Mars in fiction from red-colored vegetation, and Schiaparelli observed what he took to be linear features on the face of Mars, which he thought might be water channels. Because the Italian for channels is "canali", English translations tended to render the word as "canals", implying artificial construction. Lowell's books on Mars expanded on this notion of Martian canals, and a standard model of Mars as a drying, cooling, dying world was established. It was frequently speculated that ancient Martian civilizations had constructed irrigation works that spanned the planet in an attempt at saving their dying world. This concept spawned a large number of
The Gods of Mars to Earth in pre-technological eras, particularly with the inclusion of kingdoms, empires or religious societies. Spacecraft may appear, but are not central to the story (something which makes these tales distinct from Space Opera, where spaceships are usually a key focus of the narrative). There were some Planetary Romances prior to the publication of the Barsoom novels, but "A Princess of Mars" and "The Gods of Mars" and other novels in the Barsoom series were the most influential on the numerous similar stories that were published subsequently. Burroughs's vision of Mars was loosely inspired by astronomical speculation of the time,