The shapes on the plateau were solid and convincing enough. They were not the substance of dreams, but living, moving, three-dimensional creatures. And presently, their outline took on a more definite appearance. They appeared now to be enormous ants reared on hind feet -- man-sized insects, each with a slender feeler or antenna jutting from the shining black dome which was evidently the head of the creature. What shocked the watchers the most was the uncanny touch of the human about them. They appeared to be half ant, half man.
This is the spectacle that greets the wondering eyes of a small fossil-hunting expedition in the central Australian desert. American geologist Silas Orcutt and his intrepid crew had fully expected to encounter vestiges of prehistoric life -- but they were hardly prepared for thriving colonies of six-foot-tall ants and giant mantises. This gripping adventure, reminiscent of tales by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, builds on a basis of scientific fact to create an authentic background for its pulp-fiction thrills. Kirkus Reviews praised the tale as "a well worked fantasy in which suspense and logical scientific conclusions create a sense of reality."