The Hollow Earth: The Narrative of Mason Algiers Reynolds of Virginia

In an ``editor's note,'' Rucker ( Wetware ) claims to have found and edited this manuscript written in 1849, shortly after the death of Edgar Allan Poe. Its author, Mason Algiers Reynolds, tells of joining Poe in a counterfeiting scheme to finance an exploration of the South Pole--and beyond, since Poe and fellow traveler Jeremiah Reynolds (not related to the ``author'') believe in Symme's theory of a hollow Earth. After many difficulties--including Poe's living through the plots of several of his scariest stories--the theory is confirmed with the travelers' discovery of the inside of the world, where they find light, life, even humans. Poe learns of the existence of MirrorEarth where a MirrorPoe is writing Poe's stories; jealous, he wants to go there. Rucker's pastiche of the last century's fantastic voyages makes an enjoyable adventure tale, although MirrorEarth, straining belief too far, destroys the mood. (Aug.)