Swords of Mars / Synthetic Men of Mars

In Swords of Mars: John Carter, determined to stamp out the practice of assassination on Mars, travels to the city where the dreaded assassins' guild has its headquarters. There he encounters the brilliant and evil inventor Fal Sivas, who has created a ship which for the first time can leave the planet to visit the moons of Mars. And there John Carter learns that Ur Jan, the insidious leader of the assassins has abducted the incomparable princess Dejah Thoris...In Synthetic Men of Mars, John Carter sets out to find Ras Thavas, the only man on the planet able to heal the broken body of his beloved wife. In his way stand miles of perilous terrain, an army of sword-wielding zombies, and a horde of giant birds protecting the doctor's hidden kingdom. Carter braves all these dangers before he finally finds Ras Thavas-only to discover that the scientist is trapped by a horror he himself created: a growing, indestructible tissue which threatens to engulf the secret city and eventually the entire planet.Book club edition