- Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC
- Audio Published Date: 1989
- Original Print Published: 1870
- Length: 12 disks (14 hours 18 minutes)
- ISBN-10: 1-4193-1162-x
- ISBN-13: 978-1-4193-1162-8
- Author: Jules Verne
- Read by: Norman Dietz
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne is one of the earliest speculative fiction novels. Published in 1870, the novel is set in the near future of 1886 where the world is beset by what seems to be a large predatory cetacean. An American expedition is sent out to find and kill the presumed giant narwhal that has been attacking and sinking ships with its enormous tusk. Professor Aronmax, an expert on the ocean and its inhabitants, agrees to go along on this hunt. After finally tracking down the beast, the ship he is on is disabled and Professor Aronmax, his servant Conseil, and a Canadian harpooner, Ned Land, are cast into the sea. They are rescued by Captain Nemo and brought aboard his ship, The Nautilus, the submarine vessel that has been mistaken for a giant narwhal. This begins their journey around the globe and across and under the world’s oceans.
This classic novel is a masterpiece in speculative fiction and Captain Nemo is a complex character: part genius, part villain, part savior. We get hints of his motivations and his background, but much is also left obscured. This ambiguity makes him more interesting than a typical ‘mad scientist’ or super villain. We never really understand him. Through Aronmax, we come to know him a bit more, but never fully know the man.
Verne is clearly enamored by science and wants to show the depth of his knowledge about how an undersea craft might work, and also about the various flora and fauna and geology of the oceans. I recently reviewed another classic tale, The Iliad and Odyssey. One thing I mentioned in that review was how Homer spent a great deal of time listing the individual combatants and how they were killed or who they killed with some historical information. Those passages seemed to be aimed at capturing the knowledge of the culture and the people. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea has a similar feels when Aronmax (Verne) spends a great deal of time listing the scientific names for fish and crustaceans and cetaceans and seaweeds and mollusks, etc. etc. etc.This level of detail adds weight and plausibility to Verne’s speculations. It makes it seem more real, but after awhile, it seems superfluous. I don’t need another recitation of another set of scientific names for the latest set of organisms outside the submarine.
I quibble a bit on the oversharing of some scientific details, but this is a true classic. He is inventing the genre of ‘hard science fiction’ before it had a name. Well before much of the technology existed, Verne came up with realistic explanations for how submarines might work. He gets some of the science wrong, but is surprisingly accurate for a book written some 155 years ago. Other than the repeated lists of species, this was a fast moving and reasonably believable tale with interesting characters. I recommend you take the time to read or reread this classic.
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Phobias Series by Matt Truxaw
Matt Truxaw is the author of the hard science fiction thriller “Plastiphobia: aka Plastivore” and his newest novel “Anthrophobia: A Teacher’s Tale” – released January 3, 2025.
They are both available on Amazon in Paperback, Kindle and are free to read with Kindle Unlimited.
When you read either, he would really appreciate a review/rating on Amazon or your favorite book seller/book reader site.
More about Matt:
He was born in Orange County California many years ago and he still lives there. He has been reading books for most of those years and writing up book reviews for the last few years. He gets most of his books out of the library so expect a lot of old science fiction classics book reviews and other science related reviews in addition to newer books he comes across.
If you want to be ‘in-the-loop’ on these and other works, you can follow his author’s page on Amazon or his Facebook page.
For more reviews and articles by Matt here on Amazing Stories (Click here).
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