A Princess of Mars/Swords of Mars
2.0 Stars
1-1-2015

These were two short adventure stories written by Burroughs around 1915-1930. They are ok, for the time period, maybe? The stories read very quickly, and at times are plot to the exclusion of all else. On these occasions it reads a bit like the wikipedia synopsis of its own story. The Hero is perfect and manly, and he meets massive success in every endeavor with occasional setbacks opening the way for larger successes. The social politics of the story are just moderately to the left of Gor. On the plus side, I enjoyed the weird 1920's diction, the continual stream of new pulp creatures and settings, and the author's penchant for abrupt resolutions. Near the end of both books there are plot developments/complications that most authors would spend 100+ pages resolving. Burroughs is like "Nope, a half page is plenty to wrap this up in. Annddd, done."