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. Journey to the Center of the Earth is a dazzling display of science fiction adventure writing. Includes a detailed biographical note on the author's life.