Customer Reviews

When the World Screamed (Professor Challenger Adventures)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book contains three stories. The first is When The World Screamed. In this story the formidable Professor Challenger sets out to prove that the Earth itself is a gigantic creature swimming through space. The second story is The Disintegration Machine, wherein Professor Challenger has to deal with a foreign scientist who has created a machine of mass destruction.

And now for the unfortunate part: the bulk of this book is taken up by the third story, The Land of Mist. In this story, Edward Malone and subsequently Professor Challenger are introduced to Spiritualism. The story is long (about four times as long as the other two combined), and rambling. A.C. Doyle wrote this story as a polemic, and it makes very poor fiction indeed. If you don't need to read this story, then don't.

So, let me sum up by saying that the first two stories warrant 5 stars, and the last warrants one (or zero).

When Peerless Jones is contacted by the eccentric Professor Challenger, he has little idea what he is in for. Professor Challenger loves throwing conventional scientific wisdom on its ear, and he is about to do so again. It seems that he has come to the conclusion that beneath the ground we see around us, the Earth we ride through space on is actually a creature of gargantuan proportions! Ridiculous you say? Well, the good Professor has a drill in place, and he intends to prove his case!

Professor George Edward Challenger is the lesser known creation of Sherlock Holmes' creator, Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). Unlike the cool and calculating Homes, Challenger is irascible, domineering and extremely outspoken. In short, he is a lot of fun to read. However, unlike Holmes, Professor Challenger never caught on and as such only five Challenger stories were ever written, and this was the last one (written in 1928).

Although somewhat dated, I found this story to be well written and quite exciting. It reflects a world that is now gone, but is quite interesting to read about. If you like adventure stories, then you will like this one. Read this book, and learn about A.C. Doyle's other hero!

It's not often noted that Conan Doyle was one of the funniest writers ever. Many readers seem to miss the humor, if the largely clueless online reviews of "The Lost World" are any guide. Get that book first; it's Conan Doyle's masterpiece and one of the great books of the 20th century. Then try to get a copy of this one (it's out of print), containing three other stories about Professor Challenger. The title story, written at the end of the author's life, shows him at the height of his powers, right down to the magnificent final sentence.

Professor Challenger, he of the bombastic and aggressive disposition has gotten himself involved with a spot of digging.

In a big way, the whole drilling into the earth scenario. He invites the usual lads down to come and have a look, and they are a little disturbed.

This is nothing to what happens the second time when a big even is made of inviting a whole lot of people to have a look at their project. Something down there has more than a bit to say about the whole thing.