The Poison Belt
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Read by Mark F. Smith
Three years after the events that took place in The Lost World ( http://librivox.org/the-lost-world-by-sir-arthur-conan-doyle/ ), Professor Challenger urgently summons his fellow explorers (Professor Summerlee, Lord John Roxton, and reporter E.D. Malone) to a meeting. Oddly, he requires each to bring an oxygen cylinder with him.
What he soon informs them is that from astronomical data and just-received telegraphs of strange accidents on the other side of the world, he has deduced that the Earth is starting to move through a region of space containing something poisonous to humankind.
Shutting themselves tightly up in Challenger's house, they start to consider what may be done. But as their countrymen start to drop, will their oxygen last long enough to determine and implement a solution? (Summary by Mark Smith)
(3 hr 18 min)
Chapters
| THE BLURRING OF LINES | 38:52 | Read by Mark F. Smith |
| THE TIDE OF DEATH | 38:13 | Read by Mark F. Smith |
| SUBMERGED | 37:50 | Read by Mark F. Smith |
| A DIARY OF THE DYING | 27:35 | Read by Mark F. Smith |
| THE DEAD WORLD | 34:26 | Read by Mark F. Smith |
| THE GREAT AWAKENING | 21:40 | Read by Mark F. Smith |
Reviews
A LibriVox Listener
Beautifully read by Mark F. Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The subject matter might seem somewhat preposterous to modern thinking and the language a little odd, but this is a fun read / listen. I really enjoyed this short apocalyptic tale and also the resurrection of the superb characters first scribed in 'The Lost World'. Professor Challenger's bombastic nature once again comes the fore. Excellent.
keep going no matter what
Unknown
uring the time of my captivity as a Prisoner of the Japanese 1942 -1945, I came across the following poem written by the British born Canadian Poet, Robert W Service. I found it to be very inspiring, certainly when the going was tough, as it often was. The lines of this poem virtually renewed my determination to survive. THE QUITTER When you're lost in the wild and you're scared as a child And death looks you bang in the eye; And you're sore as a boil; It's according to Hoyle, To cock your revolver and die, But the code of a man says fight all you can, And self-dissolution is barred; Inhunger and woe Oh its easy to blow, Its the hell served for breakfast that's hard. You're sick of the game? Well now thats a shame!, You're young, you're brave and you're bright, You've had a raw deal, I know, but don't squeal, Buck up, do your damnest, and fight, Its the plugging away that will win you the day, So don't be a piker old pard, Just draw on your grit, its dead easy to quit, Its the keeping your chin up that's hard. Its easy to cry that you're beaten, and die, Its easy to crayfish and crawl, But to fight and to fight when hopes out of sight, That's the best game of them all, And though you come out of each gruelling bout, All beaten, broken and scarred, Just have one more try, its dead easy to die, Its the keeping on living that's hard.
Genre Change for the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Showbizbuff
Most readers associate Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with his most famous creation, the detective Sherlock Holmes. This book is totally different. It explores an incident in which Earth passes through a band of poison gas which causes the death of all humanity except for the characters who are the focus of the story. The tale is imaginative and reflects Doyle's interest in space and catastrophic events. The story is narrated by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina who does a great job. Highly recommended.
A apocalype, like I haven't seen before.
jim Moriarty
This book is a great story of an apocalypse, wich noone can escape. I was horrifed by the describtions of the choking and sudden death of planet earth. There is no clear escape and it begs the question would it have been better to die? I can recommend this book to anyone interested in a apocalypse story. On a unrelated note. I enjoyed the inclusion of Challengers wife. She humanizes the title character and shows a side of him, wich was not displayed previosly.
Bravo from Borneo
Lord Jim
An interesting, if not understated, second book in the Challenger series, which follows on from ACD's masterpiece - The Lost World. This is not so much an adventure into the physical world as depicted in The Lost World, but is instead an adventure made by our audacious heroes into surviving, understanding and responding to a mysterious existential threat from space. Chapeau to Mark Smith; one of the best narrators around. So, now off to find the third book in the series, Land in the Mist.
mack
I would say that most people who wrote comments with their rating did not listen to the book someone says they wish it was the same reader throughout the book but it was the same reader I'm confused it was the same so I thought it was an awesome book Doyle out does himself again
Good Story
dsuden
Just as 911 sobered us for awhile and caused us to consider less petty thoughts...this book presents us with a “global 911”...with the scope of The Great Flood...and asks us to do likewise. It’s a clever story idea and is well worth a listen.
Fun But Not Fulfilling
Fun but not fulfilling. The deep reflective purpose eluded to in the last paragraph was missing from the story. M.F. Smith was excellent as usual. 3 Stars,however, is all I can muster for this failed attempt by Sir Conan Doyle to infuse meaning into materialism.