Journey to the Centre of the Earth (Classic)
by Jules Verne
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Read in August, 2007
recommended to Chris by:
previous book by authorrecommends it for: calm someone down.
When I go on a Great Adventure, I like to bring a book with me which also chronicles a great adventure. This is for two reasons; first, to urge me on in my own adventure and push the boundaries of what is expected on said adventure, and second, to give me something entertaining to read about a great adventure should mine turn out less than spectacular. After reading From The Earth To The Moon by Verne and finding it totally awesome, I figured another Verne story couldn’t go astray to satisfy...more
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Read in March, 2008
What sounds more adventurous than taking a journey to the center of the earth? Not much can compare. Although this novel is fiction, there is so much detail in the description of the journey and the characters that you are willing to go along with all the impossible trips they make under our lands and oceans and really hope that the characters succeed. Axel, the narrator, is not very excited about taking this trip and believe me, you’ll figure that out right away from the way he narrates. His...more
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Read in April, 2008
I'm not going to go into a description of the plot because the title says it all. I will only give my overall opinion.
In picking this book up from the library I had fantastic preconceived images burned into my mind of what I might expect to read (prehestoric animals, humanoids, battles, escapes, etc.). I was more than a little disappointed to find it lacking most of those mentioned. I have read books like "Snowcrash" that blow my preconceived notions away with more than expected...more
In picking this book up from the library I had fantastic preconceived images burned into my mind of what I might expect to read (prehestoric animals, humanoids, battles, escapes, etc.). I was more than a little disappointed to find it lacking most of those mentioned. I have read books like "Snowcrash" that blow my preconceived notions away with more than expected...more
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Read in May, 2008
I would ask anyone who is reading this review if they knew that Jules Verne's writings were all translated from French. I didn't know that until I picked up this book. So it is officially literature in translation, which I am not a big fan of, generally, but this was a good book anyway.
There are many, many references to scientific terms. One of the trickiest sentences in the book is included in this paragraph:
"Now, in mineralogy, there are many names difficult to pronounce--half ...more
There are many, many references to scientific terms. One of the trickiest sentences in the book is included in this paragraph:
"Now, in mineralogy, there are many names difficult to pronounce--half ...more
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Read in May, 1983
A Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne (published in the original French as Voyage au centre de la Terre). The story involves a professor who leads his nephew and hired guide down a volcano in Iceland to the "center of the Earth". They encounter many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy. From a scientific point of view, this story has not aged quite as...more
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
science fiction, adventure
This is more a travel book than an adventure story but mixes in both. I have to admit that after delving deeper into the book as the characters do so in the Earth I found the story is not as griping as 20,000 leagues. The characters are well developed and believable, the storyline becomes tiresome when and at the point you expect it to start getting exciting. There is some interesting allusions to grand adventure, especially in the deep sea creatures and discovery of giant bones. This could be a...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
people really into geology
I have to admit, I read this book and walked away not understanding at all why it's a classic. I ended up skipping huge sections of the book because it kept going into really boring technical details about soil and rocks which I could care less about. As for the big adventure they go on, I really thought I was going to enjoy it, and the parts of the book that actually dealt with them encountering new exciting things was pretty cool, but they had this whole goal for themselves which they never ...more
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Read in May, 2008
I wanted to read a classic novel to begin my summer reading list and this was definitely a good first choice... IF you don't mind reading about geological terms that are extremely difficult to pronounce.
The book was written in the 19th century and I found Vernes' technicality to be impressive - even for an amateur geologist such as myself. When I say amateur I mean, "likes collecting rocks and learning about gemstones and minerals".
What bothered me the most is that the book ...more
The book was written in the 19th century and I found Vernes' technicality to be impressive - even for an amateur geologist such as myself. When I say amateur I mean, "likes collecting rocks and learning about gemstones and minerals".
What bothered me the most is that the book ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
Antidiluvian monsters! Terrific saurian combatants! The Ape Gigans!
Badly translated French science fiction? Yeah, dude! This book is actually pretty uneventful, and the main character is foppish and useless, but the text is sprinkled with excellent quotes. A few highlights:
"The reptiles are swimming round the raft with a speed unequaled by an express train. We are dumb with terror. I tremble as I evoke these monsters, attacking each other with indescribable fury."
"Suddenly I felt the necessity of renovating the tissues - i.e., I was hungry.&q...more
"The reptiles are swimming round the raft with a speed unequaled by an express train. We are dumb with terror. I tremble as I evoke these monsters, attacking each other with indescribable fury."
"Suddenly I felt the necessity of renovating the tissues - i.e., I was hungry.&q...more
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Read in July, 2008
Great book--a fun tale of Professor Lidenbrock's determined attempt to reach the center of the earth, as narrated by his nephew in often-amusing language. Plenty of traces of geology, anthropology, and archaeology, but without getting bogged down. It was a surprisingly easy and fun read, and descriptive too. Good adventure story!
P.S. My version was published in 1954 and translated by Willis T. Bradley.
P.S. My version was published in 1954 and translated by Willis T. Bradley.
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of adventure
Of course, Journey is a classic novel of adventure and discovery, but I have to admit, it isn't my favorite Verne novel. Still, it's a quick, engaging read that ought to be required reading for all fiction and science fiction fans. There are a few parts where the narrative gives way to involved descriptions of geography that may bore the less geeky, but they're easily skipped over.
Like I said, it isn't my favorite Verne novel, as it doesn't quite have the same sense of adventure as so...more
Like I said, it isn't my favorite Verne novel, as it doesn't quite have the same sense of adventure as so...more
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Read in January, 1981
recommended to Weavre by:
probably a reading list somewhere?
Armed with the slim excuse that Mrs. Martin had required that a "visual aid" accompany my book report, I used Jules Verne as the justification for exploding a giant mud volcano in my 7th-grade English classroom ... complete with bubbling, foaming lava and a tiny little boat that appeared from the depths of my dirt mountain to float out on the red river. Of course, there was a bit of clean-up involved later, as my "lava" overflowed my containing box to flow down over the film ...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Isaac by:
my mom saw the add for the movie and checked it out of the librarecommends it for: adventurous readers
The beggining is hard to understand, but it is very funny. I liked how he made the manuscript fall out off the book and how excited "excentric" Professor Lindenbrock was about the journey. I still wonder if they ever made it to the center of the Earth. I also liked how he put all of the creatures in the Lindenbrock Sea and the "whale" on the island. I also wonder where they were shot out of the volcano and if the volcano still exits. I thought that part was fun to read a...more
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Read in January, 2007
I've always loved the idea of a "world within a world", whether it was Pellucidar from E.R. Burroughs, or this one here. Grew up listening to the Rick Wakeman LP of the same name, so I was immediatly into this one. Takes a bit of time to develop, but the characters are interesting and I enjoyed the peek into what was the scientific "cutting edge" at that time. Jules Verne had a mighty imagination, and I doubt that Sci-Fi would have ever become popular had he not been aroun...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
people who find science interesting, classics fans
I thoroughly enjoyed both the premise and the writing within this book. I have only recently begun reading science fiction (not sci-fi fantasy, but real scientific-fiction). This is a great example of a science fiction classic. Jules Verne captures some very significant and timeless themes within the world of science. Though there are several slow parts, this short little book has a great deal of suspense and action. I was greatly surpri...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommended to Kell by:
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die by Peter Boxallrecommends it for: Fans of classic sci-fi
Although completely unbelievable by today’s standards, this is a rip-roaring adventure, so jam-packed with action that one can’t help but get caught up in the escapades of the characters as they embark on their perilous journey into the Earth’s interior. Despite having large swathes of science included, Verne manages to grab hold of the reader’s interest and refuse to let go, explaining the reasoning behind the ideas in such a way that one is carried away by the theories and the story as...more
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An epic journey of wonder from the father of Science Fiction. It's interesting to see how different the 19th, 20th and 21st century visions of the technology as expressed in science fiction are. In the 19th century (Wells, Verne, Doyle) it was about exploration and pushing at the physical frontiers. There isn't a lot of internal character conflict, in stark contrast to modern sci-fi, where barely a page goes by without a hero pondering over an ethical dilemma. Makes you think...
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
science-fiction readers
If you like sci-fi and have read all of the modern-day science fiction books, I would reccomend this book because it sets the base, so to speak, for all of the science fiction writers of today. An eccentric uncle and his cousin find an old script written by a famous explorer of the times with instructions to get to the center of the earth. It's very eventful and understandable, considering it was written in the early 1900's. I was never bored reading it.
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Read in June, 2008
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Read in February, 2008
this book really built me up in excitement, but then gently sent me back down. i dont know what i was expecting, but Verne really likes to focus his stories on his trio of main characters, and doesn't go much further than that. it's not a bad thing, though.. i guess i was expecting just alittle bit more out of this story. it was great nonetheless. Verne does have a great imagination and way of pulling it off.
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