Customer Reviews

Plutonia

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I wasn't a big fan of Russian authors. During my visits to a bookstore in India, I found the title "Plutonia" appealing and bought the book because it was very cheap: 3 US cents.

You may have heard of Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth". "Plutonia" is similar but updated; a story of Russian scientists who travel into the northern Arctic thinking they will discover some unknown land and it will be a part of Russia. However, they experience some inexplicable events during their travels: an extremely continental deep depression into the earth's surface near the Arctic, and warm, fertile lands near the "North Pole", and the strange position of the Sun. Plus, the strange behavior of the barometer, the compass and the altimeter. They also find primitive animals long extinct from Earth.

The explorers realize that they have traveled to the earth's inner surface. After that, the more they go into the inner surface, which they now call "Plutonia", the more they travel back in time and experience the flora and fauna of the different stages of Earth's history. The author, V. A. Obruchev, takes the reader through a journey that is so realistic.

The book is not only about dinosaurs; the scientists have some fun too. The explorers get robbed by ants, yes ants, and they have a hard time figuring out who robbed them in that unmanned land. Later, they have an encounter with the primitive people. The best part about the scientists is the decisions they make; they are very knowledgeable and find the most effective and quick solutions or explanations to any problems, plus, they have a good sense of humor. After all, they are scientists. V. A. Obruchev, himself a geologist, is a very good author and "Plutonia" is the best si-fi book I've ever read.

V. A. Obruchevs "Plutonia" is a pretty good read! He was inspired by "Journey to the Center of the Earth", and you can tell...but the book has an otherwise original story.

Here is an overview of it:

A Russian scientist seems to think there is a possibility of an underground world, where possibly there are now extinct (above ground) species of animals and plants still alive. Yep, you guessed it, he is right. Anyway, the team that goes there has many adventures dealing with a wide range of animals, from giant ants to wooly mammoths. And theyre not scared to shoot them for meat, either ;-)

This is an entertaining story, although I would imagine animal rights groups would really have a field day with some of the subject matter. Give it a try....it is a little dated, but a truly good book!

An excellent book once again in print. A 1914 Russian expedition to the Arctic finds that prehistory still lives. I read this book as a teen in the later 1960s (how it ended up in a public library in a tiny Southern town would probably be a good tale). Dr. Vladimir A. Obruchev must have been one heck of a writer considering how well his prose survived translation. This is one of the books that got me involved with the Earth sciences.

A request to the heads of amazon.com; do you guys mind posting a kindle edition online, I really want to see it!