The Chessmen of Mars (version 2)

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875 - 1950)

Tara of Helium, John Carter's second child, is nearly as beautiful as her mother, Deja Thoris, and as independent-minded as her father. These qualities cause her much grief during a long series of imprisonments by hostile aliens. She is aided by a rejected suitor whom she fails to recognize but gradually learns first to trust and then to love, despite what she imagines to be a hopeless chasm between their social classes. A highly evolved race of intelligent beings is discovered in this novel, one of whom forms with Tara a complicated relationship that opens his eyes to the value of certain aspects of life which he and his kind have shed. We also learn of an ancient Martian culture differing markedly from the technologically advanced civilizations of other city-states; one of its pastimes is a bloody variation of Martian chess, played with human beings as the game pieces. For variety of character and incident, this novel is unsurpassed by its four predecessors in the series. (Summary by Thomas Copeland)

Genre(s): Science Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 00 Prelude - John Carter Comes to Earth Thomas A. Copeland
00:06:08
Play 01 Tara in a Tantrum Thomas A. Copeland
00:24:14
Play 02 At the Gale's Mercy Thomas A. Copeland
00:24:05
Play 03 The Headless Humans Thomas A. Copeland
00:28:33
Play 04 Captured Thomas A. Copeland
00:27:21
Play 05 The Perfect Brain Thomas A. Copeland
00:21:35
Play 06 In the Toils of Horror Thomas A. Copeland
00:28:06
Play 07 A Repellent Sight Thomas A. Copeland
00:25:44
Play 08 Close Work Thomas A. Copeland
00:21:19
Play 09 Adrift Over Strange Regions Thomas A. Copeland
00:24:08
Play 10 Entrapped Thomas A. Copeland
00:22:11
Play 11 The Choice of Tara Thomas A. Copeland
00:24:44
Play 12 Ghek Plays Pranks Thomas A. Copeland
00:21:10
Play 13 A Desperate Deed Thomas A. Copeland
00:23:40
Play 14 At Ghek's Command Thomas A. Copeland
00:25:09
Play 15 The Old Man of the Pits Thomas A. Copeland
00:23:54
Play 16 Another Change of Name Thomas A. Copeland
00:23:40
Play 17 A Play to the Death Thomas A. Copeland
00:22:55
Play 18 A Task for Loyalty Thomas A. Copeland
00:26:53
Play 19 The Menace of the Dead Thomas A. Copeland
00:20:29
Play 20 The Charge of Cowardice Thomas A. Copeland
00:24:45
Play 21 A Risk for Love Thomas A. Copeland
00:21:36
Play 22 At the Moment of Marriage Thomas A. Copeland
00:32:48