Dear Mr. Burroughs,
I am a huge fan of your works, and in particular, your Martian Tales. To me, it epitomizes the science fiction genre of writing, and greatly exhibits your skills in the use of language and manipulation of words. What strikes me as the best quality in your book is your description of the different races of Mars or Barsoom as they call it in the book. The yellow men of the north, with their jet black hair and fearsome expressions, the green men, towering sixteen feet tall with four arms and two legs both strike the imagination immediately as vivid and beautiful. But let us not forget the red men of Helium, who are a peaceful scientific race, the black pirates of the moon and the white men who rule the land of the dead. The description of all of these different races really puts the mind to work. Especially since all these races interact with each other at one point or another in the book.
Another thing that I enjoy about this book is the varying landscapes and sceneries of Mars. From the middle part of Mars with a barren red landscape, to the North of Mars, which boasts a lush and vibrant jungle filled with exotic and dangerous animals, as well as the south, with its large, almost seemingly endless oceans and icebergs.
Finally, I would like to comment on your style and imagination. First off, the idea to make a book that takes place on Mars is great, but the style of your writing adds to it by feeding the imagination ideas and pictures of Mars that it wouldn’t dream of imagining. The imagination that goes into this work is very detailed, with your rendering or Martian life and how the planet moves as well as the life on the planet, and even creatures unknown, it all makes the book a great read. The machinery in the book is fantastic. You have taken a foreign world, and added to it, foreign technology that completes the image of a world apart from our own. It has gliders, ships that fly and a machine that keeps the planet alive. Mr. Burroughs, this book is nothing short of a masterpiece of science fiction.
Regards,
Paolo
