I Used to Dread Classic Sci-Fi – Then I Discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs!

Sun, 03 May 2026 00:19:52 +0000

Why Edgar Rice Burroughs Transformed My Life—From Classicism Dread to Sci-Fi Fascination For decades, I dreaded classic science fiction. Long, dense prose, outdated language, and cobwebs of outdated tropes made the genre feel inaccessible, even alienating. Many readers share this view—classic sci-fi often seems like a bygone era, stuck in a time before modern storytelling. But then, everything changed. I stumbled upon the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs—and my lifelong dislike of classic sci-fi turned into one of my most cherished intellectual passions. ### From Dread to Discovery: The Edgar Rice Burroughs Effect Burroughs, best known for A Princess of Mars and John Carter of Mars, redefined early science fiction with his vivid world-building, rich characters, and epic adventures. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Burroughs blended romance, action, and speculative science in ways that feel surprisingly modern. His stories aren’t weighed down by verbose exposition; instead, they whisk you into dynamic, larger-than-life destinies across Mars, Earth, and uncharted realms.