My only exposure to sword and planet stories is Leigh Brackett (who's damn good at it), but yeah, those dioramas look stranger and more exotic than the trailer. If John Carter can keep the weirdness quotient pretty high I may just enjoy this, and also I'm probably going to get around to glancing at the books.I'm coming in here with no knowledge of the books, but as a newbie I'm liking what I'm seeing.