A review by dmcke013
The Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

3.0

The fifth of Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom series of books, this is a return to form after the somewhat disappointing Thuvia, Maid of Mars

I think a large part of the reason for that is because (I have heard) that previous installment was written in installments, which shows throughout the story. I don't know if this one was or not, but it does seem to 'flow' better.

Like Thuvia, neither John Carter himself nor his son Carthoris are the central characters: rather, it is his daughter Tara who is one of the key characters. like the very first book(s), this is book-ended as Edgar Rice Burrough's recounting the tale told to him by John Carter, who only has a minor role in this story, both at the beginning and end.

There's no denying that it does follow the same plot arc as many of the previous books which, one could argue, might show a lack of imagination. However, if it's not broke, don't fix it!