Review Tuesday: Skeleton Men of Jupiter by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The twelfth and final installment in the John Carter of Mars series is SKELETON MEN OF JUPITER.

There is a warlike race of creatures from the planet Jupiter who look like animated skeletons called Morgors. They have set their eyes on Mars for their first interplanetary invasion. In order to assure Barsoom's defeat the Morgors have kidnapped several prominent Martians in hopes of obtaining a strategic advantage, including the Warlord Of Mars, John carter and his lovely wife, Dejah Thoris.

This story WAS written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and it had his distinct flavor to it. It had the usual pace and ups and downs. It included the usual perfidy, villains, capture, imprisonment, escape, tournaments, fantastical creatures, etc. just on another planet. Burroughs painted an amazing picture of how Jupiter was capable of life. The in-depth descriptions were delightful and the scientific reasoning seemed sound.

You're drawn into reading this novel and compelled to turn the pages until, the sudden and unexpected ending! What made it unsual was that nothing was resolved! Our heroes reunite, but on some out of the way continent on the violent planet of Jupiter. They never made their way home. The invasion of Mars is still being planned. Helium is in terrible danger. I've always felt that Burrough's endings were always somewhat abrupt, but this was something else altogether. It seemed unfinished.

As well it might. Burroughs usually wrote his novels in parts, which could work as stand-alone stories that would be published in periodicals and later bundled as a single book. That's why these books seems like they have five endings. Technically, they DO! However, this never went past the first part. What happened?

Skeleton Men of Jupiter, was the last book written by Burroughs. That was in 1941. He was living in Hawaii at the time. He witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor. His wife was leaving him. He was drinking. His life was in turmoil. There are many theories about his state of mind, but to me it's pretty clear. If he were John Carter, he was watching his world crumble as he lost his Dejah Thoris forever. I can imagine how this could send a man into despair.

This story was very interesting to read, but the abruptness leaves you feeling incomplete. There have been two "sequels" by other authors,

1. William Gilmour - Lost on Jupiter (1961) published by Vernell Coriell and given free to members of the Burroughs Bibliophiles.
2. Henry Franke - Snowmen of Jupiter (1993- ) in ERBapa

but from what I have read, they aren't up to snuff. I suppose it's like losing a old chum without warning, you lose a friend in the John Carter series -- abruptly and unexpectedly. However, it's worth reading, nonetheless.   You can find it here:
 http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600591.txt

This book was frequently bundled together with John Carter and The Giant of Mars, as they were both short stories under the title, JOHN CARTER OF MARS.

With this review, I bid the BARSOOM SERIES a fond farewell.

...And then there were none...