Martian #1 - A Princess Of Mars

Synopsis

Ex–Confederate cavalryman John Carter is mysteriously transported from an Arizona cave to Mars (Barsoom), where the lower gravity grants him superhuman strength and leaping ability. Captured by the warlike Tharks—towering green Martians—Carter earns the respect of chieftain Tars Tarkas. He soon meets Dejah Thoris, the brilliant and courageous princess of Helium, a Red Martian city-state, and vows to protect her.

As Carter learns Barsoomian customs and politics, he’s drawn into a conflict with Helium’s rival Zodanga and its prince Sab Than. Through feats of arms and unlikely alliances (notably between Tharks and Helium), Carter helps topple Zodanga’s dominance, wins Dejah Thoris’s heart, and secures a fragile peace.

Just as happiness seems assured, catastrophe strikes: Barsoom’s atmosphere plant—vital to the planet’s survival—fails. Carter risks everything to restart it, saving the world but being flung back to Earth. The novel ends on a poignant cliffhanger, with Carter longing to return to Dejah Thoris and Barsoom.