The Chessmen of Mars
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| The Chessmen of Mars | |
 dust-jacket of The Chessmen of Mars |
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| Author | Edgar Rice Burroughs |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Barsoom |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | A. C. McClurg |
| Publication date | 1922 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 375 pp |
| ISBN | NA |
| 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.
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[edit] Plot introduction
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 (prince) of Gathol. Both Helium and Gathol are prominent Barsoomian city states.
[edit] Plot summary
Meeting Gahan in Helium, Tara is initially unimpressed by him, viewing him as something of a popinjay, and not much of a man, either. When she takes her flier into a storm, she loses control and the storm takes her far away, leaving her stranded. Fleeing from a pack of ferocious Banths, she gets herself captured by the horrific Kaldanes, an intelligent non-human race resembling grotesque heads perched atop tiny crustacean bodies who favor mental prowess over, in their eyes, useless emotions. The Kaldanes have bred a complementary symbiotic race of headless human-like creatures called Rykors, which they ride and control. She manages to win over one of the Kaldanes, Ghek, with her lovely singing voice.
Gahan, having lost his heart to the Princess of Helium, sets out to search for her, only to get caught by the same storm. He goes overboard after a valiant rescue attempt of one of his crew. Through sheer coincidence he manages to reach Bantoom, the realm of the Kaldanes. He manages to rescue Tara and together with the disaffected Ghek, they flee in Tara's crippled flier. Gahan, bereft of his finery and worn from his ordeals, is not recognized by Tara. In light of her earlier reaction to him, Gahan thinks it unwise to reveal his true nature and assumes the identity of a Panthan (warrior) called Turan.
They manage to reach the isolated city of Manator. Craving food and water, Turan ventures into the city only to find himself tricked and entrapped. Soon after, Tara and Ghek are captured as well. Manator 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 game pieces on a life-sized board, with each taking of a piece being a duel to the death.
Throughout the novel, Gahan is forced to prove himself in the approved heroic manner of all Burroughsian protagonists in his effort to win Tara's heart. As always, the heroine must be rescued from numerous perils and sticky situations.
[edit] Jetan and its influence
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 extraterrestrial 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, Kenneth Bulmer's game of Jikaida, appearing in A Life for Kregen, the 19th volume in his Dray Prescot series, and John Norman's game of Kaissa, mentioned many times in his Gor series, although never fully described. Also the Harry Potter series includes a scene in which the three protagonists Harry, Hermionie, and Ron must play in a life-like game of Chess.
[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.
| Preceded by Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
Barsoom series The Chessmen of Mars |
Succeeded by The Master Mind of Mars |
[edit] References
- Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers, 66.
[edit] External links
- The Chessmen of Mars, available at Project Gutenberg.
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