The adventure begins when eccentric German Professor Otto Lindenbrock and his nephew Axel decipher a coded note written in runic script by a sixteenth-century Icelandic alchemist. The message sends Lindenbrock and Axel on a journey to Snæfellsjökull, Iceland, in search of an extinct volcano and a secret crater that they believe leads to the center of the earth. With with their guide, Hans Bjelke, they make a daring dive into the crater. The three travelers encounter all kinds of dangers and strange phenomena-from an underground world populated with fossils of prehistoric mammals and gigantic mushrooms to primeval fish and giant marine reptiles from the age of dinosaurs. is a dazzling display of science fiction adventure writing. Includes a detailed biographical note on the author's life.