The land of hidden men

"The Land of Hidden Men" by Edgar Rice Burroughs is an early 20th-century adventure that throws a young American medical graduate, Gordon King, into the dense jungles of Cambodia on a solo quest for ancient ruins. Ignoring the warnings of his guide about fierce beasts and supernatural jungle terrors, King embarks with youthful confidence, soon humbled by the brutal reality of his surroundings, battling heat, exhaustion, and the constant threat of predators. His path twists into a perilous maze filled with dangerous wildlife and unsettling glimpses of Cambodian folklore figures. Lost and ensnared by the jungle, King's fate dramatically shifts when he witnesses ghostly apparitions of warriors and a captivating woman atop an elephant. Overwhelmed by illness, his tale transforms into one of survival and enlightenment as he encounters enigmatic locals who nurse him back to health and introduce him to the mystical dimensions of the world he stumbled into.