(Found) Flood Basalt story.

[Ian Clamhoot Jessop]

Hi.
I read a story around 1970 about a flood basalt eruption set in the south of England.
It might have started with steam in a river near Weybridge and relates a survivor's flight and escape.
Please can someone tell me the title and author.

 

[hitmouse]

Is this some sort of volcanic eruption?

Is it a short story or a novel?
If the former, was it in a amgazine?
Any other story details at all?
What did the cover look lile?

A bit more detail might increase the chance of success.

 

[Ian Clamhoot Jessop]

Hi. Thanks for your response. It was a short story. I think it was early on in a book collection of short stories by several authors.
I do not recall any cover picture.
The writing style was reminiscent of Wells' War of the Worlds. A flood basalt eruption is an eruption that covers a vast area in lava; these areas are called "traps".
The narrator escapes by running and then using a stolen bicycle. He tries to warn people of their danger but is ignored.

 

[Ian Clamhoot Jessop]

I think it was set in the early 1900s.

 

[otistdog]

I can confirm that this story exists and is as described. Unfortunately, I can't recall the name or author, either. I thought I had read it in a relatively recent collection of older sci-fi stories, but I can't find it.

Will post back if I can locate the story.

 

[otistdog]

Found it: "The Thames Valley Catastrophe" (1897) by Grant Allen. You might have come across it in a collection called Science Fiction by Gaslight (or similar) in the 70s, according to ISFDB. You can find the complete text via Project Gutenberg. It looks like there's a Librivox recording available, too.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

That might be the oldest story I've seen identified here at Book Search, well done, otisdog! It looks as though the story may be available at Project Gutenberg, as well.

 

[Ian Clamhoot Jessop]

Thank you so much. I remember the title and the collection now.

Best regards, Nicholas James Toop (anag) AKA Jocasta Molesiphon & Thomas Jason Police

NB: 42 = 2A (hexadecimal) and after 2A comes 2B.. that is the ultimate question .

 

[TomMazanec]

Pretty sure that is it, so mark it found.
It’s even older than I thought it was!