The Temple of the Past

Stefan Wul was the nom de plume of French science fiction writer Pierre Pairault (1922–2003). He was a dental surgeon, but science fiction was his real passion. Most of his books reflect that, showing a deep knowledge of scientific data. Pairault retired from dental surgery in 1989, but remained active in the French science fiction scene.

He published eleven novels between 1956 and 1959 and a twelfth in 1977. Only one, Le temple du passé (1957), was translated into English, as The Temple of the Past in 1973 (in 2010 Creation Oneiros published Oms en série in English as Fantastic Planet; it was published under the pseudonym of Stephan Wul). His fame outside of French-speaking countries is instead due the animated adaptations of two of his novels by René Laloux.