Vril, the Power of the Coming Race

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Summary: If your a fan of the HOLLOW EARTH you will love this book
Review: First of all this book is non fiction its real, it really happend and the "Ana" the underground race who fly with artificial wings are still there. If your into the Inner earth and belive it is real then get this book.With vril power you can astral travel like the Lumerians who live under Mt. Shasta do. Under tyhe earth there's Atlanteans and the evil Dero and creatures of all sizes,shapes,colers that the mind could grasp and some that could not some are from planets whose names have long been forgotten. Read this book and belive.

Rating:
Summary: If your a fan of the HOLLOW EARTH you will love this book
Review: First of all this book is non fiction its real, it really happend and the "Ana" the underground race who fly with artificial wings are still there. If your into the Inner earth and belive it is real then get this book.With vril power you can astral travel like the Lumerians who live under Mt. Shasta do. Under tyhe earth there's Atlanteans and the evil Dero and creatures of all sizes,shapes,colers that the mind could grasp and some that could not some are from planets whose names have long been forgotten. Read this book and belive.

Rating:
Summary: Vril:the Power of the Coming Race
Review: One of the earliest science fiction novels in English, *The Coming Race* was published in 1871 and became an immediate bestseller (it ran through 8 editions in its first 18 months and was later reprinted with the title *Vril: the Power of the Coming Race*). It tells the story of an American mining engineer who descends into the center of the earth and encounters a humanoid subterranean people whose extraordinary technological and telekinetic power proceeds from their control of a mysterious energy called "vril." Through the power of vril they are able to fly, effortlessly move huge objects, and even destroy their enemies from a great distance (by what amounts to an early version of guided missiles). With such immense power freely available to all, war has become a practical impossibility among the subterraneans, who content themselves instead with perfecting their intellectual and artistic accomplishments. However, much in the manner of certain episodes of *Startrek* (a hundred years later), their serene superiority is shown to be inimical to all that is most truly creative in the human spirit. Without human passions, without human strife, the subterraneans's existence is shown to run counter to the most fundamental aspects of the human condition. It is a frightening prospect, therefore, that they believe their destiny is to return to the surface of the earth (whence they had descended, aeons before, during the Biblical flood) to supplant the inferior races living there -- hence they are the *coming* race. The author of the book, Edward Bulwer Lytton, one of the most popular of all Victorian novelists (who in 1866 had been raised to the peerage as Baron Lytton of Knebworth) declared that one of his main aims was to satirise the Darwinian biology of *The Origin of Species* and the political ideals of John Stuart Mill's *The Emancipation of Women*. Accordingly,the novel contains amusing pseudo-scientific passages on the supposed evolution of the subterraneans -- who believe they are descended not from apes but from frogs -- and some rather heavy-handed gender reversal, whereby the subterranean women are larger, stronger, more dominant (and hairier) than the men. Though aspects of the novel now seem labored and unsubtle, it remains a fascinating book in its mid-Victorian vision of dystopian science and politics. Its most unlikely claim to fame? It was so successful that the word vril briefly entered the language (see OED), signifying a strength-giving elixir. The household name (at least in the UK) of the beef extract product "Bovril," first marketed in the early 1880s, is a composite of the words "bovine" and "vril". Few, if any, novels can claim so commercial an influence! Highly recommended.

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Summary: STRANGE...
Review: Strange how many early science fiction writers spun yarns dealing with an odd subterranean race dwelling within the earth. This was the first, essentially. Such myths, however, are found in most cultures... Tibet, Ireland, South America, native Americans & so on. Bulwer Lyton is a strange writer, & this an interesting read...

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Summary: Comming Race is a Fun Read
Review: The Coming Race is a great book on many levels. As a story it is well developed and is one of Bulwer-Lytton's best works of science fiction. Also from a historical aspect it is an interesting document to see how the Victorian mind saw the world and what was beyond their horizons. This book had an incredible impact upon the reading public upon its release in 1871 and its influence, as well as that of Lytton in general, is felt greatly in later works of early sci-fi. I especially feel the stylistic influence in Upton Sinclair's "Millennium" and while for a review this is neither here nor there, this is important in understanding the development of the genre.

The book opens up with the main character, an American, being invited into a mine exploration by friend. Within just a few pages of the most basic exposition the story begins. For this genre and being that the terranean characters matter little, jumping into the plot like this makes the reading fun. For a 19th century it reads very fast and before long the reader will be well acquainted with the ways of the vril-ya and "vril" - the power source of the coming race. It really is a fun read.

The only problem with this book is that while Lytton goes through an enormity of steps to describe the culture and idiosyncrasies of the vril-ya the book at times reads more like notes of an anthropologist than a literary novel. Of course this may be the intention and since it is such a quick and enjoyable read, we can forgive the author of this. If you are fan of Lord Lytton or a fan of early Sci-Fi this is a definite read. I also would recommend this book to anyone who like 19th century novels and think this should be included in more high school English literature classes because it does not fit the stereotype and would be a welcome break for many students. While we know quite well that this work is purely fantastical it is really enjoyable to see how the mind of the 19th century saw the possibility of worlds going on underground and it is fun to imagine and believe...

-- Ted Murena

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Summary: A fantastic world like you've never dreamed of before!
Review: This book, although written over one hundred years ago by Lord Lytton, contains some of the most futuristic thinking I've ever read about. I read the book in 2 days and was glued to it by the suspense and captivated by the fascination of the society described in it. The story is about a man who stumbles upon an unknown society, living underground, which lead their lives by the principles of VRIL, a life force that is all powerful and healing yet capable of utter destrucion. Every person in this society has the power of this force from birth on and is thus capable of destroying any of his fellow men. This forced the society, named Vrilya, to evolve into a perfect utopian harmony where everyone posesses free will and is completely tolerant of each other.

Written in first person from the view point of the man who discovered them, the book is written in an easy to read language. It relays satiric undertones regarding democracy and imperialism and contains many ideas of anthroposophy, including the Vrilya belief of life after death. The Vrilya are shown to be a more evolved human race, by many thousand years, and are believed to have descended from survivors of the Great Flood, who as a result fled underground. It shows what the future may look like for us, but hinges on the discovery and mastery of the life force, VRIL. Although there seem to be some inconsistencies in the description and behavior of the soceity, they were not grave enough to keep me from reading more. This book should be read by anyone who likes books like 1984, The Brave New World or even A Wrinkle in Time. Unlike the books just mentioned, Vril: The Power of the Coming Race, displays a fundamentally different view of our possible future. A future not ruled by authoritarians or Big Brother, or drugs or reward and punishment, but a future that requires everyone to live peacefully and happily through the consequences of their own power.

All in all, the story is sure to captivate and when keeping in mind when it was written, it is all the more amazing. I loved it, because it made me think about how we live today and the way we could live together without the negatives of our society. It also made me think about how we (The United States) should behave as the most "advanced" country on earth. I was also fascinated by the potential of the human race which we don't realize in every day life. I am sure anyone who reads this great book will love it too.

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Summary: The Coming Race!
Review: _Vril: The Power of the Coming Race_ by Victorian novelist Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton first published in 1871 is a fascinating and bizarre tale of a subterranean world. The novel begins as the narrator, an American, descends into a mine shaft where an accident occurs leaving him stranded in a subterranean realm. There he encounters a mysterious race, in possession of uncanny powers, the ability to fly, the control of automata, and the control of a mysterious force known as Vril. These are the Vril-ya, the civilized race, who constitute a utopian civilization beneath the surface of the Earth. Bulwer-Lytton spends much time expounding upon the culture, the language, the traits, and the religion of this underworld race, which may seek someday to rise to the surface of the Earth again from whence it came. This race has a culture and civilization quite distinct from that of the Victorian world in which Bulwer-Lytton and the narrator lived. There are two sexes, the Ana (or males) and the Gy-ei (or females), but their roles are somewhat reversed with the Gy-ei courting the Ana. In this respect Bulwer-Lytton sought to parody the female rights movement of his time and the ideas of philosophers such as John Stuart Mill. Also, the Ana believe themselves to be descended from frogs, or to be followed by frogs, parodying the ideas of Darwinian evolution. The society of the Ana is entirely aristocratic and free from passion, strife, crime, and war though these notions occur in their history books. The Ana look down upon the government of the many as Koom-Posh. This may reveal Bulwer-Lytton's aristocratic prejudices. In addition, the children of the society serve as guardians until they reach marriageable age. Bulwer-Lytton also discusses the language of the Vril-ya, where he owes a debt to Max Muller to whom he dedicated this novel. This language resembles the Indo-European tongues which were being studied at the time. While in the subterranean world, the narrator (who is referred to as a Tish by the Ana) witnesses the enormous power which the Ana yield through Vril. He watches as this power is used to destroy a reptilian monster who had made off with his friend at the beginning of the story. In addition, he learns much of their customs and society. He also witnesses a funeral in which the power of Vril again is used to incinerate a corpse. Eventually, a certain Gy named Zee becomes enamored of him. The Gy-ei are larger than the Ana and are especially learned. This relationship though is one that cannot be and forces the narrator to make an important decision. This tale is bizarre and offers a unique look into the utopian mindset of the Victorian era. The novels of Bulwer-Lytton came to have much influence on many later writers including such individuals as Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the Russian seeress who plagiarized much from his stories. Subterranean worlds have came to be a source of fascination and were incorporated into many of the traditions of the ancient world and of the Nineteenth century.