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. Rosny leant nobility to the prehistoric novel with classic works such as Vamireh (1892), Eyrimah (1893) and Nomai (1897), in which he combined the notions of modern drama with the ability to depict Man's early days in a colorful, yet believable fashion, straddling the line between mainstream literature and fantasy.

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. In The Young Vampire (1920), a London girl is possessed by an extra-dimensional entity which mutates her body and turns her into a living vampire. The Supernatural Assassin (1923) tells the tale of a murderous wraith. Finally, Companions of the Universe (1934) is Rosny's last, great novel, a brilliant scientific romance in which a secret group of physicists attempts to breach the limits of the universe beyond photons, sub-particles and wave-sequences; while at the same time offering an in-depth study of the perversity of human sexual relationships.

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. A man is found mysteriously duplicated in the trenches of World War I. Brilliantly prefiguring the theme of cloning, The Givreuse Enigma (1917) features the "bipartition" of a human being into two totally similar individuals, each naturally believing himself to be the original. Adventure in the Wild (1935) takes place in the savage, unexplored depths of Sumatra where brave explorers encounter the mysterious hidden race of the bestial Carabao Men, creatures with "monstrous heads, eyes as phosphorescent as a leopard's, canines elongated into tusks, and hair the color of iron."

To the short list that includes Jules Verne and H.G. Wells as founding fathers of science fiction, the name of the Belgian writer J.-H. Rosny Aîné must be added. He was the first writer to conceive, and attempt to narrate, the workings of aliens and alternate life forms. His fascination with evolutionary scenarios, and long historical vistas, from first man to last man, are important precursors to the myriad cosmic epics of modern science fiction. Until now, his work has been virtually unknown and unavailable in the English-speaking world, but it is crucial for our understanding of the genre. Three wonderfully imaginative novellas are included in this volume. "The Xipehuz" is a prehistoric tale in which the human species battles strange geometric alien life forms. "Another World" is the story of a mysterious being who does not live in the same acoustic and temporal world as humans. "The Death of the Earth" is a scientifically uncompromising Last Man story. The book includes an insightful critical introduction that places Rosny's work within the context of evolutionary biology. **

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 seven volumes devoted to presenting the classic works of this giant of French science fiction. In Helgvor of the Blue River (1929), two desperate women flee their barbarous tribe, and cross paths with a prodigious warrior. The Giant Feline (1918) features two friends of different races who set off in search of greener pastures for their tribe, befriend a wild creature, and ally themselves with Wolf-Women... Rosny’s final, action-packed prehistoric adventure novels chart the domestication and integration of savage human instincts into sympathetic culture. Together with Vamireh and Quest for Fire, they combine the restless vigor of youth, the violence and wisdom of ages, the species-imperative of accepting difference and diversity, and the exhilarating joy of defying tyranny and death.

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.

Pan’s Flute is the eighth volume in a set published by Black Coat Press devoted to presenting the classic works of this giant of French science fiction and fantasy. 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 collection of fantasy tales, translated here for the first time, includes Pan’s Flute, Etruscan Amour and Setne’s Women, three bold and lurid mythological fantasies dealing with erotic obsessions and ancient civilizations.

In The Xipehuz, men encounter inorganic aliens, with whom all forms of communication prove impossible. In Another World, a mutant whose vision is superior to that of ordinary men discovers that humans share the Earth with two other species, the invisible Moedigen and Vuren. In The Death of the Earth, Earth, in the far future, has become a desert, and the last descendents of humanity are slowly being replaced by a new species, the metal-based "Ferromagnetals." In The Navigators of Space, astronauts travel to Mars in a spaceship powered by artificial gravity and come in contact with a dying race that is gentle, peaceful, six-eyed and three-legged. 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.

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. In The Cataclysm, the physical laws of nature change in an entire region of France because of the arrival of a strange electro-magnetic entity from outer space. The Mysterious Force is about the destruction of a portion of the light spectrum by aliens who, for a brief while, share our physical existence. In Hareton Ironcastle, explorers discover a mysterious alien world, fauna and flora, embedded in the Heart of Africa.