Nequa: The problem of the ages

by Jack Adams, Mark O.J. Esping (Editor)

One of the first feminist, hollow earth, science fiction, utopian novels. First published in Topeka Kansas in 1900.
The author, Jack Adams is a pseudonym. He is actually a woman in men's clothing who for years has been looking for her betrothed, Raphel Ganoe. He/She ends up working on a sailing ship which Ganoe is captain of, on a voyage to the arctic. The ship is frozen in the ice then sails into the inside of the earth where the Altrurians live. The Altrurians explain how they evolved into a co-operative society. Jack reveals his/her secret and flys an aeroplane with a copy of the manuscript you have been reading to the outside world where it will be published.
This 3rd edition has forty pages more than the original. These pages give background and information on the authors, their friends and why the book was written.

Genres: Fiction, Feminism, Science Fiction

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1900

Reviews

[Mark Esping · Rating 5 out of 5]

I own an original edition. I am the "editor" of this edition. Reading and then researching NEQUA created a strange relationship. Acquiring more and more background material on the copyrighters became a compulsion. Acquiring historical information about the situation existing in the midwest United States, when NEQUA was printed, introduced me to events never presented in any of the many academic classes I have taken. The research introduced me to the adversity my Swedish grandparents lived because they were part of the Social Justice movements trying to challenge the monopolies of the railroads, corporations and banks.
So the persons involved in the writing and printing of NEQUA became "real" heros for me even if they have been dead for 80+ years.
The explanation in NEQUA of how the Altrurians made decisions that evolved into a co-operative society is at time tedious, unless you are still looking for answers to our present corporate driven society. The adventures in the ice and then sailing into the center of the earth have good description and seems believable.
When a reader remembers that the book is taking place at a time when Wyatt Earp was only 51, Frank James was still riding around on a horse, and the Wright brothers will not fly their aeroplane at Kitty Hawk for another 3 years, the book gains prestige.
NEQUA has aeroplanes that "ride" storms, a Library of Universal Knowledge with electric keyboard to order instantly delivered books, tables laden with food that appear out of the floor, transparent tubes to drive electric "carriages" under the waterways.
When NEQUA was first printed it got great reviews, from California to New York City. Something happened that has resulted in copies in 12 library archives and a couple in private hands. It never reached it's potential. That is why I have reprinted it.

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up because of the cover (the one on the reprint) and read it because of the story. The descriptions of travel on board the ship pulled me along into the story. Even though it was written at the turn of the last (20th) century the unfolding of the relationships on board and within the utopian society will surprise and inspire readers in this century. The addition of the background information carries this story well into the next century. I thought this was as tremendous sci-fi read as well as a tremendous read.

[Holly Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. Jules Vernian in a sense with a feminine twist. Great world building and character development, especially of Jack Adams. What was most intriguing was reading something written so long ago, and never published until now. Hoping more books similar to this will be found in an attic somewhere and made available to the general public.

[Holly Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read in the style of Jules Verne with a twist, the protagonist is female. I really enjoyed the world-building and the journey to a parallel place in an earth flipped inside out. I would recommend this read to fans of litererary science fiction and adventure.

[Lulu]

1900