Pellucidar

Well, pushed through the first two books of the Pellucidar series in two nights, and what an awesome series so far. This book was basically the icing on the cake as a follow-up to <i> <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/215950.At_the_Earth_s_Core" title="At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs" rel="noopener">At the Earth's Core</a> </i> and filled in everything and more that I wanted to know about this strange new land. Just the beginning itself blew me away where David Innes must relate his entire story through TELEGRAPH via a wire traversing the entire Earth's crust - my god! what a concept!<br /><br />Unfortunately, at the moment I don't have any more books in this series, however, the end of this book tied everything up quite nicely and can more than hold me over whereas the end of the first just begged you to move on to the second.

A great and fun read. Pure action from page to page. Somehow, as he always does, ERB writes a timeless classic that reads as well today as when it was first written. Nothing but pure fast paced plot that carries you along. Very Recommended

"Pellucidar" is the second of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Earth's Core" series. David Innes has returned to the strange land in the center of the Earth with plans to change that world. As with all of Burroughs' stories, the plot is propelled by improbable coincidences, and whenever the action falters, somebody kidnaps his wife. This happens several times in this story alone... However, you can't fault Burroughs' imagination, and he creates a fascinating alien culture and propels the story with fast and furious action. It's a fun - if a trifle simplistic - read.

I have an older edition of this book, from Del Rey, and it's pretty good. I don't care as much for the Hollow Earth stories as his Martian and Venus series, but it's still grand adventure.

Первая часть цикла была про романтику открытия новых земель, а во второй, к сожалению, начался типичный Берроуз - злодеи похитили у героя девушку и он всю книгу линейно едет через весь подземный мир ее спасать, а по дороге претерпевает разные тяготы и совершает подвиги.<br /><br />Само по себе это не плохо, но проблема в том, что накал тягот и подвигов в этой книге абсолютно беспрецедентный. Например, в какой-то момент герой, находясь высоко в горах, оступается и падает в ледяную расщелину глубиной в КИЛОМЕТР. Но склон этой расщелины имеет такую идеально закругленную форму, что он как ни в чем ни бывало скатывается на попе к подножию горного хребта и только радуется, что удачно сэкономил время!<br /><br />Или вот герой оставляет своим первобытным друзьям некие указания и отбывает на пару месяцев по делам - а по возвращении обнаруживает, что они за это время построили парусный флот под сотню кораблей, а заодно освоили металлургию и порох и отлили тысячу пушек.<br /><br />Ну и постоянные случайные встречи в пути, это просто любимая тема Берроуза. Сплошь и рядом случается, что герой идет-идет по джунглям Пеллюсидара (который по площади не сильно уступает нашей Земле), и вдруг ррраз - навстречу ему совершенно случайно выходит именно тот, кого он ищет! Или плывет герой по океану, и рррраз - навстречу ему абсолютно случайно выплывает главный злодей на своем злодейском корабле! Как одноразовый сюжетный прием это еще туда-сюда, но автор повторяет этот трюк каждые 2-3 главы.<br /><br />Короче, все как обычно у Берроуза - первая книга цикла очень классная и интересная, а продолжения превращаются в апокалипсис мартисьюшного маразма.<br /><br />6/10 (и то с натугой)

You know that “Star Trek” TOS episode where the advanced aliens send Kirk and the lizard captain to fight it out on the planet that's just Bronson Canyon, and they're both told they'll have materials to make weapons? I saw that when I was a kid and I was like “that zip-gun is all he makes? What a rip-off!” Well, “Pellucidar” is sort of like that situation, except that human hero manages, cannons, rifles, a fleet of ships, etc.<br /><br /> There are a lot of wonderful and imaginative things here in the second book in the series, although that's largely true because they are the same wonderful and imaginative things that appeared in “At the Earth's Core” before it. Unlike a lot of Burroughs sequels, “Pellucidar” actually picks up the same track as its predecessor, although it may stick too closely to it.<br /><br /> David Innes (narrating via Morse code to a set found in the Sahara) managed to get the Prospector working again and returns to inner-Earth with the Mahar. It is a sequel, so he finds his friend Perry running in fear and learns that their plans to make humans supreme in Pellucidar are basically back to square one. This also makes a lot of what goes on in the sequel sort of a repeat of the last few chapters of the first book.<br /><br /> Hooja, “the sly one”, is now a major threat, gathering armies and cooperating with The Mahars. As you can imagine, he's soon got Dian, The Beautiful in his evil clutches.<br /><br /> There are some new things here, Innes encounters a different race, ventures through the land of shadow, domesticates a dog, and gets a freakin functioning navy! <br /><br /> “Pellucidar” belongs to a very small collection of Burroughs works, being those written during WW1, but before America's involvement or the Russian revolution. This is the same period during which he wrote the post-apocalyptic “The Lost Continent”, which has a far future American exploring a Europe which was destroyed by WW1. This is perhaps the only time Burroughs expresses anti-war views, and there are things like bids for unity and some genuine humanism. In the Mars books, the human hero is content to go with the flow of war and conquest, but here Innes and Perry strive to bring peace, civilization, literacy, etc. Hell, they even propose their society to be one without money! If it doesn't sound like a big deal, try reading the red-scare stuff Burroughs wrote later, like “The Moon Men” and “Pirates of Venus”. It's tragic, but Burroughs really was more fun before he went off the rails on his anti-communist trip.<br /><br /> This book is not a perfect journey into the Burroughs world. It has the kidnappings and searches like all else, but it is oddly almost too upbeat and a few more new wrinkles would have been welcome. I'm glad I read “Pellucidar”, but I also kinda wish it had been to its series what “Gods of Mars” was to Barsoom. Anyhow, I've got 4 more books in this series, plus the Tarzan crossover. Maybe I need to catch up on Tarzan? <br /><br /> Oh! And I would have liked more Mahars. Mahar torture dungeon stuff, give me gobs of that.

Another series gem from Burroughs using all the tropes, plot points, twists and turns which made him famous. There were no surprises in this story. After a while of reading Burroughs' work, you know the signs and signals he gives of what's coming next. If there's a joy to formulaic writing, he must have experienced it big time.<br />And an enjoyable, blowoff read especially when one needs a break from more serious fare.<br />

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1108350406">https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...</a><br /><br />Continual cycle keeps action going. Dian passive girl kidnapped, freed. David caught, fights free, makes peace, rebuilds his Empire. Old friends - Abner Perry, Raja jalok dog, Ja of Anoroc. Sons of chiefs - Gr-gr-gr ape-men, Juag of Thurian village. Luana new king is "old fellow who had good sense to surrender" p 77.<br /><br />David Innes narrates return under Earth to Abner Perry for wife Dian the Beautiful. Hooja the Sly misled Dian, that David left for "mate" in upper world. Abner is left with ship plans, to build 50 for rescue. <br /><br />Ja leads Mezops "magnificent specimens of manhood .. red race" p 24 on Anoroc isle. Sagoths translate for reptile Mahars, all female, who want "secret of artificial propagation" p 26 hidden by David and Dian. David is captured by Mahars, taken to their city of Phutra. <br />When he refuses to give up secret, Mahars take him to their arena to fight for freedom. He sees "girl armed with a javelin" p 27 against "a mighty tarag, the huge cave tiger of the Stone Age" p 27. Surprise, she is Dian. Did Mahars recognize her and ask for secret too? <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="4e7d28cd-d995-4c46-aa12-1bbfaee12cbb" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="4e7d28cd-d995-4c46-aa12-1bbfaee12cbb"><br /><br />Three pterodactyls that guard Mahar Queen swoop down and carry tarag away. On Earth, David protected Mahar left by Hooja, brought her back to Pellucidar, set her free. "Tu-al-sa .. involuntary companion" p 29 rewarded his kindness. Dian believes technology David brought back can conquer however many breed. </label><br /><br />Scarred one-eyed Gr-gr-gr rules giant "black, hairless, long-tailed ape-things .. built thatched huts in arboreal retreats .. domesticated dogs and ruminants" p 44. Great "man-brute" with "lone sheep-eye" does not believe David is also "enemy of Hooja" p 45, orders death after melon patch weeded. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="f96f5889-3721-4d1a-9cc2-248d2eb26be7" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="f96f5889-3721-4d1a-9cc2-248d2eb26be7"><br /><br />David busily adds <i>more</i> weeds to patch. When he fights against Hooja's forces attacking, Gr-gr-gr finally frees him. "We are your friends" always p 48. After celebration banquet and dancing, "six great males" p 48 guide David just to cliff caves. <br /><br />David captures, makes ally of Juag, son of chief whose village captured by forces of Hooja. Juag was imprisoned with Dian. She repeatedly is kidnapped, freed. All repeatedly caught, freed. Ape-men Gr-gr-gr and tribe help. Raja, tamed jalok wolf-dog returns with mate, christened Ranee. In boat, storm takes away compass. Hooja's boats chase. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="0b3de229-39e1-4ffa-9d0d-d6efde4a046a" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="0b3de229-39e1-4ffa-9d0d-d6efde4a046a"><br /><br />Ja chose felucca from designs left with Abner, built for 200 men p 68. 50-ship navy arrives in time with cannon. Flagship <i>Amoz</i>, name painted on bow, "no one in that whole world could read except" p 69 Abner and David. Only 11 dugouts surrender, feasted, safely go home for "publicity" p 70. In "scarcely" 2 hours 8K savages "butchered" p 72. <br /><br />Juag made "king", with Gr-gr-gr and David negotiate "code of laws" p 73 for peace between humans and ape-men. Gr-gr-gr sends son to Sari with David to learn agriculture. Each tribe is conquered, joins empire, king appointed. He leaves "an officer and warriors" in every country p 77 Empire has "printing press .. just laws and only a few .. people are happy .. always working .. no money .. root of all evil" p 78 </label><br /><br />guards boat, waits for Dian. David finds Dian just as cave-man wants her for Hooja. David wins fight. <br /><br />Juag dives off cliff from attackers, swims to boat. David fights while Dian climbs down. David dives, gains dugout split "almost in two .. useless" p 56. Caught again by Hoojans, Gr-gr-gr and gorilla-men fight and free them. <br /><br />David and Juag kill bull 'thag', looks like horned buffalo in shaded swirly picture p 59. Someone kidnaps Dian. Two jaloks "wolf-dogs" come, male has rope around neck, is David's tamed Raja. Raja follows trail of lidi, Dian and captor are riding the long-neck pack dinosaur, and take down with his "fierce mate" p 60 dubbed "Ranee" p 63. All climb in boat. </label>

In the previous book, At The Earth's Core, David Innes has been tricked. He ends up back on the surface of our own world, his beloved wife Dian replaced by a vile, winged-crocodile like Mahar. Determined to once again return to the underground world of Pellucidar and get his wife back, he turns his digging machine downward, to dig back through the hundred miles of Earth's crust, to land once more in Pellucidar. He finds himself lost, miles away from any recognizable landmark. Soon he encounters his old friend Perry, who tells him that Hooja the Sly One has told Dian that David has left their land for good, that he has another wife and that he never meant to take Dian with him. The empire that Innes built, peaceful and solid, is crushed by infighting and the determination of the Mahar people to do away with humanity for good. Innes and Perry set off on foot, well-armed, to find Dian, and then, to reforge Innes' empire.<br /><br />Pellucidar is short partially because Edgar Rice Burroughs often skims over events.<br /><br />"I shall not weary you with the repetition of the countless adventures of our long search. Encounters with wild beasts of gigantic size were of almost daily occurrence..."<br />Rather than being a negative -- how many times can you describe killing a wild beast? -- it works well with the story, giving you a sense that a great deal is happening, a lot of ground and time being covered, without having to suffer through it all. This method of writing works particularly well because of the framing Burroughs uses. In the beginning, we start not with Innes, but with the writer who set down Innes' previous story for our enjoyment, and a self-styled world wanderer who had found -- of all things -- a buried yet active telegraph key in the Sahara desert. They meet there and immediately the telegraph operator, Downes, finds out that they're talking to David Innes himself, and thus, through a telegraph wires suspended through the Earth's crust, they manage to get the whole of his story, "Practically in his own words." So it is little wonder that he, in his autobiographical narrative, is more than eager to skim the traveling and skip to the good stuff.<br />There is plenty of that. Pellucidar is a realm of incredible imagination. The horizon curves up, and, save for in one very special place, the sun is always high. Even further down, beneath the surface of Pellucidar, the winged Mahar live in intricate social groups, while above them human kind tries to rise above its -- literally -- stone age attitudes. The landscape is beautiful and exotic, and constantly changing. A favorite place for me was the Land of Awful Shadow, with its hauntingly beautiful pendant moon.<br /><br />The story is never slow as Innes and his friends travel through these places, fighting savage animals and savage humans, often meeting up with friends at just the right time. Sometimes Innes' luck is too good. I find it hard to imagine Perry whipping up an ocean fleet out of hardly any materials with the ease you or I would cook a TV dinner, but it's so well conceived, so fast paced that your doubts disappear almost before you can conceive them.<br /><br />This actual edition of Pellucidar has some high points. I found the forward, by Jack McDevitt and the afterward Phillip R. Burger to be quite illuminating, and the pictures were lovely. J. Allen St. John's style is wonderful, like Boris Vallejo with a Victorian feel.<br /><br />Originally posted at the SF Site: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://www.sfsite.com/04b/pl150.htm">http://www.sfsite.com/04b/pl150.htm</a>

One of the marks of a great writer is that he can take an unbelievable situation and make it sound true and accurate and believable. “Pellucidar”is book two of the seven-volume Pellucidar series by Burroughs, which tells the story of the adventures in a hollow-earth world where intelligent reptiles were the dominant species and humans were stuck in stone age civilization. One of the remarkable things Burroughs created in this hollow-world are the fact that, without sunrise or sunset, there is simply an eternal mid-day sun and thus no real conception of time. Although he was not the first one to ever postulate the existence of an inner-earth world, no one either before or since has done it half as well. Above all, this book, like the others in this terrific series, is a wonderful adventure story of fighting and chivalry.<br /><br />In the first book in the series (“At the Earth’s Core”), Innes and Perry tunneled into this inner-world in a mighty metal prospector, not having any idea that it ever existed. At the end of the first book, Innes returns to the outer crust to gather arms, tools, and books so that he and Perry can advance human civilization in the inner world and take on the Mahar (reptile) empire. This second book of the series details Innes return to the inner world and his adventures there and how with his tools, weapons, and technological know-how brought back from the outer world, he leads a federation of stone age kingdoms in battle against the Mahars, bringing to bear weapons that no one in the inner world could ever have dreamed of.<br /><br />It is truly a great story and, once you expect the conceit that there is an inner world with an inner sun and intelligent creatures there of many kinds, you will enjoy this book immensely. It is simply a great adventure story and quite enjoyable to read.