The Chessmen of Mars

About the book

Tara of Helium leaves familiar surroundings in her flier and is carried by a storm into an unknown region of Barsoom. Gahan of Gathol's pursuit brings a second perspective to an adventure of captivity, concealed identity, and uncertain alliance. Burroughs introduces the disturbing relationship between the Kaldanes and the bodies they use, then develops the story towards the deadly possibilities of a game played with living participants. These inventions give questions of intellect, physical existence, and command unusually concrete forms. Romance and rapid action remain central, but the unfamiliar societies make survival depend on interpreting rules that their inhabitants regard as ordinary. The novel broadens the Mars series beyond John Carter's own adventures while retaining its appetite for strange institutions and sudden reversals.

• Mind and body
• Freedom
• Identity and loyalty

Why read it

For some of Barsoom's most unusual inventions, including societies that turn philosophical questions into immediate physical danger.

English text