The Day the World Ended

In Sax Rohmer’s 1930 sci-fi thriller, journalist Brian Woodville investigates strange vampiric phenomena and giant bats in Germany's Black Forest. He discovers these are illusions created by a mad scientist named Anubis—aided by the dapper detective Gaston Max—who threatens to use a devastating death ray to conquer the globe.

The narrative centers on a dark conspiracy operating out of a hidden fortress called Felsenweir. Initially, the novel masquerades as a supernatural tale about vampires and armor-clad men roaming castle walls.