Red Rising Fans Need To Pick Up This Classic Sci-Fi Series That Inspired A Disney Cult Classic

Published Sep 10, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT

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Fans of Pierce Brown's Red Rising series looking for another science-fiction saga filled with warfare, political intrigue, dangerous journeys, and larger-than-life heroes should look much further back. Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series helped establish many ideas that modern planetary science fiction and science fantasy still uses, while also inspiring one of Disney's strangest cult classics, John Carter.

The first Barsoom novel, A Princess of Mars, arrived in 1912, introducing readers to John Carter, a Confederate veteran mysteriously transported from Earth to Mars. Across 11 novels, Burroughs built a civilization involving rival kingdoms, alien races, ancient secrets, and brutal conflicts. For Red Rising readers, the series offers an entertaining look at the foundations of modern space adventure.

A Princess Of Mars Started It All

A Princess of Mars begins when John Carter finds himself transported to Mars, which Burroughs calls Barsoom. The planet is home to several civilizations, including the four-armed Green Martians and the more humanoid Red Martians. Carter's unusual strength and combat ability immediately make him valuable in a world where survival often depends upon violence.

The story also introduces Dejah Thoris, a Red Martian princess who becomes central to Carter's adventures. Their relationship unfolds alongside political struggles involving Helium and the rival city-state of Zodanga. That combination of romance, military conflict, and competing powers gives the story a surprisingly recognizable appeal for readers accustomed to Red Rising's mixture of personal relationships and interplanetary politics.

Rather than presenting Mars as a simple backdrop, Burroughs creates a society shaped by its dying planet. Barsoom's canals, ancient cities, scarce resources, and competing cultures make the setting feel politically significant. Those details will be very interesting for Red Rising fans because Brown similarly treats societies, class divisions, and strategic resources as forces that shape individual characters.

The Barsoom Saga Becomes Much Larger

Custom Image by Yailin Chacon

Burroughs continued John's adventures with The Gods of Mars in 1918 and The Warlord of Mars in 1919. Those books expand Barsoom's lore while escalating the dangers surrounding Carter and Dejah Thoris. The series eventually moves beyond Carter, allowing other characters to carry the story forward as Burroughs keeps enlarging his fictional history.

The complete Barsoom sequence contains 11 novels published between 1912 and 1964, with the final installment, Llana of Gathol, appearing decades after the first book. The changing narrators and generations give the saga a broader scope than someone might expect from its opening adventure. It becomes less about one hero and more about an entire world.

That expanding perspective makes Barsoom an intriguing companion to Red Rising. Brown's saga moves from Darrow's personal rebellion toward enormous conflicts involving multiple factions and worlds. Burroughs follows a similarly widening approach, gradually turning an adventure about John Carter into a sprawling science-fiction mythology filled with kingdoms, warriors, inventions, creatures, and long-running rivalries.

Disney's John Carter Has Cult Status For A Reason

Modern audiences may recognize Barsoom because of Disney's 2012 film John Carter, directed by Andrew Stanton. The movie adapted elements primarily from A Princess of Mars and starred Taylor Kitsch as Carter, Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris, and Willem Dafoe as the Green Martian Tars Tarkas. Although its theatrical reception was disappointing, the movie developed an affectionate cult following afterward.

One reason the movie is still interesting is how much spectacular science-fiction imagery it traces back to Burroughs' early-20th-century imagination. The towering Green Martians, airborne vessels, elaborate cities, and sword fights were already part of the literary world long before modern blockbuster science fiction. Reading A Princess of Mars reveals just how early many familiar genre concepts appeared.

For Red Rising fans, Barsoom is worth exploring because it offers more than historical curiosity. Its mixture of political factions, brutal battles, romance, strange civilizations, and ambitious worldbuilding provides a direct connection to the adventurous spirit that defines so much modern science fiction. Starting with A Princess of Mars is an easy way to experience the source material behind a Disney cult classic while discovering one of the genre's foundational sagas.

Barsoom