''Mahars of Pellucidar'' is a novel by American writer

John Eric Holmes John Eric Holmes (February 16, 1930 – March 20, 2010) was an American professor of neurology and writer of non-fiction, fantasy and science fiction. His writings appeared under his full name and under variants such as Eric Holmes and J. Eric ...

. The first of his

Pellucidar Pellucidar is a fictional Hollow Earth invented by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. In a crossover event, Tarzan, who was also created by Burroughs, visits Pellucidar. The stories initially involv ...

pastiches, it was first published by

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scienc ...

in 1976 and reissued by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., in 2022. Set in

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

' imaginary interior world of Pellucidar, the book features a species of intelligent flying reptiles (Mahars) invented by Burroughs in his first Pellucidar novel, '' At the Earth's Core''. Holmes' human protagonist, Christopher West, was named in honor of his own son, Christopher West Holmes.Martin, John. "John Eric Holmes: Mahars of Pellucidar and Red Axe of Pellucidar".

Plot

West is an associate of Dr. Kinsley, who has developed a teleportation beam that can also see events taking place 200 miles below the surface. When they see people about to sacrifice a beautiful woman, Christopher obtains a pocket knife and a red fire axe and has himself beamed down to rescue the woman. Due to his unusual weapon, West becomes known as Red Axe among the stone-age human beings of Pellucidar. The story deals with West's efforts to free his new-found friends from the tyranny of the Mahars. The region visited by West is apparently an area of Pellucidar different from that in which Burroughs set his stories, from which the Mahars were driven at the end of the second book in the series, ''

''. Evidently there are other locales in which the reptiles are dominant. Therefore, West never runs into any of Burrough's human Pellucidarian characters, such as

David Innes David Innes is a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs as the protagonist of his Pellucidar novels. He first appeared in the novel '' At the Earth's Core'', serialized in four parts in ''All-Story Weekly'' from April 4–25, 1914 and ...

, Abner Perry, Dian the Beautiful, Ghak the Hairy One, or any of the others.

Sequel

John Eric Holmes wrote a sequel to ''Mahars of Pellucidar'' called ''Red Axe of Pellucidar'', the publication of which was blocked by the Burroughs estate, despite its previous authorization of ''Mahars''. Ready for print in 1980, it only saw publication much later in a limited private edition issued in 1993. Both of Holmes's Pellucidar novels were ultimately officially re-released by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in 2022 in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audio CD as part of its Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe series. A planned third book, to be called ''Swordsmen of Pellucidar'', was never written.

References

External links

* http://www.erblist.com/erbmania/edgardemain/bridge-holmes.html 1976 American novels American fantasy novels Adaptations of works by Edgar Rice Burroughs Novels about dinosaurs Pellucidar Ace Books books {{1970s-fantasy-novel-stub