Dejah Thoris: Winter's End by Dan Abnett

 

From the Back Cover

Dejah Thoris has saved her world from the catastrophic End Winter. Now she must help rebuild Barsoom to its former greatness! But certain factions see benefit in keeping Barsoom cold and dark. Dejah will need help, and she may find it in the return of her true love…JOHN CARTER!

Dejah Thoris: Winter's End by Dan Abnett

Available at Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Dejah-Thoris-Winters-One-Shot-2019-ebook/dp/B08SWKL69D

Winter's End is a collection of short stories that feature the characters of Barsoom in various engagements and encounters. This book acts as a sort of filler for the upcoming battle with the Longborn. 

Its been decades since I picked up a non Tarzan, ERB book (Edgar Rice Burroughs for people who don't know the creator of Tarzan). I was fascinated by the adventures of earthmen in the planets of Barsoom and Cosoom (Mars and Venus respectively), although the stories written a century back are somewhat dated and smack of wholly colonial thoughts with lots of racism and imperialism; can still be forgiven because of the times of its origins. 

The graphic novels have revived these ancient stories and have given them shots on their arms and we can see some sleek stories backed by cool contemporary art. 

The revival of Dejah Thoris as a hero and much more than a damsel in distress unlike in most of the canon, takes the graphic novels to the next level . The same was also seen in the ill fated movie John Carter where Dejah was kickass and intelligent a lethal combo. 

The issues have been interesting and the art challenges the limits of other stars in the Dynamite pantheon like Betty Page, Vampirella, Elvira, etc. and has also generated some great crossover series.

As an anthology of shorts the book starts with a prologue rehearsing previous books and Dejah, now the Jeddara, ruminating about recent victories and how she united nations to reclaim Helium and then finding that the conspiracy ran deeper with more enemies helping her usurper(s) and who needed to be removed. Her fear for the oncoming war against the Longborn 

The enchantment that held John and her son and made them enemy no. 1 had been removed but it had addled their brains and both were in a stupor with recovery slow. 

The poignance of a Queen, wife and mother is captured well here with the future heralding a war. Dejah's character has become more mature and her troubled brow's reflect her concern for her people as a leader and the frailties of motherhood and family are an undercurrent. 

The second story features Dejah and John with their respective mentors in their youth and is interesting with side panels tracing their history and looking towards their shared future. 

The next Family Legend features Tars Tarkas and Sola being hunted by white apes and their conversation reveals how Tars who killed a white ape through luck rather than skill and this increases his daughters respect for him as a leader with integrity. The hunt against the strongest and deadliest foe on Barsoom ends with Sola killing the ape. Their relationship not much highlighted in the early novels is brought to a level here. 

In between these stories we have one Bound with John's first arrival on Mars and his initial struggles to adjust with the gravity and walk. This has been alluded in detail in the book but probably the first in a graphic novel . This story does not add anything to this collection and seems more of a filler.  

This leads us to the best story in this book Afterlife where we see Arch-Villainess Sabal Than who having survived her battle with Dejah in the Helium throne room is gloating with her thoughts about the battle and her surviving the onslaught by Dejah and the final blow. We see her thinking about the ways of torture of enemies and how she learnt the psychic arts and the various ways in which the Vanzu valley vines could be used to meld with bodies keeping them bound but alive for years so that their mind could be harnessed and harvested for their knowledge. We have Sabal reliving her glory days and how she was able to defeat the famous Dejah while using her skills with sorcery and chemistry to take control of her army and destroy them from within. She gloats about her apprentice as one with no ambition and how she needs her help in everything till -

A lowering of dose of the psychedelic drug the burning of the root of dolak brings partial memory and she remembers.

She Remembers...

Her last attack and then she sees herself bound to the vines and her lacklustre apprentice now her mistress and the one harvesting her famed knowledge and Sabal gets her memory of her defeat and near death at the hands of Dejah. A bittersweet moment turning into devastation. The art complements the psychedelic nature of the story.

The final story in this book takes us back to Helium where Dejah charts the extent of the conspiracy to the doors of the mad scientist of Mars. This story put me in disquiet as Rohtak Gall is named here as the scientist although Ras Thavas (Mastermind of Mars) is the original in the ERB canon. 

Dejah converses with Kantos Kan for an aggresive visit to Gall. 

The book ends in a more positive note with John probable aided by his earthly strength having woken from his stupor with a partial relapse of memory. 

What matters for Dejah is that her man has lost most of his memory but remembers her and his great love for her. 

Please do not forget to post your comments. I am an equal opportunity person so would love to hear your love or your hate for the review or book in any order. Please write what you did not like or whether the book was an absolute disaster for you and why.

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4792758493