In Search of the Unknown
| First published | June 1904 |
|---|---|
| Type | Novel |
| Series | Lost Species |
Synopsis
<br> A fixup novel, it consists of humorous light fantasies with strong science fictional elements. The stories feature the narrator, a man who searches for lost species of animals, and his journeys to find these animals. The creatures include among others a half-man, half-amphibian called "the harbor-master". The narrator falls in love in most of the stories, unfortunately with women who are always whisked away at the last moment. <br><br> <i>In Search of the Unknown</i> (1904) and <a href="/story/5591/"><i>Police!!!</i></a> (1915): "The <b>Lost Species</b> sequence – [these two <b>collections of linked stories</b>] – features the adventures of a philandering zoologist in his search for unknown beasts ..." --SFE3: <i>Encyclopedia of Fantasy</i> (1997), biog. entry by Mike Ashley
Notes
Fix-up novel with five stories included mostly intact:
"The Harbour Master", "In Quest of the Dingue", "Is the Ux Extinct?", "Farrago's Fate" (not in the database April 2020), and "A Matter of Interest".
"The Harbour Master" itself has been published as "In Search of the Unknown" (see).
Publications (18)
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1904 | In Search of the Unknown | Harper & Brothers | Novel | |
| February 1905 | In Search of the Unknown | Archibald Constable & Co. | Novel | |
| 1974 | In Search of the Unknown | Hyperion Press | Novel | |
| 1974 | In Search of the Unknown | Hyperion Press | Novel | 1 |
| 1985 | Early Science Fiction Novels: A Microfiche Collection | Greenwood Press | Omnibus | 018 |
| July 2000 | The Yellow Sign and Other Stories: The Complete Weird Tales of Robert W. Chambers | Chaosium | Omnibus | 263 |
| February 2004 | The Yellow Sign and Other Stories: The Complete Weird Tales of Robert W. Chambers | Chaosium | Omnibus | 263 |
| June 2004 | In Search of the Unknown | Kessinger | Novel | |
| June 2006 | In Search of the Unknown | Project Gutenberg | Novel | |
| June 2006 | In Search of the Unknown | World Library Classics | Novel | |
| July 2006 | In Search of the Unknown | Wildside Press | Novel | |
| June 2007 | In Search of the Unknown | Wildside Press | Novel | |
| August 2008 | In Search of the Unknown | Wildside Press | Novel | |
| August 2008 | In Search of the Unknown | Wildside Press | Novel | |
| June 2010 | The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of Robert W. Chambers: Volume 2 | Leonaur Ltd | Collection | |
| June 2010 | The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of Robert W. Chambers: Volume 2 | Leonaur Ltd | Collection | |
| August 2014 | In Search of the Unknown | Dover Publications | Novel | |
| October 2017 | In Search of the Unknown / Police!!! | Stark House Press | Omnibus | 11 |