Re: FOG Book Club

[Gadreille]

I have a few books laying around that I've been meaning to read/reread. I'll list them and we can narrow the list together.

• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
  
• The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
  
• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (This one is the first in the series, the one above being the fourth book and taking place hundreds of years later)
  
• The Edge of the World by Kevin Anderson
  
• Daggerspell by Katherine Kerr
  

Do any of these appeal to you?

[Guest]

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[Kalon Ordona II]

I got it this very second! A Princess of Mars! I got it!

[Gadreille]

OOH SNAP.

I'll set up the reading pace this weekend and we'll start monday!

[Guest]

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[Gadreille]

John Carter of Mars: A Princess of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs

Reasons for choosing: It's awesome

Starting Date: Monday, April 23rd, 2012

Week 1: Chapter I "On the Arizona Hills" through Chapter VII "Child Raising on Mars"

Week 2: Chapter VIII "A Fair Captive from the Sky" - Chapter XIV "A Duel to the Death"

Week 3: Chapter XV "Sola Tells Me Her Story" - Chapter XXI "An Air Scout For Zodanga"

Week 4: Chapter XXII "I Find Dejah" - Chapter XXVIII "At the Arizona Cave"

[Kalon Ordona II]

Sweeeet! It is on!!

[Gadreille]

I just realized that my copy of the book is missing the original foreword. I will post it here. Please read it if your copy does not have it!

FOREWORD

To the Reader of this Work:

In submitting Captain Carter's strange manuscript to you in book form, I believe that a few words relative to this remarkable personality will be of interest.

My first recollection of Captain Carter is of the few months he spent at my father's home in Virginia, just prior to the opening of the civil war. I was then a child of but five years, yet I well remember the tall, dark, smooth-faced, athletic man whom I called Uncle Jack.

He seemed always to be laughing; and he entered into the sports of the children with the same hearty good fellowship he displayed toward those pastimes in which the men and women of his own age indulged; or he would sit for an hour at a time entertaining my old grandmother with stories of his strange, wild life in all parts of the world. We all loved him, and our slaves fairly worshipped the ground he trod.

He was a splendid specimen of manhood, standing a good two inches over six feet, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, with the carriage of the trained fighting man. His features were regular and clear cut, his hair black and closely cropped, while his eyes were of a steel gray, reflecting a strong and loyal character, filled with fire and initiative. His manners were perfect, and his courtliness was that of a typical southern gentleman of the highest type.

His horsemanship, especially after hounds, was a marvel and delight even in that country of magnificent horsemen. I have often heard my father caution him against his wild recklessness, but he would only laugh, and say that the tumble that killed him would be from the back of a horse yet unfoaled.

When the war broke out he left us, nor did I see him again for some fifteen or sixteen years. When he returned it was without warning, and I was much surprised to note that he had not aged apparently a moment, nor had he changed in any other outward way. He was, when others were with him, the same genial, happy fellow we had known of old, but when he thought himself alone I have seen him sit for hours gazing off into space, his face set in a look of wistful longing and hopeless misery; and at night he would sit thus looking up into the heavens, at what I did not know until I read his manuscript years afterward.

He told us that he had been prospecting and mining in Arizona part of the time since the war; and that he had been very successful was evidenced by the unlimited amount of money with which he was supplied. As to the details of his life during these years he was very reticent, in fact he would not talk of them at all.

He remained with us for about a year and then went to New York, where he purchased a little place on the Hudson, where I visited him once a year on the occasions of my trips to the New York market--my father and I owning and operating a string of general stores throughout Virginia at that time. Captain Carter had a small but beautiful cottage, situated on a bluff overlooking the river, and during one of my last visits, in the winter of 1885, I observed he was much occupied in writing, I presume now, upon this manuscript.

He told me at this time that if anything should happen to him he wished me to take charge of his estate, and he gave me a key to a compartment in the safe which stood in his study, telling me I would find his will there and some personal instructions which he had me pledge myself to carry out with absolute fidelity.

After I had retired for the night I have seen him from my window standing in the moonlight on the brink of the bluff overlooking the Hudson with his arms stretched out to the heavens as though in appeal. I thought at the time that he was praying, although I never understood that he was in the strict sense of the term a religious man.

Several months after I had returned home from my last visit, the first of March, 1886, I think, I received a telegram from him asking me to come to him at once. I had always been his favorite among the younger generation of Carters and so I hastened to comply with his demand.

I arrived at the little station, about a mile from his grounds, on the morning of March 4, 1886, and when I asked the livery man to drive me out to Captain Carter's he replied that if I was a friend of the Captain's he had some very bad news for me; the Captain had been found dead shortly after daylight that very morning by the watchman attached to an adjoining property.

For some reason this news did not surprise me, but I hurried out to his place as quickly as possible, so that I could take charge of the body and of his affairs.

I found the watchman who had discovered him, together with the local police chief and several townspeople, assembled in his little study. The watchman related the few details connected with the finding of the body, which he said had been still warm when he came upon it. It lay, he said, stretched full length in the snow with the arms outstretched above the head toward the edge of the bluff, and when he showed me the spot it flashed upon me that it was the identical one where I had seen him on those other nights, with his arms raised in supplication to the skies.

There were no marks of violence on the body, and with the aid of a local physician the coroner's jury quickly reached a decision of death from heart failure. Left alone in the study, I opened the safe and withdrew the contents of the drawer in which he had told me I would find my instructions. They were in part peculiar indeed, but I have followed them to each last detail as faithfully as I was able.

He directed that I remove his body to Virginia without embalming, and that he be laid in an open coffin within a tomb which he previously had had constructed and which, as I later learned, was well ventilated. The instructions impressed upon me that I must personally see that this was carried out just as he directed, even in secrecy if necessary.

His property was left in such a way that I was to receive the entire income for twenty-five years, when the principal was to become mine. His further instructions related to this manuscript which I was to retain sealed and unread, just as I found it, for eleven years; nor was I to divulge its contents until twenty-one years after his death.

A strange feature about the tomb, where his body still lies, is that the massive door is equipped with a single, huge gold-plated spring lock which can be opened only from the inside.

Yours very sincerely,

Edgar Rice Burroughs.

[Gadreille]

How is everyone doing so far?

How do you feel reading a science fiction that was written in 1917? Can you easily detect that this is a very early science fiction novel?

I read through this once quickly, and I've never been good at re-reading, so this week was a struggle. I am picking up on a lot of details that I missed or forgot the first time round, so I am glad I am going to re-read it.

The hardest thing I had trouble accepting was how he got to Mars. This to me had a more fantastical feel than science fiction one, which I suppose is why it was changed in the movie. However, as Ysopet and I were discussing it, I better understood how he was being transported (liking it to a telegram was very helpful in my understanding of the process) and now I am much happier with it overall.

What do you guys think of the Martian culture? It seems to be a violent one, yet not necessarily evil. I've often compared emotionless to darkness, but of course this is not the case, as we have Yoda, and Spock, and now Tars Tarkas and the rest of the green men. Perhaps they aren't actually emotionless, but just never tap into their emotion. This would explain how they have humor (though what they think is funny is not, to us, funny at all) and why Sola would be so caring of John Carter. The way they raise their children is interesting too. Would there be any benefits to having foster care over parents raising their own young, except to be devoid of emotion? Even if it is not you own child, how does that stop you from loving it? Perhaps it was just so that the mothers would not ever know if their egg that they laid ever lived or died. If their egg wasn't worthy, they will never know that it never made it into, or out of, the incubator. Or perhaps the women truly don't care.

What do you think of the ancient city the green men are using (but obviously didn't build)? And the dead sea? This feeling of ancient times also had a fantastical feel over a science fiction one, a feeling that I thoroughly enjoyed. It makes me wonder what is next. We already have the green men, the white apes, large creatures to ride on as well as the "martian watch dog". What else could be out there?

Last note, the author threw the telepathic communication out there very abruptly and without much explanation. I wonder why he would be able to pick up on others communcations but not they he? Does it have anything to do with him being a "telegram" of his earthly self?

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[Kalon Ordona II]

I have not yet seen the movie. Thank you for not spoiling it for me! ^^
I intend not to see it until I've read the book, but it's possible I might see it somewhere in the middle, if I think the movie is in danger of leaving the theater. (It might have already, or it might not be there yet. I haven't checked.)

I'll definitely rent it after the book, either way. xD

I'm liking the book so far. As Ysopet mentioned, it's an easy read. Short chapters are always a plus, in my opinion. I'd rather have tons and tons of short chapters than a few long ones.
(ironic, right? coming from the GM of Sephiris? <_<)

The furniture on in the Mars buildings is human-size, so obviously (maybe) Earthlings had been there long ago. That would be epic. ^^
Or maybe just Mars humans? Sort of? *shrug*

I like the watch-thing and how he can't bring himself to call it a watch-dog! xD

I wonder what the one mammal is.

I did find it quite convenient that he shows up on Mars a day or two before the Hatching that happens every five years. <_< But that's plot for you.

I'm enjoying the writing style, as well. It does feel dated, but that's a good thing to me, fond as I am of Tolkien and that whole era. ^^ And this was even before him. I love that it's the creator of Tarzan. I never read the book, but I can now imagine just how it would feel to read it. xD

Definitely looking forward to reading further!

[Kalon Ordona II]

Well, that next section pretty much answered all the questions from the first section. xD Pretty awesome!

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[Kalon Ordona II]

I think I probably imagine them somewhere between normal height and the 7-8 feet. :>

Still liking the progression of the story and the ease of reading. I notice that, of course, the story is set up in such a way that we See Everything Of Significance on the entire planet. But when you consider the alternative--NOT Seeing Everything of Significance on the entire planet--you tend to forgive this stretch of the fourth wall. :>

I'm just curious how this is all going to end, because we already know he'll be there for 10 years and that there are more books ahead.


As for the quick falling in love, the guy has gone all his life without romance, and suddenly he's confronted with:
(A) another human, the only other one on Mars he's seen so far
(B) a female
(C) an amazingly beautiful woman of appropriate... development?
(D) who just happens to be wearing hardly anything
(E) and is a Damsel in Distress
(F) who also is possessed of a certain regal nobility

Even without his being a Protagonist, given those circumstances I don't think any man alive could help but fall madly in love. ^_^

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[Kalon Ordona II]

He's saved her life multiple times AND is plenty man enough for her to love, and they're basically humans. But it's not been a smooth perfect ride, either. I'm still wondering why she reacted so much when he called her his princess or however that went. And there's still the people of Helium to face.

And it has been a certain amount of time. It's not like Romeo and Juliet falling in love over the span of a night. xD

When you go through an experience like John and Dejah did with all the tension and stress and captivity and escape and fighting and all of it, attachments tend to form rather quickly. So that, coupled with the fine specimens of male and female that they are, probably would do it even if their personalities were only halfway compatible.

I suppose being a superhuman does help a bit, too, thanks to Earth muscles. xD

[Gadreille]

That's what I was going to say. Also, I think that E.R.B. did attempt to add some realism to it, what with her being upset at what he said. We've read stories that have even less depth to their relationships. He at least tried to give her a bit of spunk

I'm not at all sure where you guys are at, and I admit stopping after the first seven chapters. I've always been terrible at re-reading, and I didn't prove myself any better this time. However, since I did already read it I know most of what you guys are talking about.

Ysopet, the green martians always seemed big to me, but like kalon said, only about 7 or 8 feet. I also imagined them much thicker than portrayed in the movies.

[Guest]

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[Gadreille]

I already finished Week 1...

I'm hooked.

[Kalon Ordona II]

I read the prelude and part of the prologue. Great stuff so far.

[Guest]

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[Gadreille]

Id be willing to pick up the pace by a chapter or two if you guys are.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Noooo, doing it in a month is plenty. It's a big book. xDD Besides other people might need to catch up.

Plus we should post things along the way. I'll try to post something after I've finished this week's reading. I'm about halfway through.

[Gadreille]

I don't think we're doing it in a month, that's just as far as he's typed out. That only finishes part One and Interludes. There is still Part Two and Interludes, Part Three and Interludes, Part Four, Part Five, then the Epilogue and End Note. We're talking a five month endeavor at least.

But maybe we can pick up the pace as we go. Start out small and work our way up if possible. When I last suggested this Kathryn had told me she couldn't get the book, so I'd rather go slow now that I know she's trying to catch up.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Yeah, realized that a while after I posted. Was too lazy to edit.

Probably if we speed up, it'll just happen naturally as we all just can't resist reading ahead on our own. xD

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[Gadreille]

I second yso's motion and will mention I've finished this weeks reading.

[Guest]

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[Kalon Ordona II]

That's a great idea!
I too have finished this week's.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Yay for being behind! .-.

I am still in section 2, on chapter 5: Heretic, so at least I'm not horribly far behind, but I'm still a little behind. Feel free to not wait for me. Between classes and other things, it's taken me some time to catch up anyway.

Thoughts so far:

I'm really enjoying this book. I'm eager to see how these different character story lines link together. It reminds me a little of George R.R. Martin in the way that each chapter is a different character's perspective. However, with the creatures known as "spren," this story reminds me more of the Coldfire trilogy by C.S. Friedman. I'm not sure that even that is an appropriate comparison, but because I don't fully understand what "spren" are yet, it's the best comparison I have.

I really enjoy this fantasy roles and the social norms which have roots in but aren't quite the same as ours. For instance, the idea that reading and writing in more than just glyphs is a decidedly feminine action, and men are emasculated a bit by the act.

I'm still not really sure what the base religion is. In the chapter with the assassin where we learn about stormlight, they alluded to a religion revolving around the men from the prologue who came around for really rough wars or whatever, then basically went to hell until they were called forth again. However, the chapter with the auburn haired, freckled woman... whose name I don't remember, much like all of the other characters' names... made the religion sound more like a single-theist sort of religion was the biggy... I'm not sure if that's just unfounded conjecture or not.

The light-eyes vs. dark-eyes thing is really interesting to me. I can't help but to be reminded of Jane Elliot's real-world teachings of racism based on who had blue eyes or brown eyes to show how unfounded and terrible racism is. I find it interesting that Sanderson is incorporating themes of racism based on eye colour.

I also really like the variety of looks people can have. I think in one chapter, there was mention of people with black skin that had like... red lines marbling their flesh, and every line-pattern is supposed to be unique to that person. That was pretty rad, and I hope we encounter more people who don't quite look like our real-world variety of humans.

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