Vera

How awesome are the green women of Mars? Engineers, trauma surgeons, armorers, blacksmiths, teachers and more. What are the green men of Mars? Naked dudes with weapons. How does John Carter win the people's ovation and fame forever on Barsoom? Cuddles, people. He wins it with cuddles and kindness. Were he just a guy from a planet with higher gravity, he would still win the fights he fought and won, but he would not have won the affection and loyalty of Woola, his faithful toothy hound, and the thoats, and he would not have Sola and Dejah Thoris as his allies, all key at various points to his survival on Mars.Mars needs cuddles, my friends. Mars needs cuddles.I love this book. It is vibrant and silly and earnest and purportedly about manly business but every page is about the awesomeness of the ladies. Ok, sure, Dejah Thoris could do a bit more rescuing of herself and a bit less swanning about being sternly princessly and stiff upper lipped. She does save the day once, I suppose. I'd like to see more of her being awesome in subsequent books. My major complaint is being robbed of the reunion of Sola and Tars Tarkas. Books and books about Sola would be very fine indeed. In an epic display of juvenile behaviour, I found myself giggling every time I remembered that all the characters were naked but for jewellery and weapons. I find it hilarious that all the cover illustrations are over-dressing!