The Gods of Mars was serialized in The All-Story from January to May 1913, then published in book form by A.C. McClurg & Co. in 1918. The novel finds John Carter transported back to Barsoom after ten years on Earth, arriving in the Valley Dor — the paradise to which all Martians believe they go after death. In reality, the Valley is a trap: it is controlled by the Holy Therns, a parasitic race of white-skinned priests who feed on the pilgrims who come seeking paradise, and by the First Born, a race of black-skinned Martians who prey on the Therns in turn.
The novel’s most striking element is its anti-religious polemic. Burroughs portrays the entire religious structure of Barsoom as a fraud maintained by violence: the “gods” are predators, the “paradise” is a slaughterhouse, and the “sacred” river that carries the faithful to their reward leads only to death. The Therns — bald, white-skinned, nominally holy — are explicitly presented as parasites who exploit the credulity of believers for material gain.
This is remarkably aggressive for popular fiction of 1913, and it gives the novel an intellectual dimension unusual in Burroughs’s work. Carter’s struggle is not merely physical (though there is plenty of swordfighting) but ideological: he must destroy an entire system of false belief that enslaves millions.
The novel ends on a cliffhanger — Dejah Thoris is imprisoned in a rotating cell that cannot be opened for a year — ensuring that readers would return for the sequel.
Collecting The Gods of Mars
First edition (A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1918): Red cloth binding.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $1,500–$4,000
- Very good/very good: $600–$1,500
- Good: $200–$500