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    The Lost World
    The Lost World
    The Lost World
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Lost World

    Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Narrated by B. J. Harrison

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Edward Malone is a newspaperman with an ultimatum: in order to marry the girl of his dreams, he must go on a grand adventure and make a name for himself. He is directed to interview one of the irascible and volatile characters in all literature – Professor George Edward Challenger. By the time the week is out, Edward Malone is one of an elite expedition led by Professor Challenger into an area that has been isolated from all the natural changes of time. It is a lost world of gigantic insects, warring barbaric tribes, and dinosaurs. But once they discover it, they find themselves absolutely, positively trapped in a land that time has forgotten.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherB.J. Harrison
    Release dateSep 14, 2012
    ISBN9781937091705
    Author

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) was a Scottish writer and physician, most famous for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes and long-suffering sidekick Dr Watson. Conan Doyle was a prolific writer whose other works include fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels.

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    Reviews for The Lost World

    3.5/5

    970 ratings57 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Enjoyable but ended too soon. The pace was frenetic too little time in describing such a world as so much was focused on action, would have prefered more of a balance. IThe story was missing details about the reprecussions of the discoveries made and the decisions the team enacted while in the lost world which would have made the story more enjoyable.
    • 3/5
      Most people when they think of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle think of his sleuth Sherlock Holmes and trusty sidekick Dr. Watson. (I’ll admit that I do, too.) But, Doyle wrote more than just mysteries. The Lost World is about Professor Challenger finding what he believed to be a plateau in an unexplored region of South America which still held living dinosaurs.Challenger returns to England where, of course, no one believes there are actually still dinosaurs roaming the Earth. He enlists the help of a reporter who is trying to prove the woman he is in love with that he is more than just a measly reporter, a professor of Anatomy by the name of Summerlee, and Lord John Roxton a sportsman and traveler. Shortly after the crew was assembled they began their journey from England to South America and down the Amazon River.Eventually they reach the point at which Challenger points out the great plateau. There is however no way to get up there as they only way up had been blocked off. After trial and error they find themselves on top of the plateau, trapped no less because of unforeseen events. They find though that Challenger was indeed correct. There were dinosaurs living on the plateau. There were also creatures, a cross between an ape and a human, which were smart and managed to capture Challenger and Summerlee.It was during this capture that the crew found that there also happened to be a tribe of natives who lived on the plateau as well. The natives claim not to know of a way off the plateau, or don’t want to help the crew off (after many failed attempts). Eventually, a young native takes pity on them and shows them the way.They make their way back to England with their findings and the reporter who wrote down an account of the entire trip to be put in to print. I think I’ll leave out the ending and make you read it if you are curious enough to want to find out.While I enjoyed reading this book, it wasn’t quite different than what I was used to when reading Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Challenger and Holmes have many of the same qualities. I would say, however, if you liked Holmes than you should giveThe Lost World a read.
    • 4/5
      The first, I think, non-Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle book I have read and I was not disappointed even without Dr Watson narrating the story. It is a fast paced old fashioned ripping yarn of an adventure story of one scientist out to prove to the world that his theories of finding prehistoric animals on a plateau not yet visited by man (or at least western man with cameras and notebooks) are not a load of 'poppycock'.Full of larger than life characters this book is narrated by the journalist Edward Malone who, to prove his adventurous spirit to the woman he loves, convinces Professor Challenger to take him along on a journey to South America to prove his claims of a 'Lost World' are true. Together with another scientist, Professor Summerlee, and an altogether more-english than English adventurer Lord John Roxton they find the plateau, their proof and trouble as they escape death from dinosaurs, capture, execution and finally escape. A great story and the start of of a series of books starring the great, intelligent, agressive and short tempered Professor Challenger. I will definitely be looking out for the next books starring him.
    • 5/5
      The notorious Professor Challenger claims that dinosaurs still walk the earth. When the press and the scientific community ridicule him, Challenger vows to show them proof. And so he sets off for South America, accompanied by a big game hunter, a scientist, and a young reporter eager to impress the woman he loves. On a remote plateau in the middle of impenetrable jungle, they discover the impossible truth, but must battle monsters and men before they can bring their testimony home.
    • 2/5
      A newspaper reporter goes on an adventure because he's trying to impress a woman. Not knowing what he could do that would impress her, he turns to his boss for some ideas and is pointed in the direction of Professor Challenger, a man who claims to have visited a place in South America where animals of the Jurassic period survived extinction. By a fortunate turn of events, Challenge is planning a return trip to bring back the evidence he needs to convince all those who doubt him, and a reporter is just the person he could use to round out the team. The dangers will be great, especially if Challenger is telling the truth, but what greater adventure could there be than roaming a land of dinosaurs?Written in the early twentieth century, this book is very much a product of its time. A group of Englishmen go to an "exotic" land to "discover" a place the native people are already well aware of. The non-white members of the party are explicitly described as servants and treated as such, while constantly being referred to in terms of their race (with words that make a modern reader wince). There are a couple "white savior" narratives. And more besides. There were some parts that weren't as bad as I'd feared they might be, and even one part that turned out almost exactly the way I was hoping it would despite thinking it wouldn't due to the time period, but these were balanced out by moments that disappointed me. It's best for readers to set their expectations accordingly.But it is very readable for a book of its time. It also has some good action scenes and some instances of the characters being impressively clever. Hints dropped early on are followed through on by the end, so that everything wraps up in a neat and satisfying way. All of which makes the reading an enjoyable enough experience.Like the Sherlock Holmes books, the first-person narrator is also the person who is writing down the adventures for the sake of in-world readers. Professor Challenger is also depicted as being an expert in his field and having far more knowledge in it than our point of view character, but unlike Holmes he makes a number of mistakes. He also has a rival who is an expert in the same field, and the two of them engage in frequent arguments, which shows he isn't an exceptional genius whose conclusions are unquestionably correct. This creates a dynamic in which Challenger has reason to explain himself and his thinking while also appearing to be simply human, a man who is good at his job, as any of the other characters are good at theirs. There's also the addition of a character who's an expert with a gun and has more practical knowledge than the others when it comes to defending themselves, so that the group is well rounded overall, each having their own strengths and weaknesses.I will say that the dinosaurs don't feature quite as heavily as I would have expected. They certainly do appear and they certainly are dangerous, but they seem to be just one aspect of the "exotic" landscape to be observed and discussed from a scientific angle. When the characters aren't killing them or running back to safety, of course. The main problem ends up being that the characters get stuck there, and one of the largest concerns is simply whether their stories will be believed.Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I think it's good for prospective readers to know that it's very much an exploration story with some high-stakes action. If you think that might appeal to you, feel free to give it a try. In fact, I found it so easy to understand that I think a modern reader would have little trouble, even if they do with other sorts of classics. Because of that, I think it might be an excellent choice for a reader looking for an easy start into the literature of this time period. I think it would also be an excellent choice for anyone who wants to take a closer look at the sort of cultural narratives told by the British during this period in history.This was a two-star book for me in terms of how much I enjoyed it, but it might be just the thing for you if this review didn't turn you off. It certainly still has its merits.
    • 4/5
       A ripping yarn, exciting and humourous.(The mild melancholy with which he acknowledges the discovery of the Lost World means its exploitation and end is too the credit of his sensibilities, to their debit that no alternative occurs to him. European colonialism unquestioned.)
    • 3/5
      It takes a long while for the main characters to reach ‘the lost world’. Prior to this, we get some scientific debate, some of which I found amusing, some of it not. One of the best early scenes is when the narrator – Mr Malone – meets the arrogant and bad-tempered Professor Challenger. It’s an entertaining conflict.When we reach the lost world, it turns out to be engaging at times, but sometimes bland or slow paced. The threat of danger is in the air, but it rarely feels life-threatening. Dinosaurs are apparent, but without the celebrity that is Tyrannosaurus Rex, excitement is limited.Upon the main characters leaving the lost world, I felt underwhelmed by their adventures. It needed some added sparkle; some dire threat to get the pulse racing. A female character in the group might've improved the dynamic.What follows is over-long and tedious. Apart from the odd scene, much of the closing chapters read like a newspaper report, including much repetition of what we already know. The author should’ve cut this short, or cut it altogether, rather than have this passive rambling following on from the characters’ departure of the lost world.So, while this is not a bad novel, I did find it a disappointing one.
    • 4/5
      Really a fun read, but I would have rather seen female explorers included in the team. Make it an update, Sir Arthur, snicker snicker
    • 3/5
      An interesting idea, but this wasn't Sherlock Holmes. Doyle writes better mystery than adventure. I found the beginning a little too slow. It picked up when the dinosaurs appeared. What makes this book interesting isn't not Sherlock too. He wrote so many Sherlock books you'd think that's all he wrote.
    • 3/5
      That intrepid iconoclast, Professor Challenger, travels to the Amazon basin to find and document a strange left-over prehistoric world still in existence. Competently written by Doyle, the story moves right along and holds the reader’s interest.I had hoped for more fantasy regarding the flora and fauna in the hidden world. This is more of a Boy’s Own Adventure story. Nothing wrong with that; I still read and like many of those. It was just a mismatch of expectations and reality. I did enjoy the pterodactyl subplot quite a bit.Don’t expect great literature, or a modern take on any of this. Just hop in for a fun ride in Doyle’s imagination.
    • 3/5
      The racism expressed in this book overwhelms a lot of it, its just so casual and accepted.

    • 4/5
      A romp into the deep of the Amazon in search of glory. This novel was very palatable and exploratory of the wide range of the imagination, fancy, and possibility. Despite the fact that it is not grounded in any fact, it manages to accelerate with adventure until the final denouement- which is then surprising in itself and the ending is one to be remembered.3.5 stars!
    • 4/5
      When you mention Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, most people will immediately associate him with his great detective, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes's fame overshadows that of another of Conan Doyle's literary creations, Professor Challenger. In the first of his adventures, readers travel with the Professor and his three companions to a remote plateau in South America where dinosaurs and other prehistoric life forms still roam the earth. Just as Holmes needed Watson to record his adventures, Challenger has young newspaper reporter Malone to record the events of the expedition. Adventurer Lord John Roxton and Challenger's antagonist, Professor Summerlee, round out the party.Challenger's personality and physical characteristics reminded me of Professor Emerson of the Amelia Peabody series. H. Rider Haggard's novels inspired some of Amelia Peabody's adventures. It seems that Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger may have also influenced Peters' writing. Malone joined the expedition to prove himself to the woman who rejected his proposal. She believed that she could only love a great man. Apparently she hadn't read Middlemarch to see how well that worked out for Dorothea Casaubon.This novel's title was prophetic in that the world inhabited by the explorers was soon to change with the outbreak of the First World War.
    • 3/5
      Professor Challenger's descriptions of a pre-historic culture with animal life somewhere in the jungles of South America is met with derision by the scientific community. It is decided Professor Summerlee, his chief opponent, along with Lord John Roxton and newspaper reporter Edward Malone will accompany him on an expedition to investigate the claim. The tale is told through the eyes of Malone who sends letters back to his editor by a faithful watchman who stays on the opposite side of their destination plateau. They fell a tree to gain entrance to the plateau, but it falls in the gorge, leaving their only connection to the other world a rope which can deliver supplies or letters but not get them back across. They decide to accomplish their mission and then worry about a means to exit the plateau. They encounter a pterodactyl almost immediately. They encounter many dangers and adventures on this well-preserved plateau, including some "half-men, half-ape" creatures which could be the "missing link." I'll leave the rest of the story and adventures for your enjoyment along with their reception upon their return. I'm not a fan of science fiction, but I decided to give this summer AudioSync offering a try since it was authored by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This tale is very mild in comparison to many of today's science fiction offerings because of the genre's evolution over time. The adventure seemed to appeal to the interest in Darwinian theory at the time of the book's writing. The book was narrated by Glen McCready who seemed to have the perfect voice for Professor Challenger.
    • 4/5
      Overall, this was a fun book, I just wish it had revolved more around the dinosaurs and less about the people and ape-men living on the plateau.
    • 5/5
      Funny book, fast read that is just fun. A little dated but to me it adds to the charm.
    • 3/5
      Good pulpy adventure fun. Fairly restrained about the interactions with dinosaurs and spends most of its dramatic suspense time with the adventurers encountering competing tribes of Neanderthals vs. early Homo Sapiens. A clever epilogue back in London.Solid narration by Glen McCready in the Naxos Audiobook Edition which was a $2.95 Audible Daily Deal on October 24, 2017.
    • 4/5
      Intriguing tale of formidable Professor Challenger's discovery of Maple White Land and how he convinceshis two colleagues and a love struck journalist to venture back into that terrifying terrain. The conflictingcharacters are memorably contrasted throughout their journey, with elements of both Sherlock and Watson.Story acts as a prologue to Crichton's Jurassic Park with the poisoning attack birds and monstrous dinosaurs.Too much trophy and specimen killing were balanced by the finale flying!Lovely wit:"Lord John merely scratched his scanty locks with the remark that he couldn't put up a fightas he wasn't in the same weight or class."
    • 2/5
      Quick read, lots of fun at parts. Horribly racist 105 years after publication.
    • 5/5
      The all-time Doyle classic about exploration and dinosaurs, by way of the late Victorian era. If Doyle ever came close to breaking with his identification, it was with arrogant, bombastic Professor George Edward Challenger. Just the idea of a South American tepui offering a refuge to dinosaurs who survived their extinction elsewhere.... Just great. I've read this book six times or so over the past 50 years since learning to read and may find myself doing it again. Don't miss.
    • 4/5
      Journalist Edward Malone wants to impress his girlfriend with his heroic prowess. He asks his editor for an assignment worthy of such a challenge, and he’s given the assignment to interview Professor George Edward Challenger, a noted zoologist notorious for his hostility to the press. The last reporter that attempted a word with him ended up with a broken skull. Challenger has recently returned from South America with some damaged photographs and the sketch book of a previous explorer depicting prehistoric beasts. Challenger is sure that they were drawn from a live model, and he intends to prove it. It was delightful to reread this old favorite in a new illustrated edition. This 1912 action adventure by the creator of Sherlock Holmes became the basis for the original creature feature silent film in 1925.What struck me was Doyle’s technique of indicating action in the midst of dialog, and the implicit racism of the time. The four adventurous explorers, three Anglos and an Irishman, are aided by a support team of “a gigantic negro named Zambo, who is a black Hercules, as willing as any horse, and about as intelligent. … Gomez and Manuel, two half-breeds … They were swarthy fellows, bearded and fierce, as active and wiry as panthers. … [and] three Mojo Indians from Bolivia.” (page 67) As it turns out Zambo is both heroic and faithful, not to mention having the wits to stick around and provide information to the outside world when the white people find themselves stranded; the half-breeds are deceitful and traitorous (although they are significantly less bearded and swarthy than Professor Challenger) and the Indians run away when they get scared, which is behavior also demonstrated by the Europeans. It’s interesting to read this in 2017 and see how much attitudes have changes and not changed in the following century.
    • 4/5
      In an effort to win the heart of a fickle young lady, intrepid newspaper reporter Edward Malone volunteers as a member of an expedition to South America to seek proof or otherwise debunk the wild claims of arrogant and intractable paleontologist Professor George Edward Challenger.Upon returning from South America many years prior, Challenger claimed to have discovered prehistoric life still thriving atop a plateau deep in the jungles of Brazil. Unfortunately, his camera was damaged during a boating accident, leaving him with scant and inconclusive photographic evidence and only the sketchbook of one Maple White, a poet and artist who died of severe injuries shortly after escaping this supposed land of dinosaurs.During a contentious interview, Challenger permits Malone to peruse the sketchbook, wherein White had drawn numerous mundane flora and fauna—until the final image of an impossibly large reptilian creature. Malone, however, remains unconvinced.Despite his unadulterated aversion toward the press, Challenger sees some potential in Malone and invites him to a meeting of the Zoological Society where Professor Challenger, living up to his name, disrupts the guest lecturer when mention is made of the extinction of the dinosaur before the dawning of man.Challenger’s claims of eyewitness accounts of pterodactyls in Brazil draws ridicule from both the audience and his peers, including one botanist and zoologist Professor Summerlee. By the end of the raucous evening, a new team of explorers agrees to travel to Brazil and put the matter to rest. In addition to Malone and Summerlee, famed adventurer and big game hunter Sir John Roxton offers his considerable skills.Shortly thereafter, the trio embark for South America and are surprised by the appearance of Professor Challenger himself once they reach Brazil. Challenger naturally assumes the role of team leader and guide as the adventurers, along with a number of local hired hands, begin their voyage along the Amazon into the realm of the unknown—where they encounter far more than any of them ever imagined possible.The story is told from the POV of the reporter, Edward Malone, as he journals the team’s adventures through this unfathomable—and unmistakably treacherous—domain. It had been at least 30 years since I’d last read The Lost World, yet so many elements remained with me since then, such as the cantankerous and haughty Professor Challenger, the fearsome ape men, the pterodactyl pit, and a few other vivid details. After reading it again this past week, I found myself just as enthralled as I was the first time. This should come as no surprise since much of Doyle’s work, most notably Sherlock Holmes, has soundly withstood the test of time.
    • 3/5
      Arthur Conan Doyle. It didn't really hold up well. I guess it is just to familiar and dated.
    • 4/5
      As you would expect from Mr. Conan Doyle, a rousing story well told. I've seen any number of movies based (some quite loosely) on the story line, so the story was familiar to me, but a very enjoyable read.
    • 3/5
      Forget about the science, look beyond the imperialistic racism (simply a "given" at the time this was written), and just go along for the ride, and you'll have fun. The Lost World is what Monty Python characterized as a "ripping yarn."

      I have to admit, though, that once ape men were introduced to the story, it got a bit less fun. In fact, a slaughter is perpetrated which is pretty ugly. But that again, is something which likely wouldn't have been questioned by contemporaries of Conan Doyle's.

      As problematic as the book is, however, it's much better than the cinematic treatments that have been made of it. As a kid, I remember loving the Irwin Allen production, even with its kitchy dinosaurs consisting of iguanas with fins glued on their backs. But the book evidences that Claude Rains was clearly miscast as Professor Challenger. Needed instead someone like Robby Coltrane doing his Hagrid role--except crankier. But if the movie had written the Challenger role as the book portrays him--cantankerous and a bloviating egotist--as a kid I'd probably have been scared by him and stayed away.
      Loved the blowhard as a adult, though!
    • 5/5
      Read a few times as a teen and then again a few years ago. Rousing good adventure, what ho? Rich commentary on evolution and race, too.
    • 3/5
      A quick read. Lots of action, dinosaurs, primitive tribes and weird beasties. Not bad but nowhere near as good as his Sherlock Holmes stories.
    • 3/5
      The Lost World is a science fiction novel without much actual science to it, which shouldn’t be that surprising considering that it was written by one of the time’s premier mystery writers. It’s really more an adventure tale than anything, and has quite a bit of interesting elements to it. A group of Englishmen travel to uncharted territory to an area from a bygone era. They travel to South America to find a land that has not only dinosaurs but also a race of prehistoric man. The group included the intrepid reporter looking for adventure, the skeptical professor, the professor who takes life by the horns in hopes of new discovery, and a British lord who is your basic big game hunter type.There were a lot of aspects that I like about this novel, mostly the characters and the adventure portion of it. It had a real trailblazing feel to it, which I’m sure worked well for the time in which it was written. On the down side, there were some latent racism in the way Doyle handles the “negroes” and natives to the land, even the prehistoric men. There was also a distinct lack of female characters in the novel, which could have added something to it. I also felt that the writing kept the reader at a distance rather than involving them in the action. All together, this novel was enjoyable but not one that resonates.Carl Alves – author of Two For Eternity
    • 5/5
      A timeless adventure story

      There are many reasons why this book is often considered to be a classic. The descriptive and intimate way that the story is told, the interpersonal relationships between the memorable characters and the underlying thread of humor which weaves through the tale, will guarantee it a place in collectors' bookshelves for many years to come.
    • 4/5
      The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a model for adventure stories in science fiction. The book influenced Michael Crichton in his creation of the LOST WORLD (Jurassic Park).
      Edward Malone, a reporter for the Daily Gazette, but finds no real excitement in his role. Ed wants to woo Gladys, but Gladys wants to marry a romantic hero. Gladys does not see Ed as a knightly figure, at least not yet. So Ed must find his romantic quest in the name of his beauty Gladys.
      Questions Doyle poses are: will Ed come home a hero? Will this quest earn the right to Gladys’s love? What lost world will Ed find in the Amazon? And what about the dinosaurs and the primitive humans, will he find the missing link?
      The book was published in 1912, and exhibits the world of Victorian Empire on the move. British empire was attempting to find “a dreamland of glamour and romance, a land where we had dared much, suffered much, and learned much—OUR land, as we shall ever fondly call it.*” Caveat lector, the ideas of the Victorian Era are not of our own, and may offend those with politically correct notions.
      But this book is a great adventure and I believe a good book for young readers.

      *Doyle, Arthur Conan (2011-03-30). The Lost World (Kindle Locations 2705-2706). Kindle Edition.