"An important and imaginative addition to [the] understanding of the writings of Jules Verne....Fresh, stimulating, and graceful...Martin weaves together a rich knowledge of contemporary critical theory and of Vernian scholarship with a sensitive and evocative reading of the narratives."--Utopian Studies

"Easily read, but...insightful....Worthy and welcome addition to the growing corpus of English-language scholarship on Jules Verne and its efforts to both defamiliarize and refamiliarize (i.e., to "unmask") for the Anglo-American public thee multi-layered richness of Jules Verne's legendary novels."--Science-Fiction Studies

"A worthy and welcome addition to the growing English-language scholarship on Jules Verne and, perhaps more importantly, to its on-going efforts to both defamiliarize and refamiliarize...for the Anglo-American public the multi-layered richness of Verne's romans scientifiques."--Nineteenth-Century French Studies

"Martin...builds upon the serious French scholarship on Verne of the past several decades and presents a very provocative analysis of Verne's novels....Martin's book is an excellent contribution to scholarship on Jules Verne and should be included in any library collection that intends to support research on science fiction."--Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review Annual 1991

"Well-written, dazzling."--Choice