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Author: David Standish
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Genre: History
Pages: 303
Retail Price: $9.99
Buy on Amazon.com
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I've been a card-carrying Hollow Earther since junior high school - I'm also a Flat Earther, a Discordian, and an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church. I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for the lunatic fringe.
My interest in all things whackadoodle continues to this day, and I was curious about this book, which proclaims to trace the history of hollow earth theories. Unfortunately, Hollow Earth does not make good on its promise.
Instead of discussing the various cultural and mythological origins of hollow earth theories, the book focuses primarily on the premises and plotlines from comic books, movies, and relatively modern science fiction, like Edgar Allen Poe, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Jules Verne.
There are a couple of non-fiction-related chapters, particularly some interesting information on polar expeditions. But outside of a way-too-detailed history of the Koreshanity cult (nearly 50 pages on it!), Standish clearly isn't interested in tackling hollow earth theories from a historian perspective. Rather, the book focuses more on hollow earth imagery in modern pop culture.
This wouldn't be so bad, but the book is written in a slapdash manner, with pages taken up by excruciatingly long details and passages of the plot summaries of modern sci-fi classics, making it read more like a bad high school thesis paper than a scholarly work.
I like intelligent nonfiction on non-mainstream ideas, but this book is slipshod, clunky, and as hollow as its subject matter. |
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Overall Rating:
Reviewer: Adam Coozer |
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