The Lost World and Other Stories (Wordsworth Classics)

This is a collection of two novels, a novella and two short stories. Set in the early part of the twentieth century, in which they were also written, they are linked through the theme of concerns at the time that after the discoveries in various fields over the past couple of centuries what else is there for academics, explorers and adventurers still to discover. Thus, they are adventure stories involving voyages of exploration in one form or another. The five stories explore the unknown regions of the world, the centre of the Earth, the afterlife, the orbit of the planet and areas that perhaps scientific experimentation shouldn’t go. As such it is an eclectic collection.These escapades are linked through the character of Professor Challenger. Although very different to Doyle’s more famous Holmes, they do share some similarities in that Challenger’s confidence in always being right and his sense of self worth often lead to him being obnoxious and belligerent resulting in him being someone you would find it difficult to get on with in real life however much you admired or respected him. These stories share the common theme of Challenger living up to his name by ‘challenging’ all those around him and attempting to prove he is right above all others.Although Challenger may be considered the principal character, the stories come through the perspective of Malone. With, perhaps, echoes of Watson, three of the stories are told from him in the first person. The other two are told by others who adopt him as the main protagonist where Challenger is portrayed from his viewpoint.‘The Lost World’ is obviously the most famous here. There is considerably less interaction with dinosaurs than various adaptions may have led you to expect. Instead the focus is more around the exploration of undiscovered areas in the Amazon, echoing the real-life exploits at the time of someone like Fawcett and his search for his lost City of Z.‘The Land of Mist’ is about the seances and mediums which at the time of writing were endeavouring to establish themselves as more legitimate scientifically. It’s the least enjoyable of the stories as it is a bit preoccupied with trying to assert Doyle’s own views in support of the subject and often reads as just one séance occurring after another.‘The Poison Belt’ and ‘When the World Screamed’ despite the dubious premise behind each certainly have their moments. The first is much more focussed and has some really good atmospheric scenes. Meanwhile ‘The Disintegration Machine’ deals with a ‘weapon of mass destruction’ idea and despite its short length provides further insight into Challenger.

The eponymous novella is a mannered adventure with less dinosaur than I had led myself to expect, but nevertheless a lot of British fun. The second novella is also enjoyable, with some good end-of-the-world imagery, reminding me a lot of H G Wells' In the Days of the Comet (though without the socialist aspects) - pity it pulled its punches at the end. The third novella is little more than the author expressing his utter admiration of spiritualism and its world-problem-solving abilities - sporadically interesting, but I confess I skimmed some of it. The penultimate short story is a throw-away affair concerning the invention and likely weaponising of a dematerialising device, but -again- readable and fun. The last short almost brings Doyle into Lovecraft country, with a rather silly but also somewhat nightmarish premise on the true nature of Mother Earth - I could have gladly read something much longer on this particular subject. There are one or two racist and sexist remarks (more born out of ignorance than any malice I could see); but if you will allow/ignore these as products of their era then there is enjoyment to be had with this collection, especially if you would see some of SF's roots exposed.

This book is is a compilation of all five of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger stories: "The Lost World", "The Poison Belt", "The Land of Mist", "The Disintegration Machine" and "When the World Screamed". At 197x125x25mm, it's just a little bit on the bulky side. Text is printed clearly in a formal-looking serif typeface but the print is quite small, with 42 lines to a page, making pages with longer paragraphs look quite daunting. It's perhaps not suitable for being a bedside book due to the small text and bulky size, also you might think it a tad too big to take travelling. It seems to have been printed more for the benefit of those who dislike omissions from their personal library than for reading comfort, which is fine for me because that's exactly why I wanted it. It's the kind of book which would please someone who already owns a complete compendium of Sherlock Holmes (like me) but the stories can be enjoyed by anyone. I first read "The Lost World" and "The Poison Belt" when I was 10 years old and loved them. I can thoroughly recommend these stories! To now have all of the Challenger stories on my shelf, and together in one handy volume, is very satisfying.

I loved this book as a kid and I have rediscovered it now with my son. And it is more than just the Lost World as well. Type is quite small but that is only so you can cram in more of Arthur Conan Doyle's inventive and richly imaginative stories and really good value for money all told. It all ticks along at a far lick and harks back to a more innocent time. Taught Crichton and Spielberg everything they know. For all you adventurers out there.

A very good book, excellent.

Great read to pass the time away at bedtime.

Good stories.

Great book & price.