyor, genç bedenini ondan çalan kadından geri alacak ve Valla Dia’ya geri verecek.Ancak önce Ras Thavas’ı ve daha birçok engeli aşması gerek.
Thavas’tan Phundahl’a uzanan eşsiz bir macera.Serideki okuduğum en iyi kitaptı.Konusu, karakterleri ve daha nicesiyle gerçekten benzersiz ve ilginçti.Bir günde bitiriverdim.
March 19, 2025
This book focuses on a new character, Ulysses Paxton, who's injured in World War I and finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars. He's somewhat familiar with this new world due to having read the previous books. Burroughs is really going all in with this theme of his work existing in-universe. Ulysses finds himself working for Ras Thavas, a mad scientist who can transfer brains between bodies. He wants someone to perform such an operation on him, and for some reason trusts an outsider more than another Martian. Ulysses, who has been given the Martian name Vad Varo, leaves Thavas' service after developing feelings for Valla Dia, a woman whose brain had been swapped, and he travels with her, as well as an ape with a humanoid Martian's mind, to find her original body. This turns out to have been taken by Xaxa, the cruel and repulsive ruler of Phundahl, a country devoted to the god Tur. The beliefs of this religion include that Mars is flat and the only world in existence. Not surprisingly, Tur doesn't really exist, but Ulysses is able to manipulate the people by taking control of a statue that was rigged up to project messages, not too dissimilarly from the Wizard of Oz. And John Carter does make an appearance at the end.
August 14, 2020
By this point in the series, ERB follows his typical formula--the hero must rescue a princess of Barsoom from a perilous situation. In this book, the hero, princess and the perils are relatively new. The hero is another Earthman that has found his way to Barsoom. The princess is from a new kingdom. The peril is the best part. The Master Mind of Mars is essentially a Barsoomian Dr. Frankenstein that swaps brains and bodies and body parts. No experiment is too extreme as long it piques his interest or otherwise profits his existence. The princess has had her body exchanged for that of an elderly Jeddara. The hero, who has become a reluctant apprentice to the Master Mind, is determined to restore her body. The setting is marvelous in that the Master Mind has a huge laboratory complex filled with bodys and body parts in stasis, more or less a tomb of the living dead. Of course, the good guys win. John Carter makes only a very brief cameo at the end of the book. Actually, his is one of the better books in the series because it is well-paced and quite brief.
January 7, 2021
Ulysses Paxton isn’t a member of John Carter’s family or another Martian: he is an American earthling like Carter himself. A fan of ERB’s Barsoom books (meta!), he is able to astrally project himself to Mars as he lays dying in a WWI trench, his legs blown off by an explosive shell. He quickly finds himself in the employ of a mad scientist who does a brisk business transplanting the brains of Barsoom’s old and powerful into the bodies of its young and unfortunate. The main problem with The Mastermind of Mars is that it leans so heavily on a theme—overemphasis on reason—that prominently features in the immediately previous book. But it offers a love interest whose fundamental decency shines through when she is robbed of her beautiful body, and the implicit commentary on zealots in the latter half of the book is fresh and biting.
The eight ERB books I’ve read, ranked:
1. The Chessmen of Mars
2. The Gods of Mars
3. The Mastermind of Mars
4. A Princess of Mars
5. At the Earth’s Core
6. Pirates of Venus
7. Thuvia, Maid of Mars
8. The Warlord of Mars
The eight ERB books I’ve read, ranked:
1. The Chessmen of Mars
2. The Gods of Mars
3. The Mastermind of Mars
4. A Princess of Mars
5. At the Earth’s Core
6. Pirates of Venus
7. Thuvia, Maid of Mars
8. The Warlord of Mars
February 1, 2019
The Mastermind of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs was pretty good. I especially loved that it gave some food for thought, allowing us to reflect on what we should truly aspire to; perfection in some aspects with a lack thereof in others, or imperfection in all aspects without a dramatic difference in any of them. My favorite character is Ras Thavas, but only because he is kind of insane and paranoid, two things I love in a character. My favorite quote from it is said by Ulysses in chapter 12, stating, "I guess that convinced them, it being the sort of logic suited to their religion, or would have convinced them if they had not already been convinced."I like it because it shows how a closed mind can blind you, even if I do not believe religion darkens one's understanding. I think that it is awesome that this whole series is based on a theory, that we now believe to be true, that Mars was once hospitable, but then died.
June 22, 2023
Aunque la serie de Barsoom (así llaman en Marte al Cha-cha-cha) es mejor conocida por su principal personaje, John Carter, este no aparece en todos los libros, sino que muchas veces son personajes periféricos a él, como su hijo, o uno de sus guardias, o así. En esta novela es otro humano quien llega a Marte de la misma manera que hizo Carter —en una especie de transmigración — , el capitán Ulysses S. Paxten quien cae capturado por Ras Thavas, un científico marciano que ha logrado cambiar cerebros de un cuerpo a otro y con lo que hace un gran negocio. Paxten, conocido ahora como Vad Varo, aprenderá de la ciencia de este marciano y buscará la manera de devolver a su cuerpo hermoso y joven a su amada, Valla Dia, de la cruel reina Xaxa quien lo ha tomado para ella, en una aventura donde lo acompañan un noble caído en desgracia, un asesino profesional y un gorila blanco de Marte (de 4 brazos) cuya mente es la de un hombre.
Muy pulp, pero entretenido, la verdad
Muy pulp, pero entretenido, la verdad
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