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The Moon Pool Introduction of the ebook: The Moon Pool
Đánh giá : 3.32 /5 (sao)
The first scholarly edition of a classic science fiction novel.
One of the most gripping fantasies ever written, The Moon Pool embodies all the romanticism and poetic nostalgia characteristic of A. Merritt’s writings. Set on the island of Ponape, full of ruins from ancient civilizations, the novel chronicles the adventures of a party of explorers who discover a previously u The first scholarly edition of a classic science fiction novel.
One of the most gripping fantasies ever written, The Moon Pool embodies all the romanticism and poetic nostalgia characteristic of A. Merritt’s writings. Set on the island of Ponape, full of ruins from ancient civilizations, the novel chronicles the adventures of a party of explorers who discover a previously unknown underground world full of strange peoples and super-scientific wonders. From the depths of this world, the party unwittingly unleashes the Dweller, a monstrous terror that threatens the islands of the South Pacific. Although Merritt did not invent the lost world novel, following in the footsteps of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Burroughs and others, he greatly elaborated upon that tradition. This new edition includes a biography of the author, and an introduction detailing Merritt’s many sources and influences, including the occult, mythological, and scientific discourses of his day. …more
Review ebook The Moon Pool
Merritt was quite popular in his time. The Moon Pool originally appeared in serialized form in 1919 and was an instant hit. The breathless prose seems off-kilter today and the flip racism shines an unflattering light on a less-enlightened time. There are similarities to H.P. Lovecraft, H. Rider Haggard and the adventure story-tellers of the late 19th and early 20th century. HG Wells is mentioned by name. It was a time in which there were still many unexplored parts of the earth and Merritt did h Merritt was quite popular in his time. The Moon Pool originally appeared in serialized form in 1919 and was an instant hit. The breathless prose seems off-kilter today and the flip racism shines an unflattering light on a less-enlightened time. There are similarities to H.P. Lovecraft, H. Rider Haggard and the adventure story-tellers of the late 19th and early 20th century. HG Wells is mentioned by name. It was a time in which there were still many unexplored parts of the earth and Merritt did his best to fill them with his imaginings. This is a tale of lost races living beneath the earth and of battles between them, of the deepest history of our planet and of beings who populated earth long before us. It is also a tale of true love, self-sacrifice, honor, deception, greed, fantastical beings, creatures and powers. There is much in the book that makes me wonder whether the ideas were cadged from other writers of the time or were original with Merritt. I lack the depth of knowledge needed to fairly judge. Scientific concepts and technological prognostications abound. Personally I found these the most interesting. It is clear that for those of us who were captured by the strange civilization of LOST island, Merritt is the source of the smoke monster concept. How much more I cannot say, maybe the four-toed statues on the island are reflective of the lost-civilization, the old ones, that Merritt offers. But among the items here are:
A boulder-door that opens when moonlight shines on special receptors – Seems to me that Tolkien might have been a fan
A death ray that, except for it’s conical beam, might be a laser
A notion of the moon having once been a part of earth and the hollowed out space in which the story takes place having been part of the earth from which it had been wrested is interesting. I am not certain when this theory on the origin of the moon first appeared.
A fair maiden appears to the travelers in a way that very much reminds one of Princess Leia as a hologram
The very walls glow with light in some scenes. This makes me think of upcoming LCD lighting technology
The use of some sort of energy as a force field seems ahead of its time
That I did not much care for this story is a quibble, I suppose. It is archaic in its forms. But it was interesting as a period piece, and one cannot but admire the rich mine of imagination that Merritt worked in producing his first novel. …more
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