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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
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
An adventure so nautical I feel like a shoobie just being on terra firma right now. Captain Nemo is the GOAT of the seven seas!
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I purchased this after the Titan submarine imploded above the Titanic in 2023 but didn't get around to reading it until months after the incident. Like a complete dope I purchased the Puffin Classics version of this book which was heavily abridged. Man am I disgusted with myself.
This was, in my mind, the pinnacle of adventure stories. I'm not a sci-fi reader at all and was not put off by Verne's stretching of the imagination for his story. A lot of the negative reviews would have been more positive had they read this abridged version that "has taken out the more arduous and dated bits of nineteenth-century science, and lists of underwater species, in order to clarify the main, thrilling adventure story". I doubt that those removed parts would have bothered me, as the similar sounding content did not bother me while reading Moby Dick. Someday, I will definitely need to buy the full unabridged version for the parts I missed but also to do better honor of this book in my private collection. This is up there with one of the best books I ever read. Captain Nemo is probably my all-time favorite character in literature.
This was, in my mind, the pinnacle of adventure stories. I'm not a sci-fi reader at all and was not put off by Verne's stretching of the imagination for his story. A lot of the negative reviews would have been more positive had they read this abridged version that "has taken out the more arduous and dated bits of nineteenth-century science, and lists of underwater species, in order to clarify the main, thrilling adventure story". I doubt that those removed parts would have bothered me, as the similar sounding content did not bother me while reading Moby Dick. Someday, I will definitely need to buy the full unabridged version for the parts I missed but also to do better honor of this book in my private collection. This is up there with one of the best books I ever read. Captain Nemo is probably my all-time favorite character in literature.