Painting: an ancient lexicon open on a carved lectern in a dark chapel of books, glowing runes and symbols lifting off its pages like fireflies.
TermLiterature term1912

Planetary romance

Adventure fiction set on an exotic alien world, where swords, beasts and princesses mingle with strange science. Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars books defined it, and Appendix N's list shows how much it shaped early D&D.

Adventure fiction set on an exotic alien world, where swords, beasts and princesses mingle with strange science. Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars books defined it, and Appendix N's list shows how much it shaped early D&D.

Origin

Edgar Rice Burroughs's first Barsoom story, serialized in 1912, set the template.

Quick answers

What does "Planetary romance" mean?
Adventure fiction set on an exotic alien world, where swords, beasts and princesses mingle with strange science. Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars books defined it, and Appendix N's list shows how much it shaped early D&D.
Where does the term "Planetary romance" come from?
Edgar Rice Burroughs's first Barsoom story, serialized in 1912, set the template.