The Castle in Transylvania

"M. Jules Verne has the knack of it. He knows how to make the scientifically romantic story. You may not know what a 'nyctalop' was, but if you saw one flapping its wings around the dark fortress in the Carpathians, you would run for it, as did Nic Deck. Jules Verne brings in all the most recent and approved scientific apparatus. Orfanik is head conjurer, and in his trial he explains how he brought into play for a wicket purpose a variety of ingenious inventions." --entire review, NY Times 1894-11-19 p3 "Jules Verne's Romance"