Conference noted::sf

Oooh boy, that would be a long list!  It's been a long time and 
my memory is mixing them up as I go, so some of them are:
Wait, I forgot the Web!  The Future Fantasy Bookstore comes to the
rescue!  Here's a bunch:

 Burroughs, Edgar R John Carter of Mars
                    Warlord of Mars
                    Chessmen of Mars
	            Fighting Men of Mars
                    Gods of Mars
                    Mastermind of Mars
	            Swords of Mars
                    Thuvia, Maid of Mars
                    Synthetic Men of Mars

Hmmm, wasn't there a A Princess of Mars too? 
These were all the ones that had "Mars" in the title, which usually
indicates a John Carter novel.  I've read a lot of these and they
tend to fall loosely into a swords and sorcery category, though the
sorcery stuff might be seen to be bad science ;-)  Fun reads though.

PeterT

    I am not familiar with the John Carter books, but I own a
    music CD entitled "John Carter Song Book" by Sten Hansson
    (I think). This CD features some rather strange music, some
    of which is intended to illustrate a game of Mars-style chess.
    
    If you're interested, I can probably find the CD, wherever I
    may have put it, and give you more details.
    
    

    
    A PRINCESS OF MARS (#1)
    THE GODS OF MARS (#2)
    THE WARLORD OF MARS (#3)
    THUVIA, MAID OF MARS (#4)
    THE CHESSMEN OF MARS (#5)
    THE MASTER MIND OF MARS (#6)
    A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS (#7)
    SWORDS OF MARS (#8)
    SYNTHETIC MEN OF MARS (#9)
    LLANA OF GATHOL (#10)
    JOHN CARTER OF MARS (#11)
    

    
    	What no interest in CARSON of VENUS. Lesser known
    	but good when you get your teeth into it. At least
    	it is a bit more realistic in the personalities.
    
    	It was a shame the ERB passed on before he could
    	continue the MARTIAN series as he obviously planned.
    
    	No spoilers just read the series. However when reading
    	it remember that CLARKE, ASIMOV, HEINLEIN and the majority
    	of current writers grew up with these novels stirring their 
    	imaginations. 
    
    							Mike N.

I read most of Burroughs' SF in my late teens, which is probably about the
right time.  I can't second the recommendation of Carson of Venus, which
I didn't enjoy as much as I did John Carter, but YMMV.

The main thing is not to pick these up with the idea that you're going to
be reading what we now think of as science fiction.  These are adventure
stories in an imagined setting that Burroughs chose to call Mars.  If you
enjoy stories about a hero with a sword in his hand fighting off beasts
and baddies to protect the scantily clad but chaste body of his sweetie,
you'll like these books.

With regard to his influence on later writers, my recollection is that
Asimov and Clarke have both mentioned Hugo Gernsback as an inspiration
rather than ERB.  One notable who *has* specifically mentioned the John
Carter books as a formative experience is Carl Sagan, which might explain
in part the Planetary Society's (IMO) excessive emphasis on manned explor-
ation of and the search for life on Mars.

Steve

> With regard to his influence on later writers, my recollection is that
> Asimov and Clarke have both mentioned Hugo Gernsback as an inspiration
> rather than ERB.  

Gernsback, as a publisher and editor, was in a position to create the genre
we know as "sciece fiction."  And he did, though I recall reading that he
tried to use the term "scientifiction" from the merger of "scientific
                                                                  |||
                                                                  fiction."
John Campbell would get the same reverence.

- tom]

>Gernsback, as a publisher and editor, was in a position to create the genre
>we know as "sciece fiction."  And he did, though I recall reading that he
>tried to use the term "scientifiction" from the merger of "scientific
>                                                                  |||
>                                                                  fiction."

Right.  The term was still (barely) in circulation when I first started
reading SF in the early fifties.

>John Campbell would get the same reverence.

Yes, indeed, as perhaps the most important of the founders of modern SF,
regrettably tempered by the memory of his advocacy for all manner of
pseudoscientific nonsense, such as the Dean machine and scientology,
which did a great disservice to the field and even to society at large.

Steve

    Thanks a lot, 
    I will start looking for the titles.
    
    
    With kind regards,
    
    		Wafing Lin