Best Edgar Rice Burroughs Books
Edgar Rice Burroughs invented the template for escapist adventure fiction that an entire century of pulp, science fiction, and fantasy would follow. His Barsoom series — starting with A Princess of Mars — drops a Civil War veteran onto a dying Mars populated by warring civilizations, four-armed warriors, and telepathic codes of honor, and never once slows down to explain itself. The prose is breathless and confident, built for momentum over nuance, with action sequences that tumble forward like a man falling off a cliff. Tarzan of the Apes works the same instinct in a jungle register: primal, romantic, and utterly committed to its own mythology. Burroughs isn't a stylist in the literary sense, but he understood — better than almost anyone — how to make a reader turn pages against their better judgment. For fans of planetary romance, lost-world adventure, or anyone curious where pulp heroism came from, he's essential.
Where to Start with Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Best entry point → John Carter in A Princess of Mars
- Start the Barsoom #1-6 series → The Barsoom Collection: John Carter Books 1-6
- What readers keep coming back to → John Carter in The Warlord of Mars (Barsoom)
- Highest rated by readers → A Fighting Man of Mars (Barsoom #7)
Best Edgar Rice Burroughs Books
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John Carter in The Warlord of Mars (Barsoom)
Barsoom • Book 3
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John Carter must breach the rotating Temple of the Sun to save Dejah Thoris from both imprisonment and a jealous rival who's sworn to kill for Carter's love.
★ 3.87 Goodreads (15.7K ratings) - 2
The Barsoom Collection: John Carter Books 1-6
Barsoom #1-6 • Book 1
by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Christopher Ragland
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Burroughs invented the sword-and-planet genre with Carter's telepathic transport to Mars, where he battles four-armed Tharks and courts the incomparable Dejah Thoris. Pure adventure across an alien world.
★ 5.00 Goodreads (2 ratings) - 3
A Fighting Man of Mars
Barsoom • Book 7
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Tan Hadron faces an unlikely hero's journey through cannibals, giant spiders, and mad scientists in this pulp throwback that defined science fiction adventure for generations.
★ 3.86 Goodreads (4.1K ratings) - 4
The Chessmen of Mars
Barsoom • Book 5
by Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Bolen
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Headstrong Princess Tara crash-lands in unexplored Mars, fleeing deadly Banths and discovering the strategic game of Jetan played with living pieces. Gene Engene's narration captures the pulp adventure spirit of Burroughs' Martian tales perfectly.
★ 3.83 Goodreads (8.2K ratings) - 5
John Carter in The Gods of Mars (The Barsoom Series)
Barsoom • Book 11
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The Warlord of Mars battles giants and uncovers ancient secrets in this final adventure. Burroughs delivers classic sword-and-planet action with radium rifles and alien civilizations.
★ 3.83 Goodreads (4.7K ratings) - 6
John Carter in A Princess of Mars
Barsoom • Book 1
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Burroughs' pioneering science fiction adventure follows Confederate soldier John Carter's journey to Mars, where his Earth-born strength makes him a formidable warrior in alien conflicts.
★ 3.81 Goodreads (60.8K ratings) - 7
Synthetic Men of Mars - 02039
Barsoom • Book 9
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In Morbus, the ill-omened city, John Carter meets Ras Thavas, whose success at creating artificial life becomes a nightmare when his synthetic beings rebel. Burroughs explores the dangers of playing god in classic pulp style.
★ 3.80 Goodreads (3.3K ratings) - 8
Llana of Gathol
Barsoom • Book 10
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Burroughs sends another generation into Martian peril as Llana faces mummified ancients, black pirates, and the usual array of deadly Barsoomian threats across four linked adventures.
★ 3.79 Goodreads (2.8K ratings)