The John Carter Trilogy of Edgar Rice Burroughs

A Princess of Mars; The Gods of Mars; A Warlord of Mars

By: Finn J.D. John, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Narrated by: Finn J.D. John

Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

This Annotated Omnibus Edition contains the first three novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian tales (the Barsoom series).

The first of these novels, A Princess of Mars, was Burroughs' first book, and he wrote the next two novels in quick succession. Together they tell the story of John Carter of Mars - how he came to Mars, met the love of his life, and quickly found himself occupied full-time defending her and saving his adopted planet from interplanetary evildoers.

This trilogy opened the doors of popular science fiction to an entire nation and world. It launched the original pulp science fiction storyworld and series, often imitated but never duplicated, and has inspired four generations of young sci-fi and fantasy writers, artists, moviemakers and videogame designers.

And, of course, it's a ripping great story.

This Pulp-Lit Press Annotated Omnibus Edition takes those three novels together as a coherent story. Each is gracefully and unobtrusively annotated, to help the modern reader put it in the proper literary and historical context for maximum reading enjoyment. All annotations are presented together in a single chapter, easily skipped by readers who prefer to get on with the story.

©2014 Finn J.D. John (P)2014 Finn J.D. John

Excellent story read to you, not acted out.

I have read the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs several times. The series is read by an editor and fan - Finn J.D. John. Several other audible reviews found fault with Finn reading the book, not offering different voices for every character. Having read these books before, however, this did not decrease my enjoyment of the stories. It allowed the stories to move along at a faster pace, which I appreciated. It did not detract from the excellent dialogue and vivid scenes created in Burrough's original works. So, if you want these amazing imaginative stories acted out for you, buy another performance. For the price, I really enjoyed Finn's reading of these three classics.

Story is great, but commentary gets in the way

Have you listened to any of Finn J.D. John’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. This one is better. But in the other one, he starts reading the book right away.

Any additional comments?

I really only have one complaint and it's not unique to this book. The commentary gets in the way. I bought this book for the story, that's what I'm interested in, I don't know about you but I don't buy old-time adventure pulp novels for literary critical analysis.

But like lots of similar books, this one makes you wade through a bunch of commentary before it gets down to the story.

If you, like me, just want to get down to the story, it's pretty easy to do. Just start listening with Chapter 5 instead of Chapter 1. Then you can listen to the end of the first book, skip the chapter of "annotations," and continue with the second book, and so on.

I like the narrator's voice and style, it's very comfortable to listen to and smooth, he doesn't call attention to himself so you can just soak up the story. And the John Carter of Mars stories are just classics, no issue there.

Anyway, once I got past the litsy-critsy chapters, I enjoyed this book a lot. I would have given it a much better rating if the publisher had (hint hint) PUT ALL THAT STUFF AT THE END OF THE BOOK!!!! Or at least told me at the very beginning how I could easily skip over it. Luckily, I'm here to do that for them.

Great Story, Well Told, Excellent Commentary

If you could sum up The John Carter Trilogy of Edgar Rice Burroughs in three words, what would they be?

Classic Fantasy Adventure

What was one of the most memorable moments of The John Carter Trilogy of Edgar Rice Burroughs?

While the story was fun, the commentary (written by the reader), was even better. Enjoyably written and made everything deeper.

Which character – as performed by Finn J.D. John – was your favorite?

Dejah Thoris. There's a delightful sincerity to the performance. It's clear that Dejah made the reader's heart flutter as a young man reading these stories for the first time just as she makes John Carter's in the novel.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

If nothing else, just share the reader's initial forward with anyone interested in story. It makes for a great listen, even without the rest of the book.

A fun, albeit campy read.

Chivalry. Helpless damsels in distress. Six limbed space monsters. Swashbuckling. Steampunk style airships. What fun!

The early 20th century ideals in the book may be a little foreign, and definitely outdated to the modern reader, but that's what we're looking for in pulp sci-fi, isn't it? That's part of the charm. The annotations are very well done, and helpful in reminding the reader of the era in which the book was written. It is also very evident, from the very beginning, that these stories have had a major impact on many of our more modern science fiction books and movies . Overall, the stories were interesting and well written. The narrator did a fine job, and was pleasing to listen to. Would recommend.

Good performance, wonderful commentary

I agree with Robert's review: Finn J. D. John's introductory commentary is worth a credit in itself. Both his writing and the way he reads it are irresistible. As for his performance of the text of Burroughs' novels, the experience is certainly not like hearing John Carter himself speak, but it is like hearing John Carter's words read in the warm, affable, expressive tones of a favorite uncle. Except, that is, for spoken dialogue: Mr. John's attempts at individual voice-characterizations, even in dialogue for Carter, range from barely adequate to acutely embarrassing. But even with that limitation, this is one of the best audio versions of Burroughs' initial Martian trilogy, and the only one to give you all three volumes for a single credit.

Excellent annotations

The reading and annotations were excellent. I read the series as a teen and was a big fan. Now some 35 years later I was able to enjoy once again but through a more mature and different lens. JD Finn does a great job as a narrator and listening to the annotations was as enjoyable as the book.

John Carter from Virginia! & Mars!

This is a wonderful story from long ago...John gives us some details about the author and then jumps into the story of John Carter with passion and excitement. I really enjoyed listening to this and it took me back to a time before the "technology age" of today.

The Original Martian

If you're new to Burroughs' Mars series you're in for a treat. This trilogy was the inspiration for the majority of what we know as modern Science Fiction, especially Star Wars. Some scenes certainly show their age, but overall John Carter still holds up surprising well.

As for the annotations, I personally enjoyed them. They don't detract from the story at all, they're at the end of each book, and provide a great deal of background to Burroughs and his time. The narrator honestly isn't great, but consider that a minor imperfection. Highly recommended.

enjoyed the series

the 1st two books were good the 3rd one was ok.But it was a good way to end the series.
over all i enjoyed the series.

Love it!

What made the experience of listening to The John Carter Trilogy of Edgar Rice Burroughs the most enjoyable?

Hearing that this inspired Lucas in writing Star Wars, I thought it might be interesting to listen to something he loved as I loved Star Wars.If you are a science fiction TV series fan you really should listen to this trilogy!I can see how this influenced such series as Star Trek, Star Gate sg-1, and Star Gate Atlantis!It was funny to hear lines/scenes that must have most certainly been the basis of many episodes and basic plots in recent science fiction movies and series.It is definitely a fun listen!

What other book might you compare The John Carter Trilogy of Edgar Rice Burroughs to and why?

Indiana Jones comes to mind when you get to know John Carter.

What about Finn J.D. John’s performance did you like?

John's performance made me feel like John Carter was telling the story.
I thought he did a great job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I chuckled a few times when I came across parts of his stories that have obviously been used in recent science fiction movies and tv series.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this and will probably continue on to listen to Tarzan.
This has been an entertaining light read....actually listen. :o)

Really enjoyed the commentry

At the end of each book you are treated to a short lesson that gives a outlines many of the historical references that would be completely lost today to a modern reader.

great job Finn

I am glad I purchased this version f the trilogy. Finn J.D John does a great job narrating and giving further inside in to Edgar rice Burroughs. great reat I loved it.

Wall-of-text in an audio form

The story is of course dated, but is better in practice than its constituent memes and stereotypes would suggest .

The narrator speaks clearly, but undramatically, and at a constant pacey clip …which after a short while, results in the audio equivalent of a wall of text.
It thus becomes very difficult to follow, if you wish to listen for long periods .

I’ll be looking for an alternative reading.