Bowen Tyler is
an American hailing from ship-building business family. But his interest lies
in aviation so he sets on a sail to join Lafayette Escadrille – French Air
force run by volunteer pilots from America in the WWI. En route France the
passenger ship, in which he is journeying with his dog - Nobs, is attacked and
destroyed by a German submarine. It is a U-boat. Bowen immediately identifies
that the sub was made in his shipyard.
Amid the
disaster, he and his dog manage to survive in a small boat. He also picks up a
young girl called Lys La Rue. Next morning they are picked up by a British tug
boat but soon the boat is attacked by the same German U-boat. This time the
crew of the tug boat gives a hard-hitting fight, though loses some of its men,
and captures the submarine. The German crew is taken as prisoners. German’s
captain – Von Schoenvorts – turns out to be Miss Lys La Rue’s fiancée. In the
aftermath of the attacks, she changes her mind and abhors him and sticks to
Bowen. Bowen likes her but hesitates to express his love.
Bowen and
other crew members try to port in the English waters, they also send the codes
and messages, but they are threatened to get killed by the British navy. They
fail to convince that the sub no more belongs to Germans. Having nowhere to go,
they are lost and astray in the sea for many months before reaching to an
enigmatic island, Caspak. The place looks contrary to the world they are coming
from. It is full of strange things like ape-like humans, monstrous and ugly reptiles,
big flying lizards, etc. To fight the difficulties of that strange place, the
British and German crew joins hand and vows to fight together.
There they
struggle for food and fresh water and also put up a temporary fort to stay away
from deadly creatures. One day Germans flee the island on the U-boat, leaving
Bowen and others in the lurch. Later some of the men go missing and Lys La Rue
is kidnapped by a tribe. Bowen goes alone to set her free. Their hope of
returning to their world diminishes and thus Bowen and Lys get into marriage
and start living in a cavern at one of the mountain tops.
The book is
based on Lost World genre. Too many characters and incomplete WWI settings make
this story fall short of intensity. Though the story is fast paced but fails to
convince the readers with numerous unexpected sub plots.
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