Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Extraordinary Voyages #6) 

 

by Jules Verne

"Jules Verne is considered the "Father of Science Fiction" because of the power of this--his most famous novel.

"The year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten. Not to mention rumours which agitated the maritime population and excited the public mind, even in the interior of continents, seafaring men were particularly excited. Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, both of Europe and America, naval officers of all countries, and the Goverments of several States on two continents, were deeply interested in the matter.

For some time past vessels had been met by 'an enormous thing,' a long object, spindle-shaped, occasionally phosphorescent, and infinitely larger and more rapid in its movements than a whale."

It is this "something" that Professor Aronnaz sets out to encounter--and thus begins the most incredible underwater journey ever. From Atlantis to the South Pole, the reader is taken through dangers, surprises, and the unsurpassed majesty of the marine world."

This is 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.

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.