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Subterranean Worlds: A Critical Anthology
Exploring the hollow earth from the 17th century to the present.
The bizarre idea that the earth's interior is hollow and, perhaps, even populated has been put to effective literary use by writers ranging from Edgar Allen Poe and Jules Verne to Rudy Rucker and Edgar Rice Burroughs. This notion had respectability as a scientific hypothesis until the early 1800s, and the theory that the earth "is hollow and inhabitable within" continues to find believers as an alternative description of the earth to this day.
The hollow earth is one of the most important settings in the literature of the imagination that fed into early science fiction. Subterranean Worlds presents a fascinating look at the theme of the hollow earth and its history, as well as the geological theories which produced many of these stories. It excerpts key passages from the major subterranean world fictions, some translated into English for the first time. With helpful introductions to each selection and a comprehensive bibliography, this book is the definitive treatment of this entertaining topic.
The bizarre idea that the earth's interior is hollow and, perhaps, even populated has been put to effective literary use by writers ranging from Edgar Allen Poe and Jules Verne to Rudy Rucker and Edgar Rice Burroughs. This notion had respectability as a scientific hypothesis until the early 1800s, and the theory that the earth "is hollow and inhabitable within" continues to find believers as an alternative description of the earth to this day.
The hollow earth is one of the most important settings in the literature of the imagination that fed into early science fiction. Subterranean Worlds presents a fascinating look at the theme of the hollow earth and its history, as well as the geological theories which produced many of these stories. It excerpts key passages from the major subterranean world fictions, some translated into English for the first time. With helpful introductions to each selection and a comprehensive bibliography, this book is the definitive treatment of this entertaining topic.
- GenresScience Fiction
242 pages, Hardcover
First published December 15, 2004
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 12, 2021
I really wanted to like this and I'm really sad it let me down. It could've been so much better and I really didn't like how the author failed to translate any passages in a foreign language. It was a struggle toward the end but it's a short read so that's a plus. Recommended to anyone who wants a cliff notes to a cliff notes on pre 17th century literature or anyone who wants a surface level analysis of subterranean novels. 4.5/10
January 14, 2010
Not recommended unless you are really interested in 18th century satirical utopian fiction or quasi-fiction that isn't Gulliver's Travels. Nothing on the mass of subterranean weirdness and hollow earth lore of the 20th century (though there is a grudging section on Bulwer-Lytton's _The Coming Race_, which informs a lot of what comes later).
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews