Burroughs is best known for his creation of the popular Tarzan stories. This character would
later appear in a number of media, including radio and film, and Burroughs
found fame and fortune in his lifetime as a result. But Burroughs wrote a great
deal more. His Mars series, for example, the first of which Disney made into an
impressive but commercially unsuccessful film in 2012 called John Carter (based on Burroughs’ first
book in that series), was originally serialized in the magazine All-Story Weekly in 1912 and eventually novelized
in 1917.
Oddly
enough, apart from Disney’s John Carter
film and whatever Tarzan rendition
played throughout my boyhood periphery, At
the Earth’s Core is my first foray into Burroughs’ stuff. It’s from a long
running science fiction series known as the Pellucidar
stories. Being a late bloomer, I didn’t start reading seriously before the age
of 20. When I finally got round to reading, my interests centered on serious subjects
such as philosophy, psychology, and science. So I didn’t get to Burroughs’ stuff
for another 30 plus years.
Along
with Doyle, H.G Wells, and Robert Louis Stevenson, Burroughs’ stuff could best
be described as Young Adult fiction long before the subcategory of YA fiction
was officially established. This isn’t to take away from the importance of
these writers or their contributions. However, these authors tend to write
shorter novels with less emphasis on substance and more focus on the
fantastical.
Arguably,
since their works were introduced as serials in magazines where brevity and
action were paramount, the science was often soft and the action was nearly
non-stop. As a result, these installments rarely conformed to the laws of
physics as we know them. Nor were these stories given time to breathe. Nor was
much time devoted to development. Again, not a slight against them, but the
focus was different from, say, the works of Dostoevsky, Nabokov, Kafka, Joyce, or
Salinger.
While
I enjoyed this short novel, it could be said that things happen a bit too
quickly. For example, rather than providing a scene or summary earlier in the
story that establishes a character’s proficiency at, say, archery, we are first
introduced to his prowess only as he confronts an oncoming foe.
Prior
to this, Burroughs summarizes the protagonist’s flight from several foes yet fails
to mention the degree to which he escapes their deadly jaws or bests them. Now,
confronted with several assailants rushing him in a narrow ravine, he draws a
bow we’ve never seen him wield, sets an arrow to his bowstring, and only then
informs us that he’d used the weapon repeatedly to forage and defend himself
against several adversaries.
Because
of this, the protagonist’s deadly aim seems more like one of those deus ex machina contrivances, whereas
providing a brief scene some time before this moment (known in the writing
trade as either an anchor or a foreshadowing) would lend more credence to said
proficiency and would render his spectacular aim far more credible.
Still.
A fun literary romp, with more than ample action to keep the reader turning the
pages. Recommended to those who enjoy YA fiction or lean prose from a practiced
wordsmith. Four out of five stars. Rated PG
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