Lord of the Spiders

Lord of the Spiders is the second in the "Kane of Old Mars" trilogy that Micheal Moorcock apparently banged out over a few weeks back in 1965. Sequel to City of the Beast, and followed by Masters of Pit, its original title was Blades of Mars. Kane is an earthman seeking to return to Mars, to marry his beautiful Shizala. He reconstructs his transporter machine, makes careful calculations - and gets it wrong. He is either in the wrong place, or the wrong time, or both. Luckily though, he is still on Mars, so he shrugs his shoulders and sets off in search of adventure. He meets Hool Hazi, a blue giant - but a friendly one - whose taste in women leads to disaster, and Kane and Hool Hazi must flee for their lives from a despotic tyrant. All kind of events then ensue, including a run in with the surprisingly sporting titular villian. After that, the tyrant is vanquished, Hool Hazi asssumes his rightful throne and Kane sets off once again, only to met old friends and old enemies both. Like the other Kane books, this is straight-up old-fashioned sword and planet tale with despicable villians, sturdy heroes, and beautiful women. Its brevity is an asset in this age of doorstop tomes, a breathless breakneck story that hurries to its satisfying end.