Dear Internet,
I have
good news and bad news. The good news is
that I can get to you another review for today.
The bad news is that my network adapter decided to die for my desktop
and I have to play mailman with my laptop to get the review to you. But none of that matters to you. You can still get a hold of me, even though
you have not written back to me but that is neither here nor there.
I have
been meaning to read "The Lost World" for some time now, like so many
other things. It has become a classic
since it was written 101 years ago, which might mean that I am repeating many
things that have already been said. All
things considering since this is an experiment in examining works that have
been out for some time, nearly everything that I am writing about has most
likely been talked about to death. Never
the less, Doyle's prehistoric world made historical is new to me at least.
The
books premise is very simple and has been covered numerous times in a variety
of mediums. A reporter learns of a
zoological professor's clam that he had found a plateau hidden deep within the
depths of the Amazon forest. On this
plateau are prehistoric creatures that would shake the very foundation of
evolutionary science. The reporter,
Malone, also learns that the professor, Challenger, is going to present his
findings to the university despite being called a crook and a fraud. Later, at a talk that night being given by
the professors to the students, Challenger, well, challenges the institute to
disprove his claims by sending a party back to where he said the plateau
was. Enter Professor Summerlee and Lord
John Roxton who accompany Malone and Challenger to rediscover the plateau and find
the various flora and fauna waiting to be cataloged.
After
that, the novel takes the reader on a journey that thoroughly captures the
imagination. From bug filled rainforests
to vengeful natives, the novel is constantly throwing curveballs. When the group finally reaches the top of the
plateau, it is expected that the group gets trapped up there. It would be bad writing if the ante was not
raised. The novel does not make it a raw
coincidence and rarely allows for plain good luck for the travelers. I will not saw what causes them to be stuck
there, but I will say that I am glad they are.
The most important factor of this novel is just how fun it is. Dinosaurs have always been wonders to
children and adult alike. Even
throughout the ages they have awakened a sense of awe as inspirations for tales
of dragons and winged beats of old.
"The Lost World" treats these creatures with the same
fantastical curiosity without needing to treat its audience like children. A forty foot brute can just as easily kill
our cast through negligence as the cuspidal inclined monstrosities.
The
science of the story is somewhat sound or at least the rule that it creates for
itself never breaks. The idea that
clusters of organisms separated from the gene pool and environments of the rest
of the populace will continue to stay stagnant in their evolutionary growth if
the conditions of their separated biosphere are constant and unchanging for as
long as the stasis continues is something that is taught in high schools and
colleges to this day. I might have
butchered a few terms just now, but what I am trying to get at is that the
science presented to the reader is not only made easily understandable but also
makes sense. You might recall my review
about "The Island of Dr. Moreau" which had such an unsound science to
back it up that it pushed the barrier of the one "go with it"
exception. "Lost World" takes
its one exception and goes to such an extreme.
To think that millions of years of stagnation would not at least make
some sort of biological anomalies can be argued and argued well. Surely the chance that random mutations would
create some difference in genome after some time would increase no matter how
stagnant the environment is. Doing so
within the confines of the novel would break its one rule. The plateau is the place time forgot. Everything going there enters in upon a world
outside the hourglass. There are a few
creatures scattered here and there that bend this rule a little, but even
cavemen need boogiemen.
On a somewhat
side note, I am happy that I did not review this book in parts, although due to
its length and my speed of reading that might be improbable. I say this mainly because of the entire
reason Malone decides to investigate Challenger and journey with him to the
plateau. He does it for the love of a
woman. Now, it is not my place to say
that the love for a woman is not something that needs to be proven or her interest
should be won though deeds. In fact I
take the opposite road. More romance
stories need to include the hero actually doing something to prove their love
for the heroine or in the very least showing that he cares for her honor. That is what makes "The Quiet Man"
such a good romance film. Thornton
acknowledges his lack of understanding the customs of the country he enters but
chooses to uphold the honor and respect of his wife by confronting her
brother. The romance in "Lost
World," admittedly is only there to spark the beginning of the plot as far
as Malone is concerned. It felt so
nauseatingly over the top and heavy handed that it made me sick. Not to mention that the way that the female
has such unsound reason to ask Malone to go off on a wild goose chase felt so
very silly. The ending of the book was
able to resolve my feelings about the romance sub-subplot that it even went on
to prove why it was written as such.
"The
Lost World" might come across as fantastical drivel to some readers. It takes a very simple scientific concept and
goes as far as it can with it. There is
not much talk about the condition of man or his place in the universe, which
would classify it as leaning towards philosophical thought. The only case might be the nature of the war
that occurs late in the book, and it does an excellent job of portraying the
reasons that man fights nature. I do
think that the novel is wonderfully written.
It is able to make me feel like a young boy looking through a picture
book filled with ancient beasts or hearing for the first time about the knight
that slew the dragon. For that it is
worth the recognition that I can give it.
I hoped
you like my bonus review, Internet. I
did not feel that a short album review would be enough to post for a normal
Backlog day, so I made sure to finish up this book just for you. I hope you appreciate it. Not that you ever tell me you do.
Yours in digital,
BeepBoop
P.S. Next is the film "Tekkonkinkreet."
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