Pellucidar?

[monk]

I've gotten my hands on some burroughs stories that I was ignorant of until now. Trouble is, they appear to be stories from the middle of the mars and pellucidar series'. Must one read these series' in order, or are they merely separate stories in the same settings?

(I have thuvia, maid of mars and pellucidar, among others)

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Finarvyn]

First of all, I love Edgar Rice Burroughs. Sometimes his stories are a little predictable (the hero just can't see something and you're screaming at him to see it) and often they seem similar (how many times can the same character go out to rescue the princess?) but they are great action stories and very clever overall. His worlds are vivid and imaginitve. Both books should be a lot of fun, and in general his situations aren't so complex so that you'd be too lost if you jumped in somewhere in the middle.

Mars and Barsoon are the same thing. The first three books probably should be read together as they have certain cliffhanger elements, but Thuvia, Maid of Mars is one that can be read pretty much anywhere.

Pellucidar is Burroughs' "Hollow Earth" series and it's been a long time since I've read those, but I think that Pellucidar should be fine to read by itself.
1.At the Earth's Core (1914)
2.Pellucidar (1915)
3.Tanar of Pellucidar (1929)
4.Tarzan at the Earth's Core (1929)
5.Back to the Stone Age (1937)
6.Land of Terror (1944)
7.Savage Pellucidar (1963)

If you want to read the others, many of them are found in Project Gutenburg and are linked to here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Rice_Burroughs

[bluskreem]

I think Fin is right on here. Pellucidar is a fine read with out out prior knowledge. I'd also recommend checking out John Holme's "Mahars of Pellucidar." His unpublished sequel "Red Axe of Pellucidar" can be found floating around the internet, but Mahars is far superior, and stands alone pretty well.

[monk]

Thanks guys. That works out well because I found that I have the first few Mars novels already, but none of the Hollow Earth series. Looks like I'm in good shape!

[coffee]

If you can't find the rest of the Hollow Earth series on Project Gutenberg, check elsewhere on line; the earlier ones are in the public domain.

But yeah, you should be able to jump in in the middle of that one (or any, really -- there's rarely anything you NEED to know going in.)