The Smoky God (1908) is a fantastical adventure novel framed as a posthumous account of Olaf Jansen, a Norwegian sailor who claims to have journeyed to the Earth’s interior. Presented as a “true” manuscript discovered by the author, the story blends Arctic exploration lore with hollow Earth theory, popular in 19th and early-20th-century speculative fiction.
Plot Overview:
Olaf and his father embark on a fishing expedition in 1829, venturing northward beyond the Arctic. After surviving a violent storm, they sail through a polar opening into a subterranean world. There, they discover a vast, sunlit realm illuminated by a dim, smoky central orb (“The Smoky God”), which the inhabitants worship as divine. This inner world, accessible via openings at the poles, is a utopia inhabited by a race of 12-foot-tall, long-lived giants. The civilization boasts advanced technology, lush landscapes, colossal flora and fauna, and cities like “Eden” and “Jehu,” echoing ancient myths.
The Jansens spend two years learning their language and culture among the giants. The inner Earth’s geography includes massive rivers (named after biblical ones like the Euphrates), magnetic anomalies, and a climate governed by electrical phenomena. Eventually, they attempt to return to the surface via the Antarctic opening. Olaf’s father perishes in a catastrophic iceberg collision, but Olaf is rescued by a whaling ship. Disbelieved and labeled mad, he was institutionalized for 28 years. Decades later, he entrusts his story and maps to the author, who publishes it posthumously.
Themes and Style:
- Hollow Earth Theory: The novel draws on pseudoscientific ideas of a habitable inner Earth, with its own ecosystems and civilizations.
- Exploration vs. Skepticism: Olaf’s tale mirrors historical Arctic expeditions but underscores society’s dismissal of “impossible” discoveries.
- Myth and Religion: The inner world is portrayed as humanity’s ancestral home, linking it to Plato’s Atlantis, the Garden of Eden, and Norse mythology.
- Frame Narrative: The author’s foreword and afterword blur fiction and reality, presenting the story as a controversial manuscript with “evidence” like maps and scientific references.
Legacy:
A product of its era, The Smoky God reflects fascination with polar mysteries and lost civilizations. While scientifically discredited, it remains a curious artifact of early speculative fiction, intertwining adventure, mythology, and fringe science to challenge perceptions of the unknown.