Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

read book* *Different edition

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Extraordinary Voyages)

by Jules Verne, Anthony Bonner (Translator)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 53,261 ratings · 2,106 reviews

French naturalist Dr. Aronnax embarks on an expedition to hunt down a sea monster, only to discover instead the Nautilus, a remarkable submarine built by the enigmatic Captain Nemo. Together Nemo and Aronnax explore the underwater marvels, undergo a transcendent experience amongst the ruins of Atlantis, and plant a black flag at the South Pole. But Nemo's mission is one of...more

Hardcover, 270 pages

Published April 1st 2002 by Barnes & Noble (first published 1869)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

41st out of 2,946 books — 12,395 voters

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

Best Steampunk Books

6th out of 469 books — 2,470 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Aug 23, 2009 Ken-ichi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: escape, science-fiction

Man, what a strange book. As I've learned from my more erudite sister, 19th century novelists are all about digression, and Verne, despite being very solidly camped outside Greatliterarynovelopolis in the growing shantytown of Genreville, is no exception. Literally half this book is a taxonomic listing of every plant and animal Arronax observes! I mean, even I was bored. Me. The nature freak. I occasionally review field guides on Goodreads, and yet I actually preferred George Eliot's tangents ab...more Man, what a strange book. As I've learned from my more erudite sister, 19th century novelists are all about digression, and Verne, despite being very solidly camped outside Greatliterarynovelopolis in the growing shantytown of Genreville, is no exception. Literally half this book is a taxonomic listing of every plant and animal Arronax observes! I mean, even I was bored. Me. The nature freak. I occasionally review field guides on Goodreads, and yet I actually preferred George Eliot's tangents about political economy and local gossip.

That said, this is a pretty fun book. Adventure under the sea! Laconic yet cordial sumbarine übermenches thirsting for vengeance and whale milk! Canadians! Well, a Canadian. The Canadian. He had a harpoon. Reading science fiction that describes a future long past is also a hoot, especially if you're a huge goddamn nerd. Despite accurately predicting the feasibility of a submarine, I don't think Verne had actually spent much time in the water. The Nautilus navigates not by sonar, but by shining a really bright light. I think swimming in anything but the most crystalline tropical seas would convince you that wouldn't quite work. Every time the crew leaves the ship to go exploring, they actually walk on the sea floor instead of swimming. One time, Cpt. Nemo dodges a shark. It's kind of hard to dodge slow moving jellies when you're underwater, never mind one of Nature's most amazing swimmers.

The book is also an interesting balance between technological hubris and an underlying conservationist theme. Nemo (and presumably Verne) decries the repercussions of overfishing when forbidding former harpooneer Ned Land from testing his skill against a pod of Antarctic whales: "In destroying the southern whale [...:] your traders are culpable, Master Land. They have already depopulated the whole of Baffin's Bay, and are annihilating a class of useful animals. Leave the unfortunate cetacea alone. They have plenty of natural enemies [...:] without you troubling them." Granted it's a utilitarian, anthropocentric kind of conservation ethic, but conservationist all the same. And yet earlier, upon beholding a massive bed of pearl oysters, Arronax narrates, "I could well understand that this was an inexhaustible mine of treasures, for nature's power to create goes far beyond man's capability of destruction." I doubt Verne set out with any fixed notions of environmental ethics in mind, but I find it intriguing that these contrasting sentiments keep popping up.

I think Verne's apparent ambivalence about the morality of technological advances is more intentional. The Nautilus is a marvelous creation that Nemo uses to reveal the unknown and better understand the world. It's also a vicious instrument of vengeance he employs against his former countrymen (or maybe not his countrymen, reading some of the other reviews...), a nearly invincible ship that can sink below the reach of canons and fatally ram any conventional vessel from beneath. As a war machine in a world of steam and sail it would be monstrous. I also think it's significant that Nemo and the ship meet their apparent end not at the hands of other men or even by an animal, but by the unthinking and inestimable power of the sea itself, bringing to mind Melville's line from Moby Dick:

...however baby man may brag of his science and skill, and however much, in a flattering future, that science and skill may augment; yet for ever and for ever, to the crack of doom, the sea will insult and murder him, and pulverize the stateliest, stiffest frigate he can make...

(less)

like 32 likes · see review

Mar 05, 2013 Crystal Starr Light rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, adventure, classics, science-fiction, it-s-not-you-it-s-me, so-boring-it-s-boring

Professor Pierre Arronax and his assistant, Conseil, join the crew of the Abraham Lincoln to chase down this strange ocean mammal that has been destroying ships. The duo, along with harpooner Ned Land, end up overboard and rescued by what is revealed to be a submarine, not a mammal. This submarine is captained by Nemo, a mysterious man who has eschewed the land in preference to roaming the open seas. Nemo takes the trio twenty thousand leagues across the seas - from the Pacific to the Indian to...more Professor Pierre Arronax and his assistant, Conseil, join the crew of the Abraham Lincoln to chase down this strange ocean mammal that has been destroying ships. The duo, along with harpooner Ned Land, end up overboard and rescued by what is revealed to be a submarine, not a mammal. This submarine is captained by Nemo, a mysterious man who has eschewed the land in preference to roaming the open seas. Nemo takes the trio twenty thousand leagues across the seas - from the Pacific to the Indian to the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Along the way, Arronax uncovers bits and pieces about his captain and catalogs the various fish he sees.

Jules Verne is basically the Father of Science Fiction. His novels - such as "Twenty Thousand Leagues" - were groundbreaking for their time. I'd go so far to say that if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have the science fiction genre at all.

That said, this book was supremely dry and dull most of the time. Yes, it is "hard science fiction" with lots of attention to detail to the mechanics of underwater "sailing" (some of which is incredibly on the mark; others, such as the lamp lighting the way of the Nautilus, laughable and out-dated), but there comes a point when enough is enough. This is particularly prevalent when Arronax/Verne spends multiple pages describing the flora and fauna of the sea in intricate detail ("cataloging fish" into their species and genus) or having long conversations with other characters about irrelevant history (such as the electric cable stretching from the Americas to Ireland).

Again, I greatly appreciate the attention to detail and the thought Verne put into the operation of the Nautilus. That isn't my problem. And I don't mind some detail about the sights Arronax sees while traveling. But the latter in particular "sinks" the story. And when the story is as diluted and sparse as it is here, that is nearly a death warrant.

The majority of this novel reads as a travelogue, Google Maps directions, an account of someone's rather dull vacation. While there are a few scenes that are particularly interesting (the journey to the Antarctic and nearly being trapped underwater, a way too short squid attack, and some walking underwater scenes), by far most of the book is cataloging fish or boring "and on Mar 21st, we sailed from X in Y direction to Z". Yawn. What makes this is even more ridiculous is that Arronax, Ned Land, and Conseil are supposedly held prisoner aboard the Nautilus, so they do not leave and divulge its secrets elsewhere, but no one seems to care about being held against their will until suddenly they are. I'd say "Stockholm Syndrome", only they give a half-hearted struggle when Captain Nemo tells them they are stuck on the ship. Based on how it is written and how little concern these characters have to their captivity, I don't know why Verne didn't just have Captain Nemo invite Arronax to journey with him and maybe decide that he didn't WANT them to leave.

The only (and by far the best) character in this book is Captain Nemo. Sure, there is Arronax, Conseil, and Ned Land, but calling them "characters" is a stretch, unless you are using the most generous of definitions of "character". Arronax is probably the best of the trio. He has some moments of humor (as a side note, there is quite a bit of humor, and it is well applied and a good break from the blandness of most of the text) and has a complicated relationship with Nemo. Ned Land would be next. His sole character trait is wanting to kill anything that moves - whales, kangaroo, tigers, you name it. Pretty much any time he appears in the story, it's to talk about wanting to kill something or escape (and honestly, he doesn't even CONSIDER escape until the last 75% of the novel). The absolute worst character, in my opinion, is Conseil. The guy makes Saltine Crackers look like they aren't bland. If you want a cold, blindly loyal servant, this is your man.

But I hesitate to blame this lack of characterization on Verne's skill as an author or the standard "But it's hard scifi, not a character study!", particularly when you have the complex character of Captain Nemo. What the other characters aren't, Captain Nemo is. Apparently, something bad happened to his wife and his children - something bad enough to make him abandon the land all together and sail in his boat, enacting revenge on passing ships. But he isn't a cold blooded killer - he stays Ned Land's hand, when Ned wants to harpoon a bunch of whales for the hell of it. (Of course, not more than a couple of paragraphs later, Nemo then slaughters a bunch of "sperm whales", so calling the guy a hypocrite is definitely in order.)

So the story is meh, the characters are meh, and the descriptions are overboard. Part of that is just me not really being that hot on the book (my dad, a retired Navy submariner, and my sister both ADORE this book and think I am mad for not). That's only a small part of "Twenty Thousand Leagues". The more important part - and the reason I think that any fan of scifi should read this book - is its influence on the genre. This is the great-great-great-great grandfather of novels like "Ender's Game" and "2001: A Space Odyssey". So in that regard, this book is priceless - it gives me a better respect for the genre I love.(less)

like 7 likes · see review

Mar 20, 2012 I, Curmudgeon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, classic, group-read, kindle-book, recommended, steampunk

Okay, nothing new about this story is there?

This is a piece of classic science fiction or adventure fiction, if you prefer. It's actually what I remembered. I've rated it five stars, but it's important to note, that five stars comes because of what this novel started.

This is the birth of steampunk and science fantasy. This is the book that most people point to, not that there aren't others, as one of the earliest purely science fiction stories. And, more importantly, this is loaded with hard s...more Okay, nothing new about this story is there?

This is a piece of classic science fiction or adventure fiction, if you prefer. It's actually what I remembered. I've rated it five stars, but it's important to note, that five stars comes because of what this novel started.

This is the birth of steampunk and science fantasy. This is the book that most people point to, not that there aren't others, as one of the earliest purely science fiction stories. And, more importantly, this is loaded with hard science. Some of the conclusions are wrong, but from start to finish this is one scientific observation after another. Even when the Nautilus runs aground in a narrow straight, Captain Nemo computes the exact time that they'll come free based on a myriad of factors, every one of which grounded in scientific principle, from the factoring in the moon, to the salinity of the water and some fairly anal retentive compulsive details. For those interested, other than some things he might not have ever known, his story of travel in a submarine, given it's a fairly luxurious submarine, is actually reasonably accurate compared to modern times.

Verne wrote about the travels under the sea as if it was a travel book chronicling a rather strange vacation to exotic lands in the tradition of the times he lived. Through the course of the book, no ocean goes unexplored. The Nautilus even makes its way under each polar ice cap. All the while, the narrator, gives us a species by species list of every fish known to man, and some never before seen.

It's this meticulous attention to detail that seems to serve as a blueprint for modern science fiction. Verne's detailed catalog of the sea included mythical creatures like the famous Giant Squids, or devil fish, and what may have been the last saltwater manatee. It may not be as much the detail after detail of sea life, as the very idea of a ship that could survive underwater, powered by steam and coal which runs a dynamo that charges a battery, that is so amazing.

There is no ego, super-ego an Id, no jungish collective unconscious or other symbolism. There is no analogous story buried under the surface. With Verne, it's what you read is what you get. He pays more respect to the power of nature, though his methods are ultimately barbaric but they were common practice at the time. It likely seems hypocritical for his iconic proffesorio to inspect his fish as they are pulled out of the nets while clearly casting a sympathetic nod to the need to protect the oceans from man's encroaching touch.

As for characters. The Nautilus served as a character all it's own, that was as strange and unyielding as her Captain. Of the human variety, the professor served as our narrator. At first he seemed too caught up in science and the enamored of Nemo to be remarkable. Then, as a sign that Verne really had some skill on display between the covers of this book, the professor became more human as time passed. The professor became more and more enamored of Nemo, and impressed and amazed by the Nautilus he even seemed to argue with himself over his attachments. Then, upon finally seeing irrefutable proof that Nemo had a dark side that rivals Darth Vader, we get no more of the monotonous details.

Ned Land was enjoyable and even provided some comic relief, though not nearly enough. The consummate man's man and nay-sayer. Conseil ... this guy needed a girlfriend. Only on rare occasions did he show any personality. This is Spok to Ned Land's Kirk.

The bottom line for me is that, despite the problems with monotonousness detail, for the late 1800s this book required some very creative and imaginative thinking. It laid the ground work for what we now call "hard science fiction" and for that all of us who love science fiction should celebrate this. I might also say that by most modern definitions, this story is steampunk, and very likely one of the earliest steam punk novels that has all of the parts.

Thank you Mr. Verne. (less)

like 10 likes · see review

Aug 31, 2008 Chad rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

You can't be a serious science-fiction reader without delving just a bit into the genre's roots. To remedy an embarrassing lack of any Jules Verne on my reading list, last year I read "Journey to the Center of the Earth". I can see how to a young reader, it would be an instant classic. It's a pretty ripping adventure complete with hidden underground worlds and dinosaurs and gleefully wrong-headed theories about geology. What's not to love?

Maybe I was a little disappointed? I was hoping for more...more You can't be a serious science-fiction reader without delving just a bit into the genre's roots. To remedy an embarrassing lack of any Jules Verne on my reading list, last year I read "Journey to the Center of the Earth". I can see how to a young reader, it would be an instant classic. It's a pretty ripping adventure complete with hidden underground worlds and dinosaurs and gleefully wrong-headed theories about geology. What's not to love?

Maybe I was a little disappointed? I was hoping for more than just a corny adventure story. There wasn't a lot there send me searching the shelves for another Jules Verne novel. But, alas, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" sat there anyway, patiently waiting for me be curious enough to crack it open. Its prospects weren't too hot, but it did have one thing playing to its advantage, and that one thing was: Alan Moore.

You see, Alan Moore had written several years ago, a Victorian era literary adventure comic called "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." In it, he collects literary characters from various eras and sends them off to save the world. For its base of operations, the team used The Nautilus, the otherworldly submarine of Captain Nemo. Moore's version of Nemo was about a million miles away from the James Mason version in the classic Disney movie, which was a lot closer in tone to the goofy peril invoked in "Journey to the Center of the Earth". Moore made Nemo dark and brooding and ambiguous and cryptic. There wasn't anything corny about it.

Okay then...what the heck. I gave Verne another chance, and plucked the novel off the shelve and had a look.

Unexpectedly, the first thing I read was a brief introductory essay by Ray Bradbury comparing "20,000 Leagues" to "Moby Dick", laying out a convincing arguement for how Nemo and Ahab are opposite sides of the same coin: Ahab evil in his pursuit to conquer the Great Whale and the sea, Nemo evil in his pursuit to become one with it. Now Ray Bradbury has always been a bit of a starry-eyed dreamer (which isn't a bad thing), so it wasn't too far fetched to think he was reading this Verne novel through rose-colored lenses, but quite frankly, nothing in "Center of the Earth" really lent itself to being compared seriously to any Great American Novels, so perhaps I'd be dealing with something different this time out. Equipped with a bit of optimism, it was time to let the book speak for itself.

And the novel spoke for itself. Where "Center of the Earth" was a slick popcorn action story, "20,000 Leagues" is dark and gritty and real. Rather than cartwheeling through flashy action-set-pieces, the story of Doctor Arronax and harpooner Ned Land's imprisonment by Nemo is a crawling, cryptic one. It moves very slowly and deliberately, taking its time to offer lavish descriptions not only of the expansive vistas of the world's oceans, but also of the Nautilus, the grand undersea palace constructed by Nemo in his self-imposed exile from society.

Some of the descriptions of sea life are almost tedious (okay, 'almost' nothing, they really are tedious). As our narrator is a marine biologist, we are graced with several encyclopedic descriptions of every possible creature you might find in the depths. Slowly, however, you begin to realize how much in love with the ocean Arronax is, and all the endless cataloguing of sea-life are really the doctor's love poems to the sea.

And via Arronax's great passion, Nemo slowly becomes less of a villain. How villanous is it exactly to offer an awe-struck marine biologist an opportunity to spend the rest of life studying things no other scientist could even dream existed. Which paves the way for Ned Land, the restless harpooner who keeps popping his grizzled nose into the room and reminding everybody that Nemo is a megalomaniac bastard. Which is basically true, but honestly, I only begrudgingly accepted Nemo as the bad guy, maybe because I, like Arronax, am a scientiest at heart.

Anyhow, the moral ambiguity of Nemo, the starry-eyed wonder of Arronax, the tough-as-nails grit of Ned (I honestly think Verne was picturing Kirk Douglas when he created Ned) gives the reader a host of characters with whom to get deeply invested. Combined with the intricate and luxurious descriptions of the world under the ocean, "20,000 Leagues" is a vastly different sort of adventure than "Center of the Earth".

Much to my surprise and delight, it is far more than a schlockly romp around the ocean. It may not be at the same level as "Moby Dick", but it definitely reads as a work of fine literature.(less)

like 13 likes · see review

Jan 27, 2013 Ash rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: movie, science-fiction, steampunk, kindle-ipad, audiobook, 2013-read

3.5 stars

Overall a really good book. But it became boring since more than half of the book is about the various animals and plants that he sees under water. It really got boring because of those elaborate descriptions.
==============================
He deserves the title - "Grandfather of science fiction".
HOLY MOLY! It came out in 1869 and this novel invented "Electric Submarines". Diving suits and compressed oxygen tanks were not even invented when this novel came out!!

Another invention from thi...more

like 4 likes · see review

Jul 29, 2011 Marvin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, kindle

Another book on my quest to rediscover the childhood joys of reading Jules Verne and to hopefully find some adult insights that were hidden from me as a child.

I think I may have loved it a little less as an adult but it is still a marvelous adventure travelogue. As a child, Jules Verne's colorful descriptions of undersea wonders opened my eyes and mind. Now I still think they are amazing but I see it as a 18th century costume adventure. Unlike a lot of readers, I found Verne's listings quite mar...more Another book on my quest to rediscover the childhood joys of reading Jules Verne and to hopefully find some adult insights that were hidden from me as a child.

I think I may have loved it a little less as an adult but it is still a marvelous adventure travelogue. As a child, Jules Verne's colorful descriptions of undersea wonders opened my eyes and mind. Now I still think they are amazing but I see it as a 18th century costume adventure. Unlike a lot of readers, I found Verne's listings quite marvelous to read. Yet, this time I was also more aware of the relationship between Professor Aronnax and Ned Land, the Canadian harpooner. Each of these characters present opposites. Aronnax is sophisticated, learned, and a bit arrogant. Ned Land is uneducated, brutish, quick-tempered but comfortable with himself. But Aronnax is often wrong in his conclusions and Land is often right! In the early part of the novel, Aronnax is trying to convince the skeptical Land that a sea creature powerful enough to destroy a ship can exist. He sets out a formula showing how immense a serpent needs to be in order to withstand underwater pressure, to which Land exclaims, "Why they must made of iron plates eight inches thick!" And in fact Ned is right and Aronnax wrong. The sea serpent is not a live monster at all but a submarine with eight inches of iron plate! Often, Ned's practicability wins out yet I think Verne was often demonstrating that essences of both intellect and common sense need to work together in order to be victorious.

And of course there is Captain Nemo. He is and remains a cipher. He represents both nihilism and misguided idealism. Nemo wants a perfect world but is reduced to self-exile and perhaps even self-loathing. Nemo is the mirror in which the other character see themselves. He is both one of the most memorable personages in literature yet also one of the most mysterious and perplexing.

So Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea remains a wonderful sci-fi adventure tale even taking in its antiquity. But I also enjoyed the characters of this novel more the second time around and was able to catch the marvelous nuances which Verne placed on them. (less)

like 7 likes · see review

Apr 07, 2010 Werner rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, science-fiction, books-i-own

Verne's works are difficult for an English-speaking reader to evaluate fairly, because he wasn't well-served by the English translations of his day --which are still the standard ones in print, which most people read. The translators changed plots and characters' names in some cases, excised passages they considered "boring," and generally took a very free hand with the text; so you never know how much of the plodding pacing, bathetic dialogue, and stylistic faults (for instance, what passes for...more

like 27 likes · see review

Jul 26, 2008 Qt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, science-fiction

Overall, a good book, often exciting, and one I enjoyed; parts were a bit slow-moving or technical for me, and a few questions seemed to be left unanswered. Still, I see why Cpt. Nemo has become such a famous character!

like 3 likes · see review

Oct 06, 2009 Jay rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gouge-my-eyes-out, sci-fi, historical-distant, translation, classic

Firstly, I won't deny that Jules Verne knows his stuff. This book is full of scientific analysis, with a detailed knowledge of zoology, ocean currents, geographical construction and engineering designs. While the character development is stalled and Nemo is the only one to truly grow (somewhat, that is), the amount of knowledge Verne shoved into the book made it sink- no pun intended.

I'm in no way denying that this book is interesting and is not worthy of a higher rating. There were parts where...more Firstly, I won't deny that Jules Verne knows his stuff. This book is full of scientific analysis, with a detailed knowledge of zoology, ocean currents, geographical construction and engineering designs. While the character development is stalled and Nemo is the only one to truly grow (somewhat, that is), the amount of knowledge Verne shoved into the book made it sink- no pun intended.

I'm in no way denying that this book is interesting and is not worthy of a higher rating. There were parts where I actually felt myself getting drawn into the world. The description of the underworld life sucked me in, and I could almost see what Verne was describing. But after page after page after page of nothing but telling, not showing, I felt myself losing interest. There is only so much I can really take.

There was also a subtle humour. One part is when Aronnax is in one of his underwater walks with Nemo, and it starts to rain. He thinks to himself that he'll get wet, forgetting that is he underwater, and his realisation catches him off-guard. Furthermore, I did like Conseil, however he seemed to be much younger than his thirty years and had a rather strong romantic devotion to his Master. I'm not suggesting that Verne was unknowingly writing a homosexual relationship between Aronnax and his assistant, but reading it as a modern reader, I cannot help picking up on this relationship. After all, I wouldn't know of many fictional servants who would willingly plunge into the ocean depths simply because their Master fell after being pulled away by a then-thought-of gargantuan water monster.

In closing, this is a great historical work. I don't deny that, and I do recommend that book to people for that fact alone. It has inspired many sci-fi works today, and Verne is- was- a very knowledgeable scientific writer. However, it is not in my taste. The language isn't difficult, but after constant descriptions that appear to be written to explain to the reader alone (I don't know anyone who would explain the size of something in the amount of water it displaces!), I couldn't help feeling dragged down by it. Besides this, I really did like it, but couldn't give it a higher rating due to the difficulty it took to read line after line of description of fish.(less)

like 7 likes · see review

Jan 29, 2013 Xinlai Chen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is very interesting. The story begins in 1866 a cause uproar of strange, many ships found Kraken at sea, the French biologist professor Aaron Nath invited to chase the monster, who knows, fell into the water, and peer into the monster on the spine, was captain Nemo shelter, began the seabed travel. They embark from the Pacific Ocean, India ocean, Coral Island, red sea, Mediterranean, and then into the Atlantic, and see many rare marine plants and animals and water singular vision. Fin...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 12, 2009 Donna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: can't think of anyone!

Shelves: 2009

I have just spent the best part of the last 2 weeks reading this, and I'm wondering why I bothered. I had completely the wrong impression of what this book was about, not having heard the story or seen any of the films (apart from Captain Nemo turning up in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen!). I thought that the 20,000 leagues under the sea meant that they literally went down vertically to 20,000 leagues below the surface and there found a land full of fantastical creatures a la Journey to the C...more

like 9 likes · see review

Feb 06, 2013 Dan Henk rated it 2 of 5 stars

I give up. I almost always finish a book. I used to make it a point to, but with age, and an always increasing number of new things I want to read, if something just isn't panning out, I have to let it go.
I understand that is translated from French. I also understand that it is over 100 years old. But that doesn't make it any more readable, and I have a pretty high tolerance. I made it through things like The Scarlet Letter, Heart of Darkness, and Wuthering Heights, but this was just too much. I...more

like 1 like · see review

Dec 16, 2010 خالد العشرى rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

أيام تخبية القصص وسط كتب المذاكرة :)

like 4 likes · see review

Mar 19, 2007 fatemeh alizadeh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literatrue-story-novel

این رمان دنباله فرزندان کاپیتان گرانت است و پس از آن جزیره اسرارآمیز میآید. حیوان دریایی عجیبی با هیکل غولآسا در بعضی از سواحل دیده شده است. یک گروه تحقیق در کشتی امریکایی «آبراهام لینکلن» تشکیل میشود. آروناکس ، دانشمند طبیعیدان فرانسوی، و نوکر او، کونسی ، جزو این گروهند. کشتی برای شکار آن حیوان دریایی حرکت میکند. هنگامی که موفق به مشاهده آن نهنگ میشوند، موج عظیمی برمیخیزد و کشتی را تقریباً به تمامی زیر آب فرو میکشد و آروناکس و کونسی و ند لند ، نیزهافکن کشتی، را بر پشت نهنگ پرتاب میکن...more این رمان دنباله فرزندان کاپیتان گرانت است و پس از آن جزیره اسرارآمیز میآید. حیوان دریایی عجیبی با هیکل غولآسا در بعضی از سواحل دیده شده است. یک گروه تحقیق در کشتی امریکایی «آبراهام لینکلن» تشکیل میشود. آروناکس ، دانشمند طبیعیدان فرانسوی، و نوکر او، کونسی ، جزو این گروهند. کشتی برای شکار آن حیوان دریایی حرکت میکند. هنگامی که موفق به مشاهده آن نهنگ میشوند، موج عظیمی برمیخیزد و کشتی را تقریباً به تمامی زیر آب فرو میکشد و آروناکس و کونسی و ند لند ، نیزهافکن کشتی، را بر پشت نهنگ پرتاب میکند. ولی این شئ غول آسا نهنگ نبوده بلکه زیردریایی عظیمی به نام تاتیلوس است. سه مرد را به درون ناتیلوس میبرند و نزدیک ده ماه در آنجا میمانند. کاپیتان نمو ، که نقشه ناتیلوس را کشیده است، و نیز دیگر سرنشینان «ناتیلوس» ظاهراً از آمیزش با مردم به شدت احتراز میکنند. سه قهرمان ما در معیت این شخصیت مرموز از زیر برزخ سوئز میگذرند، قاره مفقود و اسرارآمیز آتلانتید و گنجهای مدفونش را میبینند، با آدمخواران و اختاپوسهای غولپیکر میجنگند، در جنگلهای زیر دریا به شکار میپردازند و در یک گورستان مرجانی در تشییع جنازهای حضور مییابند ولی همواره در حسرت بازگشت به روی زمین به سر میبرند، خاصه که نفرت از میزبان نیز بر این حسرت افزوده میشود؛ و آن از روزی است که میبینند چگونه او با کمال خونسردی یک کشتی را با همه سرنشینانش غرق میکند. آنگاه هویت حقیقی کاپیتان نمو را کشف میکنند: او شاهزادهای هندی است که انگلیسیها در روزگار گذشته خانه و ملکش را گرفته و او را از عزیزترین علایق زندگیش محروم ساختهاند و او از آن زمان دشمنانش را با کینه و نفرت تعقیب میکند. سرانجام ند لند و آروناکس و کونسی تصمیم به فرار میگیرند. سوار زورقی میشوند، جریان گرداب زورق را از تنه زیردریایی جدا میکندولی به شکل معجزه آسایی نجات مییابند و به یکی از جزایر لوفوتن میروند و از آنجا خود را به فرانسه میرسانند. این رمان، یکی از بهترین رمانهای ژول ورن است. شخصیت کاپیتان نمو، که دستور غرق یک کشتی را میدهد و خود با خونسردی به تماشای آن میپردازد و سپس در برابر تصویر زن جوان و دو کودک میگرید و برای شورشیان یونانی طلا تهیه میکند و پرچم سیاهش را در قلب منطقه قطبی مینشاند؛ در حقیقت قهرمانی رمانتیک است و تا اندازهای یادآور «ابرمرد»ی است که مورد علاقه ادبیات آن عصر بوده است.

ابوالحسن نجفی. فرهنگ آثار. سروش.

(less)

like 1 like · see review

Dec 15, 2008 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who enjoys classic science fiction.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 3 likes · see review

Apr 08, 2013 Nick rated it 1 of 5 stars

Okay, look. Yes, it was ahead if its time, yes nothing was written like this before, yes it was wildly inventive and amazing historically, and yes I am sure it's all hurt by reading it in translation.

But.

It's 2011. Submarine travel, while not exactly commonplace, is simply not enough to carry a reader through the dense opacity of biological lists of species that fill this book.

Boring, slow, repetitive, poorly constructed.

Halfway through this painful slog. Would give up on it if I wasn't reading...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Jess rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was a bit uncertain about this: I thought it might be oversimplified because it was marketed as a children's book, or I thought it might be similar to Moby Dick, given the first chapter or so.

It was neither - it's a Victorian fantasy about a ship that can sail underwater, powered by the 'magic' of electricity. And it was a lot of fun - I confess I have an abridged version, which I found annoying, but it was exciting and very fast-paced for a Victorian novel! I would recommend it to anyone - it...more

like 1 like · see review

Feb 06, 2008 Chris added it · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned

Victorian sci-fi / thrilling adventure books are always better in one's imagination than when one finally gets around to reading them. There's only so much semi-prophetic/humorously off-base "future" technology that one can marvel at in retrospect, especially when all the characters save Nemo are laughably flat (though the loyal, stoic man-servant is always a nice touch). I was hoping for a bit more fiery anti-colonialism from Nemo, but the book is 90% a written version of a National Geographic...more

like 4 likes · see review

Jan 09, 2009 Terry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

My favourite book as a kid. And of course it's still great. So many fantastic scenes and an ending that remains etched in my brain.

like 1 like · see review

Sep 27, 2007 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love Jules Verne but there are too many boring parts in this book. He has a bad habit, which really bugs me, of trying so hard to make his heroes seem brilliant that he has them reciting dictionaries. It's not believable, and seems a little lazy. For example, the characters will see plants in the ocean and they will converse for several chapters on all of the menial trivia involving the plants and their close relatives. It's not interesting information, it's just show-off data. He falls into t...more

like 8 likes · see review

Aug 15, 2007 Quinn Slobodian rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's an amazing book but weirdly difficult to get through because of all the pseudo-scientific jargon he packs into it, which I seem to remember reading later Verne admitted to totally making up. So just when you're getting interested by Nemo, thinking what the hell ethnicity is this guy anyway? or what is this energy he can produce? you get swamped by thirty pages on the architecture of urchin skeletons. I'm tempted to make the rare call that the movie might be better, definitely more easily re...more

like 5 likes · see review

Jul 30, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I basically read this because it was free on my Free Books Iphone App (and I felt silly for having never read this classic) but I really enjoyed it! The scientific terms lost me occasionally, but the adventure was good!

like 1 like · see review

Jun 18, 2008 Nathan rated it 2 of 5 stars

It has been said that Captain Nemo is the worst villain in classic literature. I disagree. I submit that Verne's intimate knowledge of marine biology, which he thrusts upon the reader in chapter after painful chapter, is TRULY the worst villain in classic literature, though it could be argued that Melville's familiarity with the whaling industry is right up there. Overall, too much of the book told me too little. I was hoping for a better character sketch of Captain Nemo, and I was left wanting...more

like 7 likes · see review

Jul 03, 2010 Bryan added it · review of another edition

Good Read, But Sometimes Dry: I thought that the book had one of the best plot lines I've ever seen, reguardless of the fact that there is only slight building up to the climax. The only thing that I didn't think was that good about the book was that about every other page, Jules Verne would go into a paragraph description of the animals. For example, he would say something like: I just saw a tuna. But not the normal tuna, it was yellow-bellied, had dorsal fins that went at a downward angle, etc...more

like · see review

Feb 09, 2009 Randall rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you're going to read this book, make sure you get this translation or read in the original French. The other translations make egregious mistakes and remove a lot of the politics from what is essentially a political book. I read a ton of Jules Verne as a kid, so much so that he was my favorite writer. Back then, Journey to the Centre of the Earth was my favorite book. However, having re-read his books as an adult (and even writing a paper about this one in college), this one stands head-and-s...more

like 3 likes · see review

Dec 05, 2008 Bonnie Oman rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was exciting to read the book that inspired the movie which was one of my favorites as a little girl.

The book of course is tons better. In some parts overly descriptive but hey that how Jules Verne writes.

I really like that reading this book was a like reading a shortened history of ocean explorers and battles all entailed in a adventure of it's own. Plus it shares a lot amazing things about the life in all the different oceans and seas that are still accurate.

There are some very sad parts...more

like · see review

May 12, 2013 Kachi A rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Good read, the work was innovative, extremely detailed and imaginative. The tale is about the journey in itself, the author takes us across the globe via the sea and entertains us with a detailed description of life in/under the sea.the author displays an immense and rather detailed knowledge of oceanography particularly with regards to plant and animal life under the sea. I find it imaginative, because it allowed me to glimpse through the mind of the author the possibility of man living in the...more

like · see review

Apr 21, 2013 Dan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

French naturalist Dr. Aronnax heads out to sea to hunt down a dangerous sea monster but when thrown overboard he discovers it is actually a massive submarine, the Nautilus. Along with his assistant Conseil and Canadian whale harpooner Ned Land, Aronnax is accepted onto the submarine by Captain Nemo but told he cannot ever leave. The strange Captain leads the submarine across the world's oceans as they explore places and see things that have never been possible before.

It's essentially early sci-...more

like · see review

Apr 08, 2013 Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: electricity, nautical, sci-fi, space

Well, let's see. I started reading this because I was writing a zine that required some nice 19th century writing about submarines. Check. Then, after getting to part 2, i put it down for about a year. I picked it back up and recently finished it. Aside from my own need to get language/jargon relating to submarines, the rest of the story was pretty boring. Toward the end, Verne, really stepped it up to get people to the end (giant squids, maelstroms, hurricanes--great stuff). But seriously, most...more

like · see review

Apr 04, 2013 Mark Glover rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jules Verne was a man ahead if his time by a ridiculous amount(he was riding a Bugatti Veyron while the rest of his peers were still trying to invent the wheel). Having never read any of his other works, but feeling compelled to give it a go after watching a brilliant documentary on him(Prophets of Science Fiction on Discovery-geek heaven!)I was amazed to find how accesible his work was. Normally with a lot of classics it takes a while to adjust to the style and pace of the author(in pre televis...more Jules Verne was a man ahead if his time by a ridiculous amount(he was riding a Bugatti Veyron while the rest of his peers were still trying to invent the wheel). Having never read any of his other works, but feeling compelled to give it a go after watching a brilliant documentary on him(Prophets of Science Fiction on Discovery-geek heaven!)I was amazed to find how accesible his work was. Normally with a lot of classics it takes a while to adjust to the style and pace of the author(in pre television times it would seem our minds were more amenable to long passages of descriptive prose and slow burning plot development)but with this it is straight into the heart of the action much as you would expect of a modern day author. You can see in part why Verne has remained so relevant today as not only did he pioneer the science fiction genre but also in many ways the modern novel. There is little here that is not plot driven and the action is for the most part relentless. The only sticking points would be a tendency to roll out extensive lists of undersea life, though even these are interesting for the fact that at the time of its writing the undersea world was for the most part a complete unknown. The element that is most fascinatinfg though is the technological aspect of the work, here Verne conjures up a world where submarines, scuba apparatus, and electricity are all in common use, even though most of these were at the time new technologies with some decades away from being a functioning reality. That Verne is able to not only graft these technologies into his novel but also write about them in a manner that is remarkably accurate with their modern day application is a feat of unequalled foresight. Another surprising element in the book is its very modern take on colonial politics, in a number of points in the novel Nemo refers to the struggle of the oppressed, an opinion one assumes was not widely held at the time of writing. Here it would seem that Verne was once again ahead of his time in his thinking though one speculates that perhaps his vision had more to do with envisioning a modern democratic society in which technology was utilised as a freeing agent of change than his trying to make a political statement.
As to story itself it combines a fairly traditional buccaneers tale(see Kidnapped/Treasure Island) but steps into science fiction by spending the larger part of the novel describing what is essentially an alien world hidden beneath the waves. One suggestion which in hindsight I wish I had followed would be to have an atlas or google earth to hand when reading the book. As a large portion of the Nautilus' journey take place in locations which even in today's age of endless information streams might be deemed obscure the experience would definitely be enhanced by following up on the history and geography as the narrative carries you along on the voyage.
If there is any failing in the book I think that it is perhaps that the main characters(other than Captain Nemo who is purposefully played out as a mysterious)never seem fully formed. We learn little about Arronax, Ned Land or Conseil beyond there interactions on the boat and while Arronax offers up a well informed narrative, there are times that you do feel for the lack of wider context.
Overall though as both a work of 'iconic' fiction and a novel in its own right it is hard to fault. If anything it has inspired me to seek out more works by Verne in order to gain further insight into this remarkable author.(less)

like 1 like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Translation	1	12	May 08, 2013 06:03am
Seriously...	64	465	May 01, 2013 03:16am
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea	11	110	Apr 29, 2013 06:58pm
Do you think Captian Nemo was creepy?	9	39	Apr 29, 2013 06:42pm
Theo's Group: Feb 2013 20K Leagues	64	16	Mar 10, 2013 02:55pm
Goodreads Librari...: Book data needs fixed for "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"	2	28	Dec 03, 2012 03:14pm

combine
Other Editions (677)

More editions...

Genres

Classics

2,058 users

Science Fiction

1,013 users

Adventure

393 users

Fantasy

254 users

Literature

172 users

Science Fiction > Steampunk

149 users

Cultural > France

143 users

Novels

86 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

77 users

Childrens

72 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Jules Verne

Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the genre of science-fiction. He is best known for his novels "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1864), "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1870), and "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1873).

Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of spa...more

More about Jules Verne...

Books by Jules Verne

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About 20,000 Leagues Un...

17 trivia questions
4 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Twenty Thousand League...

“The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence. It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the Living Infinite. ” — 153 people liked it

“We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones.” — 71 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
avg rating	preview: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Goodreads rating: 3.74 (53261 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33507.Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345271681l/33507.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33507.Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne[/url]

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Extraordinary Voyages)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website