Out of Time's Abyss

By: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Narrated by: Brian Emerson

Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

On Caprona, the Land that Time Forgot, all of the world's savage past still lives. Here are dinosaurs and flying reptiles, here are the most primitive of cavemen and the last of the Bronze Age barbarians. But there is one more secret that the claws and fangs and sharp-edged spears guard most of all. This is the story of the man who tried to find that final secret. When Bradley the adventurer dares to cross the last terrible barrier to the heart of Caprona, he enters a world of wonder, terror and danger beyond the imagination of any man - except the imagination of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

(P)1998 by Blackstone Audibooks

Enjoyable and very short.

The reader is good but he reads a little too fast. The prose occasionally feels uncomfortable. The story is fantastic and not very believable. Caprona is the Land that Time Forgot. It is a fairly large island near Antarctica, warmed by volcanic processes, protected by 1200 foot sheer walls along it?s entire periphery, the result of a huge volcanic explosion that blew the top off of a gigantic volcanic mountain in the prehistoric past. It is a sanctuary to a prehistoric world where the laws of evolution took a different twist. Like most science fantasy of the 19th century, the story isn?t very believable so you will have to suspend your scientific skepticism to a much greater degree than is required for most modern science fiction. The book is worth reading because it is enjoyable and very short.

Okay

What can I say. The book is a century old. It’s good for seeing how they wrote back then.

Some explanations for the unique island

Out of Time's Abyss is Edgar Rice Burroughs final installment in his The Land That Time Forgot trilogy. The major character is Bradley who went off with a small band in the first book. They run into a flying human who kills some and captures Bradley taking him to an island. There he meets a local girl and learns some of the mystery of the land including the lack of children. He kills the leader and escapes with the girl, eventually making it off the island. The run into the Germans who returned in the U-boat due to insufficient supplies. Quickly the German captain is killed and eventually they reconnect with their fellows as well as the rescue crew from the second book.

Burroughs continues the theme of this island being trapped in time with examples representing the ascent of man as well as animals over millions of years. The wing creatures represent another evolution in man that is incomplete and require other elements on the island.

The narration is fine with reasonable character distinction. Pacing is brisk for a quick listen.

A fun, but silly tale.

Another Edgar Rice Burroughs adventure following the usual plot. An early twentieth century man triumphs over savage situations and wins his woman in the process. Edgar had a hefty imagination and the talent to spin an intriguing yarn.

Formula has become stale

Originally posted at FanLit

In Out of Time’s Abyss, the last volume of Edgar Rice Burrough’s CASPAK trilogy, we learn what happened to Bradley, one of the adventurers we met in the first novel, The Land that Time Forgot. As we expected, Bradley has frightening adventures on Caspak, is nearly killed by lions, bears, tigers, dinosaurs, etc, and he saves and falls in love with a beautiful young damsel in distress.

In this installment, we meet the Wieroo, the most highly evolved species on Caspak. Their form and society isn’t at all what the American and European adventurers would have expected. We also learn the rest of the mystery of the strange evolution that has happened on Caspak. Since this is Earth instead of a fantasy world, it’s all too far-fetched to believe, but that’s okay because we weren’t really expecting or demanding more from a lost world story.

The plot of Out of Time’s Abyss could have been enjoyable, but its problem is that, except for the episode with the Weiroo, it’s nearly identical to the previous two CASAPAK stories, The Land that Time Forgot and The People that Time Forgot: white man fights prehistoric creatures and falls in love with the adorable native girl he’s protecting. At this point, the formula which has worked well before has become stale.

Blackstone Audio’s version of Out of Time’s Abyss was read by Brian Emerson who does a great job. The CASPAK trilogy was published in 1918 so you can find both a print and an audio version in the public domain.

Classic Hero Tale

I love the style of the narrator’s performance and the classic Burroughs fantasy and intrigue. It’s a charming yarn that is a welcome break from some of the more ponderous audiobooks I have that can sound like college textbooks.