Barsoom Saga Volume 6 The Master Mind of Mars

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 of 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 beautiful young 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!

Written by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the mid‑1920s and first published in 1927, The Mastermind of Mars was originally rejected by several magazines or the era because of its satirical jabs at religion, politics, and medical ethics. It chronologically follows The Chessmen of Mars and precedes A Fighting Man of Mars and is one of the few Barsoom novels not told from the perspective of John Carter.

This new edition features cover art and a frontispiece by Joe Jusko, as well as a foreword by writer Garyn G. Roberts and an afterword by leading Burroughs scholar, Henry G. Franke III. Includes rare images and bonus materials from the official Burroughs Archives.