3,039 books
—
5,326 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Lost World (Professor Challenger, #1)” as Want to Read:
The Lost World
(Professor Challenger #1)
by
It's London, 1907. Journalist Edward Malone, rejected by the woman he loves because he is too prosaic, decides to go in search of adventure and fame to prove himself worthy of her. Soon after, he meets Professor George Challenger, a scientist who claims to have discovered a 'lost world' populated by pterodactyls and other prehistoric monsters.
...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
January 14th 2003
by Modern Library
(first published 1912)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Lost World (Professor Challenger, #1)

Move aside, Sherlock…Sir Arthur has conjured a protagonist who's an even more arrogant assbag than you.
Everyone...the intrepid, the indefatigable, the insufferable Professor G.E. Challenger…
If, like me, you enjoy characters that are gruff, prideful curmudgeonly sorts, than you will have fun with this guy. He is a serious hoot. Trust me.
Physically, Prof. Challenger is a funhouse mirror reflection of Mr. Holmes. Instead of a tall, lanky, clean-shaven gentlemen who calmly condescends to the ...more
Everyone...the intrepid, the indefatigable, the insufferable Professor G.E. Challenger…

If, like me, you enjoy characters that are gruff, prideful curmudgeonly sorts, than you will have fun with this guy. He is a serious hoot. Trust me.
Physically, Prof. Challenger is a funhouse mirror reflection of Mr. Holmes. Instead of a tall, lanky, clean-shaven gentlemen who calmly condescends to the ...more

May 25, 2018
Miranda Reads
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
audiobook,
2018-finer-books-club-reading-chall
Can we start with how this book (written in 1912) was based off of the
"Friend Zone"
??
"Poor" Edward Malone confesses his love for a girl but she is not interested. She tries telling him nicely, rudely and all ways in between but he just doesn't get it.
"Poor" Edward Malone confesses his love for a girl but she is not interested. She tries telling him nicely, rudely and all ways in between but he just doesn't get it.
She could but refuse me, and better be a repulsed lover than an accepted brotherSo, finally, in a fit to be tied, she makes up some excuse - that he's not adventurous enough for her - that he's not a daring-and-dashing hero. And so, Edwar ...more

“If in 100 years I am only known as the man who invented Sherlock Holmes then I will have considered my life a failure.” - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
This review will contain minor spoilers. Although Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, and Professor James Moriarty are Doyle's most known creations, Professor Challenger, the hot-tempered scientist is another character that many readers will be familiar with. This is the first of the Professor Challenger series and the only one that I ha ...more
This review will contain minor spoilers. Although Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, and Professor James Moriarty are Doyle's most known creations, Professor Challenger, the hot-tempered scientist is another character that many readers will be familiar with. This is the first of the Professor Challenger series and the only one that I ha ...more

A young reporter Ed Malone was madly in love. The woman he loved told him he would only have a chance with her if he did something really heroic. The most heroic action his editor could think of was to send him to interview Professor Challenger notorious for throwing the reporters out of his house - literally throwing out.
Initially poor Malone repeated the previous experience of his colleagues, but he managed to pacify the professor to tell him his story. The main idea was that the guy claimed ...more

Initially poor Malone repeated the previous experience of his colleagues, but he managed to pacify the professor to tell him his story. The main idea was that the guy claimed ...more

Silly bad. A surprisingly dull updating of Journey to the centre of the Earth (view spoiler) with extra racism, more dinosaurs, and guns. Surprisingly from the author of Sherlock Holmes, in which the stories although sometimes (always?) somewhat silly and contrived tend to have a certain cleverness to them, one has to wonder when a party of travellers
...more

Who doesn't wish dinosaurs weren't still around? Well, maybe not the big bitey ones, but how cool would that be?! Hell, I'd even take the huge, face-ripping ones too if it were an all-or-nothing deal. I figure a little survival of the fittest would do this world good.
Since that's not likely to happen during my lifetime, I'll console myself with movies and books. The Lost World is a good place to be for those of us looking to get lost in a dino world.
This is a forerunner of the what-if history ...more
Since that's not likely to happen during my lifetime, I'll console myself with movies and books. The Lost World is a good place to be for those of us looking to get lost in a dino world.
This is a forerunner of the what-if history ...more

Book Reviewed by Clive on www.whisperingstories.com
After his initial success Conan Doyle spent much of his literary career trying to break free from Sherlock Holmes but public pressure and the need for a good income kept the two inexorably bound. His historical novels found little success but he achieved more with his science fiction adventures of which The Lost World was by far the most successful. And rightly so. This tale of a hidden world is full of action with many mysteries to ponder. Just ...more
After his initial success Conan Doyle spent much of his literary career trying to break free from Sherlock Holmes but public pressure and the need for a good income kept the two inexorably bound. His historical novels found little success but he achieved more with his science fiction adventures of which The Lost World was by far the most successful. And rightly so. This tale of a hidden world is full of action with many mysteries to ponder. Just ...more

3.5 rating
“So tomorrow we disappear into the unknown. This account I am transmitting down the river by canoe, and it may be our last word to those who are interested in our fate.”
Ironically the first part was better than when the actual adventure started. I think it's because the writer did not indulge in so much descriptive rambling and lengthy pauses during the build-up, which allowed that part of the story to shine triumphantly with humor, quirky characters, and fun motivations.
I loved the ...more
“So tomorrow we disappear into the unknown. This account I am transmitting down the river by canoe, and it may be our last word to those who are interested in our fate.”
Ironically the first part was better than when the actual adventure started. I think it's because the writer did not indulge in so much descriptive rambling and lengthy pauses during the build-up, which allowed that part of the story to shine triumphantly with humor, quirky characters, and fun motivations.
I loved the ...more

I don't like to end the book so soon, I really love this book although I expected something gorier like dinosaur killing the whole tribe or cannibals eat human flesh. Still, I did love this book in many ways and as long as I live I'll treasure this book forever. Hey, stop looking to me like that. I can still remember all the things I read from the book. Amen.
The whole journey started when a Gazette Irish journalist named, Malone, went go straight to the house of notorious Professor Challenged cl ...more
The whole journey started when a Gazette Irish journalist named, Malone, went go straight to the house of notorious Professor Challenged cl ...more

Nov 03, 2008
Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books)
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Fans of lost world/quest adventures
Recommended to Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) by:
Nicolle as a Buddy Read
The Lost World is a classic work of action/adventure that has a lively feel that made for a very fun read. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories, has a way of writing an engaging tale. For readers who fear reading books published prior to the later 20th century out of the desire to avoid dry, stale language, I would offer up this book. Although it shows the sentiments, good and bad, for the period in which it was written, the writing tone could easily be as modern as
...more

One of the two original, popular "dinosaur" novels.
By Charles van Buren on May 2, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
This review of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's THE LOST WORLD is from the Amazon Classics edition, December 5, 2017. Reviews of this edition also appear at the Amazon listing for a different edition published by Amazon Digital Services, March 30, 2011. Appearing under both lisings are multiple reviews of Michael Crichton's THE LOST WORLD. For instance, of the 35 one star reviews ...more
By Charles van Buren on May 2, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
This review of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's THE LOST WORLD is from the Amazon Classics edition, December 5, 2017. Reviews of this edition also appear at the Amazon listing for a different edition published by Amazon Digital Services, March 30, 2011. Appearing under both lisings are multiple reviews of Michael Crichton's THE LOST WORLD. For instance, of the 35 one star reviews ...more

“He would be a harder, sterner man, not so ready to adapt himself to a silly girl's whim. But, above all, he must be a man who could do, who could act, who could look Death in the face and have no fear of him, a man of great deeds and strange experiences. It is never a man that I should love, but always the glories he had won; for they would be reflected upon me. Think of Richard Burton!”

What? Oh this Richard Burton! I don’t want to post a photo of the explorer Burton (too many pics in this revi ...more

What? Oh this Richard Burton! I don’t want to post a photo of the explorer Burton (too many pics in this revi ...more

"There’s many a man who never tells his adventures, for he can’t hope to be believed."
I've been a long time fan of the Lost World TV series, and always wanted to get around to reading the book, and got the opportunity at last. I was amazed to see how different the book is, even down to the attributes/ characteristics of characters.
"Brain, character, soul—only as one sees more of life does one understand how distinct is each."
Some might argue that the book is too short, but for me it was the exac ...more
I've been a long time fan of the Lost World TV series, and always wanted to get around to reading the book, and got the opportunity at last. I was amazed to see how different the book is, even down to the attributes/ characteristics of characters.
"Brain, character, soul—only as one sees more of life does one understand how distinct is each."
Some might argue that the book is too short, but for me it was the exac ...more

Almost every 'dinosaurs are alive' movie owes something to this book; a fantastic adventure story for young boys and girls that will make them curious about science and adventure.
...more

Jun 13, 2012
Shovelmonkey1
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
plesiosaurs and pterodactyls
Recommended to Shovelmonkey1 by:
by an esteemed historic pedigree
WARNING: TERRIBLE LIZARDS CONTAINED WITHIN
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle is the literary equivalent of the plucky and elegant Caudipteryx when placed next to the stomping roaring Tyrannosaurus that represents the Hollywood mega block busters of Jurassic Park and the Lost World. If it doesn't zip along fast enough it might get squashed. But it does zip along quite speedily and has all the pre-requisites needed for a boys-own adventure story.
Specifically boys-own, because there are no ladie ...more
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle is the literary equivalent of the plucky and elegant Caudipteryx when placed next to the stomping roaring Tyrannosaurus that represents the Hollywood mega block busters of Jurassic Park and the Lost World. If it doesn't zip along fast enough it might get squashed. But it does zip along quite speedily and has all the pre-requisites needed for a boys-own adventure story.
Specifically boys-own, because there are no ladie ...more

Aug 22, 2017
Jelena
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bigass-real-shelf,
classics
I’ve been on an adventure!
And I’m quite glad I read this at an adult age. “The Lost World” is an adventure novel through and through, pure in its quest for new thrills and sensations, a glorious and unadulterated pulp. An old-school fantasy escapade with all its props and décor protruding out of everywhere. And how I loved it for that!
It’s a pretty safe bet that my 12-year-old self would’ve overanalysed it by acting all grown-up and intellectual, nagging at the characters’ implausible actions ...more
And I’m quite glad I read this at an adult age. “The Lost World” is an adventure novel through and through, pure in its quest for new thrills and sensations, a glorious and unadulterated pulp. An old-school fantasy escapade with all its props and décor protruding out of everywhere. And how I loved it for that!
It’s a pretty safe bet that my 12-year-old self would’ve overanalysed it by acting all grown-up and intellectual, nagging at the characters’ implausible actions ...more

Note, March2, 2016: I've just edited this review to correct a misspelled word.
Like one of my Goodreads friends, I should say at the outset that my review can't add much to the excellent one already written by another friend, Lady Danielle (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ). But I'll go ahead and share my perspective anyway, for what it's worth. While I did like the book, my rating for it wasn't quite as high as most of my friends gave it (for reasons I'll indicate below). But it's a goo ...more
Like one of my Goodreads friends, I should say at the outset that my review can't add much to the excellent one already written by another friend, Lady Danielle (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ). But I'll go ahead and share my perspective anyway, for what it's worth. While I did like the book, my rating for it wasn't quite as high as most of my friends gave it (for reasons I'll indicate below). But it's a goo ...more

An enjoyable romp of a story. Published in 1912, set in 1907 it still does pretty well today. Easy to imagine the Britishness of the characters - the larger than life 'Brian-Blessed-esque' professor Challenger, the cool calm and collected Lord John Roxton and more typical aged professor Summerlee, and rounding out the team, Irish rugby-playing Journalist Ed Malone.
While the paleontology is significantly outdated - with almost all its ideas dis-proven since publication, it is still a very enterta ...more
While the paleontology is significantly outdated - with almost all its ideas dis-proven since publication, it is still a very enterta ...more

“There are heroisms all round us waiting to be done. It’s for men to do them, and for women to reserve their love as a reward for such men.(p. 4)”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s best-known literary contribution is Sherlock Holmes, the Baker Street detective who now has name recognition in every culture on the planet, with the exception, perhaps, of an occasional South American tribe sequestered in the rainforest that has yet to discover cotton underwear and wi-fi, let alone pulp novels from the late-19 ...more
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s best-known literary contribution is Sherlock Holmes, the Baker Street detective who now has name recognition in every culture on the planet, with the exception, perhaps, of an occasional South American tribe sequestered in the rainforest that has yet to discover cotton underwear and wi-fi, let alone pulp novels from the late-19 ...more

I preferred Challenger to Holmes and dug up all the Challenger stories when I was younger. I agree with the "blurb" forget the newer story by this name and read this one. Great "high adventure" you don't seem to see anymore.
Be aware that this is an older book and like others of its era it is NOT PC. There are words used in the text that were acceptable then and are not acceptable now. If you are aware of this and can read the book without it bothering you then you'll find that the book is well w ...more
Be aware that this is an older book and like others of its era it is NOT PC. There are words used in the text that were acceptable then and are not acceptable now. If you are aware of this and can read the book without it bothering you then you'll find that the book is well w ...more

Sep 01, 2011
The Pirate Ghost (Formerly known as the Curmudgeon)
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
action-adventure,
group-read,
fantasy,
kindle-book,
classic,
really-good-read,
science-fiction
"Just 'cause the Postman ain't been bit lately don't mean the dog forgot how to bite." (B.E.Anthony)
In other words, "just because the book is old, doesn't mean it's not a good read." (Me)
In fact, I'll go a step further and point out that victorian and early 20th century writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs and Arthur Conan Doyle were able to do what famed writers like Micheal Crieghton struggled to do, that is overlay a science based fantasy world atop the mundane and theoretically understandab ...more
In other words, "just because the book is old, doesn't mean it's not a good read." (Me)
In fact, I'll go a step further and point out that victorian and early 20th century writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs and Arthur Conan Doyle were able to do what famed writers like Micheal Crieghton struggled to do, that is overlay a science based fantasy world atop the mundane and theoretically understandab ...more

Really an amazing book. I believe that Arthur Conan Doyle was the finest mystery writer of his time, and in my opinion perhaps the best of all time. Not many writers can surpass his mastery and fluidity of the written word combined with a thrilling plot and a vivid imagination. Written over 100 years ago, The Lost World is still a masterpiece today.

"...I can see that what I am writing is destined to immortality as a classic of true adventure." - p. 154
OK, OK, you got me! It's pulp fiction rubbish, but what's wrong with that? This one I place squarely in the "Guilty Pleasure" column. After all, an enlightened 21st century reading of the text reveals sexism, racism, colonialism, and every other no-good -ism save Catechism, eh? But for all its retroactive flaws, the narrative still proves to be a dashing adventure, and one which led me to tur ...more
OK, OK, you got me! It's pulp fiction rubbish, but what's wrong with that? This one I place squarely in the "Guilty Pleasure" column. After all, an enlightened 21st century reading of the text reveals sexism, racism, colonialism, and every other no-good -ism save Catechism, eh? But for all its retroactive flaws, the narrative still proves to be a dashing adventure, and one which led me to tur ...more

The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
As much as I adore the Sherlock Holmes stories it always saddens me that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s other fiction often gets overlooked. He wrote superb historical novels, some great horror short stories (including the one the movie The Mummy was based on, tales of adventure on the high seas and just about every other genre you can think of. And he wrote science fiction. Like The Lost World.
This short novel is not quite my favourite Conan Doyle science fict ...more
As much as I adore the Sherlock Holmes stories it always saddens me that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s other fiction often gets overlooked. He wrote superb historical novels, some great horror short stories (including the one the movie The Mummy was based on, tales of adventure on the high seas and just about every other genre you can think of. And he wrote science fiction. Like The Lost World.
This short novel is not quite my favourite Conan Doyle science fict ...more

Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" focuses on a story about an expedition in the South American Rainforest, leading its four protagonists on a plateau which seems to surround a world believed to be long-gone. Confronted with dinosaurs like pterodactyls, iguanodons or stegosaurus, our main characters have to solve many difficult or even dramatic situations, and it's one enjoyable thing to read it.
"The Lost World" is written from the perspective of Edward Malone - at first as part of a recollec ...more
"The Lost World" is written from the perspective of Edward Malone - at first as part of a recollec ...more

What a wonderful novel! This was part of a children's classics set that I've had for years, and I felt something adventure-like, especially after The Thirty-Nine Steps. And it definitely fulfilled my adventure urge!
Very much like Jules Vernes' novels, The Lost World details the exploration of a hidden area in the South American jungle, where somehow the prehistoric dinosaurs and reptiles have survived. Narrated by the journalist Ed Malone, it is honestly a wonderful read
I was sitting at the edge ...more
Very much like Jules Vernes' novels, The Lost World details the exploration of a hidden area in the South American jungle, where somehow the prehistoric dinosaurs and reptiles have survived. Narrated by the journalist Ed Malone, it is honestly a wonderful read
I was sitting at the edge ...more

One of the most pleasant aspects about reading adventures like those of Doyle, Wells, Kipling, and Haggard is the particular presence of the characters, their little joys and quarrels and concerns. There's this humorous self-awareness throughout the story that makes the whole thing read as if its being told, given over to the reader in a particular voice.
Certainly, this can be carried too far and made condescending, as with C.S. Lewis, but it goes to show what a winking authorial presence can l ...more
Certainly, this can be carried too far and made condescending, as with C.S. Lewis, but it goes to show what a winking authorial presence can l ...more

It's a classic tale of adventure and discovery that goes something like this:
I'm a journalist and my girlfriend doesn't want to marry me because apparently I'm not adventurous enough. So I decided to join an expedition with the narcissistic and venomous Professor Challenger to the Amazonian rain forest so that he can prove his (universally dismissed) discovery of a lost world of dinosaurs and so that I can prove my manhood to my beloved.
So we go, along with a couple other adventurers. Holy cow, ...more
I'm a journalist and my girlfriend doesn't want to marry me because apparently I'm not adventurous enough. So I decided to join an expedition with the narcissistic and venomous Professor Challenger to the Amazonian rain forest so that he can prove his (universally dismissed) discovery of a lost world of dinosaurs and so that I can prove my manhood to my beloved.
So we go, along with a couple other adventurers. Holy cow, ...more

Jan 22, 2020
Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Hey, look, it's the original Jurassic Park!
I knew A.C. Doyle wrote more than just Sherlock Holmes, but I rather forgot about it until now, when I saw this available as part of the AmazonClassics line. Narrated brilliantly by Gary Furlong, this story follows Professor Challenger and his band of three as they head to South America to prove the existence of pre-historic animals in the modern age. Told from the POV of journalist Ed Malone as a series of letters/articles, we follow our explorers as ...more
I knew A.C. Doyle wrote more than just Sherlock Holmes, but I rather forgot about it until now, when I saw this available as part of the AmazonClassics line. Narrated brilliantly by Gary Furlong, this story follows Professor Challenger and his band of three as they head to South America to prove the existence of pre-historic animals in the modern age. Told from the POV of journalist Ed Malone as a series of letters/articles, we follow our explorers as ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Lost World's ...: Chapter 1 - What would you consider a great adventure? | 1 | 3 | Apr 07, 2020 02:35PM | |
Goodreads Librari...: Make this book an spanish edition of the original | 3 | 12 | Apr 12, 2019 10:48AM | |
The Evolution of ...: December Group Read: The Lost World | 7 | 38 | Mar 22, 2019 12:14PM | |
Can't remember a science fiction/science fantasy book I read. Please Help | 2 | 13 | Apr 30, 2018 09:38AM | |
Goodreads Librari...: The Lost World - ISBN:0812534689 | 2 | 14 | Apr 17, 2018 12:45PM |
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born the third of ten siblings on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle, a talented illustrator, was born in England of Irish descent, and his mother, born Mary Foley, was Irish. They were married in 1855.
Although he is now referred to as "Conan Doyle", the origin of this compound surname (if that is how he meant it to be understood) is u ...more
Although he is now referred to as "Conan Doyle", the origin of this compound surname (if that is how he meant it to be understood) is u ...more
Other books in the series
Professor Challenger
(5 books)
Related Articles
If you love a page-turning mystery, you are in for a treat this month. We're seeing a great assortment of highly anticipated mysteries and...
68 likes · 23 comments
24 trivia questions
2 quizzes
More quizzes & trivia...
2 quizzes
“There are times, young fellah, when every one of us must make a stand for human right and justice, or you never feel clean again.”
—
54 likes
“So tomorrow we disappear into the unknown. This account I am transmitting down the river by canoe, and it may be our last word to those who are interested in our fate.”
—
40 likes
More quotes…