Derrick Belanger's Blog: Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Ramblings of a Sherlockian - Posts Tagged "josh-reynolds"

Wow! I mean, wow! That was my reaction to Professor Challenger: New Worlds, Lost Places one of the most enjoyable Golden Age style science fiction anthologies I have ever read. The stories all deal with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's second most famous character, Professor George Challenger, the star of the novels The Lost World,The Poison Belt, and The Land of Mist, as well as two additional short stories, When the World Screamed and The Disintegration Machine.

Challenger is sometimes called Doyle's science-fiction detective, probably because in the book Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's First Consulting Detective, William S. Baring-Gould states that Challenger is the cousin of Holmes and even goes so far as to say Holmes had to track down the Pterodactyl Challenger set free in London at the conclusion of The Lost World. This, in my opinion, is unfair because Challenger is a scientist who employs the scientific method to reach his conclusions, and quite frankly readers who enjoy the Victorian optimism of late 19th century science fiction of Wells and Verne will be much more at home than fans of the world's first consulting detective.

But I am getting away from the wonderful book at hand. Whether you know Challenger or not, you will find this book a great introduction to the character. Unlike the cool and collected Sherlock Holmes, Challenger is a man of strong emotions, both in his violent temper and in his loving adoration of his wife. This makes him a rather different but equally entertaining leading man.

Professor Challenger: New Worlds, Lost Places is a collection of ten short stories all of which are at least good and many of which are great. The best of the lot is "The Shug Monkey," by Stephen Volk, a haunting story which ties together the fate of mankind as well as the legend of bigfoot. Another exceptional tale is a sequel to H.G. Wells novel The First Men in the Moon with Challenger assisting Bedford in saving Cavor who has been trapped on the moon ever since he was left behind when the crew of the original moon voyage escaped the clutches of the Selenites. The final story in the anthology, Out of the depths, combines The Lost World with Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, and in true pulp fashion, has nazis invading Challenger's prehistoric land and working with Dr. Moreau to create a super human. How could any fan boy or fan girl resist?

Other stories involve the Kraken, Lovecraftian monsters from beyond, the magician Carnaki, the aliens from War of the Worlds, and even a creepy deer with human eyes. If I haven't been blunt enough, I will state this explicitly, buy this book! You won't be disappointed.

Derrick Belanger is an author and educator most noted for his books and lectures on Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Both A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural: Volume 1 and A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural Volume 2 were #1 best sellers on the Amazon.com UK Sherlock Holmes book list, and his MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes chapter book, Attack of the Violet Vampire! - The MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes Book #2 was also a #1 best selling new release in the UK. Mr. Belanger’s academic work has been published in The Colorado Reading Journal and Gifted Child Today.
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