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20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

Written by Jules Verne

Narrated by Alex Jennings

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is an action-packed story of a voyage into the unknown - an enthralling mixture of 'fact' and fiction. Although Jules Verne is describing the most fantastic of events, he gives credence to them by packing the novel with details and dates. To add further weight, the narrator is a man of science – the respected Professor Aronnax. It is through his empathy with Captain Nemo that the reader comes to know the fallen, tortured soul who has condemned himself ceaselessly to roam the seas. His story elevates a good, rip-roaring yarn into fine tragedy.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 1, 2014
ISBN9781780000053
Author

Jules Verne

Victor Marie Hugo (1802–1885) was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement and is considered one of the greatest French writers. Hugo’s best-known works are the novels Les Misérables, 1862, and The Hunchbak of Notre-Dame, 1831, both of which have had several adaptations for stage and screen.

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Reviews for 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

Rating: 3.730142909803922 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

3,009 ratings95 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The narrator has a habit of listing by genus and phylum every single plant and animal he sees and every shipwreck that has occurred in each region he travels to, but I skimed those and the rest was pretty good. I enjoyed the odd combination of 19th-century-style entitlement with surprisingly modern-sounding environmentalism (that species has been nearly hunted to extinction and this may be the last of its kind...let's eat it! or praising nature for creating new coal deposits in the sargasso sea for humanity to use when the land-bound deposits run out, or berating the harpooner for wanting to kill a whale needlessly, then slaughtering a huge group of other whales that came to hunt the first group....) And of course, an ambiguous villain(?) is often enjoyable.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    What do you get when you combine marine biology from the late 1800s and an action-adventure classic? 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, of course!

    If you haven’t already read it or seen one of the many film adaptations, the novel follows Professor Arannox, an educated gentleman, and Conseil, his servant, on their search for knowledge within the ocean’s depths. Along the way, they encounter many wonders and meet the acquaintance of some intriguing characters, including the mysterious Captain Nemo.

    When the plot focuses on the conflicts our cast of characters face on their journey, the pages fly by. From kidnappings to shipwrecks, a lot happens in what could be considered a rather short novel. Unfortunately, where there’s adventure, there’s also quite a lot of seemingly unnecessary description. Much of the book focuses on various characters making observations about fish. Unless you’re a scientist with a keen interest in the biological classification of sea creatures, there’s not much that will intrigue you in those passages. The descriptions that did not bother me were those that detailed the intricacies of Captain Nemo’s vessel, the Nautilus. At the time the novel was published, submarines were still incredibly primitive, so it’s impressive that Verne was able to predict the future, in a manner of speaking.

    All of the main and supporting characters are fascinating, to say the least. Professor Aronnax values knowledge over freedom, Conseil takes great pride in his subservient position, Ned Land has a bloodlust for the hunt, and Captain Nemo, well, we don’t know much about him, do we? The level of secrecy he exudes kept me engaged until the bitter end. Verne has a subtle way with dialogue too. There were many moments, particularly in interactions between Ned and Conseil, which left me chuckling to myself.

    20,000 Leagues is a classic for a reason. As much as I disliked the long scientific passages, the novel certainly has its merits. If you’re bothered by the extensive marine life descriptions, I highly recommend skimming or skipping them completely if you’re concerned that they’re ruining your reading experience.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not being familiar with the comparative criticism between Verne and Wells, can only offer that I while I enjoyed Nemo's narrative and the compelling saga presented, I felt it would've benefited from some of Wells' philosophy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved all the descriptions of underwater life, and the different places the characters visit. I wanted to become a marine biologist after I finished reading!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved all the descriptions of underwater life, and the different places the characters visit. I wanted to become a marine biologist after I finished reading!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    How to begin... there are some aspects of this book that were extremely fascinating and the adventure that Jules Verne writes is captivating. What I did not care for were the excessive uses of nautical terms as well as zoological/biological terms used to describe everything in the book. Perhaps it is just more evidence of the dumbing down of society as we no longer describe things in these fashions and makes it difficult for the reader of today to follow. Even with the author's fluent and graceful writing. The thing that most irritated me, was that all my life I've been led to think the Nautilus was attacked by a giant squid when that chapter in the book was described VERY differently! However, I guess I cannot fault the original story for how other interpretations have distorted it. Still, I can see why this book is so timeless and I encourage everyone to give it a read to enjoy the great adventure with mad Captain Nemo under the sea.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is one of those classic science fiction books that should be on any science fiction fans reading list. Being around so long (Verne originally published the book in 1869), and available in so many versions, translations, and media, can make reviewing the book difficult. Most readers either have read the book, or will want to read it because it is one of the "classics" of the science fiction genre. That caveat being said, here's my review of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The story opens with reports of strange sightings and damage to ships by an unknown creature. The narrator, Pierre Aronnax, is a professor of the natural sciences and a medical doctor from Paris. While returning from a trip to collect fossils and other specimens from Nebraska he is given a chance to hunt down this mysterious monster aboard the ship, Abraham Lincoln. Aronnax has previously hypothesized that the creature responsible for the encounters is a large form of narwhal. Joining Aronnax on the trip is his servant, Conseil, and a whaler and harpooner, Ned Land. The Abraham Lincoln eventually encounters the supposed monster, and the three men are thrown overboard when the creature rams the ship. They are miraculously rescued when they discover that it was not a creature at all, but a submersible boat. The rest of the novel covers the various adventures and settings that Aronnax and the others discover while being the "guests" of Captain Nemo, the builder of the famed Nautilus. As with most of Verne's works, the story is told in the form of a travelogue, with the story being recounted as if reading from a journal or interview with the narrator - Professor Aronnax. The stories of adventure - traveling under Suez, hunting in a kelp forest, seeking the South Pole and being trapped in ice, and the famous attack of the Nautilus by giant squid - are interspersed with more sedate discussions of the workings of the ship, or the Professor's enthrallment with Captain Nemo. That is quite interesting since Nemo has essentially captured the three men and refuses them to ever leave the Nautilus again. Verne's gift is to create a thrilling adventure and to expound upon the wonders of technology. His description of the Nautilus and its operation is decades ahead of its time. He even describes a practical, and nearly identical to the modern equivalent, SCUBA system for breathing underwater that was about 80 years ahead of its time. Verne does miss the mark with many of his speculations about the natural world. He didn't foresee the theory of plate tectonics, and his description of Antarctica misses the mark. (And I give him creative license to include the fabled Atlantis - it was an adventure story after all.) But that doesn't detract from the adventure story that he is telling.My biggest problem with the story is with the characters. Verne spends so much time recounting the travelogue of Aronnax that the characters are not fleshed out. The only one who seems real is Aronnax himself. His two companions, the forgettable Conseil and the stereotyped Ned Land (who's last name is entirely reflected in his constant desire to flee the Nautilus) are mere window dressings for Aronnax, somebody he can reflect his own ideas upon. But what is really annoying is that we get to know so very little about Captain Nemo himself. A suburb engineer, master of the sea, fearless and stoic in the face of danger, we learn so little about his character. There are many secrets about Nemo that Verne teases the reader with, but we are never shown the answers to them, such as his motivations, the reason he quit the land to forever roam the sea, or his past. That was a disappointment. If you are a fan of science fiction I recommend that you read Verne's classic at some point. Even among his own works I do not consider it to be his best, but it is worth the read to see the early works of the science fiction genre. If you want to listen to the work (like I did) I do highly recommend the version from Tantor Media narrated by Michael Prichard. I am familiar with Prichard's narration from other works and he again delivers a great performance here. (I checked out this version from my local library.)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I suppose that as an 'abridged just for you' version of a book, I shouldn't have had my expectations up so high. But I did, and while the overall novel was great, I really, really wanted more out of this book. Especially description-wise. It kept cutting out halfway or jumping from item to item so quickly I got minor whiplash. I am unsure if an unabridged version exists, but I hope it finds its way to me at some point.

    However, all that being said, I rather enjoyed the novel. It was fantastic, if a bit brief.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    To be upfront, I thought there would be a lot more action in this story. I never read it in school, so coming at it as an adult was intriguing. That being said, I was not let down. Verne is very versed in sea life (this book is chock full of jargon) and as a science nerd, it was fascinating. And somehow, through all the science and tech, he was able to create a story that is often exhilarating.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This rating is a childhood rating. Hooked me on Science Fiction when I read it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A classic that I had always meant to read . . .The first thing I learned was that I had always been in error in my expectations from the title. I had thought that the ship had descended 20,000 leagues under the ocean, but, of course, the submarine had merely undertaken a journey of 20,000 league while submerged. As a result, the speculative science basis for the book was much better grounded, and Verne gets many things right - along with a series of clangers.I had recently read Edgar Allan Poe, and found many similarities in their approach to early science fiction (to creating the genre of science fiction, really). A good read.Read March 2017
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book shows the true roots of science fiction. A story so fully of carefully researched facts about the various oceans of the world and the fish and plant life in them that you could almost believe that the nautilus and captain nemo did exist and the wonders they showed our narrator exsisted as well.
    Science fiction is about taking what we know and expanding it just that little bit more into the impossible. Or the one day maybe possible and then seeing what might happen.
    Quiet apart from that this is a story that brings home the massive change in attitude our society has had in regard to the environment and its study. Nemo himself is somewhat of a conservationist "this would be killing for the sake of killing" he tells Ned the harpooner. He kills willingly for food or in his search for revenge but will not be party to senseless destruction.
    We never learn what Nemo actually hopes to achieve or what happens to the nautilus in the end. In many ways I think this would have added to the believability of the story when it was first published.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really enjoyed the descriptions
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In 1866, a mysterious sea-creature has been plaguing the shipping lanes of the oceans. Several ships have sighted and even been sunk by a long, unknown and unnamed threat. Professor Pierre Aronnax, a marine biologist, theorizes that the creature in question is a narwal of gigantic proportions, come from the depths of the ocean herself. He is invited aboard the Abraham Lincoln as the ship embarks on a quest to seek and destroy the creature before it can do more harm. However, the professor, his assistant Consiel and a whaler named Ned Land are surprised to discover that, upon being thrown from the ship during a battle with the 'creature' to discover that it is, in fact, a magnificent submarine. They are taken aboard by the creator and leader of the vessel, the enigmatic Captain Nemo, and there kept prisoner. Aronnax finds himself enthralled beneath the waves on this aquatic adventure, but he must take into account the feelings of his companions as the months roll by. Jules Verne is not for everyone. He is, by no means, a difficult read, but he is a thick read. Many of his works are heavily laden by his vast amounts of knowledge and research, and 20,000 Leagues is certainly no exception. Throughout the journey, we are given glimpses through the professor's eyes of the myriads of creatures and plants that he sees all over the world and he tends, as the narrator, to go on about these things for some paragraphs. I decided, not far in, that teachers should use this book as they have used Billy Joel's song 'We didn't start the fire' or whatever it is called, for years--make a list of the places, peoples and creatures listed throughout this novel and give it to the students for picking paper topics. I have a feeling it could be quite successful. Anywho. I really did find this book an enjoyable read, despite the scientific lulls. The Professor's excitement in the element combined with his intrigue at the mysterious figure Nemo makes him an excellent narrator. In his professorial role, he is continually observing and questioning and learning, providing details for the reader to clearly picture and absorb the actions and settings. Nemo himself is an enigma to the narrator and possibly even more so to the reader, as it is an interpretation of a man instead of a description of a man from an omnipotent or unbiased narrator...of course, there are those who would say there is no such thing as an unbiased narrator, but we shall not get into that here. It is a lonely argument when one-sided, as it would be. Nature of a blog post and all that. I am sorry that this is such a pathetic review, but I'm still not entirely sure how I should be writing these silly things, not to mention if I should be. Oh well. Off to play Scrabble.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Good story, but too much biological minutiae.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    How to begin... there are some aspects of this book that were extremely fascinating and the adventure that Jules Verne writes is captivating. What I did not care for were the excessive uses of nautical terms as well as zoological/biological terms used to describe everything in the book. Perhaps it is just more evidence of the dumbing down of society as we no longer describe things in these fashions and makes it difficult for the reader of today to follow. Even with the author's fluent and graceful writing. The thing that most irritated me, was that all my life I've been led to think the Nautilus was attacked by a giant squid when that chapter in the book was described VERY differently! However, I guess I cannot fault the original story for how other interpretations have distorted it. Still, I can see why this book is so timeless and I encourage everyone to give it a read to enjoy the great adventure with mad Captain Nemo under the sea.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    If you are interested in the state of ichthyology in the 1860's this is the book of you. Every new area visited starts with an extensive list of the flora & fauna of the ocean and as far as I can tell is the most scientifically accurate part of the book, the rest sadly does not hold up as well. This mostly feels like a research project hung over a very loose plot. There is little story or plot and no character development to be found. The central mystery of the who and why of Nemo is only resolved in the most superficial manner. While it is somewhat interesting to see what was state of the art in the mid 19 century this is a story crying out for an abridged version.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good book !
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    a good read
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Great book very long
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is one of the most intriguing books I have ever read. Jules Verne predicts so many technologies that didn't exist in his time, but do exist today in some form. For example, in Verne's time there was no such thing as a deep sea submarine, but in this work of art, Verne depicts a submarine which is able to hold a crew under water for 48 hours, and it's impervious to the shells of the cannons of the 1800's. 20,000 Leagues has many surprising events in it. Humans are so oblivious to the hi-tech creation of one captain, Captain Nemo, that when the US Navy first see his submarine, they think it's a huge monster! Later on in the book, many mysteries are uncovered, such as the myth of Atlantis, Giant Squid, and many more.I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a book that is action-packed throughout the entire thing, but there is some action in it. If you're a reader who's looking for a book that makes you think about the mysteries around us, and has a few good action sequences, then definitely pick this book up.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I know it's a classic, but come on... How many descriptions of fish do we need?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As much an underwater travelogue as it is a sci fi/steampunk classic, Jules Verne takes us around the world, thru the depths of the ocean with the enigmatic Captain Nemo at the helm. Narrated by a Professor Arronax, a French naturalist accidentally swept into the world of Captain Nemo, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is thought to be an allusion to Homer's Odyssey- and I suppose it is- but it's theme of one man's defiance of humanity, especially after being disappointed and devastated by it, is a theme repeated time and again throughout ALL literature and entertainment.The story begins with the Professor joining a hunting expedition for a large underwater creature menacing the ships traversing the waters of the world. After a brush with the strange sea creature sweeps Professor Arronax, his companion Conseil ,and the brutish Canadian whaler, Ned Land, overboard their ship, they find themselves unexpectedly rescued not by the large narwhale they were chasing, but rather a man-made creature instead- Captain Nemo's underwater ship, the Nautilus.Unsure of their three new companions, Nemo keeps them imprisoned till he decides what to do with them, but when he finds at least one of the ragged men to be a man of thinking, he decides to let them have free roam of the ship- with a couple conditions: They must go back to their rooms when asked- with no questions asked by them- and they must never leave the Nautilus.Ned Land, a lover of freedom, is furious and Professor Arronax is worried as well, but quickly finds himself enraptured with the amazing sights to behold and the chance to be the first to catalog them!Soon months fly by with Ned getting more restless and approaching an inevitable crisis point, although just as caught up in the new adventures around them.Hunting in underwater "forests", amazing underwater creatures never seen before, underwater volcanoes, caves and hidden channels, along with natural terrors like hurricanes, icebergs, and a spot aptly named the navel of ocean- all of this to be borne until the Nautilus's fierce implacable captain reveals his heart of vengeance in an all out battle with another ship.When confronted with the true nature of Nemo, that archangel of hate as Professor Arronax calls him, the professor agrees it's time to leave and they make their plans only to be thwarted by a squid of colossal dimensions. But Nemo wrestles his ship free in his usual efficient manner and now it is only Nemo himself left to block their escape.Written in the late 1800's, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is a marvel. Verne imagined self sufficient underwater vessels, electric "bullets" (that's tazers to you and me) and all kinds of things that is norm to modern man, but to a man on the brink of the 20th Century only fantastical. He also surprised me with his outright admonitions of humanity for its over fishing/whaling and the dire consequences if left unchecked.Although I could have done with less of the eye-glazing cataloging and info dumping, when the action hits, it hits in a big way.Truly a man ahead of his time, Jules Verne deserves his unofficial title as the father of science fiction as he teaches, imagines, admonishes and entertains generation after generation- but isn't that what good sci fi is supposed to do?
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    90% info dump. 10% plot
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    One of those classics I'd somehow never gotten around to reading, so I was pleased when my oldest picked this out for bedtime story. The short chapters and limited cast of characters made it well-suited for reading aloud, though I could not make myself do a Canadian accent for Ned Land -- his gruff aggressive style just kept coming out more Scottish/Appalachian.Anyway, there was some colonialist bullshit that we had to yell through/critique, but mostly this book is about marveling at the wonders of the ocean, which I can always get behind. (I mean, there's a bunch of engineering geekery that's partly devalued as just coming off foolish to modern readers.) I kept wanting to have an annotated version of this to explain to me what of the marine biology was fact vs. fiction, obscure vs. well-known at the time, etc.A good read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    #BBRC #RealClassic#ReadHarder#booked2020#Popsugar#BeatthebacklistI read this story as a Great Illustrated Classic when I was a child. I remember loving it, but now I just feel cheated. The origianl story is so expressive and amazing, and all that stuff was cut out to dumb the book down for younger readers. I am no longer a fan of GIC and have not been for a while. I hate when these are the only stories kids have in their home/class or in their libraries.There were so many things I missed as a child that I catch now. Like how people thought they were hunting a giant dangerous narwhal, when actually it was the Nautilus. Or how the Nautilus was a type of prison. The same type of prison I sit in now for Covid-19. All the luxuries and things I love and plenty to keep me interested, but still isolated and scary. Until reading the full version of 20,000 Leagues I always thought of Captain Nemo as a type of pirate. He isn’t at all. He is a scared and lonely old man. Why else would he escape to the sea with no desire to see land again if he was not scared of something.I listened to this book. And while it was a bit slow, and sometimes boring as they describe the various sea creatures, overall it was a great story that I would listen to again. And to think it was written almost 150 years ago. H.G. Wells knows or guessed more about the depths of the ocean than many modern scientists. This book has held the test of time, and I think that 100 years from now it will still be considered relevant.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    How to begin... there are some aspects of this book that were extremely fascinating and the adventure that Jules Verne writes is captivating. What I did not care for were the excessive uses of nautical terms as well as zoological/biological terms used to describe everything in the book. Perhaps it is just more evidence of the dumbing down of society as we no longer describe things in these fashions and makes it difficult for the reader of today to follow. Even with the author's fluent and graceful writing. The thing that most irritated me, was that all my life I've been led to think the Nautilus was attacked by a giant squid when that chapter in the book was described VERY differently! However, I guess I cannot fault the original story for how other interpretations have distorted it. Still, I can see why this book is so timeless and I encourage everyone to give it a read to enjoy the great adventure with mad Captain Nemo under the sea.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    this was my classic book i decided to read this year. it was a quick and easy read a little different then what i taught it was gonna be about but enjoyed it and would recommend it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I don’t know what I exactly expected from this book, but not exactly this. I think I anticipated more plot and action. And this book is very erudite.

    This is not really my thing. But still I’m amazed with the amount of information and knowledge contained in this book. Nowadays, we do not have a problem with access to detailed information on any topic, you can search virtually anything on the internet. But at a time when Verne wrote his book, this amount of information had to be impressive and required some serious research. All these curiosities included in the book were then completely unknown to the readers. I imagine that they had to ignite the imagination back then.

    Unfortunately, times have changed and now this accumulation of encyclopedic information is a bit boring. Enumeration of all kinds of fish and marine animals is simply uninteresting for today's reader who is looking for action and plot twists. And I am not an exception.

    Nevertheless, the book is a wonderful record of the scientific knowledge on the seas and oceans at the time. And this aspect is especially interesting for me. It's fascinating to catch a glimpse of how people saw the world 150 years ago. What interested them, what they were afraid of and how they imagined the future. And even more interesting is what they did not know then and what we already know now. Like the South Pole, which in Verne’s book looks very like Greenland which is very far from truth. And although the south pole is still studied by scientists, it is not a white patch on the map anymore.

    The same with regard to the use of electricity. The light bulb was not invented until around 1880. It was not until 1882 that factories in the United States began producing light bulbs. Verne published his book 10 years before this! The idea of an entire ship (and a submarine!) being electrically powered had to be something fantastic in the Verne era and beyond human imagination.

    Another aspect that I noticed reading this book is the perception of the world at the time. Even more valuable that it is not presented from the perspective of today's political correctness or an attempt to point out certain problems but shown in a way that was then quite natural. In the book we have a very well illustrated approach to colonialism and a way of thinking about the ‘savage’. And although today we have a completely different approach to these topics, contact with a report from the past helps us understand how our ancestors thought and how the world changed over years. Therefore, Captain Nemo who would be considered an ecologist and social activist even in more recent standards is an extremely interesting character.

    I’m glad I read this book even if it is not my favourite. It's fascinating to see how people imagined the future and what turned out to be true.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read the abridged version with my 6-year-old son. What a great adventure--we both enjoyed it.