As a huge fan of Doyle, and knowing the influence this book has had on fantasy, I saw an edition of The Lost World from a printing in the early 1970s at a used book store and immediately purchased it. Oy, what a mistake. I am aware that Holmes has been accused of being misogynistic and there are elements of racism within those books but man did Doyle let his id out of control in this novel. I literally hated every single one of these characters and was actually disappointed when none of them were eaten by dinosaurs.
Women and minorities have no purpose in this book other than to be quiet and obey the will of their white masters. I think even Steve Bannon would read this work and say, “maybe tone it down a bit, ACD”, that is how over the top it is. It is also incredibly boring. The book is short, just under 200 pages and they do not even arrive at the Lost World until about halfway through the work. Much of the early part is a bunch of obnoxious academics fighting or the supposed main protagonist talking about his yearning for a woman he barely even knows. I also found it infuriating that the black worker who they brought with and made wait outside the Lost World gets absolutely no credit or appreciation for his help when they would have been pteranadon burger without him
It has been a while since I have had a true hate read, but this one qualifies. Poorly written, deeply misogynistic and racist and boring. Avoid this one at all costs
