The Lost World
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4.3 • 965 Ratings
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Publisher Description
An Apple Books Classic edition.
Both Pompeii and Petra were excavated in the 1800s, and as explorers were searching for (and finding) more mysterious ancient cities, authors were finding new inspiration. Among them was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, already famous for his Sherlock Holmes mysteries. In 1912, he published The Lost World, branching out into the popular genre of adventure fiction and crafting a story that will appeal to fans of Jurassic Park.
Ned Malone is a reporter who’s just been told by the love of his life that she wants a man who embraces danger. And so, he does what any man would do: He gathers a crew and sets off on an expedition with a professor who claims to have discovered living dinosaurs. What follows is a suspenseful story with hints of science fiction and Conan Doyle’s flair for mystery. After landing on a South American island untouched by time, the crew faces a betrayal that leaves them stranded amid terrifying dangers. Will they escape—and do they ever find dinosaurs? We’re not telling. You’ll just have to read the book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1912, Doyle took his Victorian readers deep into the South American jungles where, high atop a treacherous plateau, a small band of British explorers encountered a terrifying world of prehistoric creatures long thought lost to the sands of time. The adventurers included a young newspaper reporter, Ed Malone; the swashbuckling aristocrat, Lord Roxton; the skeptical scientist, Professor Summerlee; and the brilliant and bombastic Professor Challenger, who leads the party. Doyle unfolds high adventure at its best with fantastic encounters with pterodactyls, stegosaurs and cunning ape -men. Glen McCready's performance captures the time and tone of Doyle's material perfectly without straying into melodrama. He nicely balances Malone's sense of youthful wonder with the professors' scientific pragmatism, while fully exploiting the humor spread strategically throughout, planting numerous chuckles among the thrills. McCready's entertaining reading more than fulfills the author's introductory wish to "give one hour of joy to the boy who's half a man, or the man who's half a boy."
Customer Reviews
A true classic
I've read all 50 odd Sherlock Holmes stories so thought I'd give thus a whirl. So pleased that I did! As to be expected from the author, it was wonderfully written in the flowing language of a bygone era, that modern Edwardian costume dramas can only attempt to emulate, mostly with limited success. The beautifully eloquent writing of the era really does capture the mood of an age of wonder, when the world had still so much yet to be explored, and access to the more remote parts was tantalising, distant dream. The subtle humour is consistent, in the misplaced pomposity of the professors, the gung-ho iron nerves of the adventurer and the dry wit of the journalist.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. For me it is up there with Wells' "The Time Machine", and to, for once, use appropriately use a much mistreated phrase: a true classic!
Excellent novel
A great read! Throughly recommend!
Timeless
Nearly a hundred years old and still as engaging as any of today's adventure stories. One to be read again an again