Krakatit

Prokop is a scientist who has a passion for the chemistry of explosives; this passion flowers in the discovery of Krakatit, a new explosive infinitely more powerful than any previously known, an explosive capable of wrecking the world; the small box of Krakatit is stolen; Prokop, in a panic of fear lest his terrible discovery do irreparable harm to humankind, begins frantically to chase what faint clues he has.
"Krakatit is a book to own and not to borrow."
-The Central European Observer
"The book is an adventure story, a fantastic mystery tale; but fundamentally it is a tour de force, the literary representation of the idea of explosion."
-Time
"The story rushes on tearing wheels like a high power car."
-The Virginia Quarterly
"This is a highly explosive book and must be handled with the utmost care."
-The Slavonic Review
"¿apek's dramatic instinct is unerring; he extracts from ­every situation an essence of terror, pity, or comedy that gives ­emotional significance to the smallest episode."
-Times Literary Supplement