“The People that Time Forgot” was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1918 and is the second of the three Caspak books.
It was preceded by “The Land that Time Forgot” and followed by “Out of Time’s Abyss”. It is a science fiction novel that describes an unknown island, called
Caprona in the south Pacific, near Antarctica. The first novel of the series describes the events on board a German World War One submarine and its British captives. The damaged submarine is forced to land on the hidden island of Caprona. Its German crewmembers and British passengers disembark on the island in an attempt to effect repair of their stricken vessel. They find that the island is inhabited by strange prehistoric creatures as well as early cave men. After a series of confrontations between the crew and the island’s creatures, only two survivors remain. Bowen Tyler and Lys La Rue are stranded on Caprona (called Caspak by its inhabitants), presumably to live the remainder of their lives in this strange land.
“The People that Time Forgot” is a sequel and continues the story where “The Land that Time Forgot” ends. The first story ends with Tyler sending a message into the ocean in hopes of securing rescue. The second story introduces Tom
Billings. Billings recovers Tyler’s distress note and starts to plan a rescue expedition to Caprona. Billings assembles a rescue party and proceeds to the South Pacific on board a vessel named the Toreador.
The crew lands on the island while Billings flies overhead in a bi plane. The plane is attacked by flying dinosaurs and crash lands. Billings is separated from the rest of his rescue party. The story follows Billings as he meets the strange inhabitants of the island. He travels with some of the Caspak’s friendly natives until they pass through a rival tribe’s lands. They are promptly attacked by the tribe and after a series of struggles, Billings escapes. He is pursued by the rival tribe and begins to lose hope. Just as he is near capture, Billing’s crew, along with Bowen Tyler and a group of friendly natives arrive and rescue him.
Toreador’s crewmembers are reunited with the original survivors and with Billings. Tyler and La Rue leave Caprona, along with the crew of the Toreador. Billings decides to remain on the island with his new found friends.
In 1977, this story had been adapted to cinema. This movie followed the 1975 film based on the first story of the Caspak trilogy, “The Land that Time Forgot”. It is an entertaining read and is recommended for fans of early science fiction.