At the Earth's Core

Rating:
Summary: Can David Innes win Dian the Beautiful from Jubal the Ugly?
Review: "In the first place please bear in mind that I do not expect you to believe this story," says our narrator in the opening line of "At the Earth's Core," the first book in the Pellucidar Series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The narrator is young David Innes, who joins Professor Abner Perry in test driving a mechanical prospector drill that develops steering problems and takes the duo down, down, deep into the earth. Just about as they think they are about to die they pass through the earth's crust and into the core world of Pellucidar. The world is inhabited by sloth-like "Dyryths" and the Sagoths, agile man-apes with tails. Captured by these latter creatures, Innes and Perry are taken before the Mahars, a race of sentientt flying dinosaurs, what Abener identifis as "A rhamphorhynchus of the Middle Olitic." The Mahars are the overlords of Pellucidar, enslaving the Mezops, the human-like inhabitants of the inner world. Innes wants to bring the Mahars' reign of terror to an end, but he has another problem, to wit, a love triangle with Dian the Beautiful and Jubal the Ugly. At least the characters in Edgar Rice Burroughs novels pick up primitive and/or other wordly languages within the span of a chapter.

There is something nostalgic about these old ERB novels with their standard opening where the narrator asks us to treat the unbelievable story we are about to hear as true. "At the Earth's Core" was originally published in "All-Story" magazine from April 4 to April 25, 1914. It was ERB's tenth published novel at a point where he had written the first two Tarzan novels and the first three Mars books. The Pellucidar series was probably his third best series, coming ahead of the Carson of Venus books. The trade off here is that the adventure is fun but the dialogue wears thin quickly (how many times can the native of Pellucidar comment on our hero's ignorance of the ways of the inner world). Besides, David and Dian are are a second rate John Carter and Dejah Thoris (i.e., do not do the Pellucidar novels until you have enjoyed the Mars series). This is one of the few non-Tarzan novels that made it to the big screen, albeit with some of the worst fake dinosaurs for the Mahars you have ever seen. The book is better, so stick with it. Besides, there are more adventures for David and Abner in the rest of the series.

Rating:
Summary: Pulp Mini-Epic...
Review: ...so one day independently wealthy David Ennis is confronted by his scientist buddy Abner Peery who has just invented a vehicle that essentially drills through the earth. (If the reader is into descriptives it looks like the device Dr Evil of Austin Powers fame has devised to take over the world.) They decide, "Well, let's try it out." and the reader is then treated to a journey to middle earth which is similar to Jules Verne's, but not as serious. I would say that Burroughs brings us satire similar to Voltaire's "Candide" or Swift's "Gulliver's Travel". The inner world, Pellicidar, is one where if you are not careful, you can be awake for days because the sun never sets or rises--that sun being the molten earth core rather than the sun we all know of. In Pellucidar, the various dragons, apes, and reptiles and mutations of such, are heads of gangs, tribes and kingdoms in the middle earth. And the royalty has beautiful sorcery princesses like Dian the Beautiful, who David falls for and who leads him into an innerworld adventure taking the reader to an unforgettable serial-pulp style reading enjoyment. If you dig Robert E. Howard or Jules Verne or Rice Burroughs' Tarzan series you will definitely love this. My opinion is that this is one of those series that could stand some revamping and the reader will feel that this is somewhat dated but, I feel that it is still well-worth the investment of time and $.

Rating:
Summary: An unexpected engaging experience!
Review: A terrific adventure novel that will immerse you in a world with simple, descriptive language and rollicking action sequences, "At The Earth's Core" is an early Edgar Rice Burroughs tale, the first of several books that take place in the land of Pellucidar.
Yes, Pellucidar lies in the center of the earth. Jules Verne's take on what lies beneath differs greatly; this one less "sci-fi" and more fun...like "Jurassic Park" fun.
I think the audience most likely to be enthralled here, is the one comprised of pre-teenage boys...yet anyone who loves a a good story well told will become a fan as well.
This is a tough book to stop reading...it's one of those that you want to see "what happens next." So much so I've already ordered as many other Pellucidar books as I could find...
A synopsis is unnecessary...it's already been nicely done here at the Review site. Just know that, in a fashion that reminds me of "The Princess Bride", the "mushy" parts dovetail nicely with the "adventure" parts. The relationship between Innes and Dian is interesting, non-stereotypical, and surprisingly modern.
I was already a fan of ERB's Tarzan books.
It seems I've added another series to my "must read/own" list.
I'm afraid to read "A Princess of Mars" (the Mars series)...or perhaps I should say my bank account is.

Rating:
Summary: Much better than the movie...
Review: Although far less plausible and possessing characters of much less depth than Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, Burrough's At the Earth's Core, despite some embarrassingly preposterous elements, is an entertaining read due to its well-rendered, imaginative fantasy setting and fast-paced swashbuckling adventure. The story is never dull, and the hideous and hypnotic bat-winged Mayars make for memorable villains. The depiction of a human sacrifice to these monsters halfway through the novel is particularly unforgettable. There is also a multifarious array of attacking prehistoric monsters, without the claustrophobic feel of the 1970's film.

Also recommended is Basil Copper's treatment of the descent-into-the-earth theme in his creepy novel The Great White Space, now unfortunately out of print.

Rating:
Summary: THE OTHER JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
Review: DAVID INNES AND ABNER PERRY SET OUT TO TEST THE MECHANICAL MOLE, A SORT OF SUBMARINE FOR DRY LAND, AND END UP IN THE FABULOUS WORLD OF PELUCIDAR, A JURASSIC PARK ON A WORLDWIDE SCALE. DON'T JUDGE THE BOOK BY THE AWFUL MOVIE VERSION WITH DOUG MACLURE. THIS IS A FIRST RATE ACTION ADVENTURE WRITTEN BY THE ABSOLUTE MASTER OF OTHERWORLDLY ADVENTURES. REMEMBER, THIS ONE WAS WRITTEN BEFORE WORLD WAR 1. EVERYONE ELSE COPIED MR. BURROUGHS. THIS IS THE ORIGONAL! READ IT AND ENJOY ADVENTURE THAT, LIKE FINE WINW, ONLY GETS BETTER WITH AGE.

Rating:
Summary: New Series New Hero But Still Enjoyable
Review: For Edgar Rice Burroughs, life was relatively simple. Men fell into one of three categories: muscular heroes, ordinary types, and evil, greasy villains. Women existed primarily to act as universal lighting rods that attracted either the first or third category. Regardless of the universe that ERB wrote of, these constants held with predictable regularity. With the publication of AT THE EARTH'S CORE, he began yet another series that put the hero at odds with nature, evil doers, and beautiful, virtuous women. David Innes, the handsome hero, drills down to the center of the earth in a manner that brings to mind Jules Verne's tale, both of which posit a habitable, temperate core that supports a variety of lush, prehistoric life. Despite knowing that the earth's core was held to be molten, ERB did not hesitate to bend science for the sake of a good tale. ATEC possesses both the plusses of ERB at his best and the negatives at his worst. Like Tarzan, Innes is a likable, manly sort who feels at home regardless of whether home is a jungle or a tea room. The logic of how ERB gets his hero placed in an exotic locale is irrelevant and often purely unscientific. For his Martian (Barsoom) series, he merely had his hero, John Carter, gaze at the Red Planet to effect his transport there. For his inner world series (Pellucidar), Innes used a drill machine, a device that at least tries to be scientific. Once there, Innes has the necessary adventures with beasts, villains, and beautiful women, in this case Dian the Beautiful. The workings of the plot about how he finds her, loses her, and then finds her again are almost not to the point. Where ERB excels in his ability to place the reader, who is usually a 15 year old boy, in a realm that allows imagination to run riot. Events flow so smoothly that the youthful reader will probably overlook the negatives of ERB's prose style. In the world of ERB's muscular heroes, both hero and villain speak in the artificial, courtly dialogue that rings true only to the ears of the young. Coincidence runs rife to the point of ridicule. Beautiful women are haughty at first, but lusty later, and then only to the clean-limbed hero. His plots are often mirror images of one another. You can substitute the center of the earth for Mars, Venus, Africa, or wherever, and hero, villain, and lovely lady are interchangeable. Yet, despite all this, AT THE EARTH'S CORE is the kind of read that ought to be part of any kid's early mental universe. Reading Burroughs as a thirty year old requires a strong ability to suspend one's disbelief, but once having done so, the ride is usually worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: New Series New Hero But Still Enjoyable
Review: For Edgar Rice Burroughs, life was relatively simple. Men fell into one of three categories: muscular heroes, ordinary types, and evil, greasy villains. Women existed primarily to act as universal lighting rods that attracted either the first or third category. Regardless of the universe that ERB wrote of, these constants held with predictable regularity. With the publication of AT THE EARTH'S CORE, he began yet another series that put the hero at odds with nature, evil doers, and beautiful, virtuous women. David Innes, the handsome hero, drills down to the center of the earth in a manner that brings to mind Jules Verne's tale, both of which posit a habitable, temperate core that supports a variety of lush, prehistoric life. Despite knowing that the earth's core was held to be molten, ERB did not hesitate to bend science for the sake of a good tale. ATEC possesses both the plusses of ERB at his best and the negatives at his worst. Like Tarzan, Innes is a likable, manly sort who feels at home regardless of whether home is a jungle or a tea room. The logic of how ERB gets his hero placed in an exotic locale is irrelevant and often purely unscientific. For his Martian (Barsoom) series, he merely had his hero, John Carter, gaze at the Red Planet to effect his transport there. For his inner world series (Pellucidar), Innes used a drill machine, a device that at least tries to be scientific. Once there, Innes has the necessary adventures with beasts, villains, and beautiful women, in this case Dian the Beautiful. The workings of the plot about how he finds her, loses her, and then finds her again are almost not to the point. Where ERB excels in his ability to place the reader, who is usually a 15 year old boy, in a realm that allows imagination to run riot. Events flow so smoothly that the youthful reader will probably overlook the negatives of ERB's prose style. In the world of ERB's muscular heroes, both hero and villain speak in the artificial, courtly dialogue that rings true only to the ears of the young. Coincidence runs rife to the point of ridicule. Beautiful women are haughty at first, but lusty later, and then only to the clean-limbed hero. His plots are often mirror images of one another. You can substitute the center of the earth for Mars, Venus, Africa, or wherever, and hero, villain, and lovely lady are interchangeable. Yet, despite all this, AT THE EARTH'S CORE is the kind of read that ought to be part of any kid's early mental universe. Reading Burroughs as a thirty year old requires a strong ability to suspend one's disbelief, but once having done so, the ride is usually worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: Enter David Innes
Review: Having already created two highly memorable science fiction heroes in Tarzan and John Carter, Edgar Rice Burroughs begins his third major series with David Innes. With friend Abner Perry, they dive their "mole", or burroughing machine, straight through the earth's surface where they discover the savage land of Pellucidar. Here, where dinosaurs still exist and mankind is enslaved by the reptilian Mahars, David and his friend are forced to face unknown perils and survive in a hostile environment (and of course, win the beautiful lady).

"At the Earth's Core" is another highly entertaining science fiction novel from ERB. Even though his format is formulaic, you're always assured of fast paced adventure in his novels. Not as groundbreaking as Tarzan or as strong as John Carter, The Pellucidar series is still a worthy addition to Burroughs body of work, and it gets an extra star for the nostalgia of being a personal childhood favorite.

Rating:
Summary: A true Science Fiction classic!
Review: I read this book for one of my book reports and I was spellbound the moment that the dinosaurs and creatures rolled in. It was way better than the film and it crammed your mind with suspense.