The Chessmen of Mars

The daughter of John Carter wants only to escape the palace walls and the suitors her father has chosen. Tara of Helium is a princess who would rather fly free across the dying plains of Mars than contemplate marriage to men she has never loved. When she finally steals away on her thoat, chasing adventure beyond the borders of Helium, a violent storm sweeps her into a world where no human has set foot in centuries. She finds herself captive in a civilization of chess players, where every move on the board determines life and death, and where monstrous creatures with no heads hunt through the mist. To return home, she must master the deadly game, outthink cruel nobles, and find a courage she never knew she possessed. Burroughs delivers pulse-pounding adventure with the swagger of a man who invented the pulp hero. The Chessmen of Mars is pure escapism at its finest: exotic locales, beautiful warriors, beasts that defy imagination, and a heroine who refuses to be saved by any man. It is the Barsoom series at its most playful, blending sword-and-planet action with a clever central conceit that turns chess into a matter of life and death. For readers who grew up dreaming of other worlds.