Books like The Gods of Mars

The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs reads as adventurous, thrilling. These 12 books share its genome — matched by how they actually read, not just their shelf label.

What The Gods of Mars is like to read

A pulp-planetary-romance adventure: John Carter crash-lands back on Mars into a lethal 'Eden' and fights his way through, driven by the search for his lost love. Episodic peril and swordplay carry the book more than interiority. Best for: readers who want early-20th-century pulp adventure with sword-and-planet stakes.

A Princess of Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs · 1912

A propulsive planetary-romance adventure narrated in earnest, slightly archaic first person — swordfights, alien vistas, and a chivalric love story delivered with breathless forward momentum.

guaranteed HEAmildly eerie

Tarzan of the Apes

Edgar Rice Burroughs · 1912

A sweep of jungle adventure that races from feral survival to a first-encounter romance, promising exotic locales, fights with great predators, and wish-fulfillment mastery of the wild.

mildly eeriedeep cut

Conan

Robert E. Howard · 1967

A collection of episodic sword-and-sorcery adventures pulled from pulp origins, each story a self-contained clash of barbarian brawn and dark magic.

complete storydeep cut

Legend

David A. Gemmell · 1984

A gritty siege-and-vengeance epic centered on an aging warrior forced back into violence, blending brutal battle scenes with a surprisingly tender inner struggle.

mildly eeriedeep cut

Under the Andes

Rex Stout · 1984

Shares the quest thread

Allan Quatermain

H. Rider Haggard · 1887

A Victorian-era trek through unexplored Africa toward a hidden kingdom, full of danger, discovery, and the camaraderie of seasoned adventurers.

complete storydeep cut

Michael Strogoff

Jules Verne · 1874

A propulsive imperial adventure following a courier's desperate race across Russian territory under espionage threat, balancing technical precision with high-stakes survival and duty.

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Stan Lee presents the complete Marvel Conan the Barbarian

Roy Thomas · 1978

Shares the quest thread

Salamandastron

Brian Jacques · 1992

A braided quest adventure with anthropomorphic heroes, converging storylines, and a clear good-vs-evil moral frame culminating in a large-scale siege battle.

mildly eerieYAcomplete story

Nomads of Gor

John Norman · 1969

A brutal survival narrative following Tarl Cabot through Gor's warring factions and hostile social hierarchies, maintaining the series' dark, high-stakes tone without relief.

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