The lost world and other stories (The Lost World and Other Stories - Arthur Conan Doyle)

Name: Kathryn

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	The Lost World and Other Stories - Arthur Conan Doyle
Date:	13/07/00 (269 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Highest quality writing at an amazing price

Disadvantages: As you would expect, some of the scientific details are showing their age

Given the enormous popularity of Conan Doyle's 'Sherlock Holmes' stories, it is easy to overlook the fact that he wrote many other excellent works including historical novels and science fiction stories. 'The lost world and other stories' (Wordsworth 1995) is a collection of science fiction stories which certainly rival those of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne in terms of their originality and (in my opinion) exceed them in terms of literary style. The book consists of the complete Professor Challanger collection as listed below:

1. The lost world
2. The poison belt
3. The land of mist
4. The disintegration machine
5. When the world screamed

'The lost world' is the best known of all the stories and inspired a movie of the same name but which hardly does the story any justice (not to be confused with the 'Jurassic Park' sequel). The meat of the story takes place on an isolated plateau where dinosaurs and ape-men, cut off from the evolutionary processes of the rest of the world, still flourish. Prof. Challenger and his companions become trapped on the plateau and get into all kinds of trouble as they inadvertently meddle with the ancient ecosystem. The story is very well written and filled with adventure, intrigue and humour.

In 'The poison belt' the characters from 'The lost world' reunite to face the end of the world together. The solar system is passing through a region of space where the 'ether' is poisonous. Having figured out how to survive for a couple of days longer than the rest of the world, the professor and the others witness the spectacle in its full horror. Happy ending ensues when the solar system emerges from the poison belt and everyone wakes up again.

'The land of mist' is a lovely story in which the good professor is scornful of reports that the Spiritualistic Church is able to communicate with the deceased. It is basically a story of p
ersecution of honest hearted individuals by an ignorant society. Although Conan Doyle became involved with the Spiritualist Church (his wife was a medium) this story is not a spouting of religious doctrine. Instead it urges respect for people whose only 'crime' is to think along different lines. It is also a whopping good story in its own right.

'The disintegration machine' deals with the issue of using science to create weapons of mass destruction. In the end the professor disintegrates the inventor of the machine in order to prevent the thing from being used to destroy whole cities and armies. The professor could be termed a murderer, but in his own eyes the end justifies the means.

'When the world screamed' explores the metaphor of the earth as a living organism. The professor drills past the earth's crust (the epidermis) and inflicts a painful wound on the world's tender flesh. An ear-splitting scream is heard the whole world over and Professor Challenger receives the adulation of the scientific community and the population in general. Thought provoking stuff in this day and age.


Conan Doyle combines a superb imagination, education and writing style to produce stories of the highest quality. I thoroughly recommend this book.

Summary: