WORLDS OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS EDITED BY MIKE RESNICK AND ROBERT T. GARCIA

Copyright 2013 except The Forgotten Seas of Mars 1965.

TARZAN AND THE GREAT WAR by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Tarzan is in the Kasbah looking for leads to his wife Jane who was taken by Germans. After meeting a man who had no information he is contacted by French intelligence. They want to use him in exposing a group of traitors selling secrets to the Germans. Soon after the head of intelligence is murdered and Tarzan is battling the traitors with the help of an Englishman who had come to strip Tarzan of his title and fortune for the war effort.

THE FALLEN A TALE OF PELLUCIDAR by Mercedes Lackey

A story told by Mok who is an intelligent Sagoth in the service of David Innes. Mok was experimented on by the Mahars and is the only intelligent Sagoth. While visiting Kolk the king of Thuria in the Land of Awful Shadow a woman with wings falls from the sky. She is an inhabitant of the Dead World. Her people are under attack by the Mahars who have fled to the moon after being defeated. Mok is the only one who can communicate with her since she uses the same language as the Mahars. They have an adventure with a storm and hostile island natives. The woman falls in love with the kings son.

SCORPION MEN OF VENUS by Richard A. Lupoff

Carson and Duare are under attack by scorpion men and flying snakes when they are rescued by a mysterious flying ship. It takes them to a complex run by Dr. Bodog and his daughter and son. Bodog comes from Earth and the continent that sank in the Pacific ocean centuries ago. He is also insane and plans to take over the Earth. He goes back with Carson and his daughter who Carson has fallen in love with and land in Los Angeles during a football game.

THE FORGOTTEN SEA OF MARS by Mike Resnick

The writer is in an Arizona cabin that was used by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He meets John Carter and convinces him to tell the story after he defeated Hin Abtol. So Carter starts the search for Tan Hadron who disappeared when mutineers took him. From criminals in Zodanga he learns of another underground sea at the north pole. In the city of Ayathor he finds Hin Abtol continuing his plans of world conquest with another large army of men frozen. He finds Tan Hadron and with another rebel manage to overthrow him.

APACHE LAWMAN by Ralph Roberts

Shoz-Djiji the Apache Devil has settled down in the white man’s world. He manages the ranch of his love Wichita Billings. One day Marshal Fast Sam Dawson comes and offers Shoz a job as a deputy sheriff. Seems another renegade Apache has learned from the white-eyes and plans to take over the territorial government. He manages to stop his plans.

MOON MAID OVER MANHATTAN by Peter David

The story of Nah-ee-lah when she came to Earth. At first she is a celebrity and hounded by the press. Later the Kalkars those commie moon men invade. When her husband dies while killing Orthis she and her young son hide out in Canada. They are pursued by Orthis’s woman and her son for revenge.

TARZAN AND THE MARTIAN INVADERS by Kevin J. Anderson and Sarah A. Hoyt

Tarzan is at his English manor when he comes across writing from his ancestor who sailed with Drake. He finds out that Martians are coming to invade in Africa where he was born and raised. He goes back and gathers the apes and other animals to fight these tentacled invaders who can control the minds of men.

THE TWO BILLYS A MUCKER STORY by Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens

Billy Byrne has made the ultimate sacrifice by leaving his love Barbara Harding. He soon after gets a message from her that her fiance was kidnapped. So Billy goes off into the Chicago underworld to get him back.

TO THE NEAREST PLANET as told to Todd McCaffrey

The author buys an old typewriter and Edgar Rice Burroughs used. It starts typing and tells the story of Tangor and his trip from Poloda to find another world free of Kapars. The first world they come to Tonos. This world was destroyed in a war and now run by a computer. The remaining people are dying off until he educates them on how to run the machines on the world.

THE DEAD WORLD as related by David Innes to F. Paul Wilson via Gridley wave

David Innes is visiting Thuria when a meteor strikes. It releases a deadly spore that soon takes over the Land of Awful Shadow and starts spewing poisonous gas. David with Perry and Koort the young son of the king of Thuria go by balloon to the Dead World. They find out that the moon is really an artificial ship created by ancient aliens that created Pellucidar. Now they are returning and terraforming Pellucidar. David and friend have to battle cleaning robots to stop the plan.

TARZAN AND THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT by Joe R. Lansdale

Tarzan is coming back from Pellucidar in the O-220 when a story blows the ship to the southern hemisphere and crashes into the ocean. The only survivors are Tarzan, Captain Zuppner and a young Pellucidarian girl named Zamona. The make it to Caspak and battle cannibals that fly pterodactyls. Zuppner and Zamona decide to stay as Tarzan searches for a way home.

This was a cool idea for an anthology. Getting a bunch of writer together and put out stories from the worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs. They manage to cover all the base with not only Tarzan and John Carter but Pellucidar and Venus. They also get stories from Burrough’s lesser know works like the Moon Men, Apache Devil the Mucker and Caspak. They even had the continuing story from Beyond the Farthest Star. Many of the writers did a good job of emulating Burroughs. Even using the various first person narratives. Some like the martian invaders or the second Pellucidar story did not feel like something Burroughs would have written but were still entertaining.

The only story I didn’t care for was Lupoff’s Carson story. It was very un-Burroughs like to have Carson and Duare so quickly fall out of love. The romance that Burroughs wrote was one of the strong points to his writing and he just casually has them switch partners. It also just ended like it was only halfway through the story. I suppose there might be a continuation but I found it a complete waste of time. In spite of this story the others made this book a worthy effort.

THE WIZARD OF VENUS AND PIRATE BLOOD BY EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

The Wizard of Venus

Carson sets off with Ero Shan to return him to his home city of Havatoo. Along the way they get involved with a land that is under the control of Morgas. Morgas is somewhat of a charlatan in his claims to being a great wizard. Carson uses his considerable telepathic powers to defeat him.

This is the final story of Carson of Venus. It is an interesting story. In the first book it is established that Carson learned the power of telepathy while a boy in India. This is how he communicates his stories to Burroughs. This story he finally uses these powers. I am not sure why he didn’t use them before except that maybe these powers make it too easy to get out of difficult situations.

My final thoughts on the Venus series. I think they were one of the best. Carson seemed to be a character I could relate to. The world he created for Venus had endless possibilities for exciting stories and adventure.

Pirate Blood

John Lafitte is a motorcycle cop in southern California. While trying to make an arrest he is trapped on a dirigible and ends up in the south Pacific. There he falls into a gang of pirates. He works his way to second in command and eventually falls in love with the leaders woman La Diablesa.

This is an interesting short stand alone story. A major theme is that heredity sort of determines ones destiny. Lafitte had a famous ancestor who was a pirate and life threw him into the profession. I don’t really believe that heredity determines a persons outcome. I will admit thought that it can influence a person. I myself am aware of certain traits both negative and positive that I seem to share with my parents.

ESCAPE ON VENUS BY EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

Carson has rescued Duare from Vepaja and are heading back home to Korva. A great storm blows their plane into the unexplored northern hemisphere. Here they become captives of the Myposians. Myposians are fish like people that keep regular humans as slaves. They successfully escape and make their way south.

The next major obstacle is a city of strange amoeba people that reproduce by splitting in two. The two are captured and put in the museum by a drug that freezes them from the neck down. While there they find that Ero Shan, a friend from Havatoo, is also captured. One of the inhabitants falls for Duare and they use that to gain their freedom.

The third obstacle is a war in a land where the countries use giant land ships to fight their wars. After reuniting and escaping they finally make their way to Korva.

The fourth book in the Venusian series is another exciting book. It is four stories combined after Burrough’s death and are probably the best in this series. There are a lot of strange civilizations and creatures. I highly recommend this book.

CARSON OF VENUS OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

Carson and Duare have escaped the city of Havatoo in an anotar(airplane literally bird ship in Amtorian). They can’t return to Duare’s home of Vepaja due to her violating the ancient laws by choosing her own mate. Thus the two go in search of a new home on Amtor.

There wandering take them to the land of Korva. Korva has suffered a humiliating defeat in a war and suffered harsh punitive terms. The government has fallen to a fascist movement called the Zani and the last free city of Sanara is under siege. Carson befriends an agency from Sanara on a mission behind enemy lines and takes him to Sanara. Tamen is in line to be jong and the current jong Muso was threatened by Taman’s popularity and sent him on a mission to fail.

Carson volunteers his services and his anotar begins a bombing campaign on the besieging Zani. Muso has developed an obsession with Duare and sends Carson on a spy mission to Amlot the capital. Once there he is befriended by a woman who gets him a position in the Zani guard. What follows is political intrigue and a plan to foment a counter revolution.

Carson succeeds in overthrowing the Zani and exposing the traitor Muso. For his service he is adopted by Taman and becomes the prince of Korva. Unfortunately Duare thought him dead and has left for Vepaja with her father. Carson sets out to rescue her.

The third book of the Venus series is another excellent series. It focuses on war and cloak and dagger intrigue instead of exploring and fantastical monsters as the previous books did. The story has a satirical take on Nazis and Fascists. The Zani are clearly based on Hitler and the Nazi. They are described as thugs and have an extensive secret police to spy on every citizen. Everyone has to go around and greet each other with “Maltu Memphis”. When the leader Memphis passes in the street all males must stand on their head and shout “Maltu Memphis”. Everybody is also required to at least once a month attend a play on the leader’s life. This is the only theater allowed. The story definitely shows the narcissistic elements of Hitler and Mussolini.

LOST ON VENUS BY EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

The last book left Carson captive of the Thorists with Duare escaping. Unfortunately Carson finds that she has been recaptured and they are both prisoners of Kapdor. Carson is condemned to die in the Room of the Seven Doors. A fiendish setup where the captive has seven doors to choose from for freedom. Six of the doors have a gruesome death waiting behind them. Carson outwits the room and escapes the city with Duare.

They get lost in a storm and find themselves in an unexplored region of Venus. Here they are captured by Skor the Jong(king) of Morov. Skor is a scientist who has found the secret of reanimating the dead. Morov is a zombie city of the dead. Carson escapes to the neighboring city of Havatoo.

Havatoo is a highly advanced and civilized city. Its people are happy, healthy and crime free. They achieved it by cleansing all people with undesirable genetic traits. Carson is tested and found to have theses genes. Sentenced to death, he is pardoned when they find out his knowledge of astronomy and how to build an airplane.

One night a friend is kidnapped by the undead from Morov. Carson discovers a secret underground passage to Morov. He infiltrates the city and rescues both his friend and Duare. Duare is found to also have undesirable genes so Carson escapes with her in his newly build airplane. Duare declares her love for Carson.

The second book in the Venus series is another worthy read. Havatoo and Morov are interesting contrasts in extremes. The book is definitely another exciting chapter in Carson’s adventures on Amtor.

PIRATES OF VENUS BY EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

This is the story of Carson Napier and his ill fated attempt to reach Mars. Carson is disillusioned with life and longs for adventure. So he uses his fortune to create a rocket to propel him to Mars. Unfortunately the scientists forgot to include the Moon in their calculations. Instead the rocket is thrown off course and heads the other way. It instead crashes on the planet Venus.

Here Carson finds a world of massive trees that stretch into the upper cloud cover. He finds himself the prisoner of a race of people that live in a city in these trees. The Vepajans are an advanced culture and eventually teach Carson their language and accept him into their society. The Vepajans are all that remain of a great empire. Their empire was taken over by Thorist revolutionaries and the upper class was forced to flee to their present tree island.

Carson decides to accept an apprenticeship in gathering Tarel. Tarel is the strong web of a giant spider. On his first outing with his friend Kamlot the two are captured by birdmen. They are taken to the Sofal which is a Thorist ship looking for captives. The Thorists after killing and driving off all the educated must find doctors to manufacture the serum of longevity. This serum grants near immortality and the Thorists are desperate to regain it.

Carson leads a mutiny of the prisoners and the dissatisfied crew and turns the Sofal into a pirate ship. They capture a ship with one of the oligarchs of Thora. They also free the princess of Vepaja. The customs of Vepaja demand that the princess can have no contact with anyone outside her family until she is married. When she reaches nineteen she is to be married to a noble. Carson doesn’t let a threat of death deter him from declaring his love for her.

The Ongyan Mooska conspiring with traitors and the birdmen kidnap Duare the princess during a storm. Carson is washed overboard and makes it to shore. There he save Duare from savages and must fight off approaching Thorists.

The first book in the Venus series or Amtor as its inhabitants call the planet. This is probably my favorite series after the Martian ones. It has the expected exotic civilizations, swashbuckling adventure and strange creatures. The Thorists are clearly meant to represent Communists.

Carson is my favorite Burrough’s created character. Most of Burroughs characters are somewhat wooden. Tarzan is taciturn and Carter has that smug “I am the greatest swordsman that ever lived” attitude. Carson is one that has a genuine personality. He makes jokes and in somewhat of a screw up. He’s someone I can relate to. It shows that Burroughs has grown as a writer with this series.