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A review by nostalgia_reader
The Adventures of Captain Hatteras by Jules Verne
4.0
4.5 stars. If it wasn't for the blah beginning half, I definitely would have given it 5 stars, no question.
The first part of the story was a bit dull. As in the "why am I still reading this?" kind of dull. However, I love Verne’s books and I almost never dnf a book, so. There wasn't really much going on after everyone was on the ship and it had left the harbor and the entire suspense of when Hatteras would arrive was quite boring and a bit predictable. The rest of the time was mostly filled up with Dr. Clawbonny relating the history of Arctic explorers, which although was interesting, wasn't at all what I was reading this book for. If I wanted to learn about factual Arctic exploration, I would have picked up my copy of The Man Who Ate His Boots, not this.
However, the second part WAS AWESOME. Verne got out all his geeking out over about actual explorers and finally focused on writing his explorers. The characters all became much more likeable and characterized and enjoyable to read.
They were fairly stereotypical Verne characters--the strong willed, stoic, adventurous lead who seems to never have any worries about the journey going wrong, the enthusiastic side character, and the not-so-enthusiastic side characters. And Duke. I loved Duke's loyalty and he was as much a well-written character as the human characters were. Hatteras is one of my favorite characters of all time… much more relateable than Captain Nemo, who he is a bit comparable to.
This second half is where the adventure, trials, tribulations, and exploration is. Although I know many people don't like Verne's wordy style, I find it the perfect amount of description, witty dialogue, and scientific explanations. The characters were written in a way that was very inspirational for writing and just made them very likable and personable... there were actually parts where I did genuinely laugh at the witty remarks or the eager determination of the characters, and that is what I genuinely love to see/read in these sorts of stories.
Although it's not one of Verne's more well-known stories, I think I liked it even better than some of the more common place titles. It's a definite read for Verne fans and even those who enjoy reading about explorers and arctic discoveries. Having read it as an ebook, I will definitely look for a real copy to add to my bookshelf.
The first part of the story was a bit dull. As in the "why am I still reading this?" kind of dull. However, I love Verne’s books and I almost never dnf a book, so. There wasn't really much going on after everyone was on the ship and it had left the harbor and the entire suspense of when Hatteras would arrive was quite boring and a bit predictable. The rest of the time was mostly filled up with Dr. Clawbonny relating the history of Arctic explorers, which although was interesting, wasn't at all what I was reading this book for. If I wanted to learn about factual Arctic exploration, I would have picked up my copy of The Man Who Ate His Boots, not this.
However, the second part WAS AWESOME. Verne got out all his geeking out over about actual explorers and finally focused on writing his explorers. The characters all became much more likeable and characterized and enjoyable to read.
Spoiler
(It did help, though, that Verne dwindled the cast down from seventeen crew members and a dog to only five members and a dog.)They were fairly stereotypical Verne characters--the strong willed, stoic, adventurous lead who seems to never have any worries about the journey going wrong, the enthusiastic side character, and the not-so-enthusiastic side characters. And Duke. I loved Duke's loyalty and he was as much a well-written character as the human characters were. Hatteras is one of my favorite characters of all time… much more relateable than Captain Nemo, who he is a bit comparable to.
This second half is where the adventure, trials, tribulations, and exploration is. Although I know many people don't like Verne's wordy style, I find it the perfect amount of description, witty dialogue, and scientific explanations. The characters were written in a way that was very inspirational for writing and just made them very likable and personable... there were actually parts where I did genuinely laugh at the witty remarks or the eager determination of the characters, and that is what I genuinely love to see/read in these sorts of stories.
Although it's not one of Verne's more well-known stories, I think I liked it even better than some of the more common place titles. It's a definite read for Verne fans and even those who enjoy reading about explorers and arctic discoveries. Having read it as an ebook, I will definitely look for a real copy to add to my bookshelf.