The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

It's London, 1907. Journalist Edward Malone, rejected by the woman he loves because he is too prosaic, decides to go in search of adventure and fame to prove himself worthy of her. Soon after, he meets Professor George Challenger, a scientist who claims to have discovered a 'lost world' populated by pterodactyls and other prehistoric monsters.

I haven’t read this but I’ve always wanted to. An obvious counterpart is Burroughs’ Pellucidar series. I discovered the latter when my dad had the title book laying around the house. He was a voracious reader, an early SF reader & a Freudian psychologist. We had many books around the house & I wasn’t restricted at all in what I read. I read the one book several times & finally found the full series in the same edition when I was in college. I digress. I’ll try to fit this in!

I've read this a couple of times and will be reading it again later this month. It's a lot of fun!

at 30% now, not spectacular yet but a comfortable read, debating professors in the jungle

I've read it in translation like 30+ years ago and back then it was great (partially because new SFF hasn't been available and here we have great adventures and strange life). I plan to read all prof. Challenger adventures this time in the original

I think shaggy, glowering Wallace Beery was perfectly cast as Prof. Challenger in the 1925 silent film.

Vague memories of reading this in my callow youth. I wouldn't mind watching that 1925 film Thomas mentioned. . .

No particular plans to reread this anytime soon. But, never say never!

I'm in for this one. Started today, in fact.

Didn't our group read The Poison Belt previously? They are both part of the "Professor Challenger" series, I see. I found an edition that has all five Professor Challenger stories.

The Poison Belt was nominated for a group read in 2019 but was never an official read. A few members posted they have read it.

That was quite an adventure, at least, at the time of writing I think. there was no Jurassic parc yet. nowadays, it reads a bit like a comic book.

Leo wrote: "That was quite an adventure, at least, at the time of writing I think. there was no Jurassic parc yet. nowadays, it reads a bit like a comic book."

Yes, I mused about it recently - a bit over 100 years ago it was ok to assume there are parts of our world unknown to man. Later they had to 'hide' mysterious places like under the pole or in Arctic

Oleksandr wrote:
"Yes, I mused about it recently - a bit over 100 years ago it was ok to assume there are parts of our world unknown to man. Later they had to 'hide' mysterious places like under the pole or in Arctic"

Rudy Rucker hid something in the Earth's core late in the 20th, If memory serves.... Ah, The Hollow Earth (1990)? Nope, that's a Poe/1830's Southron slavery fantasy. But that must be the one I'm remembering. It wasn't well received.

However, hidden within the Earth or on the back side of the Moon or under the ocean still potentially works. Just not on the surface :)

Oleksandr wrote: "However, hidden within the Earth or on the back side of the Moon or under the ocean still potentially works. Just not on the surface :)"

Right. I'm waiting for the first story set in a hidden cave or tunnel off a lunar polar crater.... Wait, I think I've seen one of those already. A mysterious disappearance from a private expedition to the Moon. Not bad. If I recall the author/title, I'll post it.

Already a couple set in similar things on future human-settled Marses. A new SF micro-genre!

Oleksandr wrote: "However, hidden within the Earth or on the back side of the Moon or under the ocean still potentially works. Just not on the surface :)"

Burroughs' The Pellucidar Series: The Complete & Definitive Edition : At the Earth's Core, Pellucidar, Tanar of Pellucidar, Tarzan at the Earth's Core, Back to the Stone Age, Savage Pellucidar, Land of Terror posed a prehistoric world on the inside of the Earth, facing inwards. It was a fun series.

Thanks for sharing the list, Allan. I really liked the first two so I'm glad there are more!

It is really well written book. Chechl my profile for my rewiew(Where I’m writing scifi rewiews)

I've read and enjoyed quite a few Sherlock Holmes mysteries years ago. I found the Lost World to have a different feel.
It felt like the author was trying to amaze and shock the readers, rather than tell a story. The plot twists were sudden, the details felt thrown together (the landscape alternated between desert and swamp?) and, like many stories written in this time period, the characters fit common stereotypes (such as the Indians all worship the group from England for their abilities).
I can see how this story would be enjoyable for many but I just found it very flawed.

Natalie wrote: "The plot twists were sudden, the details felt thrown together "

I guess the suddenness is because it was initially a serial in a newspaper, so each chapter is a semi-separate story

Many early sci fi were published in the newspaper or a magazine. That would probably influence the authors to make each chapter a bit more self contained.

I agree, Natalie. Serial publication had as big an impact on Victorian fiction as the fix-up novel had on Golden Age science fiction.

I finished my reread of the book and since I'd forgotten a lot of details it was almost like reading it for the first time.
It was a fun read-nothing deep but entertaining, with some humour.

Rosemarie wrote: "I finished my reread of the book and since I'd forgotten a lot of details it was almost like reading it for the first time."

My re-read also shown me how much I forgot, but also things I imagined (or the translation that was my first read was adding things not in the original) for example I clearly recall that Challenger discussed with Summerlee whether the species are ape-men or men-spes

I’ve been trying to put a dent in my to-read shelf so have given shared reads a miss for awhile. Ruined my progress by stopping at a second hand bookstore on the way home from work yesterday (I bought 12 books).

Naturally instead of starting on my new purchases I then browsed my Kindle list and realised that The Lost World was on it. So here I am. Belatedly.

Was a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as a child, many decades ago and did read this one.

As I type, our heroes have just left London and I am completely on board. I have read a lot from this era of books and do quite like the style of that very different era. Wells is the obvious comparison.

Having just finished Doc Smith’s Skylark of Space I found it interesting to see how much the language has changed in under two decades. Also found the different attitudes towards sex amusing. Doyle’s character is clearly overcome by his hormones and doesn’t hide his desires. In Doc Smiths classic the characters are motivated by love at near first sight

Finished this day before yesterday. It was a fun read, reminiscent of my early SF readings from some of my dad's books. Stayed interesting & never got too serious. Anti-climactic as this style of book is, but a good, light adventure.

My belated review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm impressed you read the whole series Oleksandr. Was it difficult to get copies or were they easy to find online?

Natalie wrote: "I'm impressed you read the whole series Oleksandr. Was it difficult to get copies or were they easy to find online?"

Online in the sense that I downloaded library audio loans. I also saw several audio versions online, including on YouTube, which seems to be unabridged