A Relic of the Pliocene (Cryptofiction Classics - Weird Tales of Strange Creatures)

Book excerpt: This early work by Jack London was originally published in 1901 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'A Relic of the Pliocene' is a short story about a man that hunts a mammoth with primitive weapons. Jack London was born in San Francisco, USA in 1876. In order to support his working class family, he left school at the age of fourteen and worked in a string of unskilled jobs, before returning briefly to graduate. London published his first short story, 'Typhoon off the Coast of Japan', in 1893. At this point, he turned seriously to writing, producing work at a prolific rate. Over the next decade, he began to be published in major magazines of the day, producing some of his best-remembered stories, such as 'To Build a Fire'. Starting in 1902, London turned to novels, producing almost twenty in fifteen years. Of these, his best-known are Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set during the Klondike Gold Rush. The Cryptofiction Classics series contains a collection of wonderful stories from some of the greatest authors in the genre, including Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London. From its roots in cryptozoology, this genre features bizarre, fantastical, and often terrifying tales of mythical and legendary creatures. Whether it be giant spiders, werewolves, lake monsters, or dinosaurs, the Cryptofiction Classics series offers a fantastic introduction to the world of weird creatures in fiction.