The People Beyond the Wall by Stephen Tall
DAW Books, 1980
Price I paid: 75¢
The original premise of science fiction—the foundation stone—was the tale of the discovery of a lost land or an unknown civilization. From Plato’s Atlantis and Swift’s Lilliput, Butler’s Erewhon, and the beloved works of Haggard, Burroughs and Merrit, “Lost Race” novels have been the favorites of millions. But time and exploration seem to have abandoned this engaging theme.
Yet here is a new one, written with all the color and feel that marks the work of the masters, which manages to place the lost land within the context of today and get away with it. Stephen Tall’s tale of two Alaskan explorers who burrowed beneath a vast glacier to find themselves beyond the maps of today, where a strong primitive people made life free from crises, wars, and social disasters.
THE PEOPLE BEYOND THE WALL will delight everyone who loves a good adventure—and especially those who yearn for a new Alan Quatermain, a new Tarzan, a new Gulliver.
Schlock Value 