I first read Bruce's story some six or eight years ago, and I was immediately struck by the dark tone and thread of the story. Diehard ERB fans will find this tone at direct opposites to the usual shining knight John Carter narrative from the canon. However, don't let this put you off. The fact that it was disturbing is the beauty of this spare and taut little tale of brooding and thirst for revenge. I re-read the story in order to write this review and it lost none of its power. As a matter of fact, between readings, I had done research for an article on the Soviet advance into Germany and Austria in 1945, and in most cases, the atrocities committed paralleled those in this story. Atrocities, you say, in an John Carter story? Yes, atrocities. Who is the red handed butcher, then, some First Born or Thern? No, gentle reader, that man is John Carter himself, seen through the eyes of a man whose family was brutally tortured and killed before his very eyes by the hordes of Green Martians that John Carter unleashed on Zodanga in Princess of Mars. In Bozarth's short story you are painted a radically different view of the sack of Zodanga. The righteous thrill you felt as John Carter turned the Green hordes loose in the pursuit of Dejah Thoris will curdle to coldness as you hear this man's tale, and how his hatred still smolders in him after 50 years of pondering. I will not spoil this superb turnaround by giving details. The story is too short to say much, but it begins and ends in a tavern, listening to an old man's tale. The ending forebodes even darker things, but ends before they occur. One can only speculate what happens, and this was Bruce's intention. He keeps us focused on our man and his grief. To have gone further would have changed our focus and perhaps swung the pendulum of our sympathies around. Bruce told me that he wasn't going to write a sequel. After the years have rolled by, I see why. This story is as hard and dark as you want any ERB story to be. Besides La of Opar, I think it is Bruce's best standalone story. Read it and see for yourself.
|
ERBmania! and erblist.com - Copyright © 1996-2008 by David Bruce "Tangor" Bozarth, All Rights Reserved. Contributors to this site Retain their respective copyrights. No part of this web site may be reproduced in any fashion without express permission.