--- title: "The Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs — Classic Ebook | Public…" description: "Read a free sample of The Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs at Publica Now — a public-domain classic ebook, readable online." canonical: "https://publica.now/creators/vito/works/the-chessmen-of-mars" --- Literary # The Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs [ V Vito ](https://publica.now/creators/vito) Follow $1.99 [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Fthe-chessmen-of-mars) Secure payment on Stripe. publica.now never sees your card. Share Link copied Format epub Published May 02, 2026 Rating No reviews yet ![The Chessmen of Mars](https://fls-a13cb2d7-1b3e-4883-a0bd-297afd110a11.367be3a2035528943240074d0096e0cd.r2.cloudflarestorage.com/works/01kqn18v3r9wv4ewf91s7e7ya1/cover.png?X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=d29ce3bb571c165c97a702f29f7aee93%2F20261016%2Fauto%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261016T025429Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Signature=03cf2afa3999fd5947c950ec843a03d5d29365a863ff1b774ad6d0d96fd3886c) ## About this work The Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs — a public-domain edition published by publica.now. Sample ## Take a look inside THE CHESSMEN OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs CONTENTS PRELUDE John Carter Comes to Earth I Tara in a Tantrum II At the Gale's Mercy III The Headless Humans IV Captured V The Perfect Brain VI In the Toils of Horror VII A Repellent Sight VIII Close Work IX Adrift Over Strange Regions X Entrapped XI The Choice of Tara XII Ghek Plays Pranks XIII A Desperate Deed XIV At Ghek's Command XV The Old Man of the Pits XVI Another Change of Name XVII A Play to the Death XVIII A Task for Loyalty XIX The Menace of the Dead XX The Charge of Cowardice XXI A Risk for Love XXII At the Moment of Marriage THE CHESSMEN OF MARS PRELUDE JOHN CARTER COMES TO EARTH Shea had just beaten me at chess, as usual, and, also as usual, I had gleaned what questionable satisfaction I might by twitting him with this indication of failing mentality by calling his attention for the nth time to that theory, propounded by certain scientists, which is based upon the assertion that phenomenal chess players are always found to be from the ranks of children under twelve, adults over seventy-two or the mentally defective—a theory that is lightly ignored upon those rare occasions that I win. Shea had gone to bed and I should have followed suit, for we are always in the saddle here before sunrise; but instead I sat there before the chess table in the library, idly blowing smoke at the dishonored head of my defeated king. While thus profitably employed I heard the east door of the living-room open and someone enter. I thought it was Shea returning to speak with me on some matter of tomorrow's work; but when I raised my eyes to the doorway that connects… [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Fthe-chessmen-of-mars) The sample continues in the full work. [ #classic ](/search?query=classic) [ #public-domain ](/search?query=public-domain) [ #library ](/search?query=library) ## Reviews No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts. [Sign in to leave a review](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcreators%2Fvito%2Fworks%2Fthe-chessmen-of-mars) No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts. 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