In anticipation of the new film John Carter which will be opening across the UK in early March 2012 [A Film Night event is listed here], lets use the 5th Monday of January to squeeze in a discussion of the books that form the basis of the film A Princess of Mars.
A Princess of Mars is a science fiction novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. It is also Burroughs’ first novel, pre-dating his famous Tarzan series. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the novel is considered a classic example of 20th century pulp fiction. It is also a seminal instance of the planetary romance, a genre that became highly popular in the decades following its publication. Its early chapters also contain elements of the Western. The story is set on Mars, imagined as a dying planet with a harsh desert environment. This vision of Mars was based on the work of the astronomer Percival Lowell, whose ideas were widely popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Barsoom series inspired a number of well-known 20th century science fiction writers, including Ray Bradbury, John Norman, and Arthur C. Clarke, and was also inspirational for many scientists in the fields of space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life, including Carl Sagan, who read A Princess of Mars as a child.
A Princess of Mars is out of Copyright in the United Kingdom and can be downloaded for FREE at Project Gutenburg!!!
The Plan
As this is an extra meeting we are going somewhere a little different. Just south of London Bridge station is a rabbits warren of streets that are almost all offices and old warehouse space but nestled amongst all this is a fantastic pub called The Miller (http://www.themiller.co.uk). It’s normally a real oasis of craziness but will be VERY quiet on a Sunday afternoon.