''Wonder of the Worlds'' is a novel by Sesh Heri, published

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

by Lost Continent Library, is the first in a trilogy of novels featuring secret agent

Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

facing off against a Martian invasion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Plot introduction

In the first installment, ''Wonder of the Worlds'',

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

and Houdini pursue Martian agents who have stolen a powerful crystal from Tesla at the historically pivotal 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

in Chicago. Along for the ride aboard Tesla's airship are other historical figures, reporters

Lillie West Lillie or Lilie may refer to: * Lillie (name) * ''Lillie'' (TV series), 1978 British television serial * Lillie, Louisiana, village in the United States * ''Lilie'' (poem), in ''Kytice'', anthology by Karel Jaromír Erben * Lillie Glacier, glacie ...

and

George Ade George Ade (February 9, 1866 – May 16, 1944) was an American writer, syndicated newspaper columnist, librettist, and playwright who gained national notoriety at the turn of the 20th century with his "Stories of the Streets and of the Town", a ...

, as well as Kolman Czito, Tesla's assistant. On the journey to the Red Planet, the adventurers are treated to a hidden history of conflict between the Earth and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, as well as Tesla's stunning knowledge of

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

of the two planets. Upon arrival on Mars, the team pursues the crystal deep into the underground civilization ruled by Kel, the mad

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

determined to subjugate Earth with the power of the crystal.

Houdini the Spy?

Almost a year after publication of ''Wonder of the Worlds'', the 2006 release of ''The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero'' by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, presents biographical material supporting the theory that Harry Houdini was, indeed, a secret government agent during the years this trilogy takes place.

Publication

''Wonder of the Worlds'' By Sesh Heri () contains illustrations by the author.

Trilogy

The ''Wonder of the Worlds'' trilogy continues in ''Metamorphosis'' and ''The Lost Pleiad''. ''Wonder of the Worlds'' was featured at the International Tesla Exhibit in Zurich, Switzerland in 2006.

References

External links