Author: Jules Verne / Year: 1828-1905 / Genre: Sci-Fi In this original version of the novel, Professor Otto Lidenbrock is a German mineralogist who lives in Hamburg. He rushes home one afternoon, elated by his purchase of an ancient manuscript from an antique shop. His nephew, Axel who lives with him is less than enthusiastic when he hears that the book is written in Runic script and is an Icelandic saga oncerning the old Norse kings. A dirty piece of parchment falls out of the bundle of pages and it appears to be written in code. This grabs Axel's interest and the two spend days trying to crack the cipher. When they finally do, they discover that it has been written by an alchemist who claims that he has traveled to the interiors of the earth via a volcanic tube. Excited beyond measure, the professor drags his reluctant nephew to Iceland, where a local hunter joins them in a truly fantastic voyage.
