At the Earth's Core is quintessential Edgar Rice Burroughs—it is a magnificent daydream in which the imagination is allowed to create great wonders and to shape cultures into forms that are pleasing to the eye and the libido.

As is always the case with Burroughs at his best, the descriptions are sharp and evoke the otherworldliness of the landscape: Had I still retained the suspicion that we were on Earth, the sight that met my eyes would quite entirely have banished it.

Emerging from the forest was a colossal beast which closely resembled a bear. It was fully as large as the largest elephant and with great forepaws armed with huge claws. Its nose, or snout, depended nearly a foot below its lower jaw, much after the manner of a rudimentary trunk. The giant body was covered by a coat of thick, shaggy hair...