Journey to the Underground World
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 Cover of first edition | |
| Author | Lin Carter |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Josh Kirby |
| Language | English |
| Series | Zanthodon |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | DAW Books |
Publication date | 1979 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 175 |
| ISBN | 0-87997-499-0 |
| OCLC | 05875197 |
| LC Class | PS3553.A7823 J68 1979 |
| Followed by | Zanthodon |
Journey to the Underground World is a science fiction novel by American writer Lin Carter, the first in his series about the fictional "Hollow Earth" land of Zanthodon. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in November 1979, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in August 2018.[1] It was also gathered together with the other volumes in the series into the omnibus ebook collection The Zanthodon Megapack (Wildside Press, 2014).
Zanthodon is envisioned as an immense circular cavern five hundred miles wide, one hundred miles beneath the Sahara Desert, a refugium preserving various prehistoric faunas and antique human cultures that have found their way into it throughout the ages.
When Professor Percival P. Potter, who has discovered an entrance to Zanthodon, is saved by adventurer Eric Carstairs from thugs in Port Said, Egypt, the two team up to explore the legendary realm. Traveling by helicopter, they descend into the subterranean world through a volcanic tunnel, only to crash when they reach their destination. They are now effectively marooned in Zanthodon.
After witnessing a conflict between a triceratops and a mammoth they are captured and enslaved by Neanderthals together with a number of native humans. These include Darya, daughter of a tribal king, Jorn, a hunter, and Fumio, a villainous chieftain. Eric leads a slave revolt, freeing the others, but is himself retaken. On the plus side, he saves the life of Hurok, one of his captors, thus befriending him. Meanwhile, Potter and the rest of the freed captives are attacked by corsairs.
The author provides as an appendix "A Stone Age Glossary" at the end of the book, enumerating the various prehistoric animals used, together with their supposed native names.
Sources
Previous fictional underground and lost worlds are referenced by the characters in the book, including those of Jules Verne (Journey to the Center of the Earth), Edgar Rice Burroughs (Pellucidar), Arthur Conan Doyle (The Lost World), and even King Kong (Skull Island), highlighting the author's literary debt to these precursors.[2]