The Chessmen of Mars

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**The Chessmen of Mars**

Author	Edgar Rice Burroughs
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Barsoom
Genre(s)	Science fiction, Novel
Publisher	McClurg
Released	1922
Media Type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Preceded by	Thuvia, Maid of Mars
Followed by	The Master Mind of Mars

The Chessmen of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the fifth of his famous Barsoom series. Burroughs began writing it in January, 1921, and the finished story was first published in Argosy All-Story Weekly as a six-part serial in the issues for February 18 and 25 and March 4, 11, 18 and 25, 1922. It was later published as a complete novel by A.C. McClurg in November, 1922.

1 Plot and Story Line
2 Trivia
3 Copyright
4 External link

[edit] Plot and Story Line

In this novel Burroughs continues to focus on the younger members of the family established by John Carter and Dejah Thoris, protagonists of the first three books in the series. The heroine this time is their daughter Tara, princess of Helium, whose hand is sought by the gallant Gahan, Jed or prince of Gathol. Both Helium and Gathol are prominent Barsoomian city state/empires.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Tara is initially unimpressed by Gahan, whom she views as something of a popinjay, and not much of a man, either. He is therefore forced to prove himself in the approved heroic manner of all Burroughsian protagonists. As always, the heroine must be rescued from numerous perils and sticky situations. The most horrific are the Kaldanes, an intelligent non-human race resembling grotesque heads perched atop tiny crustacean bodies. The Kaldanes have bred a complementary symbiotic race of headless human-like creatures called Rykors, which they ride and control. Ghek, a sympathetic Kaldane, aids the main characters. Later they are imprisoned in an isolated city that subjects captives to fight to the death in the arena in a modified version of Jetan, a popular Barsoomian board game resembling Chess; the living version uses people as the gamepieces on a life-sized board, with each taking of a piece being a duel to the death.

[edit] Trivia

Burroughs worked out the rules for Jetan, publishing them as an appendix to the book. The concept inspired imitation by authors of later planetary romances influenced by Burroughs, each of whom felt compelled to invent their own extra-terrestrial version of chess to be fought with human beings. Instances of such homage include Lin Carter's game of Darza, appearing in Renegade of Callisto, the eighth volume in his Callisto series, and Kenneth Bulmer's game of Jikaida, appearing in A Life for Kregen, the 19th volume in his Dray Prescot series.

[edit] Copyright

The copyright for this story has expired in the United States and, thus, now resides in the public domain there. The text is available via Project Gutenberg.