“He would be a harder, sterner man, not so ready to adapt himself to a silly girl's whim. But, above all, he must be a man who could do, who could act, who could look Death in the face and have no fear of him, a man of great deeds and strange experiences. It is never a man that I should love, but always the glories he had won; for they would be reflected upon me. Think of Richard Burton!”

What? Oh this Richard Burton! I don’t want to post a photo of the explorer Burton (too many pics in this review already) but he looks a bit like Freddy Mercury. Ah! That crazy little thing called love.

The above opening quote is spoken by Gladys, the love of Edward Malone’s life. Malone – you see – is the first person narrator of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinotastic The Lost World. So, basically—in order to impress Gladys—the hapless Malone goes on an expedition to South America with the eccentric and very ill-tempered Professor Challenger (who really lives up to his name), also accompanied by a professional jungle adventurer and a biologist. The mission is to bring proof of prehistoric creatures Prof Challenger claims to exist on a plateau he found there on a previous visit. They do, of course, find loads of dinosaurs and other weird critters, otherwise this novel would be pointless. Much proto-Jurassic Park adventuring ensues.

When I read this book as a teen, during the first half of the book I was thinking “enough of all this stuff in London, bring on the dinos already!”. Indeed the first half of The Lost World is all about introducing the colorful characters, and establishing their various motives for the expedition. As a more patient adult reader, I quite enjoyed these earlier chapters, especially the memorable introduction of Professor Challenger who prefers to let his fists do the talking when somebody even slightly annoys him. The little punch-up he has with Malone is quite hilarious. I also enjoy the nonsense with Gladys and the riotous medical students.

I cannot help but admire the way Conan Doyle skillfully builds up the narrative, from the drawing of a stegosaurus by a dead artist

to the team’s suddenly coming upon some iguanodons, to other deadly encounters.

Once the dinosaurs start to appear the book becomes very fast-paced, with the characters getting into scrapes on almost every page.

It is a shame that Professor Challenger is nearly as well-known as Conan Doyle’s most legendary creation Sherlock Holmes, in his ways he is just as intriguing, with his superb intellect paired with an uncontrollable temper.

That's him! Professor Challenger

I am not sure about the scientific feasibility of the plateau which somehow manages to save prehistoric animals from extinction. Seems a bit dodgy, but who cares, right? The many scenes of dinosaur attacks are marvelously vividly written, I particularly love the stuff with the pterodactyls.
.

I don’t really have a lot more to say about The Lost World, any more plot details would probably spoil the book for you. If you are one of those people who have never read a classic published over a century ago because you have the impression that they may be too stuffy for you then perhaps The Lost World is the ideal one to check out. It really is tremendous old school fun. If you are a Jurassic Park fan this book is a must, Michael Crichton’s 1995 novel The Lost World is basically a reboot of this novel, I suppose the title is a tribute to Conan Doyle. I can’t think of any more ifs or buts, The Lost World should appeal to just about anybody. My only complaint is the absence of any tyrannosaurus rex!
________________________
Notes
• Audiobook credit: Fabulous Librivox free audiobook, very entertainingly read by Bob Neufeld. Thank you!

• There is only one other Professor Challenger novel,  The Land of Mist, by all account it is an unreadable mess, written late in his career when Conan Doyle, grieving from the loss of his wife and child, became involved in spiritualism. His Prof Challenger short stories  The Poison Belt,  When the World Screamed, and  The Disintegration Machine are all fun, though.

• n  n
Awesome 1925 movie poster, anachronistic sexy jungle girl notwithstanding (click to enlarge)

Quotes
“Our young friend makes up for many obvious mental lacunae by some measure of primitive common sense”

“He's as clever as they make 'em—a full-charged battery of force and vitality, but a quarrelsome, ill-conditioned faddist”

“An area, as large perhaps as Sussex, has been lifted up en bloc with all its living contents, and cut off by perpendicular precipices of a hardness which defies erosion from all the rest of the continent. What is the result? Why, the ordinary laws of Nature are suspended. The various checks which influence the struggle for existence in the world at large are all neutralized or altered. Creatures survive which would otherwise disappear.”

Move aside, Sherlock…Sir Arthur has conjured a protagonist who's an even more arrogant assbag than you. 

Everyone...the intrepid, the indefatigable, the insufferable Professor G.E. Challenger…
n  n

If, like me, you enjoy characters that are gruff, prideful curmudgeonly sorts, than you will have fun with this guy. He is a serious hoot. Trust me.
 
Physically, Prof. Challenger is a funhouse mirror reflection of Mr. Holmes. Instead of a tall, lanky, clean-shaven gentlemen who calmly condescends to the world around him, we have a short, barrel-chested, physically imposing caveman, with a booming voice and serious anger management issues.

n  n

Tell me he doesn't look like the spitting image of Bluto...from Popeye. Hmmm?

Intellectually, however, Challenger is definitely a pea from the same pompous pod as Doyle's most famous literary creation. Zero charm, no social graces and a chip on his shoulder the size of Gibraltar. He is a serious piece of unrestrained windbaggery that pins the needle on the Arrogasshat Pricktardo Scale. 

And he doled out some serious happy to me while I reading.

Like Holmes, of whom I am a screaming fanboy, I found G.E. Challenger to be enormously fun to listen to as he waxed vaingloriously about his greatness and scientific acumen. While I wouldn't want to spend any real-life time socializing with the ill-mannered prig, as a literary companion he's an absolute blast. 

I can think of no better way to introduce you to the professor, and his over-the-top disagreeability, than the method employed by Doyle to unveil him to readers of The Lost World. When reporter Edward Malone (hiding his true vocation) requests a meeting with the reclusive scientist, this is the letter he receives in reply.

n  SIR,
 
I have duly received your note, in which you claim to endorse my views, although I am not aware that they are dependent upon endorsement either from you or anyone else. You have ventured to use the word “speculation” with regard to my statement upon the subject of Darwinism, and I would call your attention to the fact that such a word in such a connection is offensive to a degree. The context convinces me, however, that you have sinned rather through ignorance and tactlessness than through malice, so I am content to pass the matter by. You quote an isolated sentence from my lecture, and appear to have some difficulty in understanding it. I should have thought that only a sub-human intelligence could have failed to grasp the point, but if it really needs amplification I shall consent to see you at the hour named, though visits and visitors of every sort are exceeding distasteful to me. As to your suggestion that I may modify my opinion, I would have you know that it is not my habit to do so after a deliberate expression of my mature views. You will kindly show the envelope of this letter to my man, Austin, when you call, as he has to take every precaution to shield me from the intrusive rascals who call themselves “journalists.”
 
Yours faithfully,    
 
GEORGE EDWARD CHALLENGER.n

Yes...he's like that. Plus he's violent, quick-tempered, pig-headed, racist, elitist, and is not above putting his wife in "time out" when he feels she has misbehaved. Yeah, he's pretty much the whole package of awesome. Once I read that, I knew I was in for something loaded with win.
 
PLOT SUMMARY:
 
Not sure this is really necessary, so I will keep this brief. As the title suggests, this is one of the archetypes of the “lost world” genre and Sir Arthur brings his usual skill to its execution. A journalist (the aforementioned Edward Malone) eager to impress his girlfriend, requests a dangerous assignment. He lands a doozy when an expedition is planned to prove (or disprove) Challenger's claim of having discovered an isolated region of the Amazon inhabited by dinosaurs, pterodactyls and other extinct and exotic creatures. Together with Challenger, another professor (the obligatory skeptic), and Lord Roxton, the standard rough and ready adventurer, the four embark on their fateful quest.

Frills, thrills, spills, chills and kills ensue...in abundance.

THOUGHTS:
 
This is by the numbers storytelling for this sub genre, but Doyle’s talent and engaging prose make it a lot of fun. It's a given that the fantastic elements of the story have, to an extent, lost their ability to deliver the WOW that they originally produced, and the book's sense of depicting the truly wondrous does suffer a bit as a result. Still, I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging the narrative was and how much fun I had listening to Challenger and his colleagues expound with fervor on their dated scientific theories. 

Excellent storytelling has no expiration date, and Doyle, like contemporaries H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, has the ability to engage and captivate his audience with the wonders of a bygone age. 
 
I enjoyed myself, Sir Arthur. Thank you. 

3.5 stars. Recommended!!

A Journey into the Mindset of Nineteenth Century Western Man

Conan Doyle's adventure story is of four men setting out from London to discover the truth about a lost world, where they have heard that primaeval forms of life exist on an inaccessible plateau in the South American jungle. Their exploration soon reveals that despite initial scepticism, dinosaurs, ancient beasts and a primitive ancestor of man do indeed inhabit the plateau. Having become stranded in the lost world, the four companions are then thrown into a quest for survival, and escape.

This plot is developed through approaches that are blatantly racist and indicate the characters' imperialist mindsets. A black man named Zambo is described as being: 'our devoted negro', 'as loyal as a dog, and about as intelligent'. The native local peoples, categorised as red Indians, are condescended to and belittled: those on the plateau are 'little red people', those on the plain below are nameless servants, whose life or death, presence or absence, have no meaning except in how it impacts their usefulness to the four white protagonists.

The Hispanic guides they employ, Gomez and Manuel, are repeatedly referred to as 'swarthy' and 'half breeds'. If a preoccupation with skin colour and its variations is perhaps to be expected from a nineteenth century text, its association with differing ethical policies according to race is more disturbing still. The betrayal by Gomez (motivated by Roxton's earlier murder of his brother), leaving the white men stranded on the plateau, is viewed as the ultimate, shocking crime. The subsequent murder of Gomez and Manuel by white Roxton and black Zambo (on behalf of Roxton) is by contrast viewed unproblemmatically by the narrator. The stranding of the whites by the 'half breeds' is perceived to be severely dishonourable, yet the larger crime of the Hispanic guides being killed is presented as acceptable.

In addition to this, the white men's attitudes to their new world cause wider devastation. The group of four contains one hunter (who is also an English lord), one journalist, and two professors of science. Their original mandate is to confirm the existence of the lost world, verifying claims made by one of the professors that dinosaurs exist there. Having accomplished this task, they seek further exploration - in part because they are trapped up on the plateau. Soon their combined energies are united in the destruction of many rare beasts in a Victorian desire to kill and mount specimens.

'I will surely give some account of the toxodon, the giant ten-foot guinea pig, with projecting chiselled teeth, which we killed as it drank in the grey of the morning by our side.'

They partake in a war to wipe out the apemen, to the last member of the species. The ape men are an aggressive species, not unlike mankind, and they are the missing link between modern man and primates. That these two professors: learned men, and scientists, actively participate in this slaughter and completely annihilate an entirely new species, and one that is the ancestor of modern humanity, makes it obvious how astoundingly senseless this mindset is. The actions of the four men are influenced by their predominant attitude of destructive curiosity and human superiority (and by human it is meant of course, the European male).

'The males were exterminated, Ape Town was destroyed, the females and young were driven away to live in bondage ... where they would, from now onwards, be a servile race under the eyes of their masters.'

The book's structure is clever - using the journalist's reports as narration, providing verisimilitude and tension in telling the story. It is also well set up from first to last, as a structure, with the plot coming full circle from Challenger's disputed claims at the beginning to his successful revealing of the pterodactyl at the end. The reporting of this presentation by Malone's fellow journalist, and thus an outsider, is another good device, injecting a semblance of objectivity. However all this is overshadowed by the racist outlook and brutal actions of Doyle's protagonists during their time in South America.

It’s hard to think of another long departed author, whose name is so well known to the general public, who would be so disappointed by his reputation. Conan Doyle of course saw himself as a great historical novelist, in his dreams that’s how he would have liked to have been remembered (probably he’d also have liked to be known for his spiritual writings). Instead he has an albatross smoking a pipe hung around his neck, in the form of Sherlock Holmes.

Of course after Holmes (as Mike states so correctly below) the best known of his works would be ‘The Lost World’. Until now I’ve not read any of Conan Doyle’s non-Holmes works, but on the evidence of this (and ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’, say), he was a superb adventure writer.

‘The Lost World’ is a rollicking boy’s own yarn. Professor Challenger leads an expedition of a fellow academic, a journalist and a gentleman adventure, to an Amazonian land where dinosaur still exist. It’s a superbly plotted tale which kept me gripped to the end.

From a more liberal twenty-first century perspective, there are some problems. The ever faithful black servant must surely have seemed something of an anachronism even in Conan Doyle’s own life-time. While the fact our four heroes help massacre the less advanced tribe on the plateau does – even with the author bending so that he can touch his heels to hammer home the glory of battle – echo the most troubling parts of colonialism. But perhaps, now, we can see the title in two ways. It’s not just about dinosaurs, but a window to a lost world of post-Victorian attitudes which have now – thankfully – vanished.

Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" focuses on a story about an expedition in the South American Rainforest, leading its four protagonists on a plateau which seems to surround a world believed to be long-gone. Confronted with dinosaurs like pterodactyls, iguanodons or stegosaurus, our main characters have to solve many difficult or even dramatic situations, and it's one enjoyable thing to read it.

"The Lost World" is written from the perspective of Edward Malone - at first as part of a recollection of the events leading up to the expedition, and later in the form of a notebook Malone wrote in order to portray the events during their expedition.

Doyle's characters are one-dimensional and not very interesting. Edward Malone is something like a doppelganger to John Watson from his Sherlock Holmes novels, while Professor Challenger himself, as entertaining as his arrogance and strenuous attitudes were, felt like a second Sherlock, only beamed into a new profession. The two other main characters, John Roxton (an adventurer who might have been an ancestor to Indiana Jones) and Dr. Summerlee (who was just present to contradict Professor Challenger's opinions) weren't too interesting at all, but it wasn't those characters which made the story so enjoyable.

It was its insight into prehistoric life and the depiction of dangerous expeditions which kept me reading. Doyle didn't give too much of an explanation about why dinosaurs were still living in this forgotten part of the world, but it wasn't what I expected to read, since the story centered around discoverers who were meant to investigate this part of the world, not to question its background. The story probably includes a lot of contradictions to what is known about dinosaurs and their lives today, but it depicts what people knew at the beginning of the twentieth century, and it is framed by an enthralling story which reminds readers of how expeditions in those days have really been: dangerous and unforeseeable.

Minor elements in this story include an unexpected betrayal, the protagonist's own romantic desires as well as an important conflict between two human races, but in the centre of it all, the prehistorical aspects are what brings this story to life. In general, it was a very interesting read, and while it will not be reminded for its characters, the story which includes one of the first views on prehistoric life in literature makes it a true classic.

Book Reviewed by Clive on www.whisperingstories.com

After his initial success Conan Doyle spent much of his literary career trying to break free from Sherlock Holmes but public pressure and the need for a good income kept the two inexorably bound. His historical novels found little success but he achieved more with his science fiction adventures of which The Lost World was by far the most successful. And rightly so. This tale of a hidden world is full of action with many mysteries to ponder. Just imagine the excitement of the readers of Strand Magazine as they waited for the next episode of the story to be published; just what creatures or predicaments would our heroes meet next?

As far as I know Conan Doyle never travelled up the Amazon. He obtained his knowledge from other people’s accounts but his descriptions of the jungle are excellent and help to build the tension before they even reach the site of the lost world.

Despite the age of the book and the language of the time I found it easy to read. Having the story written in the first person helped to maintain the tension and fear.

The principle characters are those one would expect from an action story of that time, the relatively innocent narrator, the two irascible professors and everybody’s favourite, the all-action Lord John Roxton; sportsman, world explorer, British gentleman and all round good egg. The sort of character that we have seen parodied countless times.

I was expecting action and mysterious creatures but my surprise was Conan Doyle’s humour. In particular I found myself laughing out loud at the chapter describing the lecture at the start of the book. To use the vernacular of the time the inaudible chairman was an absolute “hoot”.

For several reasons The Lost World could not be written today. With the benefit of current knowledge it is hard to believe that such a mix of fauna could exist together in such a relatively small space. Also, any modern book would have a balanced mix of gender and race whereas here we have four upper class English male explorers, some Native South American bearers, a loyal “negro” servant and just two very stereotypical female characters with very minor roles.

As is usual for Alma Classics there are a few pages of useful notes to explain some of the references to contemporary persons and literature. The cover has an outline drawing of what must be Lord John in jodhpurs and pith helmet, looking up at pterodactyls flying above.

The book has a lively ending and promised more adventures for the leading characters which Conan Doyle fulfilled with several short stories and another book. The Lost World brightened up a couple of dull post-Christmas days and for sheer “ripping yarn” entertainment I have awarded five stars.

What a wonderful novel! This was part of a children's classics set that I've had for years, and I felt something adventure-like, especially after The Thirty-Nine Steps. And it definitely fulfilled my adventure urge!

Very much like Jules Vernes' novels, The Lost World details the exploration of a hidden area in the South American jungle, where somehow the prehistoric dinosaurs and reptiles have survived. Narrated by the journalist Ed Malone, it is honestly a wonderful read

I was sitting at the edge of my seat reading, and I hardly put it down all day. Even though Conan Doyle is best known for his Sherlock Holmes writing, this is as intriguing as any of his detective stories!

E se in un remoto lembo di terra sperduto nel fitto delle giungle Sudamericane esistesse un altopiano in cui i giganti preistorici hanno vissuto indisturbati sino ai giorni nostri?
Questo quesito a cui porre risposta è l’obbiettivo di una spedizione composta da 4 persone, l’arcigno e scontroso professor Challenger (il cui racconto del suo precedente viaggio, non creduto veritiero dai suoi colleghi, farà da trampolino per una nuova spedizione raccontata poi in questo libro), da Summerlee, altro professore in perenne lotta ideologica con il collega sopra menzionato, dall’atletico e sagace Lord Roxton e dal giovane giornalista (e protagonista) Edward Malone.
In un susseguirsi di situazioni avventurose, i protagonisti si troveranno più di una volta a fare i conti con innumerevoli pericoli, mostri preistorici, terrificanti uomini-scimmia, popolazioni indigene sconosciute e fuori dal tempo ma anche con la bellezza della natura incontaminata e sconosciuta, placidi fiumi, foreste vergini, laghi, geyser, montagne e caverne.
“Il mondo perduto” scritto nel 1912 propone l’Arthur Conan Doyle del celebre Sherlock Holmes nella sua veste, ben meno conosciuta ma altrettanto sviluppata, di scrittore di racconti fantastici/fantascientifici.
Una lettura scorrevole e piacevole che per la struttura del racconto risulta adatta sia ai ragazzi ma anche ad un pubblico adulto.

The Lost World is a classic work of action/adventure that has a lively feel that made for a very fun read. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories, has a way of writing an engaging tale. For readers who fear reading books published prior to the later 20th century out of the desire to avoid dry, stale language, I would offer up this book. Although it shows the sentiments, good and bad, for the period in which it was written, the writing tone could easily be as modern as a work published in the recent years. It doesn't have much of a dated feel to this reader, except in one way that I will address later. Mr. Doyle takes the scientific debates of the later Victorian, early Edwardian period, and gives us vivid characters to speak for the different viewpoints, making what could be a dry discussion of evolutionary biology and the various proponents or antagonists therein, and instead crafting a diverting read.

Challenger:

Challenger is by far the most hilarious character in this story. He is completely pompous and arrogant, assured that he knows everything, and of his utter superiority in every way. He is oblivious to the idea that anything should shake his massive self-confidence. Although he is right a lot of the time, sometimes he's very, very wrong (or his way of analyzing and approaching things is just skewed), not that he lets that bother him much. Mr. Doyle created an iconic figure here, so it doesn't surprise me that he wrote other stories about Challenger. He's too good a character to let go of.

Summerlee:

Summerlee is mostly a foil for the more vibrant, and sometimes often obnoxious Challenger. He doesn't come off quite as vivid as either Challenger or Roxton, but he adds to the scope and detail of this story with his acerbic, strong, but not bull-like in the way of Challenger, personality. He turns out to be a very valuable member of the exhibition, both for his counterpart role as the voice of reason to the more bombastic Challenger, but also for his scientific knowledge and rationality in the face of very eye-raising events in the Lost World.

Roxton:

Goodness, I did love this character. I have seen and encountered those in popular media who exhibit the Great White Hunter stereotype, but Roxton didn't strike me that way at all. He's an alpha male in all the good ways. He wasn't one-dimensional, only driven by the hunt and sport (as I feared), although those were important things to him. He's a man's man, but he's also a thinker and a doer. He is a man who lives life to the fullest, and doesn't let fear or 'can't dos' stand in the way. He is a lot more compassionate and crusading that I expected. I thought he would be self-serving and superior. That's not him at all. Roxton is another iconic, larger-than-life character, that no doubt fueled many of the adventurer types that have populated later literature and cinema/television stories in this genre. In his own way, Roxton is also a foil for Challenger. Challenger is convinced of his self-importance, and ever ready to take credit for what he does. Roxton likes the thrill and the challenge. He claims his trophies, but it's not about the right to brag. It's about the doing for him. His very apt, if "school of hard knocks" wisdom saves the day many a time on this journey.

Malone:

Malone is the point of view of this novel. We see everything through his eyes, and his wry observations make for some very humorous moments. Doyle also uses Malone to convey the wonder of the Lost World. He describes both the dangerous and fearsome aspects of the lost world, and the rare and eye-opening beauty in a way that pulls me into the narrative head first. Malone and Roxton seem to be contrasted in ways in that Malone is a bit more of the thinker, who wishes he was the doer. He has quite a case of hero worship for Roxton, but Malone proves to be very valuable on this expedition, both as a source of information, and by his own feats that save and protect the various members on the expedition. He turns out to be a character that one should not underestimate or dismiss.

You take the good with the bad:

When it comes to older books and stories, one prepares to see some rather disappointing exhibitions of racism come into play. As a reader of classic and pulp literature, I have had it hit me very badly with some authors, and others where I was surprised at how enlightened their attitudes seemed. For the most part, this wasn't as bad as it could have been in that sense. However, it did bother me and made me wince how the one Negro character was referred to as 'our faithful' and as though he was an unintelligent object or possession pretty much every time. I found it very patronizing and offensive. His speech was very stereotyped (poor English and using the word 'Massa'), and showing slavish devotion to his white 'betters'. He was even referred to as being as intelligent as a horse. You could take that in the manner in which it was intended (which I did), as the man being less intelligent than white men, or you could take that as Doyle believing horses are smart cookies. Out of this whole book (which I had mainly favorable reactions to), this aspect left a bad taste in my mouth. It seemed as though the views of the South American natives were more enlightented than the black man. Yeah, that smarts. Also there is a tone that speaks of the inherent superiority of the white man and Europeans. I'm not beating up Doyle. I'm telling it like it is and how it affected me as a reader of color. I realize that these were the prevalent thoughts of the time. But this is not something that makes me a happy camper. Thus, it dulls the shining light of this story somewhat for this reader.

On the good side....:

The science, botany and zoology, exhibited in this story seemed quite knowledgeable, showing that Doyle did attempt to do his homework. I am no dinosaur expert, but I did recognize many of the older names for dinosaurs which probably came into common knowledge around the period in which this was written. This story also conveys a detail about the South American rainforests and tropical environs that made for a seemingly credible read. I felt like I was along for the journey, but immensely glad that I was just reading this book on my Kindle when it came to encountering vicious carnivorous species and the rather vile apemen.

End Verdict:

The Lost World is a piece of classic literature that no respectable adventure fan should go without reading. If you enjoy movies like Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider, or any other of the many treasure hunting/lost world expedition movies and tv shows, then take a little time to explore one of the forefronts in this genre of literature. I give it a thumbs up.

¿Una novela sobre una tierra fantástica donde aún habitan los dinosaurios? Puede que en el día de hoy nos parezca una temática agotada (pese a que cada varios años sigue estrenándose alguna nueva película de la saga de Parque Jurásico), pero en 1912 debió de ser muy original.
Conan Doyle deja a un lado al mítico Sherlock Holmes para presentarnos a otro personaje al que podríamos calificar, en pocas palabras, de inaguantable: el profesor Challenger. Hombre sumamente inteligente, pero también irascible, pedante, engreído y antipático, bajo su dirección una expedición de cuatro hombres se embarca a Sudamérica en busca de un mundo perdido. Dinosaurios, guerras tribales, misteriosos hombres-mono y otros peligros de todo tipo llenan las páginas de esta clásica novela de aventuras, que cumple perfectamente con lo que su premisa promete. Ligera y divertida, los jóvenes lectores de la época eduardiana tuvieron que disfrutar muchísimo con las peripecias del profesor Challenger y compañía. Yo, personalmente, me lo he pasado bastante bien.

La primera mitad del libro es un poco lenta, pero llegando a la parte importante de la historia, Conan Doyle logra transportarte al mundo de su imaginación de manera muy real.

3.5 rating

“So tomorrow we disappear into the unknown. This account I am transmitting down the river by canoe, and it may be our last word to those who are interested in our fate.”

Ironically the first part was better than when the actual adventure started. I think it's because the writer did not indulge in so much descriptive rambling and lengthy pauses during the build-up, which allowed that part of the story to shine triumphantly with humor, quirky characters, and fun motivations.

I loved the protagonist and Professor Challenger - eventually I ended up enjoying the four main travelers, but those two were the most fun. Challenger was especially thrilling with his brutish humor, fearsome reputation, and kinship with the ape people. I laughed aloud a few times, which I didn't expect when I first dared to pick this one up.

While the adventure part was full action-adventure mode, descriptive, creative and chilling, sometimes it left my interest in the dust. The story became long-winded and downright dull for many parts.

It has all the winning tropes – testosterone overload as the men bond and pair against each other, trying to one-up each other’s stories and heroics; betrayals in the group; adventures where people escape at the nick of time; heroes not believed until they show evidence that leaves no doubt; comedy and adventure mixed as one.

Unfortunately it’s a little too action-packed at times, but overall it’s still deserving of its classic reputation and will live on.