The Poison Belt

by Arthur Conan Doyle

Overview

"Nothing could be done. The thing was universal and beyond our human knowledge or control. It was death for young and old, for weak and strong, for rich and poor, without hope or possibility of escape." Just returned from his famous adventure in the Lost World, the resourceful Professor George Challenger faces his greatest danger yet: Earth will pass through a belt of poisonous ether, and mankind might not survive. As the poison enters the atmosphere, terror and madness sweep the globe. Cities are wracked by riots, societies crumble, and soon all communication ceases. Professor Challenger and his friends, barricaded in a sealed room, can only watch their planet die. The Poison Belt stands as one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's finest stories. A first-rate sequel to The Lost World, this novel continues the adventures of one of the most memorable characters in speculative fiction. Brilliant, witty, insufferable, and blessed with a booming voice and a huge black beard, Professor George Challenger is an eccentric and able champion of the human race.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781535251990
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	07/13/1913
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.12(d)

About the Author

The creator of Sherlock Holmes, the world's most famous literary detective. Born in Scotland, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a practising doctor when he began to write tales of mystery and adventure. In addition to the Sherlock Holmes stories, Conan Doyle also wrote the Professor Challenger adventures, and his classic, The Lost World, is one of the original fantasy novels. Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born in Edinburgh and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh's Medical School. Graduating in 1881, he set up practice as an occultist, but as patients proved elusive he turned to writing. An important influence upon his literary career was his professor, Dr Joseph Bell, who could observe the most minute detail regarding a patient's condition. This master of deduction became the model for Conan Doyle's legendary literary creation, the detective Sherlock Holmes, introduced in ‘A Study in Scarlet’ in 1887. Conan Doyle also espoused spiritualism and devoted considerable time and effort to a campaign of support for this cause. He also wrote successfully in genres other than detective fiction. His non-fiction includes military writing on the Boer War and pamphlets on spiritualism. It is known that he felt constricted at times by the popularity of Holmes, but it is nevertheless for Sherlock Holmes and his foil, the ponderous Dr Watson that he is best remembered. As Sherlock Holmes was the first detective to solve cases by deduction rather than due to an error by the criminal, Conan Doyle can be credited with creating the modern detective novel. He was knighted in 1902 for his support of the British cause in the Boer Wars. After the death of his son in the First World War, he devoted the rest of his life to spiritualism on which he wrote and lectured.

Date of Birth:

May 22, 1859

Date of Death:

July 7, 1930

Place of Birth:

Edinburgh, Scotland

Place of Death:

Crowborough, Sussex, England

Education:

Edinburgh University, B.M., 1881; M.D., 1885

Editorial Reviews

Here are two more volumes in the publisher's ongoing series of sf classics. Burroughs's Pirates was initially serialized in Argosy Weekly in 1932 and released in book form soon after. It features astronaut Carson Napier, who becomes stranded on Venus and finds himself swept into numerous adventures. The Poison Belt portrays Conan Doyle's other great creation, Professor Challenger. In this 1913 outing, the professor grapples with the problem of Earth's passing through a poisonous cloud, putting humankind's existence in jeopardy. Both books feature vintage illustrations. Great fun. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

In Doyle's short novel featuring Professor Challenger, the earth moves through a poisonous belt of the "ether"—the stuff supposedly filling space—and the protagonists of the first Challenger novel, THE LOST WORLD, reunite to observe what seems to be the end of all life. The book, though a classic of science fiction, is painfully dated in its science and in its casual racism, which only surfaces occasionally but is off-putting. But Glen McCready's genial reading helps. He supplies appropriate voices for the major characters, including the rumbling, bull-like Professor Challenger, his dainty wife, and the drawling Lord Roxton. Overall, McCready delivers the somewhat talky text with careful expressiveness, helping to bring it to life. It’s entertaining for those who can overlook the book's deficiencies. W.M. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2009 - AudioFile