14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 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 opens the inner world
- Tanar buys time among the pirates
- The storm reveals a different Stellara
- A birthmark challenges a cruel rule
- Unspoken love turns into jealousy
- The rescue leads beneath the ground
- Loyalty faces distance and misunderstanding
- Communities reveal what their values build
- The rescue keeps opening new dangers
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, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 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 opens 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 and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook 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 USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Tanar of Pellucidar in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Tanar of 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 read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- 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.
Tanar of Pellucidar at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 50 min3 h 50 min fast, 5 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 68,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1929by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 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
- English
- 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
USD 580 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
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Tanar of 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
See all their booksMore 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 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
