The Lost World
by
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Review of Book
The last time I had any 'involvement' with dinosaurs, so to speak, my son was 6 yrs old and would joyfully burst into another verse of 'Listen to the chorus of the Stegosaurus' on the walk home from school. The excruciating pain from accidentally kneeling on plastic models of them I remember to this day
So at first I wasn't in too much of a hurry to get hold of a copy of this classic sci-fi adventure story, which leads journalist Ed Malone into the depths of South America in an attempt to impress his lady love, the fickle Gladys Hungerton. He gets himself invited to join an expedition whose purpose is to prove the veracity of claims by the fiery Professor Challenger, that there is a lost world of pre-historic creatures on a exceptionally high and inaccessible plateau
Review of Nat's Reading
Trying to track down this audio took quite some time. I searched the usual places and contacted different people, but only after several months did I finally get hold of a copy. In spite of my initial lack of enthusiasm for the subject matter, after only quite literally the first two minutes of listening to Nat's animated delivery I just knew I was going to enjoy this one!
He starts off with this jolly and excitable style, which merges into the brilliant delivery of some wonderfully comical scenes. But then the narrative settles down to solid story-telling in which Nat very quickly draws you in to the highs and lows of the adventure so that you become completely absorbed.
But one of the most memorable passages is when he ups the tempo once more after the adventurers return and appear before a meeting of the London Zoological Society. Nat delivers a reporter's account of the proceedings, as written in his newspaper column, in a quite extraordinary way! It's like a miniature play all in itself the way he switches, 'headlines an' all', between the reporter's words and those of the various characters in very quick succession. He even manages to interrupt and heckle himself whilst in full flow!! It's such a pity this recording is so hard to come by as it really is outstanding.
Prof Challenger: "What do you think made him draw such strange creatures?"
Malone: "Trade gin I should think!"
Published by
Puffin Audiobooks
ISBN 0140866108
1998
Available on cassette only
Abridged version
Running time 3hrs approx