First puiblished in 1863,&nbsp;&quot;Five Weeks in a Balloon&quot; was the first novel in what would become the Jules Verne&rsquo;s &quot;Extraordinary Voyages&quot; series.&nbsp;It follows the adventures of three explorers as they attempt to be the first men to traverse Africa from the east to the west utilising a hydrogen filled balloon to make the journey in a far shorter time than normal. This&nbsp;trip wouldn&rsquo;t actually take place until well into the next century.<br />Fusing adventure, comedy, and science fiction, &quot;Five Weeks in a Balloon&quot; has all the key ingredients of classic Verne: sly humor and cheeky characters, an innovative scientific invention, a tangled plot that&rsquo;s full of suspense and surprise, and visions of an unknown realm.