Pellucidar

Name: Pellucidar
Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs

free · 57,594 words · 5 h 58 m audiobook, read by Mark Nelson for LibriVox · first published 1915

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Prologue

Several years had elapsed since I had found the opportunity to do any big-game hunting; for at last I had my plans almost perfected for a return to my old stamping-grounds in northern Africa, where in other days I had had excellent sport in pursuit of the king of beasts.

The date of my departure had been set; I was to leave in two weeks. No schoolboy counting the lagging hours that must pass before the beginning of “long vacation” released him to the delirious joys of the summer camp could have been filled with greater impatience or keener anticipation.

And then came a letter that started me for Africa twelve days ahead of my schedule.

Often am I in receipt of letters from strangers who have found something in a story of mine to commend or to condemn. My interest in this department of my correspondence is ever fresh. I opened this particular letter with all the zest of pleasurable anticipation with which I had opened so many others. The postmark (Algiers) had aroused my interest and curiosity, especially at this time, since it was Algiers that was presently to witness the termination of my coming sea voyage in search of sport and adventure.

Before the reading of that letter was completed lions and lion-hunting had fled my thoughts, and I was in a state of excitement bordering upon frenzy.

It—well, read it yourself, and see if you, too, do not find food for frantic conjecture, for tantalizing doubts, and for a great hope.

Here it is:

restoring your place…

fetching the rest…

More by Edgar Rice Burroughs

A Fighting Man of Mars
You get a more personal Barsoom adventure here, with Tan Hadron chasing Sanoma Tora through hostile cities, underground passages, and the series’ wonderfully pulpy dangers. It’s brisk and inventive, though less interested in John Carter’s grand mythology than in keeping one stubborn warrior moving.
A Princess of Mars
Pure pulp, and it knows it: John Carter wakes on Mars leaping thirty feet in the low gravity, befriends a four-armed green warrior, and everything moves at a sprint. If you want depth, look elsewhere; if you want swords and airships, you're set.
At the Earth’s Core
You get a gloriously pulpy descent into Pellucidar, where David Innes faces sagoths, Mahar, and a world with no true horizon. The writing is dated and the romance is blunt, but the strange geography and relentless adventure make it easy to read with a grin.

Prologue

And then came a letter that started me for Africa twelve days ahead of my schedule.

Before the reading of that letter was completed lions and lion-hunting had fled my thoughts, and I was in a state of excitement bordering upon frenzy.

It—well, read it yourself, and see if you, too, do not find food for frantic conjecture, for tantalizing doubts, and for a great hope.

Here it is:

More by Edgar Rice Burroughs

A Fighting Man of Mars

You get a more personal Barsoom adventure here, with Tan Hadron chasing Sanoma Tora through hostile cities, underground passages, and the series’ wonderfully pulpy dangers. It’s brisk and inventive, though less interested in John Carter’s grand mythology than in keeping one stubborn warrior moving.

A Princess of Mars

Pure pulp, and it knows it: John Carter wakes on Mars leaping thirty feet in the low gravity, befriends a four-armed green warrior, and everything moves at a sprint. If you want depth, look elsewhere; if you want swords and airships, you're set.

At the Earth’s Core

You get a gloriously pulpy descent into Pellucidar, where David Innes faces sagoths, Mahar, and a world with no true horizon. The writing is dated and the romance is blunt, but the strange geography and relentless adventure make it easy to read with a grin.