Legend of Lost Earth by G. McDonald Wallis
133 pages
Published 1963
Read from June 28 to June 30
Rating: ★★ out of 5
The sci-fi "double" novel of yore is thoroughly charming. I bought this original Ace Double edition in order to obtain Alpha Centauri—Or Die! by Leigh Brackett, but was almost equally excited to discover this unknown book by an unknown (to me) author, potentially a lost pulp classic for all I knew. Buying a book because it's by an author you like, and getting a second book by a "new" author you might be glad to discover, feels close to the very spirit of sci-fi readership. It's a shame that, despite some attempts at revival, the double never caught back on with more modern readership.
Legend of Lost Earth, despite an atmospheric setting and some Celtic flavor setting it apart from more formulaic fare of the time, was disappointingly mediocre. It begins as a dollar store knockoff of 1984 set, ostensibly, in space, which is entertaining enough while it lasts. But the big "Everything is not what you thought!" twist is a mash of half-baked ideas, mingling vague words about a sentient Earth choosing who will live on it, something about multiple Earths overlapping each other, and the power of good vibes to escape a totalitarian hellhole and find a green and grassy Eden that's been there all along. A soupçon of biblical doctrine is in there somewhere as well. Frankly, it becomes a bit of a mess.
No comments:
Post a Comment