#ArtOfTheDay: 'The Banth' by Frank Frazetta

'The Banth' by Frank Frazetta.

Interior illustration from the 'Thuvia, Maid Of Mars' / The Chessmen Of Mars' omnibus edition paperback, books 4 and 5 of the 'Barsoom / Mars' series written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, published in 1973 by Nelson Doubleday.

#ArtOfTheDay: 'Headless Body Moved' by Frank Frazetta

'Headless Body Moved' by Frank Frazetta.

Interior illustration from the 'Thuvia, Maid Of Mars' / The Chessmen Of Mars' omnibus edition paperback, books 4 and 5 of the 'Barsoom / Mars' series written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, published in 1973 by Nelson Doubleday.

#ArtOfTheDay: 'Thuvia, Maid Of Mars' by Frank Frazetta

'Thuvia, Maid Of Mars' by Frank Frazetta.

Wraparound cover art for the 1973 Nelson Doubleday omnibus edition of 'Thuvia, Maid Of Mars' and 'The Chessmen Of Mars', part of the 'John Carter: Barsoom' series written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

#FrazettaFriday: 'Headless Body Moved' by Frank Frazetta

'Headless Body Moved', interior illustration by Frank Frazetta for 'The Chessmen Of Mars', book 5 of the 'Barsoom / Mars' series by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Cool Art: Edgar Rice Burroughs' 'John Carter Of Mars' Cover Art by Ossi Hiekkala

Cover art by Ossi Hiekkala for the first six books of Edgar Rice Burroughs' 'John Carter Of Mars' / 'Barsoom' book series.

'A Princess Of Mars'

Currently Reading: The Chessmen Of Mars

Book Art by Gino D'Achille

With the John Carter film being released by Disney on March 9, I'm slowly working my way through the Barsoom books by Edgar Rice Burroughs on my eReader.

I've loved the series so far, and I would really recommend anyone to pick up the first three books - 'A Princess Of Mars', 'The Gods Of Mars' and 'The Warlord Of Mars' - as an introduction to the world of Barsoom before they go to see the film, and as they kind of carry on after each other too.

I'm now up to book 5, 'The Chessmen Of Mars', and after what I thought was initially a slow start and not feeling much sympathy towards the main character, Tara of Helium, as the action gets going, I'm getting dragged into the story and start to enjoy it a lot more.

In this book, the focus this time switches from John Carter and Dejah Thoris, the main protagonists of the first three books, to their daughter Tara, princess of Helium, after a strange storm sweeps her far away from her native Helium. Over the course of her journey, she is repeatedly in danger, first in the strange land of Bantoom, where she is captured and studied by the Kaldanes, a highly intelligent but narrow focused race, and then in the city of Manator, where she is the prize in a giant game of jetan, a form of Martian chess.

For more information on 'The Chessmen Of Mars' check out the Wikipedia link
Or check out the book yourself from the Project Gutenberg