"A well worked fantasy." - Kirkus. While stranded in a desert of central Australia, a small fossil-hunting expedition makes an unexpected discovery from prehistory: living colonies of six-foot-tall ants and giant mantises. This gripping adventure, reminiscent of works by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, builds on a basis of scientific fact to create a realistic mood for its pulp-fiction fantasy. AUTHOR: Bernard Cronin (1884 1968) wrote five detective and science-fiction novels under the pen name Eric North as well as many other pseudonymous books, short stories, and poems. The London native emigrated to Australia at the age of 6, and his adventurous travels throughout the continent add realism and zest to his fantastic tales.