The Warlord of Mars

Before writing Tarzan, Burroughs wrote the beginnings of his Mars series, which many view as the better work. Here Gene Engene sets us down and precisely reads one of the all-time classics of science fiction, the third book in an eventual eleven. In the first three, a timeless Southern gentleman warrior transports himself to Mars and fights green men and red men and carnivores from one end of the ochre planet to the other. Reader Engene sounds like a kindly uncle with a flair for describing characters and action scenes. His deep voice moves effortlessly from snarl to stalwart bravery as he differentiates each character in the listener's mind. D.R.W. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine

In the third of Burroughs's "John Carter of Mars" series, the man from Earth unites warring races and is reunited with his love, Dejah Thoris. John Bolen unnecessarily reads the story with a Virginia accent, but he does so effectively and consistently in a way that does not take away from the performance. The MP3 CD is divided into 115 short (3-minute) files. Playback is clear and clean sounding, unadorned by music or other effects. The story is a fitting and exciting conclusion to the first three books, and provides a satisfying surprise ending. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine