Pellucidar

📘 About This Book

Pellucidar is a fictional Hollow Earth milieu invented by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. In a notable crossover event between Burroughs' series, there is a Tarzan story in which the Ape Man travels into Pellucidar. The stories initially involve the adventures of mining heir David Innes and his inventor friend Abner Perry after they use an "iron mole" to burrow 500 miles into the Earth's crust. Later protagonists include indigenous cave man Tanar and additional visitors from the surface world, notably Tarzan, Jason Gridley, and Frederich Wilhelm Eric von Mendeldorf und von Horst. Geography: In Burroughs' concept, the Earth is a hollow shell with Pellucidar as the internal surface of that shell. Pellucidar is accessible to the surface world via a polar opening allowing passage between the inner and outer worlds through which a rigid airship visits in the fourth book of the series. Although the inner surface of the Earth has an absolute smaller area than the outer, Pellucidar actually has a greater land area, as its continents mirror the surface world's oceans and its oceans mirror the surface continents. A peculiarity of Pellucidar's geography is that due to the concave curvature of its surface there is no horizon; the further distant something is, the higher it appears to be, until it is finally lost in the atmospheric haze. Pellucidar is lit by a miniature sun suspended at the center of the hollow sphere, so it is perpetually overhead wherever one is in Pellucidar. The sole exception is the region directly under a tiny geostationary moon of the internal sun; that region as a result is under a perpetual eclipse and is known as the Land of Awful Shadow. This moon has its own plant life and (presumably) animal life, and hence either has its own atmosphere or shares that of Pellucidar. The miniature sun never changes in brightness, and never sets; so with no night or seasonal progression, the natives have little concept of time. The events of the series suggest that time is elastic, passing at different rates in different areas of Pellucidar and varying even in single locales.

📖 Summary

Edgar Rice Burroughs invites readers on a thrilling subterranean journey in Pellucidar, a classic work of pulp fiction that expands the boundaries of adventure literature. Published as part of a lasting legacy in 2024 across 255 pages, this fictional exploration centers on a Hollow Earth milieu originally conceived by the celebrated creator of Tarzan. The narrative kicks off with mining heir David Innes and his brilliant inventor companion, Abner Perry, who engineer a groundbreaking mechanical device known as an iron mole. Driven by curiosity and scientific ambition, the duo burrows an astonishing five hundred miles directly into the Earth's crust, leaving the familiar surface world far behind. Upon breaking through the inner shell of the planet, Innes and Perry discover Pellucidar, a vast and primeval realm that exists on the internal surface of the hollow globe. This hidden world operates under its own unique cosmic rules, most notably featuring a miniature sun at the exact center of the hollow sphere that never sets, locking Pellucidar into a state of perpetual noon. Free from the standard passage of time dictated by rising and setting suns, the interior world teems with exotic landscapes, primeval forests, and terrifying prehistoric creatures long thought extinct on the outer crust. Burroughs crafts an ecosystem where danger lurks behind every fern and where humanity must struggle constantly for mere survival against hostile environments and aggressive indigenous inhabitants. As the series and overarching mythos develop, the scope of the adventures expands far beyond the initial exploits of Innes and Perry. Later protagonists step forward to face the perils of the inner world, including the indigenous cave man Tanar, who navigates the brutal politics and raw survivalism of his home terrain. Furthermore, the narrative famously bridges Burroughs' literary universes through notable crossover events. Readers are treated to appearances by surface world visitors who journey into the depths, most notably the legendary Ape Man, Tarzan himself, alongside other notable adventurers such as Jason Gridley and Frederich Wilhelm Eric von Mendeldorf und von Horst. These crossovers create a sprawling, interconnected adventure tapestry that highlights Burroughs' imaginative flair for blending different heroic archetypes into a single shared cosmos. Throughout the 255 pages of Pellucidar, Burroughs maintains a relentless pacing driven by constant action, daring escapes, and the sheer wonder of discovery. The inner world serves as a pristine canvas for high-stakes exploration, testing the moral fiber, physical endurance, and ingenuity of every surface dweller and native inhabitant who walks its terrain. By subverting traditional geographical notions and replacing them with a literal inner paradise fraught with primordial terror, the book captures the quintessential essence of early twentieth-century speculative fiction. It remains a hallmark of imaginative world-building, offering readers a timeless escape into a hidden domain where history and mythology collide beneath the feet of ordinary humanity.

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