A precursor in the genre, Nymphaeum features a Lost World located in Siberia inhabited by amphibious humans lived. The Depths Of Kyamo and The Wonderful Cave Country are exotic versions of Journey To The Center Of The Earth and feature giant, intelligent bats who live in underground caverns. The Wild Boar Men take place on a mysterious island inhabited by savage Boar-Men, with locales such as the Blue Forest, the Red Forest, The Infernal Rocks, the Vlugt Pass. The World of the Variants feature a parallel world which certain privileged humans can inhabit. J.-H. Rosny Aîné is the second most important figure in modern French science fiction after Jules Verne. Rosny, who was a member of the distinguished Goncourt literary academy, was also the first writer to straddle the line between mainstream literature and science fiction. Until now, Rosny has best been known to the English-speaking public for his prehistoric thriller, Quest for Fire. This is a series of six volumes masterfully translated and annotated by Brian Stableford, devoted to presenting the classic works of this giant of French science fiction.