Publisher's Synopsis
The Dalkey Archive, is the story of a man who lives in a sleepy Irish town. By chance, he meets a local named De Selby, who shares with him a fantastical story of the wondrous scientific experiments he has achieved. One of them, has granted him the ability to meet famous dead people - such as the late John the Baptist, and other historical and religious figures. He explains that he found a secret cave where he can converse with dead historical people, and offers to take his new friend to dive in the cave. They go to the cave, and meet St. Augustine.As their friendship continues, he soon begins to realize that De Selby is not stable, and has plans to decimate the human race by removing all oxygen from the earth's atmosphere. He realizes that he needs to stop De Selby at any cost, and enlists the help of a few locals to aid him.
