8 h 37 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 37 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Beneath the Earth's shell, the sun never moves—and a king's son must face captivity with nothing but courage and cunning.
In Tanar of Pellucidar, Edgar Rice Burroughs takes you inside a hollow Earth. The land curves upward, a small sun hangs at its center, and noon never ends. Huge beasts, cruel pirates and old enemies fill this hidden world, where even the passing of time offers no familiar guide.
Tanar is the young son of Ghak, king of Sari, but his birth cannot protect him from captivity. Without a weapon, an army or anyone to speak for him, he must prove his courage and win his own name. His struggle puts loyalty and cunning beside the urgent need to survive.
What you’ll discover
- A horizon that rises Enter a strange landscape that curves upward beneath the shell of the Earth.
- No night to mark time Feel the strangeness of a world where the fixed sun makes every moment noon.
- A captive king's son Follow Tanar as captivity strips away the protection his royal birth might promise.
- Beasts and cruel pirates Explore a lost world where huge creatures and ruthless people make survival uncertain.
- Courage without an army Discover what loyalty and cunning mean when a young hero has nothing else.
Who will love it
For readers who love lost worlds, sea chases, cave escapes and hunters with spears, and for anyone who enjoys a love story among strange peoples.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A radio in Tarzana picks up Pellucidar
- A prisoner meets The Cid and Stellara
- A storm leaves two strangers alone
- Amiocap condemns two travelers to the fire
- Escape through the trees brings Stellara home
- Paraht brings love, and jealousy too
- Bohar returns and Tanar falls underground
- A friend in the dark helps two men escape
- Pursuit across the sea and the island of Hime
- Two societies show what love and hate build
- The story is told by an old man on the wire
Who’s who
- TanarA swift, brave hunter from Sari, son of King Ghak, who is taken prisoner and wants to get home and protect the woman he loves.
- StellaraA golden-haired young woman raised among the Korsars who longs to find her true father and her mother's people.
- David InnesThe Emperor of Pellucidar, who sails a tiny boat into enemy waters to rescue his best friend's son.
- The CidThe blustering chief of the Korsar pirates, who wants the secret of better gunpowder.
- Bohar the BloodyThe scarred Korsar lieutenant who hates Tanar and wants Stellara for his mate.
- GuraA gentle Himean girl with an Amiocapian mother who flees her quarrelsome family and follows Tanar.
- FedolA chief of Paraht on Amiocap and a great tandor hunter who lost his mate to the Korsars.
- Jude of HimeA sour, crafty man who shares Tanar's escape from the underworld and then seizes what he wants.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Tanar de Pellucidar
by Edgar Rice Burroughs · 1929
A radio hobbyist in Tarzana hears a voice from inside the earth begging for help to save a captive.
Medium level2–5 hours to readfrançais
Learn a language with medium classicsEspagnolFrançaisAllemandItalienJaponaisPortugaisAnglaisHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What would you do if a voice from the center of the earth asked for your help? In Tanar of Pellucidar, a young radio builder named Jason Gridley sits in his lab in Tarzana, California, with a friend who writes adventure stories.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A radio in Tarzana picks up Pellucidar
The book opens in the author's own voice. Jason Gridley, a young orphan with an income, has built a lab behind his home in Tarzana. He is testing a new radio signal that he and the author call the Gridley wave.
One evening Jason hears voices in a language nobody knows. Then the headphones carry code, followed by one word, Pellucidar. The sender is Abner Perry, writing from deep inside the earth. To prove Burroughs is listening, Jason asks about a fire in Perry's first gunpowder factory, a thing only Burroughs could know.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1929
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 5 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tanar of Pellucidar. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/tanar-of-pellucidar.
Burroughs, E. R. (2026). Tanar of Pellucidar. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tanar-of-pellucidar (Original work published 1929)
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tanar of Pellucidar. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tanar-of-pellucidar.
@book{burroughs2026tanar,
author = {Burroughs, Edgar Rice},
title = {Tanar of Pellucidar},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tanar-of-pellucidar},
note = {First published 1929}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Tanar de Pellucidar
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Tanar of Pellucidar about?
It tells how a young hunter named Tanar is captured by pirates called Korsars, how Emperor David Innes follows him, and how Tanar crosses islands and underground tunnels while trying to protect Stellara and return to his homeland.
Do I need to read the earlier Pellucidar books first?
No. The opening pages explain the inner world and its main figures, David Innes and Abner Perry. The story then follows Tanar, so a new reader can step in easily and enjoy it as an adventure.
What is Pellucidar?
Pellucidar is a hollow world inside the earth, where the sun hangs forever at noon, nobody keeps time, and the land curves upward in every direction. Stone Age people live there beside saber-toothed tigers, mammoths and sea monsters.
The author
Edgar Rice Burroughs
1875–1950 · American adventure novelist
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American writer born in Chicago in 1875. He wrote novels about Tarzan and novels set on Mars. His first Mars story appeared in 1912 and became the book A Princess of Mars in 1917. He later lived in California and died in Encino in 1950.
More by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Voir tous ses livresMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
