The People Beyond the Wall

by Stephen Tall

BEYOND THE MAP

The original premise of science fiction -- the foundation stone -- was the tale of the discovery of a lost land or an unknown civilization. From Plato's "Atlantis" and Swift's "Lilliput", Butler's "Erewhon" and the beloved works of Haggard, Burroughs and Merritt, "Lost Race" novels have been the favorites of millions. But time and exploration seem to have abandoned this engaging theme.

Yet here is a new one, written with all the color and feel that marks the work of the masters, which manages to place the lost land within the context of today and get away with it. Stephen Tall's tale of two Alaskan explorers who burrowed beneath a vast glacier to find themselves beyond the maps of today, where a strong primitive people made life free from crises, wars, and social disasters.

THE PEOPLE BEYOND THE WALL will delight everyone who loves a good adventure -- and especially those who yearn for a new Alan Quatermain, a new Tarzan, a new Gulliver.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Common pseudonym of American science fiction writer Compton Newby Crook.

Reviews

[Rogue-van (the Bookman)]

Climbing down a 400-foot ice wall into a crevasse in the far north, Vin and Denny ended up in a place like Shangri-la. Since the ruler of the Elkan world will decide their fate, the two adventurers try to make good. A young woman aptly named Oo-ah is additional motivation. Both the adventure and the "People Beyond the Wall" are fascinating!

[Travis]

Fun little time waster, as two modern ( think this was written in the 70's) hikers stumble into a lost land.
Nice take on the trope, hits all the cliches, but the leads are likable and the world is interesting, so it's entertaining, rather than annoying.

Asks a lot of question, but answers very few.
Feels like it might of originally been the first book in a series that never happened.

[Jayna Valette]

A funny little book that was very intriguing. Catches your attention and doesn't let go, although I could guess what was going to happen quite a few times. Very different and very happy. "Live and enjoy!"

[Wes]

Two things stuck out to me as I read this book. First was that either the author was at his peak on foreshadowing or else the story was absurdly predictable. I am not sure either way because the characters seemed to not catch what was coming next; either the characters were being dumbed down to cover for the excellent foreshadowing or just dumb. This did not really dampen the reading or enjoyment of the story, I just feel that there could have been a little more excitement by not making the twists into slight bends (if that). Before I get to the second thing, the believability of some elements of the story was taxed. I get it that it is a ‘lost race’ science fiction story. I accepted that as well as the travel into this mystical land and the similarities and differences to our lives. However, without going into spoilers, some things were not believable about the actions of the main characters. Quite frankly, they took too much of the stage in the ‘new land’. The second thing that stuck out to me was that this almost seemed to be three stories/authors/voices. The beginning of the book starts out almost as a Stardust adventure. This is probably due the camaraderie of the main characters and the depth of their impending adventure (quite a lot for a duo). The parts with the lost race seem like they should, but not like the Stardust setup. Then comes the small part in the middle of the book. I expected this to be a short wrap up of the Vin story then back to Denny (still waiting for more story than I gleaned through the foreshadowing). The second return was one of the unbelievable parts of the story, but hey, at least they got an explainable moose out of it. Tall can really weave a tale about any creature and do it well from any perspective. The characters and animals, save a few of their actions, seemed very believable and at times relatable.
Despite my criticisms, this book is immensely enjoyable and draws you in as thoroughly as the other Tall stories I have read.

[Otis Campbell]

This fella Tall does a real slick job dodgin' that whole map-limitin' problem by plantin' his story right smack in the middle of the unforgivin' Alaskan wilderness. He’s got a pair of explorers tunnelin' way deep down underneath a massive, uncharted glacier. By buryin' his hidden civilization clear underground, he keeps a genuine sense of realistic, high-stakes discovery alive and kickin'—somethin' that would otherwise feel completely impossible on a world where folks have already gone and mapped out every square inch of dirt.

[Ian Hamilton]

Cute little novelette that peaked my interest after reading about it on my favorite sci fi blog. It’s good, but not great, and definitely not quite a hidden gem.

[Jamie Mountain]

A fun little book. A bit silly but I enjoyed the ride.