A Barsoom and NSS Mars Match-Up

by Dylan
(Illinois, Wisconsin)

I've often said that it's a shame more NOSS (New Old Solar System) stories aren't published which incorporate interesting, modern astronomical discoveries into their plots. Admittedly it is a shame more NOSS stories aren't published generally, but I feel that there is a great amount of potential in stories which are, say, set in the frozen wastes of a breathable-yet-still-icy Europa.

What never occurred to me was the possibility of retroactively combining classic portrayals of planets with their real life counterparts. This would obviously be impossible with most stories, but it does seem to work rather well in the case of Mars and Barsoom.

But I'll not take the credit for this idea. I'm unsure if this is allowed, but I feel that the best way to enjoy the genius of this particular literary undertaking is to read it from the fellow who thought it up. Consequently, I now present you with a link to "Geographies of Mars I: Matching Mars and Barsoom, A New Approach" by Den Valdron.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

http://www.erbzine.com/mag14/1419.html

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Mar 17, 2016
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Covering for Burroughs
by: DejahThoris

I think readers are inclined to do things like this, reconcile fact with fiction, because of their love of Burrough's works. It's like the Sherlock Holmes fan club, "The Baker Street Irregulars", used to do. They would confront plot holes in Doyle's stories and think up reasonable explanations for them.

[Comment from Zendexor: This indeed is the ultimate compliment that can be paid to an author: to have his mistakes and inconsistencies become an occasion not for carping but instead for creative excuse-making by the readers. If, as an author, you get to this stage, you've really arrived!]

Mar 17, 2016
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by: Zendexor

An important link. Den Valdron is extremely adept at playing the game of using ERB's texts as serious documents and subjecting them to logical analyses and extrapolations. It's a fun game and, as Dylan points out, peculiarly suited to Barsoom. Philip Jose Farmer did a similar sort of thing with the Tarzan books, in his "biography", "Tarzan Alive".

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