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Within Mars Myths

The Adventure Mars Built From Canals

Burroughs used desert landscapes, ancient peoples and canal-fed survival to make speculative Mars feel like a lived-in world.

On this page

  • Canals as world building machinery
  • Ancient races and environmental decline
  • Adventure Mars versus invasion Mars
Preview for The Adventure Mars Built From Canals

Introduction

Long before flying saucers became a dominant image of extraterrestrial life, Edgar Rice Burroughs transformed Mars into one of the most influential adventure settings in popular fiction. Beginning with A Princess of Mars in 1912, he took the contemporary idea of a canal-crossed, ageing Mars and turned it into Barsoom: a world of warrior cultures, lost cities, political rivalries, perilous journeys and ancient mysteries. Rather than presenting Mars primarily as a threat to Earth, Burroughs treated it as a place where stories could happen. The result was a version of the Red Planet that helped establish the “planetary romance” genre and expanded the imaginative possibilities of Martian civilisation beyond invasion narratives. [ThePulp.Net]thepulp.netThe Pulp.Net The pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-FanThe pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-FanNovember 25, 2013…Published: November 25, 2013

Barsoom illustration 1

Canals as World-Building Machinery

Burroughs inherited a Mars already shaped by the canal theories popularised by Percival Lowell. In Lowell’s vision, a dying civilisation had constructed vast waterways to distribute scarce water from the polar regions across an increasingly arid world. Burroughs accepted the basic premise but used it as a storytelling engine rather than an astronomical argument. [Wikipedia]WikipediaThe Warlord of MarsThe Warlord of Mars

In Barsoom, the canals were not merely scenery. They explained where people lived, how cities survived and why conflicts emerged. Settlements clustered around irrigated corridors, making the canal system the planet’s economic and political backbone. Farms lined the waterways, and access to water became a matter of survival. [Barsoomia]barsoom.fandom.comBarsoomia Canals | Encyclopedia Barsoomia Wiki | FandomBarsoomia Canals | Encyclopedia Barsoomia Wiki | Fandom

This gave Mars a sense of lived reality. Instead of presenting isolated wonders, Burroughs connected geography, society and adventure:

  • Travellers crossed dangerous deserts between habitable regions.
  • Cities competed for limited resources.
  • Expeditions followed canal routes into unfamiliar territories.
  • Political power depended on controlling the infrastructure that sustained life.

The canals therefore functioned as world-building machinery. They provided a believable framework linking environment, civilisation and conflict, making Barsoom feel inhabited rather than merely imagined.

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Ancient Races and Environmental Decline

A second ingredient in Barsoom’s appeal was the idea that Mars was old. Burroughs portrayed a planet that had passed its peak and was struggling against environmental decline. The drying world created a constant sense of fragility beneath the swashbuckling action. [Wikipedia]WikipediaThe Warlord of MarsThe Warlord of Mars

Unlike many later science-fiction settings built around technological progress, Barsoom was full of remnants. Ancient cities, forgotten peoples and vanished powers suggested a deep history stretching back beyond the events of the novels. The surviving societies lived among the remains of earlier eras, giving exploration an archaeological flavour as well as an adventurous one. [JFsculpts]jfsculpts.comJOHN CARTER, DEJAH THORIS, and WOOLA of BARSOOM | JFsculptsJOHN CARTER, DEJAH THORIS, and WOOLA of BARSOOM | JFsculptsFebruary 11, 2019…Published: February 11, 2019

Burroughs populated this landscape with multiple Martian peoples rather than a single planetary civilisation. Rival cultures occupied different regions, maintained different traditions and often viewed one another with suspicion. This diversity helped make Mars feel comparable to a historical world with competing kingdoms and ethnic groups rather than a simple extraterrestrial backdrop. [JFsculpts]jfsculpts.comJOHN CARTER, DEJAH THORIS, and WOOLA of BARSOOM | JFsculptsJOHN CARTER, DEJAH THORIS, and WOOLA of BARSOOM | JFsculptsFebruary 11, 2019…Published: February 11, 2019

Environmental decline also generated narrative stakes. Water systems required maintenance, habitable land was limited and survival could not be taken for granted. Even spectacular hidden regions such as the subterranean Omean Sea were connected to larger systems of water management and resource control. [Barsoomia]barsoom.fandom.comBarsoomia Omean Sea | Encyclopedia Barsoomia Wiki | FandomBarsoomia Omean Sea | Encyclopedia Barsoomia Wiki | Fandom

The result was a setting where adventure emerged naturally from ecological pressure. Characters fought not only for honour, love or power, but often within a civilisation attempting to endure on a fading planet.

Barsoom illustration 2

Adventure Mars Versus Invasion Mars

Burroughs’ Mars differed sharply from the invasion-focused vision that had become famous through earlier Martian fiction. In invasion stories, Mars primarily mattered because it threatened Earth. In Barsoom, Mars mattered in its own right. [ThePulp.Net]thepulp.netThe Pulp.Net The pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-FanThe pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-FanNovember 25, 2013…Published: November 25, 2013

The typical Barsoom story follows a traveller moving through an exotic world, encountering strange cultures, rescuing allies, uncovering secrets and navigating political conflicts. The planet itself becomes the main attraction. Readers are invited to explore rather than defend against it. [ThePulp.Net]thepulp.netThe Pulp.Net The pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-FanThe pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-FanNovember 25, 2013…Published: November 25, 2013

Several features distinguish this adventure-oriented approach:

Adventure Mars (Barsoom)Invasion MarsFocus on exploring Martian societiesFocus on Martian attacks on EarthMultiple cultures and kingdomsUsually a single alien threatHeroic journeys across the planetEarth-centred survival narrativeAncient history and lost civilisationsTechnological menaceRomance, warfare and explorationDefence against invasion

This shift was important for the broader relationship between science fiction and later UFO culture. Barsoom encouraged readers to imagine extraterrestrials not simply as hostile invaders but as inhabitants of complex societies with histories, politics and environments of their own. The alien world became a destination for adventure and cultural encounter rather than merely a source of danger.

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A PRINCESS OF MARS - FULL AudioBook | by Edgar Rice Burroughs V3

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Why Barsoom Endured

Barsoom’s lasting influence came from the way Burroughs transformed a speculative astronomical idea into a complete narrative environment. The canal hypothesis supplied a framework, but the novels added social diversity, environmental pressures, ancient history and continual movement across a vividly imagined landscape. [Wikipedia]WikipediaThe Warlord of MarsThe Warlord of Mars

In doing so, Burroughs helped establish a powerful model for planetary fiction: a world that feels old, inhabited and worth exploring. Within the wider history of imagined Martian civilisations, Barsoom stands as the moment when canal Mars became not just a scientific curiosity or a potential enemy, but an adventure world. [ThePulp.Net]thepulp.netThe Pulp.Net The pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-FanThe pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-FanNovember 25, 2013…Published: November 25, 2013

Barsoom illustration 3

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Endnotes

  1. Source: thepulp.net
    Title: The Pulp.Net The pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-Fan
    Link: https://thepulp.net/pulpsuperfan/2013/11/25/the-pulp-worlds-of-edgar-rice-burroughs/
    Source snippet

    The pulp worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs – The Pulp Super-FanNovember 25, 2013...

    Published: November 25, 2013

  2. Source: Wikipedia
    Title: The Warlord of Mars
    Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warlord_of_Mars

  3. Source: jfsculpts.com
    Title: JOHN CARTER, DEJAH THORIS, and WOOLA of BARSOOM | JFsculpts
    Link: https://jfsculpts.com/2019/02/11/john-carter-dejah-thoris-and-woola-of-barsoom/
    Source snippet

    JOHN CARTER, DEJAH THORIS, and WOOLA of BARSOOM | JFsculptsFebruary 11, 2019...

    Published: February 11, 2019

  4. Source: Wikipedia
    Title: Llana of Gathol
    Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llana_of_Gathol

  5. Source: youtube.com
    Title: The Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVbFduBEq9A
    Source snippet

    A PRINCESS OF MARS - FULL AudioBook | by Edgar Rice Burroughs V3...

  6. Source: youtube.com
    Title: A PRINCESS OF MARS
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2CnftqxvDk
    Source snippet

    by Edgar Rice Burroughs | John Carter of Mars / Audiobook...

  7. Source: barsoom.fandom.com
    Title: Barsoomia Canals | Encyclopedia Barsoomia Wiki | Fandom
    Link: https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Canals

  8. Source: barsoom.fandom.com
    Title: Barsoomia Omean Sea | Encyclopedia Barsoomia Wiki | Fandom
    Link: https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Omean_Sea

Additional References

  1. Source: goodreads.com
    Link: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/17377791-the-land-that-time-forgot
    Source snippet

    Land That Time Forgot (Caspak, #1) by Edgar Rice Burroughs | GoodreadsJanuary 1, 1918...

    Published: January 1, 1918

  2. Source: reddit.com
    Title: www.reddit.com The task of creating an advanced yet adventure-filled world
    Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/hxkfia
    Source snippet

    task of creating an advanced yet adventure-filled worldJuly 25, 2020...

    Published: July 25, 2020

  3. Source: youtube.com
    Title: A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs | John Carter of Mars / Audiobook
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNycrylJlG4
    Source snippet

    Plot summary, “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 5 Minutes - Book Review...

  4. Source: youtube.com
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jKYPH6rN6E
    Source snippet

    The Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs...

  5. Source: books.apple.com
    Title: ‎A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs & Junot Díaz on Apple Books
    Link: https://books.apple.com/gb/book/a-princess-of-mars/id968779067
    Source snippet

    April 12, 2012...

    Published: April 12, 2012

  6. Source: youtube.com
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvCFpb4ENWo

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