Serialized in 1930 and published in book form in 1931, Edgar Rice Burroughs’s A Fighting Man of Mars, the seventh novel in the Barsoom series, follows the young officer Tan Hadron, whose low social rank causes the aristocratic Sanoma Tora to reject his love, only for him to set out across Mars when she is kidnapped. His search leads him through battles with savage beasts, cannibals, and hostile warriors and into conflict with the ruler of Jahar and the brilliant but deranged scientist Phor Tak, while he rescues the courageous and resourceful Tavia, who becomes his closest companion. Still convinced that he loves Sanoma, Hadron gradually discovers through the dangers he shares with Tavia that courage, loyalty, and genuine affection matter more than rank or idealized beauty, transforming both his quest and his understanding of love.
