Hi, I'm Lavar Burton and this is Lavar Burton Reads.

In every episode I handpick a different piece of short fiction and I read it to you.

The only thing these stories have in common is that I love them and I hope you will too.

Hey y'all.

What if I told you that the final frontier was not space at all?

That it was basically the exact opposite of outer space.

Yes, for today's story instead of drifting out into the vastness of the heavens, we are

literally drilling down into the earth, joining these characters as they take a trip to the

civilization at the Earth's core.

The story is entitled Down in the Dim Kingdoms by Tobias Bucknell and it was published in

the new anthology Lost Worlds and Mythological Kingdoms edited by the talented John Joseph

Adams.

It's available right now in both print and as an audiobook.

Now you all know by now how much I love Tobias Bucknell's work.

He is an incredible speculative fiction author and the winner of the World Fantasy Award.

He's got a bunch of novels and a really beautiful collection of short stories out called Showgoth's

in Traffic and Other Stories.

That's now available in audio.

In his writing, Tobias puts his own enjoyable spin on some otherwise very dark subjects

and that is definitely the case with the day story.

Please check out the content advisory in the written episode description if you are so

inclined and now if you're ready, let's take that deep breath.

...