The Land That Time Forgot

I enjoyed this rather more than I did on my previous reading a decade ago. It is adventure/science fiction in a Jules Verne style though with more of the "boys' own" macho style that is dated now, mixed with blatant racial stereotyping, all of which the reader has to accept on its own terms for the sake of the narrative drive and for the time in which the story was written. All the characters are pretty one dimensional anyway. I got a bit confused by the various captures and re-captures between English and German sailors during the First World War at the beginning but the plot was easier to follow once they got to Caprona. I'm not totally sure what the difference is between Caprona and Caspak . In any case, I liked this well enough this show more time round to begin immediately reading the second part of the trilogy (they're all short books). show less

It must have been pretty exciting to be a kid with 15c 100 years ago looking forward to the August 1918 Blue Book Magazine and the appearance of a new complete story by Edgar Rice Burroughs. And that is how "The Land That Time Forgot" arrived.

I read most of Burroughs novels in the late 60's and into the 70's and probably a few in the early 80's. I am fairly certain that I read this book in my teens, and I certainly saw the crazy Doug McClure movie. The book was better. This is told in an old fashioned Burroughs style, a little reminiscent of a Jules Verne novel. A manuscript is found on the shore in Greenland inside of a thermos bottle and thus begins this tale of a Lost World, neanderthals, wild creatures, dinosaurs and love. Oh, this show more is WWI - we mustn't forget the awful Germans and their submarines. The submarine is how we get to the land that time forgot. This was fun and a well written romantic fantasy adventure of the old days. Burroughs packs a lot of adventure into this short novel. I'm glad I reread this. show less

Bowen Tyler, Jr., is on his way to the war in Europe when the ship he's on is torpedoed by a German U-boat. Through an odd series of events, he ends up on said U-boat with a motley crew of Germans, Americans, and one lady, only to wind up floating around the South Pacific and running into the legendary island of Caprona. Once on Caprona, the adventurers encounter creatures from the earth's prehistoric past as well as humans in varying stages of evolution. Separated by attacks and treason, Tyler, crew member Bradley, and would-be rescuer Billings forge three separate narratives of this strange new land.

The first two parts of The Land That Time Forgot are excellent adventure tales, filled with action, mystery, and a little bit of romance. show more Unlike some older books, Burroughs' writing has not become antiquated with time, and the novel is as easy to read as any recent book. Other than most of the Germans being double-crossing sabotagers, the book does not carry many of its era's stereotypes, either. I was quite surprised when *spoiler alert* two of the main characters married Caspak natives after having said repeatedly that they do not love them, the girls being of other "castes" designed to be somewhat similar to Neanderthal people.

The evolutionary aspect of Caspak is interesting, though I never figured out Burroughs' purpose in designing it as such. Individuals evolve from tadpoles to nearly-modern humans as they move from south to north on the island, a journey which takes an unknown (but very long) number of years. Very few people - and then only at the top of the evolutionary chain - are born as are regular humans. In some ways, the novel could be viewed as an outline of evolution contained in one individual rather than by species' changes over millennia, but Burroughs does not delve far enough into scientific details for that.

The third part of the book is more bizarre, moving from science fiction into fantasy. It's almost as if Burroughs wrapped up the storyline at the end of the second part, then remembered there were a few loose ends and finished them in the final part. Here we meet the Wieroos, a skeletal-looking, murdering bunch with wings. Normally an ultimate show-down between the Wieroos and highest order of humans would be expected, but everyone from our world leaves before anything is resolved, with the Caspakian order remaining as before. It's a rather unsatisfying ending to an otherwise satisfying read. show less

A mixed bag, good ideas but the usual problems of poor writing, repeating plot points, strong female characters left with little or nothing to do and of course many coincidences and lucky escapes. The three sections are told from three different points of view.
The first part is half 'Hunt for Red October' and then the dinosaurs come in. It also has a pretty good female character.
The second part a standard princess and warrior storyline. There's some interest as the hero struggles between his affection and his natural racism but its still the weakest section.
The third section 'Out of Time's Abyss' is by far the best, giving the final details to the strange evolution of life on Caspak which is both weirder, grosser and cooler than i show more expected. Its also far more horror based than the first two parts. show less

I can honestly say that I had a lot more fun with this than, say, [b:The Island of Doctor Moreau|29981|The Island of Doctor Moreau|H.G. Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388230211s/29981.jpg|68894]. That is to say, I thought it was a pretty nifty adventure. :)

It came out in 1918 for those of you somewhat familiar with the historical terrain. War was on everyone's minds and pretty much anything that let us escape from our world to some deserted island... or not so deserted... is pretty much the epitome of awesome.

The first half of this short novel was already a top-notch adventure with capturing a U-boat and uncovering traitors, but once they made it to the land that time forgot, you and I both know that we're in love with the show more dinos. :)

I really want some steak, now. Nom nom.

The surprising difference between this cool little adventure and more modern tales is quite striking. The same thing written in the 60's or 70's would have been embarrassing for any female character. Weak, abused, treated like crap. But not so in this one. Maybe it was the whole women's voting rights or something, but this female was pretty awesome. Strong, quick thinking, and determined. I likey. show less

Dang, this is a bad book. I LOVE Burroughs, but dang. This book is a romance, which I did not see coming, and a toxic one at that. The dinosaurs are just kinda tacked on. Then there is the really troubling/racist view of evolution just kinda wedged in there. The best part of the book is really before they reach the island.

Published in 1918 and set during WWI, this book starts as a maritime voyage, where a series of ships are sunk. American protagonist Bowen Tyler finds himself, along with a British tugboat crew, onboard a German U-boat. The U-boat eventually comes across the lost island of Capsak (aka Caprona). This island is “the land that time forgot.” The crew of Americans, Germans, and British must work together to try to survive. They come across dinosaurs, animals, vegetation, and a variety of humans at various stages of evolutionary development.

It is a short book that whets the appetite for more information about what this strange land could be. Of course, it is only the first book in a trilogy so perhaps I need to read the other two. It is show more filled with non-stop action at the expense of any deeper character development.

I had somehow missed this novel in my years of reading the classics. I am glad to have finally read it. I can see later influences in novels such as Jurassic Park. It is a fast-paced quick read. Recommended to anyone interested in early SciFi or fantasy. show less