Bill Caldwell Comments
Evening, Scott,
I found your book Return to Barsoom through Jeff Doten's Barsoomia website on Thursday but didn't have a quiet time to sit down and read until last night. I was going to read a few pages to get the gist of it and three hours later…
I found your book Return to Barsoom through Jeff Doten's Barsoomia website on Thursday but didn't have a quiet time to sit down and read until last night. I was going to read a few pages to get the gist of it and three hours later…
You write a very good story, sir! I found myself pulling for the various characters and losing track of time as the story drew me on. I especially enjoyed the use of The Gods of Mars data that Barsoomians are more directly related to plants than are Jasoomians. I never thought of it that way before. And made the viral attack so much more plausible. And that it would only attack the women! Wow, what a way to hit the red men who make such idols of the beauties. The intermixture of modern and Barsoomian data to explain the condition of the planet to 21st century eyes was very smoothly handled. The loss of the ochre moss and the resulting dust storms is a colossal touch! Oh, and you described the yellow tower of Lesser Helium, something that has long been in my imagination along with its scarlet twin in Greater Helium. Thank you for including it, even in its ruined state.
I thought the gradual erosion of the Heliumetic empire's ethical behavior was classic. And somewhat inevitable considering they were caught up in their own mindset. Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak should have heard Dejah Thoris' impassioned speech to Lorquas Ptomel and Tars Tarkas way back when. They might have learned something as well as the fact that she wasn't just a pretty face. It seems Jasoomians just have enough difference to break the mold of their thinking. And helping us to realize John Carter was brave but unimaginative in matters other than warfare and rescue adventures was sadly necessary. Thanks for making Dejah Thoris three dimensional now!
I liked Sakoma Nu and the gradual transformation of his character. Tikhel Sen is another engaging man. He, of them all, seems the most in tune with Jasoomian modes of thought. I'd like to learn more about him and his own story.
And last, but not least, Chester Ventura. Wow! He's a neat guy! Someone with imagination, insight and ideals tempered with a sense of history and the foibles of humanity. I'm hoping we don't have to wait 20 years to learn about how he, Rajan Parl and Sakoma Nu are going to find the cruiser hidden near the moon. And what they'll do once they find it. Or who they'll find has run across it about the same time as they do.
I could ramble on about the story. I suppose you know by now that I'll be reading it again to pick up on things I missed the first time. It's a very good read, Scott. Thank you for being willing to share it with us. Do you have plans for a sequel? I think you'd have a ready-made audience.
All the best!
Bill Caldwell
P.S. I first found Barsoom via the gift of a 1918 first edition of The Gods of Mars from a neighbor way back in 1963. She thought a junior high boy might enjoy the story. The terrible part was getting to the end and not knowing what happened!! In '63 the paperback editions of Ace and Ballantine had just begun to be released and I had no bookstores in the wilds of rural Missouri to search through. And who knew if there even was a sequel, after all, 1918 was a long time ago, even then. Maybe there was no sequel. It was a long wait of about a year before I found that Thuvia had been reissued and then Warlord was discovered. Whew! what a relief! They've occupied a treasured place in my library and are always fun to reread every now and again.
Let's hope the upcoming movie by Pixar does the stories justice.
—
Thanks for the kind words, Bill. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and the story behind your interest in ERB's writings. It seems like we all started early. I started with the Tarzan Ballantines with the Neal Adams covers, and continued on with the Michael Whelan-covered Carters.
My very first ERB book experience was in the elementary school library in the mid 1970s where they had a set of the Gino D'Achille-covered Carters. I took one look at The Chessmen of Mars cover and didn't want anything to do with it. At 10 it creeped me out pretty badly. Of course, I now have a complete set of those.
To answer your question, yes, there will be a second book, continuing the survivors' attempts to save Barsoom. Look for The Spaces Between sometime in the future, hopefully in a timespan less than decades.
Andrew Stanton – the director of the upcoming John Carter of Mars film for those that haven't been following the news – is part of the Pixar crew. I hope that means he'll respect the source material, but you never know given the disseminated decision-making process large projects like this have. I've been let down so many times in recent years by films that were adapted from books or comics I had invested myself in. I have a hard time understanding why studios don't build on the source material to engage a vocal, established fan base that could do them only good by word of mouth, and then expand on the material to include people new to the story.
– Scott
I thought the gradual erosion of the Heliumetic empire's ethical behavior was classic. And somewhat inevitable considering they were caught up in their own mindset. Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak should have heard Dejah Thoris' impassioned speech to Lorquas Ptomel and Tars Tarkas way back when. They might have learned something as well as the fact that she wasn't just a pretty face. It seems Jasoomians just have enough difference to break the mold of their thinking. And helping us to realize John Carter was brave but unimaginative in matters other than warfare and rescue adventures was sadly necessary. Thanks for making Dejah Thoris three dimensional now!
I liked Sakoma Nu and the gradual transformation of his character. Tikhel Sen is another engaging man. He, of them all, seems the most in tune with Jasoomian modes of thought. I'd like to learn more about him and his own story.
And last, but not least, Chester Ventura. Wow! He's a neat guy! Someone with imagination, insight and ideals tempered with a sense of history and the foibles of humanity. I'm hoping we don't have to wait 20 years to learn about how he, Rajan Parl and Sakoma Nu are going to find the cruiser hidden near the moon. And what they'll do once they find it. Or who they'll find has run across it about the same time as they do.
I could ramble on about the story. I suppose you know by now that I'll be reading it again to pick up on things I missed the first time. It's a very good read, Scott. Thank you for being willing to share it with us. Do you have plans for a sequel? I think you'd have a ready-made audience.
All the best!
Bill Caldwell
P.S. I first found Barsoom via the gift of a 1918 first edition of The Gods of Mars from a neighbor way back in 1963. She thought a junior high boy might enjoy the story. The terrible part was getting to the end and not knowing what happened!! In '63 the paperback editions of Ace and Ballantine had just begun to be released and I had no bookstores in the wilds of rural Missouri to search through. And who knew if there even was a sequel, after all, 1918 was a long time ago, even then. Maybe there was no sequel. It was a long wait of about a year before I found that Thuvia had been reissued and then Warlord was discovered. Whew! what a relief! They've occupied a treasured place in my library and are always fun to reread every now and again.
Let's hope the upcoming movie by Pixar does the stories justice.
—
Thanks for the kind words, Bill. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and the story behind your interest in ERB's writings. It seems like we all started early. I started with the Tarzan Ballantines with the Neal Adams covers, and continued on with the Michael Whelan-covered Carters.
My very first ERB book experience was in the elementary school library in the mid 1970s where they had a set of the Gino D'Achille-covered Carters. I took one look at The Chessmen of Mars cover and didn't want anything to do with it. At 10 it creeped me out pretty badly. Of course, I now have a complete set of those.
To answer your question, yes, there will be a second book, continuing the survivors' attempts to save Barsoom. Look for The Spaces Between sometime in the future, hopefully in a timespan less than decades.
Andrew Stanton – the director of the upcoming John Carter of Mars film for those that haven't been following the news – is part of the Pixar crew. I hope that means he'll respect the source material, but you never know given the disseminated decision-making process large projects like this have. I've been let down so many times in recent years by films that were adapted from books or comics I had invested myself in. I have a hard time understanding why studios don't build on the source material to engage a vocal, established fan base that could do them only good by word of mouth, and then expand on the material to include people new to the story.
– Scott