Product Description

B'I'm going to sink it.' 'You are not!' 'I am,' he coldly replied. 'Do not take it on yourself to judge me, monsieur.' French naturalist Dr Aronnax embarks on an expedition to hunt down a sea monster, only to discover instead the Nautilus, a self-contained world built by its enigmatic captain. 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 revenge - and his methods coldly efficient. Verne's classic work has left a profound mark on the twentieth century. Its themes are universal, is style humorous and grandiose, its construction masterly. This new and unabridged translation by the father of Verne studies brilliantly conveys the novel's tones and range. It appears with a distinguished Introduction and Notes, reporting the very first study of the manuscripts, together with revelations about the artistic and scientific references.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #946668 in Books
• Published on: 1992-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback

Amazon.co.uk Review
Professor Aronnax, his faithful servant, Conseil, and the Canadian harpooner, Ned Land, begin an extremely hazardous voyage to rid the seas of a little-known and terrifying sea monster. However, the "monster" turns out to be a giant submarine, commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo, by whom they are soon held captive. So begins not only one of the great adventure classics by Jules Verne, the 'Father of Science Fiction', but also a truly fantastic voyage from the lost city of Atlantis to the South Pole.

Science-Fiction Studies
"by far the best translations/critical editions available ... known internationally as a topnotch scholar"

About the Author
William Butcher is Lecturer at the Institute of Education and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Hong Kong.

Customer Reviews

too many fish
Science fiction in most cases has a naturally short shelf life, as science advances and leaves the ideas contained in such books behind, often looking ridiculous and quaint. Therefore credit is due to Jules Verne for his major achievement in creating a timeless tale that still delights, years after submarines have become fairly commonplace, thousands upon thousands of people scuba dive as an every day sport and those that don't have the opportunity to witness the wonders of the deep thanks to the submersibles that take TV cameras down for countless exploration documentaries.

The authors excellent prose reads poetically and easily even after translation from it's original language, the translation in this issue is brilliantly done, and the fact that the original story was serialised means that uniform length chapters - each describing its own adventure - make for a pleasantly easy going read.

However, this is also the downfall of the book and the reason for only awarding it four stars. The chapter formula is repeated again and again and again, each one being slowed down by scientific lists of the species of life (fish, molluscs, seaweed) both in laymans terms and scientifically categrosied that appear too frequently throughout the novel. Whilst Vernes obvious enthusiasm for nature and science carry the reader along for the first half of the book, the repetitiveness of these lists not only began to bore me in the second half but added unnecessary weight to a book that I was ready to finish.

I wouldn't like to be too harsh, as it was originally intended for serialisation and thus the format is designed to be that way, but, unless you are particularly interested in reading long lists of fish (and if so I know a good fishmonger you can pester) then an abridged version of this book may enthrall you slightly more.

The characters, conseil, Ned Land, the author himself and of course the fantastic anti hero - Nemo, posess all the ingredients for a great story, and the Nautilus itself is still awe inspiring even in these days of nuclear subs and raising of (bits of) the Titanic.

There's no denying that this is a tour de force, and I highly recommend it, but be warned about the fish.

Not everybody's cup of tea
I've been trying to read a few more classics and this was recommended. Whilst I tried so hard to enjoy it, I couldn't.

The story in itself is great, and the characterisation could be worse, you certainly do develop a sense of the protagonists and their plight. My problems are with the writing. In its day this was hailed as a cross of fiction and popular science. Whenever anything happens Verne uses a paragraph or two to explain it and then waffles for a page or three on the aquatic life. The majority of the time the plot is lost as I guess the author is trying to build a sense of wonder at all the strange fish. This is fine if you like reading descriptions of dorsal fins, but for me it spoils a perfectly good short story.

It was also originally written in french, and so the translated english used is of the french variety, which just makes it wordy.

I hope this doesn't sound like diatribe. I use these reviews to get a feel for when something is genuinely good. But everybody seems to love this book and I dislike it immensely. I wanted to read the reviews of this and compare them to journey to the centre of the earth to see if that was any better. So i feel agrieved I'm the only man alive who doesn't rate this book.

I guess it's fine if you like the sea and fish! I'll stick to me Dickens!

Occasionlly drags but otherwise okay
As other reviewers have stated, Verne does love to spend pages and pages listing sea life and their properties during the course of this novel and it does become very tiresome. However people need to understand that you can skip these parts of the book without losing out on important plot detail.

The characters are well developed and you can indentify with all of them and how they view their effective captivity aboard the Nautilus. Captain Nemo is a wonderful character and Verne gives just enough information about him to keep you enthralled but not enough to remove the mystery.

This is a novel that was way ahead of its time and everyone should give it a go at least once. Just learn to skip past the author's lengthy aquatic descriptions.