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4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Strong Story In The Series, Jul 7 2009
"The Master Mind of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the sixth book in the Barsoom series. Burroughs moves further away from John Carter by introducing a new hero, Ulysses Paxton, who uses his Martian name Vad Varo for most of the book. Ulysses is a much different hero than John Carter, or for that matter Cathoris or Thuvia from "Thuvia Maid of Mars" or Gahan of Gathol or Tara of Helium from "The Chessmen of Mars". Ulysses's connection with John Carter is that when on Earth he read the stories of John Carter and believed them to be real. The difference is that unlike those who came before, Ulysses/Vlad does not have the skill in hand-to-hand combat that they possessed. This was a very smart move by Burroughs, for what would be the point of making yet another great warrior to repeat the epic adventures which already exist in the series? Instead, the story has a much different feel, smaller in scope, and yet just as absorbing.
Ulysses is a soldier in World War I, and when he becomes wounded and stranded on the battlefield, he uses the force of his mind to transport himself to Mars. Not surprisingly, though severely wounded as Ulysses on Earth, Vad finds his body whole and healthy on Mars. The first person Vad meets on Mars is Ras Thavas, a.k.a "The Master Mind". When circumstances result in Vad's saving Ras, he is taken on as a trusted servant and bodyguard. Ras shows Vad medical techniques far in advanced of those which exist on Earth, and Vad learns quickly. One key difference though is that Ras has no moral conscience, though he often does very good things, he is just as willing to do horrible things, and when one of the horrible things is to give the body of Valla Dia to the evil Xaxa, Vad realizes that he needs to do something.
Through the course of the adventure, Vad gains allies to work with, and he is resolved to capture Xaxa and force the return of Valla Dia's body. Because of the help he has provided them in escaping from the sleeping storage of Ras' lab, his allies are willing to help, and of course Vad is keen to help them achieve their goals as well. Unlike the previous adventures, there is no great evil in this story, though Xaxa is fairly close to it. Vad is not trying to kill those who oppose him, but rather set things right with the woman he has fallen in love with, as well as help his allies regain their lives. John Carter is referred to in the letter which opens the story, and he shows up in the last chapter, so Burroughs maintains the connection to the rest of the series well.
This book ranks fairly high in the series for me. I would consider "The Chessmen of Mars" which comes right before it to be superior, but this one would rank very close to "A Princess of Mars" which opens the series. Because of the key role "A Princess of Mars" plays in the series I would rank that one above "The Master Mind of Mars" as well, but only slightly, and I feel that this story is better than the rest. While "The Gods of Mars" and "The Warlord of Mars" are good, they do become a bit repetitious and neither one of them are complete in and of themselves. "The Master Mind of Mars" does not have that problem as it can stand on its own, as long as you are familiar with the setting of the series as a whole.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Introduces one of the best anti-villains in SF & F, Dec 16 2000
Ulysses Paxton proves that John Carter is not as unique as the reader was led to believe. Mortally wounded on a World War I battlefield, Paxton is transported to Barsoom much like Carter was decades before. His sojourn on the red planet starts out more humbly, as Paxton fidns himself apprenticed to Ras Thavas, arguably the greatest scientist of the day.ERB dons his lecturer persona once again as he unwinds an intriguing story about the perils of allowing science and political power to proceed in all directions unchecked. Knowledge gained irresponsibly leads to irresponsible actions. Paxton struggles to transport the moral lessons he has learned from the horrors of World War I to the almost savage and near-mercenary social hierarchy he finds himself trapped in on Barsoom. The best elements of the story are undoubtedly the bizarre twists and turns which unsettle the hero and force him to fall back on his courage and ingenuity.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Brain Transplants and Religious Doctrine, Nov 12 2000
"The Master Mind of Mars" by ERB is a great book! ERB's Mars series takes second fiddle to his Tarzan books, but I respectfully argue they are superior. In "MMM", Ulysses Paxton, a critically wounded WWI soldier, is astral-projected (plot device to get things moving) to fabled Barsoom (Mars), dying planet of canals, hordes of 4-armed green warriors, scantily clad women, strong warriors wearing only their "sword and harness", and home of Ras Thavas, the Master Mind of Mars. It seems that Ras Thavas has an enormous talent - only he, among all the inhabitants of Barsoom, is able to perform the life-extending brain transplant. (Or maybe we should call it, ominously, the brain exchange. Too bad for the young body donor whose brain is unceremoniously evicted for the old, rich plutocrats...) However, now Ras Thavas is growing old and he needs his own brain transplanted. Who to train in the procedure? Why, none other than Ulysses Paxton (now called Vad Varo). But our hero turns out to have ethics and morals, and not only that, has fallen in love with a beautiful girl. Unfortunately, she is a body donor for a rich old hag. What happens next? Ulysses, the girl, and some sidekicks go off on a tour of Mars to reunite young girl brain with young girl body! On their Grand Tour of Barsoom, they come to various cities, each with different religious doctrine (I think ERB is indulging in a little gentle satire here). Take it as a given in pulp fiction that our heroes are successful and all ends well. Great enjoyable escapist reading. I found out later on as a veterinarian that it's a little tougher to do brain transplants than described in the book. (Maybe I just needed the super-healing elixir...)
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