Fitz-James O'Brien capitalized on the

success of his predecessor Edgar Allan Poe

in writing disturbing stories with demented

protagonists. This collection of three tales

shows his mastery of the macabre. 'The

Diamond Lens' tells the tale of a lone

protagonist's discovery of a microcosmic

world within a drop of water, and his

growing obsession in particular with the

beautiful Animula, a fair maiden within

this world which he can see but never enter.

The insights O'Brien gives us to the

scientist's uncompromising pursuit of

knowledge at any cost foreshadow the mad

scientist familiar to science fiction readers

in a multitude of works.

In 'What Was It?' an invisible man is

discovered by residents of a boarding house.

Pre-dating H.G. Wells' 'The Invisible Man'

by nearly four decades, the residents' capture

and investigation of the creature blends

the fantastic with the scientific as they seek

rational explanations for this extraordinary

phenomenon. 'The Wondersmith' is a

macabre tale of an embittered toymaker

who seeks revenge upon the society that

has persecuted him by creating demonic

mannequins (a precursor of robots) and

imbuing them with life in order to slaughter

the masses. The tale is a fantastic melodrama

in which the dominating and cunning

Wondersmith is offset by the unassuming

and unlikely hero Solon the hunchback,

who is in love with the villain's daughter.