The discovery of a falling golden meteor and the race to find it form the core of this exciting tale from the master of science fiction, Jules Verne. An asteroid wanders into the earth's gravitational field and is spotted by two rival Virginia astronomers. The discovery becomes a worldwide sensation when it is announced that the asteroid is solid gold and is plummeting toward earth. The approaching disaster is brought on by the machinations of the brilliant but absent-minded French scientist and inventor Zephyrin Xirdal. Xirdal has invented a ray with which he pulls the golden asteroid from orbit and hopes to guide it to crash at a spot of his choosing. Xirdal, the two Virginia astronomers and their families, and representatives from many nations race to find and claim the golden meteor. The Chase of the Golden Meteor is vintage Verne, artfully blending hard science and scientific speculation with a farcical comedy of manners. This unabridged edition will be sure to delight Verne's legion of fans and attract new ones. Jules Verne (1828-1905), one of the founders of science fiction, is the author of such classics as Around the World in Eighty Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Gregory A. Benford is an acclaimed science fiction writer and a professor of physics at the University of California, Irvine. He has won the Nebula Award for Timescape and If the Stars Are Gods, cowritten with Gordon Eklund.

Five hundred miles beneath the earth's surface lies a fantastic, timeless world of eternal daylight, prehistoric beasts, and primeval peoples-Pellucidar. Pellucidar is a world within our world, a place where the horizon curves upward and merges with the sky. Here time stands still, for Pellucidar is illuminated by a miniature sun that never sets but hovers motionless in the sky. Scattered throughout the savage, prehistoric wilderness are communities of distrustful humans and the cities of the reptilian, highly evolved Mahars. David Innes and Abner Perry break through into this mysterious inner world. Their discovery of Pellucidar and the ensuing struggle to unite the human communities and overthrow the Mahars is a top-notch, thrilling tale of conquest, deceit, and wonder. This commemorative edition features an introduction by Gregory A. Benford and an afterword on the science of At the Earth's Core by Phillip R. Burger. Also included are a map of Pellucidar, a glossary of terms and names by Scott Tracy Griffin, a contemporary review, and the classic J. Allen St. John illustrations. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) is the legendary author of dozens of novels, including The Land That Time Forgot, also available in a Bison Frontiers of Imagination edition. Gregory A. Benford is a celebrated science fiction writer and a professor of physics at the University of California, Irvine. His most recent novel is Cosm. Phillip R. Burger is associate editor of The Burroughs Bulletin.