Thuvia, Maid of Mars

On the planet Mars, called Barsoom, there's a brave prince named Carthoris who loves a pretty princess named Thuvia, but she's supposed to marry someone else. Bad prince Astok kidnaps Thuvia to start a war, so Carthoris flies his cool one-person spaceship to save her. He crashes in a spooky old city with pretend ghost archers who shoot perfect arrows, fights giant lion-cats called banths, tricks the bad guys with mind magic, and after lots of chases and battles, he rescues Thuvia and they get to be together happily!

In 'Thuvia, Maid of Mars,' Edgar Rice Burroughs continues the Barsoom saga with Prince Carthoris of Helium, son of John Carter, who harbors a forbidden love for the beautiful Thuvia, princess of rival Ptarth. When Thuvia is mysteriously abducted—framed as a Heliumite plot by the scheming Prince Astok of Dusar—Carthoris embarks on a perilous solo pursuit across the dying planet's vast red deserts in his one-man flier. Crashing into the fog-shrouded ruins of ancient Lothar, he encounters the enigmatic bowmen: illusory projections conjured by the Lotharians' powerful minds, led by the flawless archer Kar Komak. Together, they battle ferocious banths (Martian lions) and navigate the illusory warfare that blurs reality and deception. As alliances fracture among the great city-states—Helium, Ptarth, Dusar, and Kaol—the narrative escalates into interstellar intrigue and aerial dogfights. Thuvia's repeated kidnappings test Carthoris's heroism, revealing Lotharian mind-projection tech as a weapon against invaders. Climaxing in a massive phantom army assault and personal duels, the tale resolves with truths unveiled, villains defeated, and lovers reunited, embodying Burroughs's blend of swashbuckling action, lost-world wonders, and chivalric romance amid Barsoom's canal-crossed wastelands.