The hollow earth : the narrative of Mason Algiers Reynolds of Virginia

In 1836, Mason Algiers Reynolds leaves his family's Virginia farm with his father's slave, a dog, and a mule. Branded a murderer, he finds sanctuary with his hero, Edgar Allan Poe, and together they embark on an extraordinary expedition to the South Pole, and the entrance to the Hollow Earth. It is there, at the center of the world, where strange physics, strange people, and stranger creatures abound, that their bizarre adventures truly begin. Publishers Weekly In an ``editor's note,'' Rucker ( Wetware ) claims to have found and edited this manuscript written in 1849, shortly after the death of Edgar Allan Poe. Its author, Mason Algiers Reynolds, tells of joining Poe in a counterfeiting scheme to finance an exploration of the South Pole--and beyond, since Poe and fellow traveler Jeremiah Reynolds (not related to the ``author'') believe in Symme's theory of a hollow Earth. After many difficulties--including Poe's living through the plots of several of his scariest stories--the theory is confirmed with the travelers' discovery of the inside of the world, where they find light, life, even humans. Poe learns of the existence of MirrorEarth where a MirrorPoe is writing Poe's stories; jealous, he wants to go there. Rucker's pastiche of the last century's fantastic voyages makes an enjoyable adventure tale, although MirrorEarth, straining belief too far, destroys the mood. (Aug.) This is the second edition of The Hollow Earth , which was replaced in 2018 by a new, third edtion that fits with Rucker's sequel, Return to the Hollow Earth . In 1836, Mason Algiers Reynolds leaves his family's Virginia farm with his father's slave, a dog, and a mule. Branded a murderer, he finds sanctuary with his hero, Edgar Allan Poe, and together they embark on an extraordinary expedition to the South Pole, and the entrance to the Hollow Earth. It is there, at the center of the world, where strange physics, strange people, and stranger creatures abound, that their bizarre adventures truly begin. 1: Leaving the Farm 4 2: Murder 18 3: On the River 27 4: Eddie Poe 39 5: The Bank of Kentucky 54 6: Virginia Clemm 68 7: Aboard the Wasp 82 8: Antarctica 99 9: Symmes’s Hole 111 10: Seela 128 11: Inward! 140 12: Tekelili 154 13: Through the Spindle 172 14: MirrorEarth 193 15: The Conqueror Worm 214 Editor’s Note to the First Edition 227 Editor’s Note to the Second Edition 231 Reynolds runs away after committing a murder and joins Edgar Allan Poe on a quest to the legendary Symmes Hole, the entrance to the hollow earth