At the Earth's Core (novel)

Did You Know?

• Galaxy reviewer Floyd C. Gale praised the novel's concepts and combat scenes but faulted its stilted and florid style.
• Time in Pellucidar is subjective and experienced at different rates by different people.

Plot summary

The author recounts meeting David Innes, a mining heir who financed the experimental 'iron mole,' an excavating vehicle built by his inventor friend Abner Perry. During a test run, the vehicle cannot be turned and burrows 500 miles into the Earth's crust, emerging into the interior world of Pellucidar. In Burroughs' concept, the Earth is a hollow shell with Pellucidar as the internal surface. Pellucidar is inhabited by prehistoric creatures and dominated by the Mahars, intelligent Rhamphorhynchus-like pterosaurs that enslave and prey on Stone Age humans. Innes and Perry are captured by the Mahars' gorilla-like Sagoth servants and taken to the Mahar city of Phutra. Among fellow captives are Ghak the Hairy One, Hooja the Sly One, and Dian the Beautiful. Innes defends Dian from Hooja, but due to local customs she believes he wants her as a slave. After Hooja escapes with Dian, Innes learns the misunderstanding. In Phutra, the captives become slaves; the Mahars are all female, reproducing parthenogenetically via a 'Great Secret.' Innes escapes, has adventures, and returns to find that time in Pellucidar is subjective. He eventually finds Dian, defeats the suitor Jubal the Ugly One, and marries her.

Adaptations

In 1976, the novel was turned into a film of the same name, directed by Kevin Connor, with Doug McClure and Peter Cushing playing David Innes and Abner Perry. DC Comics, after securing the rights to Edgar Rice Burroughs' works, adapted the first Pellucidar book. Len Wein wrote the script, with art by Mike Kaluta and Murphy Anderson; it began in Korak, Son of Tarzan #46 and continued in Weird Worlds #1-6. The 2008 film Journey to Middle Earth has several similarities to the novel's events and locations, though it was meant as a loose adaptation of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Legacy

This novel’s depiction of a hidden underground world left its mark on other writers. H.P. Lovecraft borrowed the name “Shoggoths” for the slave race in At the Mountains of Madness. Lin Carter paid a more direct tribute with his Zanthodon series, starting with Journey to the Underground World. Manga creator Shotaro Ishinomori also loosely adapted the book for Cyborg 009’s final story arc.