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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
jules verne is a fantastic writer who knows his stuff. this book is incredibly well researched to the point of it feeling like a non-fiction. there’s a lot and i mean A LOT of descriptions that are very much info-dumps which i think could possibly hinder the modern readers experience. i listened to this as an audiobook. it’s very endearing for me when i hear people talk about their passions so the narrator and his voice acting really helped me feel more mesmerised and captivated into this story which i feel like i wouldn’t have been if i were to read in any other format. there’s still only so much i could take even with the audiobook (11 hours long! help!) so i wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this to everyone as it reads like an encyclopaedia or being in a college lecture, not as a fun adventure. dune was my last read and yet a book about the ocean was more dry than a book about the desert.
i sea why a lot of people grew up loving this book, it would have been so fascinating for kids to get lost into this story and for its time when deep sea exploration wasn’t really known about. currently we can search up online what any creature looks like but back then that wasn’t the case and a lot of the descriptions verne puts in wasn’t common knowledge. for us who already know a lot of this stuff and don’t want to be bored to tears, i would recommend an abridged version if possible (if it takes away the fish descriptions) it’s great to read the whole story as the author intended and i wouldn’t ever recommend abridged versions usually BUT at the same time a lot of modern readers may be put off by this book and not feel the motivation to continue which is a shame because there’s a lot of amazing scenes in this book that’s hidden in the depths of the descriptions. i still think this is one of the best science-fiction books out there as it’s undeniable how it would have changed so much for its genre and inspired so much more after it. i’m excited to watch the 1954 adaptation for it because i feel like this book would benefit me more seeing it visually.
there are some valid critiques i have like with the hunting of the sea creatures. i would have assumed captain nemo with his love and respect for the ocean would care about the creatures but not really. they kill off an endangered species for no reason at all. the racism too with people being called “savages” for not being white.
I enjoyed this book, but it was quite different to what I thought it was going to be. I knew that a main character was Captain Nemo - and I knew that he is often described as 'mysterious' but I had no idea just how mysterious he really was. Even the word 'Nemo', I learned from the book, means 'nobody'. Captain Nemo is the commander of the Nautilus - an amazing submarine that belongs to no country and is able to be submerged for most of the time. Captain Nemo takes pity on three men who survive an accident at sea: Professor Arronax (a French marine biologist), his servant Conseil and Ned Land (a Canadian whale harpooner) and rescues them onto the Nautilus. The catch is though that they can never leave. While there were certainly adventures in the book, a lot of it was very descriptive of sea life, almost boringly so. I'm glad I read it and will read more by Jules Verne.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Super fun and exciting! This translation from the 1920's also includes a lot of great humor.
What a landmark piece of fiction to be treasured from childhood. I must have read a super abridged version as a child, for the original version is pretty much a marine encyclopaedia of sorts with such overwhelmingly detailed descriptions of the living treasures underwater. Captain Nemo will never be irrelevant.
Closer to 3.5
(So the thing with classic novels is that there's tons of versions floating around. I should've been more suspicious when the one I began with this time had an additional author with a somewhat suspicious name)
Closer to 3.5
(So the thing with classic novels is that there's tons of versions floating around. I should've been more suspicious when the one I began with this time had an additional author with a somewhat suspicious name)
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A very detailed book in terms of marine classification. Often got boring on parts where there was very little understanding as to what on earth was being said. When there was dialogue/interesting events then it was a good book. Not the worst but not the best classic I’ve read as of yet.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes