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Venus #5
The Wizard of Venus
The fifth and final adventure of Carson Napier among the exotic people and beasts of Amtor is Burroughs' THE WIZARD OF VENUS. Sequel to his fabulous four Venus novels, it is an adventure not to be missed as Napier encounter a new kind of science and anew kind of alien deviltry. PIRATE BLOOD, which is included in this very special Burroughs treat, is something no reader of the Tarzan-Carter-Napier novels will want to miss. Found among his papers long after Edgar Rice Burroughs' death, it is a complete adventure story of excitement, high-pitched action, and derring-do. Its hero, a devil-may-care experimenter, designs his own aircraft and adventures among the little explored islands of the far seas to find that chivalry still requires the maximum of endurance and the utmost in courage.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
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600 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Rice Burroughs
2,806 books2,735 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 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 16, 2019
The final Venus story is okay. But it makes the first 4 books flimsy even for ERB. Since it is about the protagonists telepathy you’re just stuck thinking “why’d didn’t he use it the whole time?” 2.5/5
However, the unpublished novella Pirate Blood that comes with it is amazing. It’s gripping and surprisingly pensive for ERB. Dives into themes of determinism and free will. It’s more brooding than his usual style. It’s dark but still captures the pulp adventure perfectly. Maybe I’m just a sucker for pirates but I loved it. 4.5/5
My 4 stars isn’t an average.
However, the unpublished novella Pirate Blood that comes with it is amazing. It’s gripping and surprisingly pensive for ERB. Dives into themes of determinism and free will. It’s more brooding than his usual style. It’s dark but still captures the pulp adventure perfectly. Maybe I’m just a sucker for pirates but I loved it. 4.5/5
My 4 stars isn’t an average.
October 14, 2018
The Wizard of Venus, the final installment in ERB's Venus series, is notable mostly for the humor. The story is decidedly silly and the final adventure of Carson Napier is perhaps incomplete.
The companion tale, Pirate Blood, has all the elements expected in an ERB story but is a distinct departure for the author. A dark tale apparently drafted at a time when the science of genetics was in its infancy and the theories of eugenics dominated the field. Following the standard ERB formula, our hero (John Lafitte, distant relative of Jean Lafitte, the famous French pirate) is snatched from his normal world (a motorcycle cop in Southern California) and forced to accompany a friend turned embezzler during an escape via airship over the Pacific Ocean (a mode of transportation frequently in the news in the late 1920's and early 1930's -i.e., Graf Zeppelin, Akron, and Shenandoah). Moving from one near-deadly adventure after another, John reaches back to his ancestor's pirate blood to find the means for survival. He finds it easy to discard civilized behavior which he believes is merely a veneer masking his true nature. It is easy to cheer him on, thinking he will demonstrate a better nature but he rarely does so.
Overall, this slim volume demonstrates ERB's skill and why he remains popular. By itself, I'd rate Pirate Blood 3 stars but the Wizard story holds it to 2.
The companion tale, Pirate Blood, has all the elements expected in an ERB story but is a distinct departure for the author. A dark tale apparently drafted at a time when the science of genetics was in its infancy and the theories of eugenics dominated the field. Following the standard ERB formula, our hero (John Lafitte, distant relative of Jean Lafitte, the famous French pirate) is snatched from his normal world (a motorcycle cop in Southern California) and forced to accompany a friend turned embezzler during an escape via airship over the Pacific Ocean (a mode of transportation frequently in the news in the late 1920's and early 1930's -i.e., Graf Zeppelin, Akron, and Shenandoah). Moving from one near-deadly adventure after another, John reaches back to his ancestor's pirate blood to find the means for survival. He finds it easy to discard civilized behavior which he believes is merely a veneer masking his true nature. It is easy to cheer him on, thinking he will demonstrate a better nature but he rarely does so.
Overall, this slim volume demonstrates ERB's skill and why he remains popular. By itself, I'd rate Pirate Blood 3 stars but the Wizard story holds it to 2.
December 23, 2019
Amtor sputters to a stop, turning what would normally be weaknesses into strengths.
"Wizard" sees Burroughs finally acknowledge the previously-misplaced mentions of Carson Napier's psychic tutelage. As such, it's a story focusing on his mental battles against a slightly-anachronistic hypnotist.
This is an unfinished work, and ergo is extremely short. There are few characters and events, but due to the overtly plain precedent set before, you really miss nothing. Instead what we get is a few setpieces showing Napier and the 'Wizard' engaging in battles focused on the power of suggestion. Quick, inoffensive, and just novel enough to be worth a look; there is some subdued comment on the power of a placebo.
This tiny snippet is the entire reason I endured Amtor--I have a fascination for psychic powers. But I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't worth it. Amtor lay at the periphery of Burroughs' own imagination, and for what was one of his final stabs at creativity, it obviously won't change anybody's mind (arguably, not even mine). But if you're curious, you can burn through it without trouble, and with less baggage than the rest of the series.
"Wizard" sees Burroughs finally acknowledge the previously-misplaced mentions of Carson Napier's psychic tutelage. As such, it's a story focusing on his mental battles against a slightly-anachronistic hypnotist.
This is an unfinished work, and ergo is extremely short. There are few characters and events, but due to the overtly plain precedent set before, you really miss nothing. Instead what we get is a few setpieces showing Napier and the 'Wizard' engaging in battles focused on the power of suggestion. Quick, inoffensive, and just novel enough to be worth a look; there is some subdued comment on the power of a placebo.
This tiny snippet is the entire reason I endured Amtor--I have a fascination for psychic powers. But I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't worth it. Amtor lay at the periphery of Burroughs' own imagination, and for what was one of his final stabs at creativity, it obviously won't change anybody's mind (arguably, not even mine). But if you're curious, you can burn through it without trouble, and with less baggage than the rest of the series.
July 24, 2020
#5 and final adventure in the fantasy adventures of Carson Napier on the planet Venus. It has everything from a damsel in distress, to thought-transference, to a mad despot, to an Earthman who saves the day! It is also an unfinished Burroughs story. Carson, 27 years old, is a rich, handsome blond haired, blue eyed man has the idea of exploring Mars. He builds a rocket to do that, but because he fails to consider the moon's gravity in his calculations, ends up on Venus.
Carson and his companion Ero Shan take off to test Carson's new airplane. Thick fog, even worse than Venus's normal permanent overcast, forces them down in an unknown land with medieval castles. The people are, allegedly, oppressed by a wizard who can turn them into zorats (Venus's strange equivalent of horses). Before they can continue on their way home, Carson and Ero Shan are compelled, as well as obliged, to help out.
Carson and his companion Ero Shan take off to test Carson's new airplane. Thick fog, even worse than Venus's normal permanent overcast, forces them down in an unknown land with medieval castles. The people are, allegedly, oppressed by a wizard who can turn them into zorats (Venus's strange equivalent of horses). Before they can continue on their way home, Carson and Ero Shan are compelled, as well as obliged, to help out.
June 16, 2019
This is a very short eleven chapter book and the last of the Venus series.
After building a new anotar so Ero Shan can fly home to Havatoo, Carson and Ero take it out on a test run. They decide to explore west of Sanara but just before turning back they get caught in one of the cloud layer agitations and end up thousands of miles from Sanara on the country-island of Donuk.
I enjoyed this story the most of the series. It actually had an interesting plot filled with humor and an underlying lesson.
Fave scene: Carson and Ero declaring themselves stupid.
After building a new anotar so Ero Shan can fly home to Havatoo, Carson and Ero take it out on a test run. They decide to explore west of Sanara but just before turning back they get caught in one of the cloud layer agitations and end up thousands of miles from Sanara on the country-island of Donuk.
I enjoyed this story the most of the series. It actually had an interesting plot filled with humor and an underlying lesson.
Fave scene: Carson and Ero declaring themselves stupid.
November 7, 2023
This was a disappointing ending to the Venus saga. It is only a novella and in it Burroughs seems to have lost interest in the whole thing. The story is somewhat ridiculous with a self-styled wizard who has somehow convinced people he can turn them into animals. The protagonist in contrast has genuine psychic powers and can make people see fictional entities that he has thought into existence.
The series should have finished with the previous book.
The series should have finished with the previous book.
June 4, 2025
Finishing off the Venus series I was disappointed to find that The Wizard of Venus is only a sixty page story and not a very good one, though it is humorous.
The other hundred pages are a story called Pirate Blood. A scummy little story full of period racism and based on the belief that genetics determine your morality. It's okay if you like antiheroes and rooting for the bad guy but it's only a first draft and I picked up the book expecting more of Venus.
The other hundred pages are a story called Pirate Blood. A scummy little story full of period racism and based on the belief that genetics determine your morality. It's okay if you like antiheroes and rooting for the bad guy but it's only a first draft and I picked up the book expecting more of Venus.
July 3, 2020
Un cuento rápido y sencillo. Un poco exagerado que transciende a los anteriores. Aquí se une lo místico y lo mágico, para transformar la realidad en una auténtica aventura. Esta vez, sin huidas ni esclavitud. Este cuento da punto final a la saga, que ya terminaba en el anterior libro, pero que las ganas de seguir leyendo más de este intrépido aventurero te hacen desear más.
March 23, 2024
This is a collection of two stories published after Burroughs' death. The first, Wizard of Venus, is a fun story where Carson finally uses his mental powers on Venus. The second, is a story about a modern policeman who becomes a pirate. It starts off really slow but picks up a lot in the 2nd half, along with some unfortunate racism.
August 19, 2020
I actually liked this better than the previous Venus stories. Too bad ERB didn't do better with this world and characters.
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July 2, 2021Finished the Venus part, haven't read 'Pirate Blood,' yet. The Venus series is a Sword & Planet yarn in the Grand Style.
December 9, 2023
I’m giving it a 4 for Prate Blood. The Wizard was weak, but the non-Amtor novel Pirate Blood was was a rollicking piece of 1930s pulp-noir.
May 19, 2025
The Wizard of Venus wasn’t that great overall, so-so. Pirate Blood was by far the superior story in this ERB book.
January 14, 2019
EXTREMELY POOR GRAMMAR
I give the book a two. I rate it a 3 as a story itself. I have read pretty much all of Burroughs books from Tarzan to Mars to Venus and others. This was the only one I would rate low. But the main reason for the low score has nothing at all to with the story. This book and ALL the others I have read on Amazon has SO many grammatical and spelling errors. In some books there is at least one error on every page. C'mon Amazon, surely you can do better. Find some people who can type for goodness sakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I give the book a two. I rate it a 3 as a story itself. I have read pretty much all of Burroughs books from Tarzan to Mars to Venus and others. This was the only one I would rate low. But the main reason for the low score has nothing at all to with the story. This book and ALL the others I have read on Amazon has SO many grammatical and spelling errors. In some books there is at least one error on every page. C'mon Amazon, surely you can do better. Find some people who can type for goodness sakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 20, 2017
The Wizard of Venus was ok, but Pirates Blood was a lot more fun!
June 4, 2012
Two short pieces unpublished until years after ERB's death.
The first "The Wizard Of Venus" is the last in this so-so series and is no improvement on the previous volumes, Burroughs was obviously intending it to be the first of several self contained but linked stories that he would have published first separately in magazines before combining them as a full length book as he had done with the likes of "Escape On Venus" "Llana of Gathol" and Savage Pellucidar.
The other story "Pirate Blood" is much longer, novella length and is at least more interesting. I was expecting if you like classic yo heave ho, shiver me timbers pirates and was quite surprised to find the story contemporary (1930's.) However the story and characters without exception are a thoroughly dislikeable bunch very much including the "hero." The second-half seems particularly rushed with far too much incident for it's length. The first half however isn't bad consisting mainly of drifting about in an airship. "Pirate Blood" though must have some of the most ridiculously unlikely coincidences in all of Burroughs fiction, and that's saying something!
The first "The Wizard Of Venus" is the last in this so-so series and is no improvement on the previous volumes, Burroughs was obviously intending it to be the first of several self contained but linked stories that he would have published first separately in magazines before combining them as a full length book as he had done with the likes of "Escape On Venus" "Llana of Gathol" and Savage Pellucidar.
The other story "Pirate Blood" is much longer, novella length and is at least more interesting. I was expecting if you like classic yo heave ho, shiver me timbers pirates and was quite surprised to find the story contemporary (1930's.) However the story and characters without exception are a thoroughly dislikeable bunch very much including the "hero." The second-half seems particularly rushed with far too much incident for it's length. The first half however isn't bad consisting mainly of drifting about in an airship. "Pirate Blood" though must have some of the most ridiculously unlikely coincidences in all of Burroughs fiction, and that's saying something!
February 8, 2012
The stories of Carson Napier's adventures on Earth's sister planet are essentially ERB engaging in self-parody of the superior Barsoom stories. These stories are not high art, or even good sci-fi/fantasy; but ERB's Venus stories are fairly good yarns with exotic Venusian locales, fantastic beasts, flamboyant damsels, dastardly villains, and cliff-hanging adventures in which the hero gets the girl and the bad guy meets his (or her) just deserts.
[See, even I can engage in self-parody - see my John Carter story reviews.]
[See, even I can engage in self-parody - see my John Carter story reviews.]
June 4, 2016
The final stories of the adventures on Carson on Venus is unfinished. Both Wizard of Venus and Pirate Blood were found and published after ERB died. The Venus story is pretty much more of the same, but Pirate Blood is a surprisingly interesting read. Pirate Blood is a novella about Johnny Lafitte whose ancestor was a pirate. The novella asks the question if “bad blood” stays in the family. Through a bizarre series of events he is kidnapped and ends up in the far east with the choice to be a victim or a pirate.
December 7, 2012
This was a lost book from decades and was found in the 1970s. I was thrilled it was found and published. It brought many memories of great reading a few years before under the tree in my back yard. The Amtor (Venus)series is my second favorite series written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I used to walk to Grand Central and gather bottles along the side of the road. I would be able to collect enough bottles and turn them in for the deposit for the next book in this (and all of his series)series of books!
April 7, 2017
The two stories in this volume couldn't be more different. First, this Venus story is just unessential. As the series progressed I grew tired of it all and this story is just a waste of time. Second, Pirates Blood was an okay fiction story. Starring a resilient man like all of Burroughs protagonists that I've read so far. The life or death suspense goes out the window though when the story is in first person perspective. Neither story was published in Burroughs life time so maybe he wasn't ready to publish them. Not the best I've read by Burroughs, but like I said Pirates Blood was OK.
July 27, 2008
This book contains two novellas, "The Wizard of Venus," a Carson Napier tale, and an unrelated story called "Pirate's Blood." I thought the Venus piece was very strong and the other piece much weaker. "Pirate's Blood" was published posthumously, having been found in ERB's papers. Or so the story goes.
September 14, 2012
Enjoyed this!
April 27, 2014
The Venus series postquel novella is OK; the then-previously-unpublished pirate novella, less so.
January 18, 2019
Very good
Very enjoyable. I like that he populates his worlds with a variety of different peoples and at different levels of technology.
Very enjoyable. I like that he populates his worlds with a variety of different peoples and at different levels of technology.
January 17, 2019
It was a good laugh 😂
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews