A Princess of Mars discussion

Edgar Rice Burroughs'
'A Princess of Mars' is the first, most innovative and probably greatest work of Sci-fi ever written. It has inspired every science fiction novel and film that came after it from 'AVATAR' to 'STAR WARS'. It's my personal favorite book and it is a must-read for any Sci-fi fan. I highly recommend it.

I read the John Carter books when I was a teenager, fun books to read.

Definitely a fantastic book from a fantastic author! Love these and the Tarzan series!

As a ten-year-old boy in Berlin, Werner von Braun fell out of a tree after reading- in one sitting- "Ein Marzig Princenza, von Edgar Rice Burroughs". He passed several days in bed in a delirium, screaming about people, beasts and cities and canals.
After his Saturn 5 booster put two Americans on the surface of the Moon, he was called before Congress to give his recommendations. He said, in effect, "Cancel Apollo. Cancel Skylab. Cancel the Space Shuttle. Cancel Pioneer/Voyager. Run Viking then proceed directly to the next objective: manned mission to Mars."

A Princess of Mars is a great book but it is not even remotely the first science fiction novel. The SF novels of Jules Verne and HG Wells precede it by decades.

I agree broadly with the idea that it was very influential, though often indirectly.

FYI: Anyone who is interested, we've started a discussion on A Princess of Mars over at Written Gems. We'd love to have you drop by and share your thoughts.