The Chessmen of Mars
Fifth Barsoom novel featuring Tara of Helium and living chess.
The Chessmen of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American author Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fifth book in his Barsoom series. Burroughs started writing the story in January 1921, and it first appeared as a six-part serial in *Argosy All-Story Weekly*, running in the issues dated February 18 and 25 and March 4, 11, 18, and 25, 1922. A complete novel edition was released by A. C. McClurg in November 1922.
The plot centers on Tara, princess of Helium and daughter of John Carter and Dejah Thoris, whose hand is sought by Gahan, the prince of Gathol. Tara initially dismisses Gahan as a vain popinjay. Later, she loses control of her flier in a storm and is carried to an unfamiliar region of Barsoom. After landing and escaping a pack of banths, she is captured by the Kaldanes, creatures that resemble large heads with small, crab-like legs. The Kaldanes have bred a symbiotic race of headless, human-like beings called rykors, which they ride like horses. The Kaldanes imprison Tara, planning to fatten and eat her. While captive, she wins over a Kaldane named Ghek with her singing.
Gahan, in love with Tara, sets out to find her. He is caught in the same storm and falls overboard while trying to rescue a crew member. He stumbles into Bantoom, the Kaldanes’ realm, rescues Tara, and flees with her and Ghek in her damaged flier. Tara does not recognize Gahan, now worn and without his fine clothes, so he conceals his identity, calling himself Turan, a mercenary. The three reach the isolated city of Manator. Gahan enters the city seeking supplies but is tricked and captured; Tara and Ghek are also taken. In Manator, prisoners are forced to fight to the death in an arena, playing a live version of jetan, a Martian board game resembling chess, where each captured piece results in a duel to the death.
Burroughs wrote the novel from January 7 to November 12, 1921. He created a worksheet with 70 entries for architecture, locations, equipment, and geography. His most notable invention was jetan, played with living people in Manator. A keen chess player, Burroughs crafted the game of jetan to reflect his own love of chess. As in earlier Barsoom novels, he presented himself as John Carter’s nephew, entrusted with Carter’s manuscript.
The novel is a planetary romance, a subset of science fiction similar to swo
- author
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
- published
- Serialized in Argosy All-Story Weekly in February–March 1922; novel form by A. C. McClurg in November 1922
- series
- Barsoom series, fifth book
- genre
- Planetary romance (sword and planet)
- setting
- Mars (Barsoom)
- protagonist
- Tara of Helium
Quick Facts
- Author
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Series
- Barsoom
- Genre
- Science fantasy
- Publisher
- A. C. McClurg
- Release Date
- 1922
- Media Type
- Print (Hardback & Paperback)
- Pages
- 375
- Preceded By
- Thuvia, Maid of Mars
- Followed By
- The Master Mind of Mars
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Burroughs began writing The Chessmen of Mars in January 1921, completing it by November 12 of that year. The story was first published as a six-part serial in Argosy All-Story Weekly in February and March 1922, and later as a complete novel by A. C. McClurg in November 1922. Burroughs, a keen chess player, created the game of jetan, a Martian version of chess played with living people in the city of Manator.
The novel introduces the Kaldanes, horrific creatures resembling large heads with small, crab-like legs, who have bred a symbiotic race of headless human-like creatures called rykors.
Reader's Guide
The Chessmen of Mars is significant as the fifth entry in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series, continuing the planetary romance tradition that influenced later science fiction and fantasy. The novel's depiction of jetan, a live-action chess game with human pieces, is a notable imaginative creation that reflects Burroughs' own interest in chess. The Kaldanes and rykors represent a unique exploration of the relationship between intellect and physical form, a theme Burroughs revisited from earlier works. The novel's setting on a dying Mars, inspired by Percival Lowell's theories of canals and a thinning atmosphere, contributed to the popular image of Mars as an ancient, warlike world. While Burroughs is often seen as a writer of limited philosophical depth, The Chessmen of Mars offers a critique of excessive intellectualism through its portrayal of the Kaldanes. The novel remains a classic of the sword and planet subgenre, influencing later works that blend science fiction with adventure and romance.
Did You Know?
- Burroughs began writing The Chessmen of Mars in January 1921 and finished on November 12, 1921.
- The novel was first published as a six-part serial in Argosy All-Story Weekly in February and March 1922.
- Burroughs created a worksheet with 70 entries for architecture, locations, equipment, and geographical details while writing the novel.
- The Kaldanes are mostly brain, with six spiderlike legs and a pair of chelae, and they ride headless rykors.
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