The Land That Time Forgot

Early famous work by the man who introduced the world to Tarzan. Published in 1918 this SF classic is in the style of his predecessors, Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. It's a fairly short romantic adventure which still works today.I prefer his John Carter of Mars books for SF adventure but this one was good.

Classic Edgar Rice Burroughs Caspak Trilogy which were the source for two cult classic AMICUS movies from the 70s which starred Doug McClure and included some rather dodgy special effects.The first story covers the initial discover of a lost island of dinosaurs and primitive tribes ("The Land That Time Forgot") by a mixed group of WW1 German U-Boat crew and survivors from a torpedoed allied ship. The second part covers the further adventures of characters from the initial story and a subsequent rescue party, with the final tale concluding the adventures and including a rather bizarre outline of the evolutionary process of Caspak and its various lifeforms.Although these stories are not the best written fantasy tales of the period (see Wells, Verne & Conan-Doyle), they are great fun and full of wild imagination and imagery, much of which is still influential today in both books and films.

Bowen Tyler, Jr., is on his way to the war in Europe when the ship he's on is torpedoed by a German U-boat. Through an odd series of events, he ends up on said U-boat with a motley crew of Germans, Americans, and one lady, only to wind up floating around the South Pacific and running into the legendary island of Caprona. Once on Caprona, the adventurers encounter creatures from the earth's prehistoric past as well as humans in varying stages of evolution. Separated by attacks and treason, Tyler, crew member Bradley, and would-be rescuer Billings forge three separate narratives of this strange new land.The first two parts of The Land That Time Forgot are excellent adventure tales, filled with action, mystery, and a little bit of romance. Unlike some older books, Burroughs' writing has not become antiquated with time, and the novel is as easy to read as any recent book. Other than most of the Germans being double-crossing sabotagers, the book does not carry many of its era's stereotypes, either. I was quite surprised when *spoiler alert* two of the main characters married Caspak natives after having said repeatedly that they do not love them, the girls being of other "castes" designed to be somewhat similar to Neanderthal people.The evolutionary aspect of Caspak is interesting, though I never figured out Burroughs' purpose in designing it as such. Individuals evolve from tadpoles to nearly-modern humans as they move from south to north on the island, a journey which takes an unknown (but very long) number of years. Very few people - and then only at the top of the evolutionary chain - are born as are regular humans. In some ways, the novel could be viewed as an outline of evolution contained in one individual rather than by species' changes over millennia, but Burroughs does not delve far enough into scientific details for that.The third part of the book is more bizarre, moving from science fiction into fantasy. It's almost as if Burroughs wrapped up the storyline at the end of the second part, then remembered there were a few loose ends and finished them in the final part. Here we meet the Wieroos, a skeletal-looking, murdering bunch with wings. Normally an ultimate show-down between the Wieroos and highest order of humans would be expected, but everyone from our world leaves before anything is resolved, with the Caspakian order remaining as before. It's a rather unsatisfying ending to an otherwise satisfying read.

A fun read, but not as good as the LOST WORLD by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The characters seemed flat and cartoonish. It is difficult to feel heartedly for cartoons. However, the overall story arch is classic adventure tale and can be a delightful journey. Two movies are available on Netflix for your personal viewing.

This is another early 20th century classic adventure yarn, and I do mean yarn. I would suggest putting off reading the introduction, by science fiction author Brian Aldiss, until after one has finished the book, in order to get the full flavor of Burroughs' plot. Reading Burroughs, once again, is like stepping into Dr. Who's Tardis -- one is transported back in time to a world where manly men fight for the right; German followers of Kaiser Wilhelm are cowardly and dishonorable; and modern women faintly cheer their men on, appropriately and demurely, from the sidelines. All that was to be expected -- but what was unexpected were the interestingly drawn characters of the "savage" women that a few of Burroughs' luckier adventurers encounter. These bronzed, lithe, warrior queens are no shrinking flowers of femininity. And though one stout-hearted explorer fights his own physical attraction to the sweet little "savage" who's attached herself to him, in the end he comes to realize that beneath the bronzed skin of his little jungle queen there beats a heart as delicate and as feminine as that of any modern, whiter woman.It was a fun read, made even more enjoyable by reading Aldiss' forward after I had finished the book. Aldiss is clearly a Burroughs fan, and though he dutifully points out the utter ridiculousness of Burrough's theories of evolutionary ascent, as depicted in the novel, he urges readers to set aside this outdated and invalid basic premise and to enjoy the book for what it is -- a swashbuckling adventure tale set in the mists of a lost world, where time and nature have taken a very different course from the outside world. The book is not as good as TARZAN OF THE APES, and doesn't hold a candle to Conan Doyle's THE LOST WORLD, but it was a fun and exciting trip into an alternate reality.

One of the best novels written by ERB, the Amercian protagonist (whose name is finally given us in the last few pages) and his lofe-love go through many adventures before becoming Adam and Eve on an unknown continent completely cut off by high, almost impassable cliffs. Well, they ARE impassable. They must reach the interior of the continent by sailing UNDER the cliffs in a commandeered German U2 sub, which the American's family made for Germany, yet.

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was an America author who lived just outside of LA who wrote over 60 fantasy novels. His most famous works are the "Tarzan" series and the "John Carter of Mars" series. He was heavily influenced by Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" and "The Land that Time Forgot" was a direct heir in the 'Lost World' genre. "The Land That Time Forgot" was also very influential in the invention of the screenplay "King Kong", as was Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" (1912).

This book is split right down the centre:The first half is a WWI spy drama set partially on-board a German U-boat in the Pacific Ocean.After his ship is sunk in a torpedo attack, Bowen J. Tyler, Jr, (ironically son of the wealthy industrialist who built the killer sub. prior to the war) is temporarily rescued, along with the only other survivor Miss Lys La Rue, by a passing vessel which suffers a similar bombardment shortly after.In a daring assault this crew aided by Bowen's inside knowledge of the enemy vessel board the U-boat and manage to take it over only to have their efforts at getting home thwarted by constant sabotage attempts - not to mention the fact that with the radio dead they cannot hope to get to safe waters without becoming a target themselves!In the confusion, and with malfunctioning navigation, they come across a lost island, cut off from the rest of the world by an almost impregnable cliff wall, but manage to steer their vessel safely through a narrow underwater shaft only to emerge on the other side in a kingdom frozen in time - a time when dinosaurs ruled supreme!On the surface this classic adventure is really no more far fetched than many of the stories written today; but the world was a much bigger place a hundred years ago, and what with today's GPS and Google Earth on every home PC, it may take a little more effort to accept the storyline. The same adventure written today would likely have to take place on a distant planet in a far off galaxy, but the thrill of this was the possibility that somewhere in a remote region of our own planet such a place might just still exist?Like I said it is two very different stories joined together; and I for one couldn't wait for the prehistoric dino-rampage to begin, so it lost one star from my perspective. Do read the second instalment 'The people that time forgot' which for me ticked all the right boxes.Worthwhile reading - YES.

The Land That Time Forgot
Written by: Edgar Rice Burroughs
Narrated by: David Stifel
Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:07-03-13
Publisher: Audio Books by Mike Vendetti

The Land That Time Forgot is a classic by Edgar Rice Burroughs (better known for his Tarzan series). I was familiar with it only through the 1975 movie (it's so bad it is a joy to watch). I recently had the opportunity to listen to the audio book narrated by David Stifel. I had previously heard a book narrated by him which is why I chose this particular version. His narration did not disappoint.

The story takes place during World War I. A ship crossing the ocean is sunk by a German U-boat. The survivors are rescued but the same fate falls on their rescuers by the same U-boat. Events happen that leave the survivors and the Germans fighting for control of the U-Boat. About half the book is devoted to the struggle of each group trying to maintain control of the U-Boat. This back and forth power struggle leaves the U-boat open to sabotage and the group ends up in the south Pacific. It is here that the adventure truly begins.

Despite the compass and the best efforts at navigation, the U-boat is drawn south into freezing waters until they arrive at a land mass surrounded by massive cliffs. Seeking fresh water and food, the U-boat finds a way through the cliffs and discovers a land that is an evolutionary mess. There are life forms from every time period in the earth’s long history.

David Stifel does a very good job of narrating the story. He has no problem with different accents, American, German, Irish, English. His paces of the narration works well with the action in the story. The production values are very good. The sound is clear and the volume is at an equal level throughout.

The Land That Time Forgot is a wonderful adventure story. I enjoyed it enough that I am planning on finding the other two books in the series. If you are looking for a fun rollicking adventure, I recommend this audio book. I especially recommend David Stifel as a narrator as he is has shown himself to be an excellent one.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review

It must have been pretty exciting to be a kid with 15c 100 years ago looking forward to the August 1918 Blue Book Magazine and the appearance of a new complete story by Edgar Rice Burroughs. And that is how "The Land That Time Forgot" arrived. I read most of Burroughs novels in the late 60's and into the 70's and probably a few in the early 80's. I am fairly certain that I read this book in my teens, and I certainly saw the crazy Doug McClure movie. The book was better. This is told in an old fashioned Burroughs style, a little reminiscent of a Jules Verne novel. A manuscript is found on the shore in Greenland inside of a thermos bottle and thus begins this tale of a Lost World, neanderthals, wild creatures, dinosaurs and love. Oh, this is WWI - we mustn't forget the awful Germans and their submarines. The submarine is how we get to the land that time forgot. This was fun and a well written romantic fantasy adventure of the old days. Burroughs packs a lot of adventure into this short novel. I'm glad I reread this.

I hadn't realized this was the 1st in a trilagy. Very much the story I knew from the movie with a German U-boat. It took them quite a while to get to the land time forgot.

It's been said that the golden age of Burroughs is 12 or, sometimes, 14. Well, I tried to read Burroughs at both ages, and it didn't take. Way too many coincidences for me.Well, it's been more than 25 years since I've read Burroughs. Inspired by watching the latest movie version of this book and hearing the Caspak series praised as his best outside of the Tarzan and John Carter series, I decided to give ERB another try.The plot is pretty straightforward. Narrator Bowen Tyler has his ship torpedoed out from under him in 1916. He is picked up by a British tug - but not before meeting the instantaneously recognizable love of his life, Lys La Rue, another passenger, as they float around in the water. Said ship is then sunk - by the same German U-Boat that torpedoed Bowen's ship, and Bowen, Lys, and several of the tug's crewmen are taken prisoners aboard the sub. A struggle for control of the vessel ensues. Not to fear, though. Our narrator just happens to belong to a submarine manufacturing family out of Santa Monica, and they built the sub he's now on. Of course, the situation is a bit complicated by Lys being the U-Boat commander's fiancé.And the coincidences are just beginning. But, after about 50 pages into this slender, 126 page book, the real story begins after landfall on Caspak - a lost continent full of what should be extinct animals from Earth's distant past. Naturally, dinos are going to be fought, Prussians are going to be surly and treacherous, and Lys is going to get kidnapped. And Burroughs does do something genuinely novel with the primitive humans of this land.Burroughs, whatever his other faults as a writer, is a master of pacing. And, however melodramatic the scenes of Bowen and Lys acknowledging their love for each other are and their philosophical discussions, there are some moments of grandeur and poignancy as they face their solitary fate on Caspak - all related in the manuscript Bowen has put in a thermos and tossed into the sea.This is the first third of a serial originally published in 1918, and this is one Burroughs series I will be completing.

this is the entire caspic series. excellent narration. these are quick paced stories and the narrator kept the pace and humor intact. well done!

Standard Burroughs fare. Easy reading, somewhat engaging but ultimately little more than dime store science fiction. Hero battles nasty Prussians, ferocious creatures from a long lost era and saves damsel in distress.For those interested in 19th century science fiction, my opinion is that time is better spent on the likes of H.G. Wells or Jules Verne.