The Gods of Mars

The Gods of Mars is a 1918 Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel. Throughout his novels, Burroughs uses the classic device of a fictional Foreword or Preface that suggests that the contents of the following story reflect true events. While the novel is an example of science fiction, it is most closely related to the planetary romance genre. The genre is similar to sword and sorcery, but includes scientific aspects. Planetary romances mostly take place on the surface of an alien world, frequently include sword fighting, monsters, supernatural elements such as telepathic abilities and civilizations similar to Earth in pre-technological eras, particularly with the inclusion of kingdoms, empires or religious societies. Burroughs vision of Mars inspired by astronomical speculation of the time, that the planet was a formerly Earthlike world now becoming less hospitable to life due to its advanced age, whose inhabitants had built canals to bring water from the polar caps to irrigate the remaining arable land.