Verne, Jules
About the Author:
Jules Gabriel Verne was born in Nantes, France in 1828. He studied law in Paris between 1847 and 1849, before taking up writing. Verne married Honorine de Viane in 1857. He died in 1905 and is widely regarded as the father of the science fiction genre.
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
4 out of 5
(2 books)
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
One of the most famous science fiction stories of all time, this book begins with a scientific expedition to investigate reports of a sea monster attacking shipping. The expedition soon discovers that it is a highly advanced submarine, the Nautilus, and its enigmatic Captain Nemo who are behind the attacks. Taken prisoner but treated with respect and honour, they accompany the crew of the Nautilus on a journey around the globe beneath the seven seas.
As with much 19th Century literature, this book has been obscured in the public's eye by countless movies, TV shows and comic books etcetera. It was therefore an interesting and exciting experience to go back to the original work which spawned a thousand imitations. Verne's great talent was in taking the scientific advances of his time and applying carefully researched logical extensions of them in order to create wonderous fiction. This talent is in full effect here as we are presented with the Nautilus, a submarine which is entirely believable to the modern reader but which is leaps and bounds beyond the technology of Verne's day. We experience this wonder, and others, through the eyes of scientist Pierre Aronnax and his companions as he is whisked away on a thrilling adventure.
This is a great 19th Century adventure novel which is well-written, engrossing and thought-provoking. One of the things I liked most about it was that Verne doesn't always see fit to resolve all of the questions and issues he raises, particularly in regard to the tempestuous and enigmatic Nemo.
If this book can be said to have a downside, it is one produced by the change in attitudes towards the natural world since the book was written. In Verne's time nature was not only a source of boundless wonder but it was also seen as an expendable resource entirely at the service of mankind. However, in the more ecologically aware 21st Century (and speaking as an animal-loving vegetarian), the fact that every wonderful new animal the characters encounter must be first documented and then, inescapably, shot and eaten doesn't sit too well.
4 out of 5
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth
The discovery of evidence of a previous expedition to the centre of the Earth leads Professor Liedenbrock and his nephew Axel to depart Germany and travel to Iceland to seek passage beneath the surface of the planet within an extinct volcano. Accompanied by their faithful Icelandic guide Hans, the explorers cross vast distances and delve to unimaginable depths, seeing countless wonders on the way.
It's hard to appreciate this book in isolation due to the massive impact it has had on later popular culture, but in essence this is another story in which an intrepid team of explorers undertake a remarkable journey, facing challenges and hardships along the way. It's an adventure story but one focused on science as the impetus for the adventure. If you're not interested in either 19th Century scientific discoveries or adventure stories then this isn't the book for you. I, however, have great affection for both and thoroughly enjoyed reading Verne once again show why he was the undisputed master of the 'scientific romance'.
There is just one major flaw to this book, however. One of the author's greatest strengths was in showing an interest in new scientific discoveries and then using solid scientific reasoning to extrapolate his 'Voyages Extraordinaires' from them. That's not the flaw, of course. The flaw at the heart of this book is that it runs with scientific theories that have since been thoroughly debunked or, in the case of the various prehistoric creatures the explorers encounter, which are now understood in a completely different way. It means it's hard to read Verne's well-thought-out and cleverly-reasoned scientific assertions knowing full-well that they are, in fact, nonsense. It certainly doesn't ruin the book by any measure, but it does stop it short of being perfect.
4 out of 5
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