Among the Cannibals

Capitaine Nemo #1.3

by Jules Verne

The contents of a shark's stomach contains a bottle that holds notes written in three different languages. Much of the notes are indecipherable; however, together they may reveal the location of the whereabouts of Captain Harry Grant, whose ship the Britannia was lost over two years ago. While the latitude of Grant is known from the note, the longitude is a mystery. Clues from the notes point to the South American coast as the probable location of the shipwreck. Lord Glenarvan makes it his quest to find Grant; together with his wife, Harry Grant's children (Mary and Robert) and the crew of his yacht the Duncan they set off on the chase. An unexpected passenger in the form of French geographer Jacques Paganel joins the search. The search takes them where the 37th degree of south latitude crosses the South American continent. Crossing the continent from west to east, they travel through Chile and Argentina (Patagonia), with no luck, when Paganel realizes that part of the clue must actually mean Australia. So they go to where the 37th degree begins crossing Australia, there by chance they meet a man who claims his name is Thomas Ayrton, former quartermaster of the Britannia. Ayrton takes them across the Australian continent, with plans of his own to seize control of the Duncan. Ayrton's treachery makes the party believe that he has gained control of the Duncan. Dejected that their search of Australia did not turn up Captain Grant, the adventurers travel to New Zealand via a ship that barely seems sea-worthy. The vessel wrecks along the New Zealand coast. The party's attempt to get to Auckland gets them captured by the Maoris, a tribe of cannibals at war with the English and disinterested in keeping the prisoners alive

Genres: Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1963

About the author

Novels of French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, considered the founder of modern science fiction, include Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).

Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took one look at the title and predicted (correctly) that there would a lot of racism in the book. I was right. Unusually it's mostly directed at the Maoris, who are a group of people I've not seen depicted much in books at all. I know it's not always fair to hold a book written a long time ago to modern standards, but still. Aside from the moral/socio-political issues, the book isn't great as a piece of writing either. Exposition dumps are frequent and clumsy, the pacing moves in strange lulls and sudden bursts, the characters can barely lay claim to a second dimension, let alone a third... Over all, I can see why I'd never heard of this Verne before spotting it in a charity shop.

[Mahmud · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending was pleasing & funny at the same time. My favourite Verne series.