Subterranean Worlds Inside Earth
Timothy Green Beckley
Amazing! THESE subterranean worlds are actually INSIDE the Earth! While the title might be worth a smile, the frontispiece photo of the author/editor is nothing short of surefire hilarity. A full page shot of Beckley in his best Dr. Who-style getup, bursting from his corduroys, clutching a walking stick and affecting an aristocratic sneer. The style carries into the writing with constant use of the royal “we” as well as inflated references to “our files” and “our correspondent.” And what all this reportage comes down to is a collection of anachronistic sci-fi stories presented as “firsthand accounts” of underground cities, etc. Several chapters, however, stand out for their fascinating exposition on the famous “Shaver Mystery,” the serialized visions of welder-writer Richard Shaver, who one day heard coming out of his welding gun “voices of endless complexity,” which he perceived as emanations from an ancient underground civilization of extraterrestrial origin and malevolent intent. Stories of Shaver’s “Deros” became the lifeblood of the magazine Amazing Stories and set the tone for many of the pulps to follow. Also includes an interesting debate between Shaver and the editor who shaped his visions, as well as Shaver’s later speculation on what he perceived to be ancient “cyclopean books” visible in various geological formations. RA
Publisher: Inner Light
Paperback: 158 pages
Illustrated