Warlord of Mars

Before many of the current genres were cemented, Edgar Rice Burroughs began putting out a seemingly endless blur of sci-fi/fantasy/pulp fiction books, starting with A Princess of Mars. The third installment in his Martian - or Barsoom - series is The Warlord of Mars, featuring John Carter: ex-Civil War vet who's full of heroic, non-PC, early 20th century manliness. Carter's beloved Dejah is imprisoned in the Temple of the Sun, and he's had to wait an entire Barsoomian year for the entrance to her prison to be exposed.

John Carter and Hekkador Matai Shang set out to rescue Holy Thern's daughter who is imprisoned with Dejah Thoris and Thuvia. John Carter is beset on all sides as he attempts to free the three hotties and to reunite with his wife. Follow the adventure as Carter chases his foes into the uncharted north pole region where he'll discover new and fantastic alien races. There's action and adventure on every page, as John Carter is faced with new opponents to battle relentlessly. Burroughs uses language from a century ago, but don't let it slow you down - it's charming and fun after a chapter or two. This series is bound to captivate all audiences, as Burroughs dishes out heaps of good clean action - but it's a perfect entree into sci-fi for younger boys. They'll want to read the whole collection before the film John Carter of Mars comes out in 2012.