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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It is pretty fast paced. Very adventurous. There's lots of marine and scientific jargon.
'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' by Jules Verne is a wonderful read if one is both a scientific naturalist and adventurous. The story will sate those tastes completely despite that the novel was published as a serial in 1869.
I have copied the cover blurb as it is accurate:
"Originally serialized between March 1869 and June 1870, Jules Verne’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” is one of the greatest underwater sea adventures of all time. It is the story of Professor Pierre Aronnax who sets off aboard an American frigate to investigate a series of attacks, which has been reported to be made by an amphibious monster. The monster in question is actually the submarine vessel the ‘Nautilus,’ which is commanded by the eccentric Captain Nemo. When the Nautilus destroys the Professor’s ship, he is taken prisoner by Captain Nemo along with his trusted servant Conseil and the frigate’s harpooner Ned Land. What follows for the three is a tale of great adventure and scientific wonder. An early pioneer of science fiction, Jules Verne’s work is noted for its prediction of scientific advancements. In the case of “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” Verne accurately forecasted the development of submarine vessels. It is at once a harbinger of technology to come and captivating tale of adventure which has delighted readers ever since its original publication. This edition is translated by F. P. Walter, is illustrated by Milo Winter, and includes a biographical afterword. "
As the Nautilus traversed all the oceans of the world, I likewise followed along by tracing the voyage on my globe, bought years ago from a National Geographic catalog. With the use of the Google search engine, I looked at the thousands of ocean denizens - fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, shellfish, corals, mammals, birds, reptiles, corals, plants, sharks, rays and jellyfish that the narrator, Professor Pierre Aronnax, describes in every chapter and mile of ocean he travels. We readers today do have search engines to look up the animals and plants he mentioned which certainly increased my enjoyment in reading the book as much as using a physical globe to follow the Nautilus. Without Google, the book would have been only a boring read of lists of creatures every other chapter between the scenes of exciting and anxious moments.
For you, gentle reader, I include a link to a marvelously informative website with equally marvelous photos and other information:
https://oceana.org/marine-life
Sad to say, some readers will not like 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'. They will say, "too many lists of ocean-life classifications and not enough gore." This is true. Verne could have given readers scenes written with blood spraying all over the page since he wrote many vivid, if brief, episodes of murder, violence and monsters in the novel. However, it being a nineteenth-century novel for all ages, no, he didn't do that. It did have a dark emo anti-hero who played on an organ whenever he was broody. I enjoyed the adventure tremendously. Although I am a mature lady and I liked the book, most likely young middle-school readers with a scientific interest in the oceans would most likely LOVE this entertaining and imaginative novel!
The edition I read had many fantastic illustrations! I strongly recommend picking up such an edition.
I have copied the cover blurb as it is accurate:
"Originally serialized between March 1869 and June 1870, Jules Verne’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” is one of the greatest underwater sea adventures of all time. It is the story of Professor Pierre Aronnax who sets off aboard an American frigate to investigate a series of attacks, which has been reported to be made by an amphibious monster. The monster in question is actually the submarine vessel the ‘Nautilus,’ which is commanded by the eccentric Captain Nemo. When the Nautilus destroys the Professor’s ship, he is taken prisoner by Captain Nemo along with his trusted servant Conseil and the frigate’s harpooner Ned Land. What follows for the three is a tale of great adventure and scientific wonder. An early pioneer of science fiction, Jules Verne’s work is noted for its prediction of scientific advancements. In the case of “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” Verne accurately forecasted the development of submarine vessels. It is at once a harbinger of technology to come and captivating tale of adventure which has delighted readers ever since its original publication. This edition is translated by F. P. Walter, is illustrated by Milo Winter, and includes a biographical afterword. "
As the Nautilus traversed all the oceans of the world, I likewise followed along by tracing the voyage on my globe, bought years ago from a National Geographic catalog. With the use of the Google search engine, I looked at the thousands of ocean denizens - fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, shellfish, corals, mammals, birds, reptiles, corals, plants, sharks, rays and jellyfish that the narrator, Professor Pierre Aronnax, describes in every chapter and mile of ocean he travels. We readers today do have search engines to look up the animals and plants he mentioned which certainly increased my enjoyment in reading the book as much as using a physical globe to follow the Nautilus. Without Google, the book would have been only a boring read of lists of creatures every other chapter between the scenes of exciting and anxious moments.
For you, gentle reader, I include a link to a marvelously informative website with equally marvelous photos and other information:
https://oceana.org/marine-life
Sad to say, some readers will not like 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'. They will say, "too many lists of ocean-life classifications and not enough gore." This is true. Verne could have given readers scenes written with blood spraying all over the page since he wrote many vivid, if brief, episodes of murder, violence and monsters in the novel. However, it being a nineteenth-century novel for all ages, no, he didn't do that. It did have a dark emo anti-hero who played on an organ whenever he was broody. I enjoyed the adventure tremendously. Although I am a mature lady and I liked the book, most likely young middle-school readers with a scientific interest in the oceans would most likely LOVE this entertaining and imaginative novel!
The edition I read had many fantastic illustrations! I strongly recommend picking up such an edition.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars. Wow! What a fantastic adventure instigated by a mysterious mad captain.
The book is the story of a crew on an underwater mission to seek and destroy a sea monster. However, the monster is not necessarily what they first expected...
When this came out, it was probably amazing. Given the time it was written (around 1870), the science in it is pretty impressive. But reading it in 2020, I found it a little dull.
Also, turns out the 20,000 Leagues was the distance they travelled underwater, not the depth they went to. They actually only went to about four leagues, depth-wise. Who knew.
When this came out, it was probably amazing. Given the time it was written (around 1870), the science in it is pretty impressive. But reading it in 2020, I found it a little dull.
Also, turns out the 20,000 Leagues was the distance they travelled underwater, not the depth they went to. They actually only went to about four leagues, depth-wise. Who knew.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The thing I love the most about reading Victorian novels is dissecting the things they were playing with and figuring out about the novel form, and then thinking about how these books would be totally unpublishable now. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fits both of these categories, especially when considering how many pages are dedicated to scientific classification. In a modern novel we would applaud every moment when the narrator views the world through that classification lens, but we would heavily edit down the breadth and frequency and exhaustion of classifications that happen over and over and over. But Verne got away with it because novels were still new!
Honestly, of all the Victorian sci-fi I've read, I had the most difficulty with this one. When Verne pushed away from the classifications and got into the action and exploration, it was vivid and exciting, but so much of the narrative is concerned with biological classification that I felt a little awash.
Honestly, of all the Victorian sci-fi I've read, I had the most difficulty with this one. When Verne pushed away from the classifications and got into the action and exploration, it was vivid and exciting, but so much of the narrative is concerned with biological classification that I felt a little awash.
adventurous
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