The Master Mind of Mars: Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library / Barsoom Saga 6

Book 6 of the Barsoom Saga - Authorized by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., and Featuring Rare and Previously Unpublished Archival Materials

Transported from the bloody trenches of World War I to the mysterious Red Planet of Barsoom, Captain Ulysses Paxton finds himself indentured in the laboratory scientific genius Ras Thavas. There, under his new name of Vad Varo, the Earthman assists in ghoulish experiments to transfer brains and organs from one living body into another-whether human or otherwise. But when the old and wicked crone Xaxa, Jeddara of Phundahl, exchanges bodies with a young and beautiful maiden named Valla Dia, Vad Varo must revive a motley crew of lab specimens-including a four-armed great white ape with the brain of a man-to escape Ras Thavas' secluded island and correct the heinous wrong . . . or die in the attempt.

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS AUTHORIZED LIBRARY

For the first time ever, the Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library presents the complete literary works of the Master of Adventure in uniform hardcover editions. Published by the company founded by Mr. Burroughs in 1923, each volume of the Authorized Library is packed with extras and rarities not to be found in any other edition. From cover art and frontispieces by legendary artist Joe Jusko to forewords and afterwords by today's authorities and luminaries to a treasure trove of bonus materials mined from the company's extensive archives in Tarzana, California, the Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library will take you on a journey of wonder and imagination you will never forget.

This special edition Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library compilation and all other new material therein copyright 2026 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All Rights Reserved. John Carter, John Carter of Mars, Dejah Thoris, Barsoom, and Edgar Rice Burroughs are registered trademarks of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library is a trademark of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

The creator of the immortal characters Tarzan of the Apes and John Carter of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs is one of the world's most popular authors. His timeless tales of heroes and heroines transport readers from the jungles of Africa and the dead sea bottoms of Barsoom to the miles-high forests of Amtor and the savage inner world of Pellucidar, and even to alien civilizations beyond the farthest star. Mr. Burroughs' books are estimated to have sold hundreds of millions of copies, and they have spawned 60 films and 250 television episodes.

Garyn G. Roberts (1958- ) first encountered the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs in the 1960s in the Burroughs paperbacks illustrated by Roy G. Krenkel and Frank Frazetta. Eight years old at this time, Roberts was reading Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, featuring the tremendous childhood romance and love story of Tom and Becky Thatcher, and one of the most notorious literary villains since Simon LeGree of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin-Injun Joe-and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (tremendous story but certainly NOT a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer-Roberts was crushed), Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, "Victor Appleton's" Tom Swift series (first series 1910-35), "Franklin W. Dixon's" The Hardy Boys, "Jerry West's" The Happy Hollisters series, works of his later personal friend, Ray Bradbury, and Big Little Books, Sunday newspaper comic pages, and comic books. (With a 25-cent-a-week allowance, young Roberts could purchase two 12-cent comics or one 25-cent supersized comic per week). Then, there was the summer of 1970, when at the age eleven he read Hugh Lofting's complete Doctor Dolittle series in first edition hardcovers from the wonderfully gothic and real-life haunted Mabel Tainter Library of Menomonie, Wisconsin. All of this, combined with the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, fueled his love of reading. Burroughs' The Master Mind of Mars has long been one of several of his all-time favorite ERB titles.

Joe Jusko is among today's most acclaimed fantasy, pin-up, and comic artists. His work has been featured on book and comic posters, and on the much-praised 1992 Marvel Masterpieces trading cards. Jusko is a recipient of myriad industry honors, including a Certificate of Merit from the Society of Illustrators and a 2001 Chesley Award nomination. Fittingly, he was born on September 1, sharing his birthday with Edgar Rice Burroughs. Jusko's longtime love of Burroughs' work continues to inspire him in illustrating the Authorized Library and bringing the author's creative vision to life.