Review:Return to the Lost World/Christopher Roden
This review of the book "Return To The Lost World", by Nicholas Nye was written by Christopher Roden and published in the A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (Vol. 2, No. 2) in autumn 1991.
Review
- Return To The Lost World
- by Nicholas Nye
- The Self Publishing Association Ltd., 1991; 256pp; £13.95
- (Available from Images, Lloyds Bank Chambers, 18 High Street, Upton upon Severn, Worcs. WR8 0HD. Non UK addresses should add £2.50 for postage and packing. Visa and Mastercard accepted.)
Reviewed by Christopher Roden
If we had thought that pasticheurs of Conan Doyle would confine themselves to Sherlock Holmes, we were mistaken. It is, I suppose, inevitable that an author who produced such marvellous characters as Holmes and Watson, Challenger, Gerard and Sharkey, should have his creations exploited by others keen to break into print. With Holmes and Watson such exploitation is, perhaps, understandable the following which the pair attracts displays an almost insatiable appetite for fresh adventures and, whilst purists shudder in dismay, the tide of Holmes pastiche shows little sign of abating.
Challenger is a more unusual choice of target for the would-be author. The character was one of Conan Doyle's particular favourites and one feels that considerable care and effort went into making him the way he was. Imitation, therefore, becomes more difficult; not only with the character of Challenger, but also with Roxton, Summerlee and Malone, and the choice of location for further adventures needs careful consideration if such adventures are to be convincing.
Nicholas Nye has chosen self-publishing for his first book which he tells me was submitted for the P. G. Wodehouse Prize in 1989. Apparently, the novel nearly made the short-list. A schoolteacher living in Sussex, Mr Nye has chosen that county as the site for Challenger's cottage and it is in the depths of the Sussex countryside, in the year 1912, that we encounter Challenger finalising the Piltdown forgery.
Conan Doyle's original characters are retained for The Return to The Lost World and en route they encounter such extraordinary people as the mysterious prophet Palmerston, the outrageous Duke of Glencoe and his voluptuous daughter Fiona. Summerlee is attacked by a vampire bat, and a giant anaconda tries its best to halt the expedition.
On reaching the plateau, they find that their old allies, the Accala Indians, have been virtually wiped out, leaving the Ape Men once more in control. This provides Malone, particularly, with something of a problem, as he is destined to be seduced by the Ape Queen — with remarkable consequences.
The plot progresses with the help of an underground city and a prehistoric death ray, until Challenger and Roxton decide to maroon themselves, leaving Malone and Summerlee to return home alone. Is this really the end of Challenger? All is revealed in the closing chapters.
The book's production deserves compliment. In appearance it is very professional with an extremely attractive dust jacket, and this speaks well for the work of The Self Publishing Association. I cannot, however, be as enthusiastic over Mr. Nye's efforts. The characters are mere shadows of the originals and Roxton seems to have developed a speech impediment which causes him to drop every 'h' in sight, resulting in a quite laughable effect. The bickering between Challenger and Summerlee is overdone and an annoying element has been introduced into the narrative: that of littering the text with foreign names and following them by a translation (i.e charque, or dried beef; selva, the forest; meu proprio reino, my own kingdom). For me, this made the book a particularly uncomfortable read and it is an exercise which one can only hope will not be repeated.
- Article courtesy Christopher Roden, founder of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (1989-2003).
