Burroughs Books

"I have never told this story nor shall mortal man see this manuscript until I have passed over for eternity. I know that the average human mind will not believe what it can not grasp......"

Written in 1912 this book is well written for its time and has intrigued countless generations of readers. I get the feeling that this story is being told over a campfire.

Captain Carter is telling the story form memory as an old man of his adventures here on earth and on the planet of Barsoom (Mars). There are encounters with many strain creatures, situations, and yes even a "Princess of Mars."

This is a part is a series by the writer that brought us "Tarzan." The intro to the book alone will capture your imagination.

Being a fan of science fiction and some of the old classics, I felt a need to try one of E.T. Burroughs novels about Mars. John Carter is a vet of the American Civil War and a Captain who fought for Virginia (and therefore the wrong side). He ends up, after some adventures, on Mars. A stranger in a very strange land, he tries to better his position, mostly by killing others natives who attack him or attack other natives.
First, this is soft science fiction, fantasy fiction at best. Star Wars is hard science fiction when compared to this book. More swords than laser guns, the Hero spends most of his time explaining how backwards the people of Mars are, all the cities are in ruins, the landscape a wasteland and so on. Mars is full of wild men, wild creatures and states at war. John Carter, being from Earth, can jump farther, run faster, fight better than anybody else.
This is a male's fantasy not REAL science fiction. There is nothing here but a male point of view, mixed with wish fulfillment, tons of action and adventure, a weak plot and no theme (unless you count some racism and sexism). You know when somebody says they could write a better story? Well, anybody could have done a better story. Add some more realistic details, better names, and cut down on the bad B-movie lines pouring out of the characters' lips and you could improve on it without even thinking.
Why does it seem so dated when other books from the same period still hold up? Oh, by the way, the book itself was very nice and well made. Print On Demand is great.

We got this when my daughter was around 2 years old. She is nearly 3 now and has lost interest in it but she LOVED this book for quite some time. I agree, some of the ideas are beyond what a 2 year old may normally know or include things that they might not really see in everyday life, but I think that's a good thing. It's also good when they get a little older and are starting to learn to count. Sometimes if they don't know the word I think it's a good thing because you can describe where it is or what it looks like to help the child find something, all good for building their vocabulary, I think. Overall, my daughter really enjoyed this book and my husband and I enjoyed reading it with her.

Bought this because my 2 1/2 yr old really enjoys Disney's Pooh and Friends and the ELMO and Friends Look and Find books. Unlike in those publications however, the items you are supposed to look for are not in most toddler's vocabulary (eg. "archaeologist", "fossil"). My 5 1/2 yr.old did know those words however, and enjoyed sharing her knowledge with her brother while peeking at the book over my shoulder.
Unless you are buying this for an older child, would recommend starting out with a book that focuses on household words with familiar objects and characters. Otherwise you will have to tone down your questions appropriately ("archaeologist" became "where is the man in the brown coat?").

This adventure into a small lost civilisation of the past is a lot more fun than Lord of the Jungle. Tarzan is much more the focal character in this book, rather than a sideline character, so that helps.

Running around with his simian sidekick provides some comic relief, as he comes up against a couple of tinpot Caesars, manhandles one, overcomes in the arena, survives a siege, and topples some government.

Definitely entertaining.

"He rose from the throne and raised his hand for silence. The hum of voices ceased. "Caesar is dead, but upon someone of you must fall the
mantle of Caesar."

"Long live Tarzan! Long live the new Caesar!" cried one of the gladiators, and instantly every Sanguinarian in the room took up the cry."

Tarzan doesn't really fancy the job, so makes a suggestion that one of his martial Roman friends would fill the void nicely.

"Tarzan and the Lost Empire" is a typical Edgar Rice Burroughs story about the Lord of the Jungle where somebody disappears and Tarzan goes off into some uncharted part of Africa to rescue them from a lost city. This basic plot describes most Tarzan novels starting with the lost Atlantis colony of Opar in "The Return of Tarzan." What makes "Tarzan and the Lost Empire" rather different from the rest is that the lost city this time around happens to be a couple of outposts from the Roman Empire, still up and running almost two thousand years later.

The person who needs to be rescued in this 12th Tarzan novel is Erich von Harben, the son of a German medical missionary who is one of the Ape Man's old friends. Tarzan tracks Erich to a lost valley where he discovers the Roman outposts. Castra Sanguinarius is ruled by Sublatus, the cruel Emperor of the West, while Castrum Mare is ruled by the tyrant Validus Augustus, the Emperor of the East. Of course Tarzan ends up in the arena of Castra Sanguinarius fighting for his life, while young Erich faces a similar fate in the arena of Castrum Mare. the ape-man was seeking to rescue him. This is standard ERB fare but the idea that all Roman outposts set up despotic emperors is laying it on a bit thick. Still, there are a few noble Romans running around for Tarzan to bond with during this adventure.

Burroughs did write a few historical adventures along with those set on exotic worlds or lost lands, so it would have been interesting to see him do a tale set in Ancient Rome, but this was as close as he got. As always with these pot-boilers, the principle is that the less of them you have read the more likely you are to be impressed by this one (and visa versa).

Normally, I am a big fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs, having read more than 70 of his books. But I was unable to read more than 20 pages at a sitting of "The War Chief". I found this poor man's "Romeo and Juliet" difficult because of all the hyphenated Apache words. Burroughs' tongue in cheek defense of the "noble savage" was an interesting theme throughout, but the main story line was not enough to keep my interest.

If you are a devout fan of ERB then buy the book, by all means. But, if you are sampling Burroughs for the first time, you are better off with one of the Tarzan or John Carter stories.

The War Chief IS a great western novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs (the creator of Tarzan). ERB only wrote 4 westerns. However, be aware that the first edition was by A.C. McClurg in 1927. All Grosset & Dunlap editions of Burroughs are reprints.

Much as J. R. R. Tolkien and others, Edgar Rice Burroughs, popular purveyor of pulp fiction, had "lost" tales. I like to read ERB, but this is not the Mars books or even the best of the Tarzan books. This volume contains two unrelated stories, but are illustrative of second string ERB. "The Wizard of Venus" continues the saga of Wrong Way Carson, who set out for Mars and found Venus instead. I agree with ERB biographer Richard A. Lupoff, the story has merit as an easy introduction to the Venus series. If you dont't like it, you don't have to bother reading any of the other four volumes. "Pirate Blood" is a foray into 20th Century pirate-adventure land. Even for pulp fiction, this tale relies way too much on ERB's love of fantastic coincidence. Through several wild circumstantial developments, a California motorcycle cop, who is also a descendant of Jean Lafitte, joins modern pirates raiding in the Pacific. Both stories were found among ERB's writings after his death. They could be first drafts that await revision. ERB fans should be happy with the results. ;-)

"The Wizard of Venus" was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1941 but was not published until 1964, having spent a couple of decades in a safe. This became the fifth and final story in the Carson of Venus series, although it is clearly intended to be the first in a series of connected novellas, which was what ERB did in "Escape on Venus." Carson Napier took off in a rocket ship from Earth intended to go to Mars, but he forgot to account for the gravitational affects of the Moon and ended up on Venus. There he became entangled with the beautiful Duare, who did not give him the time of day for the first three stories, which was a moot point because usually they were separated by circumstances. The standard Burroughs formula, where the hero's beloved is captured and he has to fight his way across an alien landscape to rescue her, was less evident in these final ERB novels, although it is difficult to say whether it was World War II or the author's declining health that took most of the wind out of his sails.

Once again using telepathy to pass his story on to ERB, Carson tells of an adventure with Duare and their friend Ero Shan. They first meet in Havatoo when Carson built his first anotar (the first airplane on Venus), and later when prisoners in Voo-ad. Now Carson is experimenting with a more advanced anotar and when the two friends take it out for a test flight, they have a few problems. Landing in a strange and beautiful land, they are accused of being wizards by the inhabitants of the local castle, who are worried about somebody called Morgas. Once he shows up, the fun begins in earnest. Again, these Venus books show more tongue in cheek humor than we usually find in Burroughs (Carson and Ero Shan take to calling each other Sir Galahad and Sir Gawain at one point), and overall represent the best work ERB did in his final years.

"Pirate Blood" was another ERB novella found in that same safe, although it was apparently written back in 1932. The hero is Johnny LaFitte, who is descended from the infamous Jean LaFitte. The story returns to one of ERB's favorite themes, heredity versus environment, and his belief that it you do not have the right environment a "bad seed" will indeed go bad. This is a very atypical Burroughs novel, filled with cold blooded murders, violent rapes, and suicide. There is even an illegitimate pregnancy between Johnny and his gal as ERB really lays on the morality play. Clearly the only reason that "Pirate Blood" was published with "The Wizard of Venus" was because they were found in that safe together. These stories have nothing in common and "Pirate Blood" really reads like a first draft that ERB just never went back and revised. The last Venus story is the attraction here, and the other a minor curiosity.

To the many Witnesses on this site I want to ask: Does the Watchtower know that you are surfing the web? You are not allowed to read anything but approved Watchtower literature. What are you doing on Amazon looking at Satanic books?

I just wanted to ask the "Jehovah's Witnesses" who made commments on this website, if the "Elders" (or head church members -for those people who do not know the term) knew that they had read this book. From what I know as a former Jehovah's Witness, a true Jehovah's Witness cannot read books like this one because the group considers this type of book as "apostate material" that is unfit for a true Christian to read. Any Jehovah's Witness that did read the book is actually going against the church and could be severely punished for doing so.

My point is, do not make any judgements on this book without actually reading it first and try to look at it with an 'unbaised' attitude. If a person cannot seperate their strong feelings one way or the other toward the group, I do not believe they are able to give a 'unbiased' opinion on how beneficial or non-beneficial this book really is.

Hi I just would like to say that this is a terrible description of the witnesses. We believe that jesus died for all of us, and even in king james it tells you god's name is Jehovah. Psalms83:18, not to mention 3 other places. We believe the "soul" passes away, read Ezek. 18:4,and read psalms 146:4,and there will be a resurrection of the dead,read john 5:28, and Isaiah 26: 19-21."Blessed are the meek, for they shall INHERIT the earth" matt.5:5 WE all are commanded from jesus to go preach the good news, that's why we do it, out of love.

I've found this book to be very helpful in my study of the Watchtower organization. A great read for those who are may have encountered a Jehovah's Witness for the first time or are unfaimliar with the religion, as it offers a brief history of the organization,and analyzes many of their doctrines. As you may have noticed, all the negative reveiws of this book offer no real supporting evidence for their claims of the book being "distorted, inaccurate regurgitations of half truths". I DID go to the JW"s for the "facts", and almost became a member of a local congregation. Praise the Lord Jesus for keeping from making the biggest mistake of my life. This book is a welcome addition to any Christian's library.

I was amazed at how John Ankerberg compiled a list of what well-known and respected Greek scholars had to say after reviewing The New World Translation. Christian and non-Christian scholars alike said it was full of mistranslations. It will break your heart to read how this organization has lied and deceived so many sincere people.

John Ankerberg, John Weldon, Dillon Burroughs
Harvest House Publishers, 2008
ISBN: 9780736922180
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com, 10/08
5 stars
Enlightening...
The Facts On Islam was written for Christians to assist them in understanding Islam. It should be pointed out that it is written from a Christian point of view. Christians tend to be ignorant when it comes to other religions. For Christians to minister and evangelize to the world, we must come to understand their beliefs. The authors successfully prove that our Lord and Allah are not the same. The Facts On Islam is a small book, and, of course, it cannot cover every aspect of Islam; however as an overview, this book is enlightening.

This book says it like it is and that's why Muslims are afraid...its the truth. Muslims keep on saying their religion is growing in the west and that there are 8 million muslims in the U.S. another lie many studies have been done to prove there are no more 2.5 million muslims in the U.S.

The truth sometimes hurts, anyone looking to learn the truth about what Islam is about should read this book.

I think this was an excellent resource for Christians. We have not tackled the issue of Islam very well, but this book is short, concise and to the point. The authors give excellent details on the differences between the God of the Bible and Allah of the Quran and other doctrinal differences between the 2 belief systems.

This book makes it clear why no Christian who truly understands their faith can accept Islam as "the final religion."

Of course, for more in-depth study and review, a more detailed book is needed, but this provides some good starting points for research.

This book is miss-titled because it is focused on arguing details of differences between Islam and Christian beliefs. Only the first of five sections describes Islam, the Quran and the Muslim beliefs. Then four sections argue the differences compared with Christianity. I found the book totally unfair in NOT recognizing glaring similarities and bridges between the two religions that share important common foundations - Abrahamic roots and a Quran that mentions, acknowledges and supports nine key books of the Bible. In Surah 3:48 Allah (El Shaddai) gave to and taught Isa (Jesus) the Tavrat (5 books aka Pentatuch, aka Torah) and the Injils (4 books aka Gospels). AND in Surah 10:94 the Quran specifically tells Muslims that when in doubt, find answers in those (nine) books written before you. Understandings of common foundations and bridges are deliberately ignored, if not turned into arguments which will exacerbate any ill-will and cause non-constructive focus on differences between the beliefs. Instead, the book should encourage truthful understanding. And there is no background provided of Muhammad, the founding prophet. And the author's footnote references include other authors and translators almost exclusively, rarely quoting the Quran directly.
I recommend this book only if you as a Christian are trying to bash Muslims and stir up animosity between the faiths.

In deference to the below muslim... look to Ibn Warraq, who has written many books on the subject. As a former muslim who examined the origins of Islam he has much to say on the subject. Ibn Warraq's books can be found right here on Amazon.com...just do a search and Be convinced! =)

Oh and I have read the pamphlet by Ankerberg...like his other pamphlets on various non-christian religions, he does an excellent job.

I look forward to the day when muslims will be willing to put the quran to the test like they do the bible. What a day of honest examination that will be...

Written by: John Ankerberg, John Weldon, and Dillon Burroughs
Published by: Harvest House
Reviewed by: Stephanie Rollins for ReviewYourBook.com 9/2008
ISBN: 978-0-7369-2219-7
"Insightful" 5 stars
I knew that the history of Halloween started with the Druids. I did not realize the horrible meanings behind the traditions. The history of Halloween is also tied to the idea of purgatory and the Catholic Church.
Learn the meanings behind the costumes, trick-or-treating, and jack o' lanterns. Learn about communicating with spirits, and learn about witches. Mentioned in this book is a teacher who patiently explained, in depth, to her students about not all witches being bad. I hope the parents took their children out of that school. Apparently, witches are more common than I realized.
Many bible references are provided. The question throughout the book is, "As Christians, should we celebrate Halloween?" The authors suggest that we do not. They mention that children will not be hurt because of not celebrating Halloween. They also argue that calling it a "Harvest Festival" is not good enough; we need to do away with it completely.
This year, our children will be hunting for Easter eggs on Halloween. They are excited about it. I recommend you read this book. You may decide to come up with an alternative to Halloween.

After reading the book , just to see what "christians" think of a Pagan Holiday, I find the authors to be very Ill Informed about the "True" Pagan meaning of "Halloween" or better know as "Samhain" it is really too bad that they had to bring evil into it, as we Pagans have no evil intentions on this sacred day. It is when we honor all those who have passed on before us. There is no evil here, only in the minds of the authors. It is too bad "Christians" are fed so much B.S. by the leaders they are suppose to trust the most.As for the Jack`O Lantern lore, it has a history of just lending light and back in the Celtic days, it was never evil. A gourd was carved out ( no faces, only a hole) it was ment to protect the candle from being blown out by the wind. The Christians are the one that gave it a evil meaning, as they have to most Pagan traditions, including Christmas.Please read a book or two from a Pagan history and you will find a very diffrent way of looking at this Holiday. I find the authors to be very Bias... But then again , Most Christian writers are.

Yeah, yeah... the "dread Lord Samhain" myth rears it's ugly head again. There was no god called Samhain or Druidic sacrifices for it. Samhain is a celtic word meaning "end of summer" Halloween started as a Harvest festival. If he can't even get the origins of the holiday right, why bother believing a word of it? Ridiculous.

John Ankerberg and John Weldon tell it like it is in a way that is not intemidating. One can read for themselves the truth about halloween and decide for themselves what they are going to do with it.

Too many times we find books written by Christians that think they're experts on certain topics because they've read the Bible. This has a nice but filtered history of Halloween. Unfortunately, halfway through the book, the authors get sidetracked & start to tackle every subject but Halloween. And then, after trying to prove to the reader that Halloween is evil & should not be participated in by any Christian, they give parents a list of things to keep you child safe if going out trick or treating. Halloween is not evil, & is a fun time of year. Some people just like to ruin it for the rest of us.

If you're looking for a book that explains why Christianity (but not Catholicism) is not just better, but the only path to God, then you'll like this book. But if you're like I was, looking for an unbiased explaination of the world's religions, then don't get this book (the title is misleading). The goal of the book is to compare and contrast Christianity with other religions to prove that Christianity is the only way. It does provide some historical information about the different religions, but the bias is such that you can't completely be sure you're getting the whole picture. It criticizes Islam for leaving portions of the Qur'an out of the current text when several gospels were left out of the Bible (it doesn't mention that). The authors also say that doing yoga may compromise your relationship with God even if you do it only for the health benefits.

It offers many problems with other religions but fails to point out those in Christianity (such as many Bible stories are contradictory). Finally, when it talks about having dialogues with people from other religions, its not really promoting a dialogue but instead provided methods to have conversations to covert others.

I can see that many people would like this book particularly if they want "confirmation" about Christianity. But it wasn't what I expected based on the title and back cover information. I am a Christian but I found this book to be too biased to be fully trusted not just on the information it gave about the other religions but in the information it provided about Christianity as well.

What's the Big Deal About Other Religions provides an introduction to the study of comparative religions through an evangelical Christian lens. Examining Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Wicca, Buddhism, Taosim, Agnosticism, Atheism and other faiths, the authors contrast them with the core doctrines of faith that is based upon the Bible alone, sola scriptura. Not an ecumenical title by any stretch of the imagination, the authors contrast not only widely divergent belief systems such as Shinto and Hinduism with Christianity, but also other Christian-like faiths such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Roman Catholicism. Indeed, the authors coming from a seemingly Calvinistic perspective nearly decry any with Armenian beliefs as following a false gospel.

Each chapter outlines a general overview of the religion being discussed and a comparison chart that clearly condenses the explanation the chapter contained. The chart compares belief in: God, Holy Book, Sin, Jesus Christ and Salvation between the specific religion and the biblical perspective. While this is a very clear-cut way to illustrate differences, I did find the biblical perspective side of the chart repetitive. The answers on that side were the same nearly every time, with some slight changes if specific differences in that area needed to be focused upon.

Due to the wide array of religions explored, each chapter covers only the major points and differences. A scholarly examination of each faith cannot be provided in a work of this scope, but the amount of detail provided is at times surprising. I have counted myself as an atheist for several years before coming to Christ, but I was never aware of the five major types that atheists fall into. Who would have known there was such rich variety within atheism?

I found What's the Big Deal About Other Religions the most accessible introductory work on comparative religions written for an evangelical audience that I've ever read. I've never read a work on apologetics as rapidly as I did this title. The easy to read writing style allows any reader interested in exploring religious differences to get their toes wet in a short period of time. I can see this book being used widely in Christian churches as the foundation for group studies and to equip evangelists.

The average believer would also do well to take the time to read this work to acquire the basic beliefs of a variety of religions. Since becoming a Christian I've been surprised with the insularity of our faith, how little we know about the world around us. It is vitally important for Christians to know what those unfamiliar with Jesus believe. How difficult it is to reach the world for Christ if we won't come out of our shells. Let me allay your fears - the authors do not make other religions seem appealing, learning about them should not lead a believer to stumble in their walk. Perhaps readers of this book will feel the Lord leading them to pursue further studies in apolgetics, focusing on a specific religious group; enabling them to effectively reach it's adherents with the message of hope to be found in Jesus.

Ankerberg and Burroughs have developed a wonderful writing relationship with their series What's the Big Deal About... In this book they tackle the major world religions discussing the origins, tenets, and holy books, as well as how they view Jesus. This book is a direct rebuttal to the idea that all religions are the same and all will take you to God. Without attacking these beliefs, they explain how they are different from Christianity and how the beliefs are not compatible. Buddhism, Hinduism, Wicca, New Age, Islam, Judaism, and more are all handled. I've read other books in this genre, but this one truly stands out, especially in their description of agnostics and atheists. I had no idea that there were 9 different types of the first and 5 different of the latter. This book is an essential reference guide for churches.

I am a devout Roman Catholic and was deeply saddened when I read the chapter on Roman Catholicism. The author has obviously not researched the actual teachings of the Catholic church. He misrepresents Catholic teaching on a number of issues including the worship of Mary, purgatory, indulgences, salvation by works, and the list goes on. I found errors in every single one of his arguments. If you want to understand the beliefs of the Catholic Church, go straight to a trusted Catholic source written by a Catholic in conformity with Catholic teaching. The best way to know you have a trusted source is to look for the "Nihil Obstat" and "Imprimatur" which is usually on the first page of the book. There are other books that may not have the "Nihil Obstat" and "Imprimatur" that are in line with Catholic teaching, but if you aren't sure, don't take the risk. There are many false works out there that distort the teaching of the Catholic church leading many astray. It would be like having a member of an anti-American group telling people what the United States stands for - not exactly unbiased. I've included a product link to a great book that uses scripture to defend and explain Catholic teaching A Biblical Defense of Catholicism

Given that I know that his explanation of the Catholic faith is false, I know I can't trust his treatment of the other faiths presented either.

Thank you and God Bless You

This book is despicable. It is the worst and most tainted horrible non-fiction book written for Christians that I have ever endured the pain of reading. I do not recommend this book for anyone. It's not even worth the paper it is printed on. When I first found the book, I was so excited and thinking that this would be along the lines of something that would have been of great benefit to me during my schooling where I received my BA in Religious Studies. Boy was I ever wrong! This book is one of ...more This book is despicable. It is the worst and most tainted horrible non-fiction book written for Christians that I have ever endured the pain of reading. I do not recommend this book for anyone. It's not even worth the paper it is printed on. When I first found the book, I was so excited and thinking that this would be along the lines of something that would have been of great benefit to me during my schooling where I received my BA in Religious Studies. Boy was I ever wrong! This book is one of those that twists scriptures and peoples quotes to make it fit whatever point they are trying to make. I am thoroughly disgusted and severely angry at the waste of time and effort that was put into something that could have provided such a blessing. Don't waste your time on the junk that is referred to as a book.

I'm an avid ERB fan who has acquired just about all the Master's published work. That said, I consider myself one Burroughs' most ardent admirers. Unfortunately I found little to admire in Land of Terror. The novel is disjointed and incoherent with little or nothing to redeem it in many places. Probably the worst facet of the book is the fact that Dian the Beautiful is so little onstage. She appears early on then disappears till the next to last page, having miraculously made everything all right offstage. Probably the two best parts of the book come in the sections featuring the Jukans and the Ruvans, but everything else feels like padding. Characters appear and disappear with appalling regularity, leaving the reader no chance to identify with them. The whole plot (such as it is) seems to be a travelogue of unexplored areas of Pellucidar while David Innes stumbles obliviously into trap after trap. (Had Burroughs made Innes' inability to find his way home unaided the linchpin of the book, I'd be less caustic; but that is a minor point only occasionally mentioned.) Why ERB made his character so stupid at critical times rather than carefully plotting their temporary downfall is a mystery to me. Richard Lupoff says it is to give the reader a sense of superiority over the character, but Innes' slowness, inability to return home, and general failure to recover his wife accomplish that well on their own. Turning a man who has forged an empire from nothing into a blithering idiot for the plot's purposes is sheer folly. How I wish Burroughs had written this better. Unfortunately he didn't, but the parts where he really applied himself to the story do shine, though they are far too few.

"The Land of Terror" was the sixth of seven novels in the Pellucidar series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and is rather unique in that it was never published in magazine form having been rejected by all of ERB's publishers. Instead ERB, Inc. published the book in 1944, although clearly there are five "parts" to the novel that would have worked as a magazine serial. The result is one of the most disjointed Burroughs novels and the low point in the Pellucidar series.

In "The Land of Terror" the focus returns to David Innes, who is rather surprised to learn that he has been living in Pellucidar for 36 years, although he still looks like a young man of about 20. In all that time Abner Perry has brought such wonders of civilization as gunpowder and sailing ships, and now he is working on poison gas. The first adventure has Innes being captured by the women of the village of Oog, who have reversed the traditional gender stereotypes. The second takes Innes to the land of the Jukans, where he is captured by this most bizarre race and forced to make mud pies (no idea what point ERB is making with these crazy society, especially when David declares his name is Napoleon Bonaparte). The third deals with the love story between David's companion, Zor, and Zeeto, while David is off trying to rescue Dian the Beautiful (again) and makes friends with a mastodon. The fourth part of the story has David captured by the giant 6-foot long ants. The final story takes place on Ruva, the Floating Island, where, once again, David ends up a slave. The people of Ruva are black and have white slaves, so there is a racial flip that bookends the opening gender flip. The point this time is that the black masters treat their white slaves better than what happened in human history in the outer world.

The lake of a comprehensive narrative and the repetitive capturing of David Innes easily explain why ERB's usual publishers were not interested in this Pellucidar novel, which is the weakest of the series. There are some philosophical sections to "The Land of Terror," where Innes thinks deep thoughts about how 20th century inventions are making human beings so dependent that they are becoming more helpless than their ancestors. But there are also sections where Burroughs gets caught up in describing the animal life of Pellucidar while he comes up with the next place for David Innes to be held captor. Actually, Dina the Beautiful comes out better in her brief appearance in the early part of the story, before she also becomes an unwilling captor.