The Master Mind of Mars

The Master Mind of Mars introduces us to Ulysses Paxton, a World War One officer. After being fatally wounded on the battlefield he found himself transported to Mars much as John Carter was.

He arrives in the country of Toonol and becomes the guest/prisoner of Ras Thavas, the nominal “Master Mind.” Ras Thavas works at embalming, surgery, and brain-switching in his laboratories, and Paxton serves as his assistant. Paxton has fallen in love with Valla Dia, one of Ras' young victims, whose body has been swapped for that of the Xaxa, Jeddara (empress) of Phundahl. He refuses to operate on Ras until his mentor promises to restore her to her rightful body.

Paxton is a good variant on Carter. He's heroic but without Carter’s huge ego. He never shows the same level of martial prowess, and offers almost no action at all until the halfway point. Ulysses Paxton is no John Carter he is still a worthy hero stand among the pantheon of Burroughs creations.

These novels are pulpy adventures in outer space, and despite his failings in terms of narrative and his very dated politics, Burroughs is still a compelling author. ( )

Another earthman makes it to Mars where he becomes involved in organ transplants that include brains. He falls for one of the girls and seeks to get her body back. Although written in the 20's, there is an interesting reference to wireless telephones and cameras. ( )

This is pure escapist SCI FI at its best. Brain Transplants done as routinely as a someone having their tonsils removed. Great story. It is predictable but still makes you go "WHAT?" at the end. ( )

A new Earthman goes to Mars and learns how to swap peoples' brains.

2/4 (Indifferent).

I have no real sense of who most of the characters are, including the protagonist. And the action doesn't start until halfway through the book. The brain-swapping is amusingly ridiculous, but there's not really anything else to the book. ( )

The hero of this story is an American World War 1 soldier, Ulysses Paxton, who finds himself on Barsoom and encounters the ":master mind" a classic pulp mad scientist named Ras Thavas, who is not consciously evil but entirely cold-blooded in his search for knowledge. Ultimately Ulysses settles down and marries a Martian lady he considers even more lovely than John Carter's Dejah Thoris. ( )