I used to read a lot when I was a kid. And it was mostly science fiction. One of the authors I read was Edgar Rice Burroughs. In case you don't know, he's the guy who invented Tarzan.
But he had another character. Once that I thought was even more interesting.....John Carter, Prince of Mars.
Why am I thinking about that now?
Because tonight I discovered a site that I'm sure will be very enjoyable to me.
http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/
Turns out that a lot of the books you read in the past or would have liked to read are in the public domain. On 'BooksShouldBeFree' you can get their MP3 or the iTunes version. In my case, I looked on the science fiction edition and Voila! There was each of the 12 books in the John Carter, Prince of Mars series.
I think it'll be nice to download the books I want and listen to them while I'm just laying in bed.
Also, in addition to knowing about the site, I thought you might find Edgar Rice Burroughs interesting. I found his Wiki page. The most interesting thing about it aside from the fact that he divorced twice, is how he got into the writing business.
Also, I'm going to give you the Wiki summary of "A Princess of Mars", the first of 12 which he Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote in that series.
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John Carter, a Confederate American Civil War veteran, goes prospecting in Arizona and, when set upon by Indians, is mysteriously transported to Mars, called "Barsoom" by its inhabitants. Carter finds that he has great strength on this planet, due to its lesser gravity. Carter soon falls in among the Tharks, a nomadic tribe of the planet's warlike, four-armed, green inhabitants. Thanks to his strength and combat abilities he rises in position in the tribe and earns the respect and eventually the friendship of Tars Tarkas, one of the Thark chiefs.
The Tharks subsequently capture Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, a member of the humanoid red Martian race. The red Martians inhabit a loose network of city states and control the desert planet's canals, along which its agriculture is concentrated. Carter rescues her from the green men to return her to her people.
Except for some jewelry and harness for weaponry, all of the planet's races seem to eschew clothing. Burroughs describes Dejah Thoris thus:
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And the sight which met my eyes was that of a slender, girlish figure, similar in every detail to the earthly women of my past life....Her face was oval and beautiful in the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and exquisite, her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass of coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming coiffure. Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against which the crimson glow of her cheeks and the ruby of her beautifully molded lips shone with a strangely enhancing effect.
She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who accompanied her; indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she was entirely naked, nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty of her perfect and symmetrical figure. |
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Subsequently Carter becomes embroiled in the political affairs of both the red and green men in his efforts to safeguard his princess, eventually leading a horde of Tharks against the city-state of Zodanga (the historic enemy of Helium). Winning Dejah Thoris' hand, he becomes Prince of Helium, and the two settle down happily until a failure at the Atmosphere Plant which sustains the planet's waning air supply endangers all of Barsoom. In a last-ditch attempt to stave off doom, Carter seemingly sacrifices his own life in restoring the facility to functionality. He awakens back on Earth, left to wonder what has become of his family and adopted world.
Image via Wikipedia
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