John Carter and the Vicious Plant Men of the Valley Dor.

                                                                   

John Carter goes on a further adventure to Barsoom. This time he arrives in the mysterious world of the plant men and the great white apes. He has materialised in the Valley Dor. The place where Barsoom people believe the afterlife live on. It is the land at the end of the River Iss where Barsoom people go to die. A sort of Elephant's graveyard. A place from which no one returns. Land of the dead. A world Barsoom people believe the afterlife continues with renewed splendour. It all sounds wonderful and fine. When the people of Barsoom decide they are too old, the pilgrimage along the River Iss begins. They will never be seen again once entering the Valley Dor.

Except when anyone makes the religious pilgrimage of death, they are unaware of the horrors that face them. John Carter appears on the plain where he observes the herds of plant men. Then he sees a group of green Tharks come upon the land via the river. Old people making the journey to what they believe is, Heaven. The Tharks are set about by the plant men. One of the Tharks is none other than John Carter's old friend, Tars Tarkas. From here on we go on an adventure of fighting

If any of the new arrivals escape the vicious plant men or the white apes, they find themselves in the land of the Therns. The survivors are enslaved and often eaten by the Therns. In this terrible land of the Therns,  we are introduced to the slave girl Thuvia. There are daring escapes and new dangers among the Black Pirates and the vile self-proclaimed Issus Goddess of Barsoom's underworld. Here, John Carter and the Thern Princess Phaildor find new dangers.

There are splendid battles as John Carter dreams of escape to the nation of Helium where his wife and love Dajah Thoris is. Also, his child who was in an unhatched egg prior to his ten-year exile back on Earth. On this note, there are other splendid and delightful surprises. 

Edgar Rice Burroughs novels are pulp fantasy adventure stories. But pulp adventure done right is breathtakingly addictive and wonderful escapism. This second John Carter of Mars story is a real roller coaster adventure of damsels in distress, noble heroes and colourful villains. It is glorious to be John Carter with his black and white simplistic rules of honour. Plus his superhuman strength on Mars. This enables him to be a warrior of distinction. It is all wonderful escapism.