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A review by diomuller
Voyage au centre de la Terre by Jules Verne
3.0
Another Verne book, another fantastical story with imaginative places and situations. In this one, we follow Professor Lidenbrock, a multi-talented genius professor that sometimes acts like a toddler; Hans, the savage savant, guide and hero; and Axel, a young man that is the Professor's nephew, and our narrator. The characters are serviceable, but as always, with Verne, the main thing here is the fantastical things he can imagine. The trio starts a journey to the center of the earth, and, in their way, they find out that things are not exactly what they expected.
So, is this good? Yes, but it has a lot of problems. The first half of the book drags a bit, and while there are a few interesting parts, most of it are a bit repetitive. The second part is where most wondrous things happen, but... even then, I feel most of the things could've been more developed. Much of those "See thing, comment on it, go ahead to the next thing". Some of the "science" here is, of course, incorrect and completely outdated, but that adds more to the charm of the whole plot.
And speaking of outdated, I feel that some of the characters' - and why not, author's - views and opinions are really product of their time, and, with that in mind, it makes the book even more interesting if you keep that in mind: You can feel some of the imperialistic views of the world that existed back then, how the least developed nations were viewed, and some of the character archetypes that are common to that age: The professor and the guides are both savants in their own way, with the professor being the "civilized" one, who knows things about the world; and Hans being the "savage" one, with practical survival knowledge, that keeps a straight face on the biggest adversities.
This is, for sure, a very interesting book. Not one of Verne's best books, but still, very imaginative and creative.
So, is this good? Yes, but it has a lot of problems. The first half of the book drags a bit, and while there are a few interesting parts, most of it are a bit repetitive. The second part is where most wondrous things happen, but... even then, I feel most of the things could've been more developed. Much of those "See thing, comment on it, go ahead to the next thing". Some of the "science" here is, of course, incorrect and completely outdated, but that adds more to the charm of the whole plot.
And speaking of outdated, I feel that some of the characters' - and why not, author's - views and opinions are really product of their time, and, with that in mind, it makes the book even more interesting if you keep that in mind: You can feel some of the imperialistic views of the world that existed back then, how the least developed nations were viewed, and some of the character archetypes that are common to that age: The professor and the guides are both savants in their own way, with the professor being the "civilized" one, who knows things about the world; and Hans being the "savage" one, with practical survival knowledge, that keeps a straight face on the biggest adversities.
This is, for sure, a very interesting book. Not one of Verne's best books, but still, very imaginative and creative.