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The Sphinx of the Ice Realm: The First Complete English Translation, with the Full Text of The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym by Edgar Allan Poe

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"I think there is some need for doubt," I answered "the singular character of the hero of those adventures being taken into consideration - at least concerning the phenomena of the island of Tsalal. And we know that Arthur Pym was mistaken in asserting that Captain William Guy and several of his companions perished in the landslip of the hill at Klock-Klock."

435 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1897

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About the author

Jules Verne

6,087 books11.9k followers
Novels of French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, considered the founder of modern science fiction, include Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).

Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 260 reviews
Profile Image for Henry Avila.
551 reviews3,363 followers
February 21, 2025
This is an unofficial sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, 1838's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket". Jules Verne the real inventor of sci-fi was a great admirer of the American writer. Mr. Jeorling is an geological researcher (mineralogist), and believes that book was factual! A little naive some will say and quite factual. He's serious and roams the vast seas of the Earth to find the fictional Mr. Pym. Reaching the remote Indian Ocean's, Kerguelen Islands and stranded there for many weeks , after finishing a job, a surprise in the little known isles? He meets Captain Len Guy of the Halbrane , the captain's brother has vanished in the distant southern seas. Jeorling persuades him that his brother might still be alive and is taken on board. The Halbrane always sails south at the researcher's urging not withstanding the numerous dangers . Day after day the endless voyage continues, will it ever stop. They travel all the way to the large, mysterious, frigid Antarctic. The crew are understandably rather frightened, who wouldn't be . Led by an ambitious sailor named Hearne, the kind of man that doesn't mind killing somebody else for his benefit. He's constantly threatening mutiny which causes quite a stir on board. Inevitability the ship strikes an iceberg and slowly sinks below to the dark bottom wherever that goes. Marooned on the floating ice, Hearne and his men steal their only skiff. And head for the Antarctic coast but don't quite make it. A great shame, incredibly soon after a drifting small boat is seen and guess what . Inside is the captain's long lost brother... alive. At last the mariners get to the shore and discover an Ice Sphinx. A strange structure here but very interesting way for sure out in this icy, hostile, deadly environment. Can the survivors get back home to civilization or die in this desolate land and where is Pym? You'll have to read the book to find the answer, I have and enjoyed it too...A great novel from the always entertaining writer, he could not be otherwise.
Profile Image for Sr3yas.
223 reviews1,037 followers
September 26, 2017
Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket was a financial and critical failure at the time of publication. Yet, Poe's tale inspired generations that came after him, including many well-known authors.

One of them was this literary god. Jules Verne!



Jules Verne loved the story so much that he actually wrote a novel set in the same world as Poe's story. He named the novel as Le Sphinx des glaces (The Sphinx of the Ice Fields) which became known as An Antarctic Mystery in later years.

Those who have read The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym would remember the ending, or the lack of an ending for the story. I can imagine Verne reading the last page of Poe's fascinating novel deep into a night and shouting Nooooooooooo when he reached the last sentence. I can also imagine him brooding for a whole week and later vowing to write a follow-up story just to give closure to himself and the fans of Poe's novel.

An Antarctic Mystery is a narrative just like Poe's novel, and instead of Pym, we get Jeorling, an American who interested in Wildlife and traveling. Oh, Incidentally he is also a fan of Poe and his novel! Jeorling secures a cabin in a ship called Halbrane, whose captain is a bold and enigmatic English man. Within days, Jeorling discovers that the Captain of Helbrane is the brother of the Captain of Ship Jane, the same Jane which was part of Poe's supposedly fictional novel.

Even though Eleven years have passed since the mysterious disappearance of Jane, Captain of Helbrane believes the crew might be still alive. And to fuel this belief, The ship discovers some evidence related to Jane's crew.

Do you know what that means? It's time for a voyage to the unknown Antarctic. And It's not just any voyage, it's a rescue mission!

*Finding Pym?*

Verne has done a great job continuing Poe's story, but in this process, Verne sacrificed the Macabre and horrors of sea journey, which was essentially the best thing about the narrative of Pym. To Verne's credit, the story he told is consistent, unlike Poe's novel. Nevertheless, Verne was not able to bring out his A-game because of the not so bizarre setting (which Verne thrives in) and improbable coincidences. The story's prominent drama was the constant forecasting of mutiny, rather than the adventure itself.

The characters are interesting, but the story is rather slow at times. Nothing notable happened in the first half, and the second half was able to create some tension. For most of the part, the novel reminded me of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

And at the end of the day, An Antarctic mystery is not very mysterious, but a mildly fascinating follow-up to Poe's uneven classic.
Profile Image for Thibault Busschots.
Author 5 books200 followers
September 30, 2022
An Antarctic Mystery by Jules Verne is basically a sort of sequel of and a love letter to Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. The reason for Verne writing a sequel to the Poe story is because the original story had an open ending. And Verne wanted to give the adventure a proper ending, or so the story goes. I haven’t read the original Poe story so I don’t know for sure. It isn’t necessary to have read the original story first, though it definitely will elevate your experience if you do.


This story is about a ship's crew in search of survivors of an earlier expedition, described in Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. It’s a nautical adventure that’s presented as factual and yet it undeniably speaks to the imagination. I think it’s an interesting journey with tense character moments and quite fascinating discoveries. Though the pacing is definitely a bit on the slower side.
Profile Image for Jadranka.
274 reviews160 followers
March 30, 2016

"Zagonetka ledenog mora" - Žil Vern
Izdanje : Tehnička knjiga, 1955.g.

Žil Vern ovu ledenu avanturu posvećuje uspomeni na E.A.Poa, čije je delo "Doživljaji Artura Gordona Pima" Vernu poslužilo kao svojevrsna inspiracija.
Roman prati pustolovine gospodina Džorlinga, svetskog putnika, i posade broda "Holbrejn" na čelu sa kapetanom Len Gajom.
Džorling se pridružuje posadi broda kapetana Gaja na proputovanju kroz antarktičke, ledom okovane, vode. Naime, kapetan Gaj kreće na putovanje prateći pustolovine Poovog junaka A.G.Pima, te uspeva da dovoljno zaintrigira i gospodina Džorlinga tvrdnjom kako čuveno remek-delo E.A.P. nije rezultat samo piščeve bogate mašte, već da je reč o memoarima, koje je navodno baltimorskom piscu preneo glavom i bradom sam A.G.Pim.
Za svoje tvrdnje kapetan Gaj ima najčvršći dokaz: njegov rođeni brat Vilijam je bio deo posade broda "Džejna" kojim je Pim plovio i od koga Gaj nema glasa već 11 godina, te kapetan kreće na put u pokušaju da ga nađe ili bar dozna kakva ga je sudbina zadesila.
To je ukratko sam početak ove pustolovine, u nastavku vas očekuju ledene oluje, brodolomi, neistraženi predeli, preživljavanje i borba za goli život.
Roman obiluje detaljnim opisima kako broda, tako i života na prekookeanskoj plovidbi, podacima o geografskim širinama i dužinama, meridijanima, nautičkim izrazima....sve u najboljem stilu Žil Verna.
Osim toga, Vern daje jako precizne geografske podatke, toliko precizne da pravac plovidbe broda "Holbrejn" možete pratiti po geografskoj karti, što sam u nekoliko navrata i sama činila. Stoga nije loše da prilikom čitanja imate pri ruci jednu geografsku kartu sveta, ako želite da verno ispratite tok radnje.
"Zagonetka ledenog mora" je pravi putopis, koji običnog čitaoca vodi tamo gde ga samo mašta Žil Verna može odvesti - pravo na Južni pol.
Preporuka svim ljubiteljima avanture i naravno E.A.Poa. :)
Profile Image for Debbie Zapata.
1,975 reviews54 followers
January 22, 2017
Here is the GR blurb for this edition of this book:
An Antarctic Mystery; or, The Sphinx of the Ice Fields, was published first in 1897 as a response to Edgar Allan Poe's 1838 novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. It is an adventure story following the journey of of an unnamed narrator through the Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean aboard the ship, the Halbrane.

I already had this title on my Someday lists because I had enjoyed some of Verne's other work when I was younger and thought I would give what to me was a lesser known book a try. And when I read this blurb, my curiosity meter went higher than normal. A response to Poe's book (which I also had never heard of)? What does that mean, exactly?

Wiki calls Mystery a sequel to The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket . I assumed there would be a difference between 'response' and 'sequel' but basically the two terms can be interchanged in this case. Verne imagined solutions to various questions in the Poe book, and created a story that explained what might have happened to the characters after the apparently unsatisfactory ending.

You may be thinking now what I was thinking by the time I got to the places where Verne began to refer repeatedly to Poe. 'Should I read the other book before I read this?' If you are a fan of Poe and have not read The Narrative, definitely read it before you read An Antarctic Mystery! But if you are lukewarm about Poe (as I am) and don't feel up to slogging through what looked to me like a long and tedious tale (I checked) you can safely skip it because Verne reveals the entire plot in Chapter 5, as a necessary review for the reader to completely understand the adventure that our narrator Mr. Jeorling finds himself caught up in.

Oh, there's my other quibble with the GR blurb. Whoever wrote it was not paying close attention because the narrator was named in the very first chapter by the innkeeper of the Green Cormorant on the Kerguelen Islands, where he was waiting for a ship, any ship, to come along so he could book passage and leave.

So, let's see. What about the book itself? With all these distractions going on, what was the story like? I was all caught up in it until the last few chapters, which seemed to drag on forever and were full of more than the usual convenient and fantastic solutions to Poe's mysteries. But honestly, I don't know if I had bogged down mentally with the story or from reaching these sections on January 20. I was a bit distracted either way and was just glad to get the day and the book over with by then.

I liked the geography lessons that came with the story. I had all kinds of fun looking up the locations of various actual islands and countries. Of course now that we all know the reality of Antarctica, the descriptions of that continent were quaint and fanciful. But no one knew much of anything about the place back then, and Verne's ideas at least worked quite well for his plot. There were dramatic scenes in many chapters, and the story moved fast and kept me interested and curious; at least until those last few chapters.

And it was really like reading two books in one. I feel like I should add the Poe book to my finished lists, but that would be cheating. Wouldn't it?

Profile Image for Ehsan'Shokraie'.
748 reviews217 followers
May 3, 2020
"دیگر مردم پاریس مرا نخواهند دید,زندگی ژول ورن برای انان سرسام اور است,دیگر دارای ان نشاط و سرمستی نیستم,کارهای من تمام شده و ضربه های گلوله که به من اصابت کرده مرا زنده نخواهد گذاشت" 1892-ژول ورن..
ژول ورن زندگی شگفت انگیزی از سرگذراند,تخیل ژول ورن چون پیامبری فرستاده شده از آینده,با الهاماتش ذهن خاک گرفته و کهنه ی بشر را روشن می کرد,آثار ژول ورن از آن روز ها تا کنون,همچنان همان دریچه خاص روشنایی غریبی مانده اند,که برای سفر هایی شگفت انگیز ساعاتی ما را از زندگی مالامال از روزمرگی و آکنده از تکرار مان جدا می کند..آثاری که پس از 150سال مانند ماشین زمانی که از دیرباز سفرش در زمان را اغاز کرده و همچنان به پیش میتازد ما را هر بار در هر زمان همچنان دعوت میکنند..به تجربه ی این سفر های شگفت انگیز با ژول ورن
Profile Image for Stacia.
998 reviews131 followers
October 7, 2013
I finished Jules Verne's Le Sphinx de Glaces. Verne wrote his book as a follow-up/continuation of Edgar Allan Poe's novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.

Reading Verne's methodical sequel after Poe's meandering novel had me picturing...



Poe created a sense of creeping dread in his meandering novel that was part seafaring misadventure, a bit of scientific flora & fauna diary, & a bizarre horror story, capped by an abrupt, inconclusive ending. His perplexing narrative spurred both H.P. Lovecraft & Jules Verne to write their own novels to continue & flesh-out Poe's story.

H.P. Lovecraft's novel borrows the setting & builds on the abrupt ending, creating a horror landscape that delves into the Antarctic area decades after Pym disappears. Lovecraft's horrific scenes extend the setting & creatures, imagining what Pym might have also encountered had Poe decided to share Pym's Antarctic fate with us.

As for Verne's novel, I imagine the very rational, scientific Verne reading Poe's novel for the first time, loving the artistic élan, the mystery, but twitching at Poe's inconsistencies, dead-ends, & hanging plot points....



And, then, Verne set-about writing his own novel, weaving Poe's entire narrative into his own plot, fixing/explaining any incongruities, effectively retelling & extending the story of Pym to bring the entire narrative to a logical, complete, & sound ending.

I'm not sure whether Poe would have been amused or horrified at the 'tidying' that Verne does with his story.



Even so, Verne writes a wonderful 'adaptation' & sequel to Poe's novel & I think the two books read together fit together like, well... like The Odd Couple fit together -- completely different, yet complementary, & highlighting the best of each writer.

Bravo to Poe & Verne. (I also enjoyed Lovecraft's variation on the Pym story, but his was less intrusive & less revisionist of Poe's work than Verne's version; Lovecraft's is almost more of a stand-alone book than Verne's is, imo.)


Profile Image for Burak.
Author 2 books41 followers
January 21, 2016
Belki biraz garip, bu hayatım boyunca okuduğum ikinci Jules Verne kitabıydı (İlki İskoçya Seyahati). Klasiklerin için herkesin okudum deyip kimsenin okumadığı kitaplar oldukları sıkça söylenir. Ya da Calvino’nun deyişiyle kimsenin okuyorum demeyip tekrar okuyorum dediği kitaplar okudukları. Dünya üzerinde bu cümlelerin en çok yakıştığı yazarlardan biridir herhalde Jules Verne. Verne’in, Arzın Merkezine Seyahat, Denizler Altında Yirmi Bin Fersah, Seksen Günde Devri Alem gibi eserlerine gölge boyutunda, filmlerle, çizgi filmlerle, haklarındaki yazılarla çoğumuz yıllar boyunca maruz tutulsak, hatta bazılarımız ilkokul yıllarında kırpılmış özet metinleri afili çocuk kitapları olarak gözden geçirmiş olsak da ancak çok az kişi bu eserleri tam metin halinde okudum diyebilme ayrıcalığına sahip olmuştur. Hele belli bir yaştan sonra Jules Verne okumanın okuyucuya Tolstoy, Balzacvari bir karizma kazandırmadığının düşünülmesi de onun kitaplarının gerçek okunma oranlarını diğer bazı klasikleşmiş yazarlara göre düşük tutmuştur. Gelelim Buzların Sfenksi’ne. Dürüstçe söylüyorum; ben bu kitabı niye satın aldığımı, niye okumaya başladığımı hatırlamıyorum. Bir sebebi vardı, bu sadece hatırladığım! İnternette güvendiğim biri mi tavsiye etmişti, yoksa sadece buzlu ismine bakıp hoşuma mı gitmişti, emin değilim, ama evet, bir sebebi vardı! Kitap serüvenli bir kitap. Akıcı kitap meraklısı değilimdir ama kitap ünlü bir akıcılık vaadine sahipse elbet ondan bunu da beklerim. Buzların Sfenksi çok akıcı olmasa da okuyucuyu sürükleyebilen, bir sonraki sayfayı okuma merakını metin boyunca insanın içinde canlı tutan bir kitap. Tasvirler, yaratılan atmosfer iyi ve sarıcı. Okuma süreniz boyunca denizcilikle ilgili ufak tefek şeyler öğreniyor, coğrafya algınızı bir miktar geliştiriyor, genel anlamda bu tür konularla ilgili bir tür havaya giriyorsunuz. Kitabın büyük bölümünde çok büyük olaylar cereyan etmiyor, bazı psikolojik gerilimler yaşansa da kitap daha çok beklendiği gibi işin ilerlemeli macera kısmı üzerinde duruyor; fakat bu maceranın anlatılış biçimi acele, sakil ve çok da çocuksu değil. Yalnız, Jules Verne’in kitabının sonunu çok çok aceleye getirmiş olduğu sanırım onu okuyan pek çok insan için tartışılmaz bir gerçektir. Romanın belli kısımlarında bazı her bakımdan önemsiz ayrıntıların gereksiz biçimde uzatıldığını gördükten sonra çok daha büyük bir önem verilmesi gereken düğüm kısmındaki neredeyse aleladeliği kabullenmek zor. Tabii 19. Yy. romanları için bir yandan da, böyle şeyleri sevmiyor, en azından bu kısım uzatılmamış, bu da bir kardır diye düşünmüyor da değilim!

Neyse, roman çocuksu yönü belli miktarda öne çıkan her romanda olduğu gibi tesadüflere fazla bağlıyor belini. Çok abartılı olduğunu söyleyemeyeceğim ama yer yer dozu aşacak biçimde varlar. Tesadüflerin ötesinde, romanın sonunda kahramanların biriyle ilgili Kürk Mantolu Madonna’nın sonundaki ısınamadığım ajitasyondan da öte öyle bir sahne var ki “Güldürdün beni Jules Verne amca” demekten kendimi alamadım. “Bir de bana Namık Kemal’in, geçen yüzyılın roman sanatında başlı başına mümtaz bir örnek olan şehirli Türk romanlarını hatırlattın.”

Kitapla ilgili bahsetmek istediğim iki şey daha var. Birincisi; Jules Verne’in yazım sırasında yaptığı, dipnotlarda belirtilen maddi hatalar. Tarihlerin, isimlerin, enlemlerin, boylamların karıştırılması, hafızadaki sürçmeler. Bu hataların Jules Verne’in yazarlığından azaltmak yerine bana sempatik geldiğini söylemeliyim. Yazarın, anlatıcının insan olduğunu hatırlatan bu tür şeyler bana açıkçası postmodern tatlı bir mutluluk veriyor. İkincisi; Alfa Yayınlarını kutlamak istiyorum. Fransızca orijinaline benzeyen özenli bir kapakla, albenisi olan bir Jules Verne kitabı yapmışlar. Hazırladıkları bütün bir “Olağanüstü Yolculuklar” serisi hoş. Yalnız, kitap boyunca 4-5 sayfa ilerisine spoiler veren resim ve resim altı yazıların kullanılmış olması, bilmiyorum orijinal kitaplarda böyle bir şey var mıdır, bana riskli bir şey gibi geldi. Romanın sonlarına kadar rahatsız etmeyen, hatta belli bir sürükleyicilik etkisi de yaratan bu durum, olur da onlara bakmak adına alışkanlık kazanır ya da gözlerinizi kaçıramazsınız, sonlarda heyecan duygusuna epeyce bir sekte vuruyor.

Profile Image for Kateryna Krotova.
212 reviews11 followers
December 17, 2021
Yet another science-fiction novel by Jules Verne that I had read this year. And what can I say that I really enjoy his books. You feel, like Jules Verne is real scientist and a great traveler.. Was surprised by his knowledge of sailing (I’m also in to sailing, and all this terms, that he uses, like starboard, on the port side, etc.. are very familiar to me).

The other thing that surprises me was that Jules Verne writes this book as a sequel to Edgar Allan Poe’s book “The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket” (I still have to read this one!) Although Poe’s book wasn’t that famous, you can really feel that Verne admires Poe. Even he narrates some part of the book, so that reader gets familiar with Poe’s book.

And also what surprises me most: at the time when Verne writes the book, it was very little knowledge of Antarctic.. How could he write so good?

Story is narrated from an American guy, named Jeorling, who becomes a passenger on the Halbrane, that is heading South. He is a geological researcher, who also had read Poe’s book and thinks that it is pure fiction. Than there is a captain, Len Guy, who is searching for his brother, who happened to be on the board of Ship Jane (from Poe’s book).

Their adventure is dangerous and full of miseries and losses. But at the end they find captains brother!

What really stroke me, the description when passengers of Jane (4 survivors) were dying from hunger and they were deciding whom to eat… 😳
Profile Image for Sara.
1,202 reviews62 followers
October 30, 2012
This is the first Jules Verne novel I have read and I enjoyed it. The reason I read this book is because it is the "sequel" to Edgar A Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym". If you have read that novel, you realize that Poe left off rather abruptly and did not finish his narrative. I'm not sure why. It bothered me quite a bit - I wanted to know what happened!

Well, apparently, Jules Verne did too. He wrote this continuation of Poe's novel in 1895. Originally in French, I read an English translation. The introduction in my edition was from 1975 and explained how Poe, Verne, and Wells were instrumental in the birth of science fiction. Jules Verne believed in the supernatural but not in the same way as Poe did - or as Poe wrote. He was strictly scientific and wanted his books to be true to science, or at least the science that they knew back then. He believed in God and God's will and it is apparent in his book that Providence played a huge part. Poe wrote of things happening beyond our control and not always in a good sense. Verne is more clear cut about morals - bad things happen to bad people and if bad things happen to good people, it is because there is some greater good.

This is the story of Mr. Jeorling (an unpronounceable name for me), a scientist who is in the Kerguelen islands at the beginning of the story. He becomes a passenger on the Halbrane, commanded by Captain Len Guy. After picking up more men in the Falkland Islands, they journey to Antarctica in search of the pole and of the crew of the Jane, mentioned in the Poe story. Mr. Jeorling remarks that Poe wrote a fiction story but the captain contends it is a true narrative. So the journey begins. Of course we know so much more about Antarctica now, but it's still a fun read.

It gave me some closure, even though it was not written by Poe. The story moved along quite well. I did get tired of Verne always referring to one of the men on the ship as "the half-breed" throughout the book. As he was one of the main characters, this got very tiring. In many ways it was definitely a 19th century novel.
Profile Image for Mr.B.
138 reviews11 followers
July 28, 2011
This was a nearly amazing novel. First, I purchased the complete writings of Jules Verne as a single "volume" from the Kindle store. I think it was 99 cents--something like that. And I've been reading my way through the collection. Finishing Antarctic Mystery puts me about 32% of the way through the collection. So I have no knowledge of "what page I am on" at any given time.

As for this story, it quickly becomes a sequel of sorts to Edgar Poe's The Narrative of Gordon Pym, because the main character joins forces with the captain of a ship to search for any survivors of Poe's shipwreck--including Gordon Pym, whom the main character is shocked to learn is not a fictional character at all, AND the brother of the ship captain of Verne's story, who had lost his ship trying to rescue Pym and others from Antarctica. The story is written around 1840, and very little is known about the icy continent, so readers will be taken aback by the conditions of the South Pole region. But, as in all Jules Verne's adventure novels, such relevant knowledge as was actually available at the time finds its way into his book. Moreover, Verne takes science seriously, and doesn't allow himself departures from scientific lore into the realm of fantasy. Hence, he is one of the first truly science-fiction writers.

For readers who are not familiar with The Narrative of Gordon Pym, Verne provides a chapter summarizing the novel, and numerous explanations of information necessary to understand his own sequel. Once I realized that Verne's book would be a sequel to Poe's, the story became far more engrossing for me. I recommend the book to readers who admire Poe's work and/or have read the Poe novel--but neither condition is required to enjoy it. By the way, An Antarctic Mystery has also been published under the title The Great Sphinx of the Ice-Field.

Profile Image for Paul.
563 reviews185 followers
June 2, 2016
A very interesting exploration tale.
Jules Vernes descriptions can be intense but he really draws a great picture of everything going on and in reading this book it is very hard not to see the ocean , the ice and the various landscapes.
Some very dated bits such as the need to constantly refer to a character as a half breed are declaring all black people are flighty with no concept of the future but sadly it is of the age in that respect.
Side from that it is an interesting tale and a great concept , looking at what if an amazing tale of the imagination is actually true .
Profile Image for Laura.
7,123 reviews600 followers
Want to read
July 2, 2018
Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

4* Five Weeks in a Balloon (Extraordinary Voyages, #1)
3* The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (Extraordinary Voyages, #2)
4* Journey to the Center of the Earth (Extraordinary Voyages, #3)
3* From the Earth to the Moon (Extraordinary Voyages, #4)
TR In Search of the Castaways; or the Children of Captain Grant (Extraordinary Voyages, #5)
4* Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Extraordinary Voyages, #6)
TR Round the Moon (Extraordinary Voyages, #7)
TR A Floating City (Extraordinary Voyages, #8)
TR The Blockade Runners (Extraordinary Voyages, #8.5)
TR Measuring a Meridian: The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians in South Africa (Extraordinary Voyages, #9)
TR The Fur Country (Extraordinary Voyages, #10)
4* The Fur Country (Extraordinary Voyages, #10)
4* Around the World in Eighty Days (Extraordinary Voyages, #11)
3* The Mysterious Island (Extraordinary Voyages, #12)
TR The Survivors of the Chancellor (Extraordinary Voyages, #13)
TR Michael Strogoff (Extraordinary Voyages, #14)
TR Off On A Comet (Extraordinary Voyages, #15)
TR The Underground City (Extraordinary Voyages, #16)
TR Dick Sands the Boy Captain (The Extraordinary Voyages, #17)
TR The Begum's Fortune (Extraordinary Voyages, #18)
TR Tribulations of a Chinaman in China (Extraordinary Voyages, #19)
TR The End of Nana Sahib: The Steam House (Extraordinary Voyages, #20)
TR 800 Leagues on the Amazon (Extraordinary Voyages, #21)
TR Godfrey Morgan: A Californian Mystery (Extraordinary Voyages, #22)
TR The Green Ray (Extraordinary Voyages, #23)
TR Keraban the Inflexible: Adventures in the Euxine (Extraordinary Voyages, #24)
TR The Star of the South (Extraordinary Voyages, #25)
TR El Archipielago En Llamas (Extraordinary Voyages, #26)
TR Mathias Sandorf (Extraordinary Voyages, #27)
TR The Lottery Ticket (Extraordinary Voyages, #28)
TR Robur the Conqueror (Extraordinary Voyages, #29)
TR North Against South: A Tale of the American Civil War (Extraordinary Voyages, #30)
TR Flight to France (Extraordinary Voyages, #31)
TR Adrift in the Pacific: Two Years Holiday (Extraordinary Voyages, #32)
TR A Family Without a Name: Into the Abyss (Extraordinary Voyages, #33)
TR The Purchase of the North Pole (Extraordinary Voyages, #34)
TR Caesar Cascabel (Extraordinary Voyages, #35)
TR Mistress Branican (Extraordinary Voyages, #36)
5* The Castle of the Carpathians (Extraordinary Voyages, #37)
Profile Image for John.
1,458 reviews36 followers
August 19, 2013
Like so many other people who read and enjoyed Edgar Allen Poe's splendid NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM, I felt a little cheated by its cliffhanger ending and therefore couldn't wait to get my hands on a sequel. AN ANTARCTIC MYSTERY, however, isn't at all what I had in mind. I'm giving it three stars because I suppose it's a good enough book in its own right, but I would be lying if I told you it in any way held a candle to Poe's aforementioned masterpiece. In AN ANTARCTIC MYSTERY, Jules Verne pushes the "reset" button on Poe's arctic journey, and readers are forced to endure chapter-after-boring-chapter of bland sea-faring adventures as we wait for the new ship's crew to finally pick up where the previous crew left off. The book gets more and more interesting as it progresses, but it never comes even close to rekindling the magic of the first adventure. I haven't read Jules Verne in many, many years, but I remember him being a much better writer than this. Overall, an unworthy sequel to one of the great novels of English literature.
Profile Image for C-shaw.
852 reviews61 followers
December 30, 2016
I enjoyed this so much more than I expected! It was exciting and fairly fast-paced; the narrative never flagged. An interesting tidbit, which I presume to be true:
"It is a well-known fact that ice, whether formed from fresh or salt water, contains no salt, owing to the chloride of sodium being eliminated in the change from the liquid to the solid state. The origin of the ice, therefore, is a matter of no importance. However, those blocks which are easily distinguished by their greenish colour and their perfect transparency are preferable. They are solidified rain, and therefore much more suitable for drinking water."
I shall remember that if I'm ever stuck on an ice floe in the Antarctic!
Profile Image for Nugzar Kotua.
137 reviews8 followers
January 3, 2020
Забавный роман Верна, в конце несколько скомканный и очень фантастичный... В повествовании можество "географических" ошибок и фантазий. Обожаю Жюля Верна, но это недостойно быть продолжением "Истории Артура Гордона Пима..."
Profile Image for Beka Adamashvili.
Author 2 books424 followers
July 24, 2020
თუ ედგარ ალან პოს "ნანტაკეტელი არტურ გორდონ პიმის ნაამბობი" არ გაქვთ წაკითხული, ამ წიგნს გემოს ნაკლებად ჩაატანთ, რადგან მისი ერთ-ერთი მთავარი ხიბლი სწორედ ისაა, რომ ჟიულ ვერნიმ ჯერ კიდევ მოდერნიზმის გარიჟრაჟზე უკვე პოსტმოდერნისტული ელემენტები შემოიტანა რომანში.

ედგარ ალან პოს ნაწარმოები ბუნდოვნად, კვანძის შეკვრის გარეშე სრულდება, რისი ფუნქციაც, ალბათ, სწორედ ისაა, რომ მოთხრობილ ამბავს მეტი რეალისტურობა შესძინოს. თუმცა, ჟიულ ვერნისთვის ეს ბუნდოვანება ახალი რომანის ინსპირაციად იქცა და პოს ფიქცია აქცია რეალობად იმისათვის, რომ საკუთარი ფიქცია შეექმნა და მისი კვანძი თავად შეეკრა.

რომანი ორ ნაწილად იყოფა: პირველ ნაწილში მთავარი გმირები იმ ეკიპაჟის მარშრუტს მიჰყვებიან, რომელიც ედგარ ალან პოს რომანის მიხედვით თერთმეტი წლით ადრე დაკარგულმა მეზღვაურებმა გაიარეს. ეს ნაწილი დუნეა, ოდნავ მოსაწყენი და იმდენად ვიკიპედიური, რომ ინფორმაციის ზედოზირების და გვერდების გამოტოვების საფრთხეს ქმნის. მეორე ნაწილში კი ის ჟიულ ვერნი ბრუნდება, ბავშვობის სათავგადასავლო წიგნებიდან რომ გვიყვარს და ყველაფერი [ოკეანის] კალაპოტში დგება.

დასასრული ცოტა მოსხლეტილია, თითქოს ავტორი თხრობით თვითონვე დაიღალა და გრძელი სიტყვა მოკლედ მოჭრა. მეორე მხრივ კი შესაძლოა ესეც ერთგვარი ირონიული გადათამაშებაა პოს რომანის დასასრულისა, რომელსაც მთელი თხრობის განმავლობაში გაურკვევლობის გამო აკრიტიკებს და თავად კი მთავარ კვანძს ასევე მკითხველის ფანტაზიას ანდობს.

p.s: ჟიულ ვერნი თურმე ძალიან ჰგავს აკაკი წერეთელს.

251 reviews2 followers
July 12, 2010
I wanted to see how Verne could have found a way out of the impossible corner Poe so vividly painted himself into with The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Inevitably Verne was forced to reject a few details of Poe's work (partially by asserting that Poe had no contact with Pym - only with a manuscript brought to him by Dirk Peters). Peters is a major character in Verne's novel which makes an effort to be consonant with the 1890's state of knowledge about Antarctica without completely rejecting Poe's made-up geography. Some pseudoscientific hokum about magnetism plus lots of sincere admiration of Poe's genius help make this an amusing sequel. Verne makes use of Pym's dog, Tiger, to good effect - he single-handedly (pawedly?) eliminates the entire tribe of nefarious natives from Tsalal Island! Written late in Verne's career, the story makes some interesting references to reliance on Divine Providence which I supposed might have reflected Verne's humility in facing the manifestly impossible task he imposed on himself.
Profile Image for Margo.
814 reviews2 followers
July 9, 2016
Having read and enjoyed some of Jules Vernes more well known works years back, I was a bit surprised at the slow start to this story. I was about 2/3 the way through, and on the verge of quitting, when I began to be gripped by it. But oh, what a disappointing start!

A huge chunk of the early part of this book is taken up with a summary of the E.A.Poe tale The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and I would say to anyone looking for an Antarctic read, that that book may well be a better proposition although the terms used in both stories would be deemed racist and unacceptable by modern readers.

When the action finally starts it is with the touch of adventure and foresight that one would expect of this visionary author. A real taste on Antarctica.
Profile Image for Lane.
111 reviews3 followers
August 6, 2007
In theory, this sounds kind of neat. Huh, so Jules Verne wrote a sequel to a story by Edgar Allen Poe? Sounds interesting, especially given the bizarre, Lovecraftian ending of Poe's novella. But where Lovecraft was obviously influenced by Poe's work (just look at the abrupt ending dealing with a surreal, potentially god-like entity, or the fact that Lovecraft took a similar plot for his At the Mountains of Madness and even directly borrowed the cry of "tekeli-li" in that story from Poe), Verne seems to have read Pym's adventures and thought, "you know, that was fine and all, but wouldn't it be better without all that mystery and weirdness? And it takes place in the Antarctic? It sure could use some more ice."
Profile Image for jayson.
58 reviews
March 29, 2010
This book took some extra reading, for after the first chapter you soon find it is a sequel to Edgar Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket". So I had to put it aside and read Pym first. I recommend reading them in order.

So now, a review. I like what Mr. Verne has done with Mr. Poe's story. I really cannot say much about it without giving away the interesting bit about it however. It is a fitting sequel and well worth a read.
Profile Image for Daniel Genís Mas.
Author 16 books84 followers
July 13, 2021
Esforçada continuació de 'Les aventures d'Arthur Gordon Pym' per obra i gràcia del grandíssim Jules Verne. Sorprenentment, però, el pare dels viatges extraordinaris va preferir aquí fornir una història ancorada en el realisme i la versemblança, que s'allarga prop... de 400 pàgines (!) excessivament descriptives i anodines. Tot això per, al final, desvelar tots els misteris (inclòs el parador del pobre Pym) d'una revolada i amb presses. Ni l'acuradíssima traducció del mestre Munné-Jordà aconsegueix enlairar aquesta novel·la a l'Olimp de la seva predecessora. Però també és veritat que, malgrat tot, alguns lectors la puguin trobar una entretinguda lectura marinera per a les tardes d'estiu.
Profile Image for Roger Burk.
558 reviews37 followers
August 26, 2018
Our hero comes to believe that Edgar Allen Poe's Arthur Gordan Pym is not a literary creation but a real person, and joins an expedition to search for survivors of his expedition in the open and ice-free sea that unaccountably exists behind the wall of icebergs that usually blocks voyages to the South Pole. Less horror that Poe, maybe just as many improbable coincidences.
Profile Image for Joel Fernández.
178 reviews8 followers
July 14, 2025
Cómo me gusta leer las novelas de Verne, sobretodo cuando hay barcos, con gmaps abierto buscando todas las islas y lugares que vas nombrando.
Profile Image for Xavier Marturet.
Author 48 books26 followers
May 1, 2019
Comencé a leer esta novela de Jules Verne al descubrir que era la segunda de la conocida como "Trilogía de la Antártida". Al parecer el final tan desconcertante de la novela de Poe indignó un poco al escritor francés (así lo comenta en un ensayo sobre Poe de 1864), y no fue hasta tres décadas más tarde cuando decidió poner un punto final más completo a aquella aventura.

La previa lectura de la novela de Edgard Allan Poe "La narración de Arthur Gordon Pym de Nantucket" (1838) me dejó muy buen sabor de boca, y una continuación con la calidad de Verne era demasiada tentación, así que me sumergí en esas páginas.

Uno de los problemas de la lectura de este libro es que originalmente (1897) se publicó por entregas a lo largo de todo un año. Esto se nota en el ritmo, donde hay mucho recordatorio de lo sucedido en capítulos anteriores. Le pasó lo mismo a Poe en su día, pues también publicó por entregas en a principios de 1937 (concretamente en el Southern Literary Messenger), y eso se percibe en la lectura.
También existe un capítulo especialmente prescindible si se ha leído la novela de Poe. Si a lo largo de la historia se rememora lo sucedido en aquella novela, existe un capítulo que es un resumen completo de lo sucedido en ella. Adecuado para quien no la haya leído, pero redundante para quien sí lo haya hecho.

Al igual que Poe, hay momentos de la historia donde existe un exceso de descripción de flora y fauna, así como de detalles técnicos relacionados con la navegación. Esto, al igual que le sucediera a Poe, rompe un poco el ritmo de lectura. Es bueno que se incluyan dichos detalles, pero realizado sucede como con cualquier cosa que se aplica en exceso: roza lo innecesario.
Soy consciente de que en el siglo XIX era agradable y bien recibido por lectores y editores que una persona con conocimientos adquiridos en sus viajes los reflejara en sus escritos. No sé si fue el caso de Poe, pero Jules Verne sí que llegó a una etapa en su vida, ya consolidada su firma, en la que se convirtió en un viajero marino redomado. Establecido como escritor de prestigio, decidió viajar y tomar nota de todo lo nuevo y exótico y lo reflejaba en sus novelas, donde la dosis de documental nunca faltaba y reforzaba la popularidad de sus títulos.

La historia en sí no dista en calidad a la de su predecesor en la trilogía, y su final (que obviaré desvelar aquí) quizá no sea tan sorprendente como el de Poe, pero no resulta decepcionante en absoluto. Quizá sea el punto culminante de la historia, pero llegado a él comprendes que quizá es más interesante todo el viaje a lo largo de los capítulos que la conclusión final en sí misma.

La próxima lectura con la que concluiré la trilogía será una relectura realmente: "Las montañas de la locura" (1936), pues H. P. Lovecraft decidió escribir también al respecto. Y aunque conste que se publicó en 1936, hay que tener presente que realmente la escribió cinco años antes, pero fue rechazada por ser demasiado extensa para su publicación seriada en Weird Tales. Es decir, faltó poco para que la tercera entrega de la trilogía también hubiera nacido previamente en una revista por entregas.

Y puestos a rizar el rizo, tengo prevista la lectura también de "How we found Dick Peters" (1889), de Charles Romyn Dake, y ahí pondré punto y final, a pesar de teorías que nos pueden llegar a posteriori a otros títulos.
Claro que nunca está de más releer algún relato corto como "Who goes there?" de John W. Campbell.
Profile Image for Czarny Pies.
2,805 reviews1 follower
September 15, 2015
I read Le Sphinix des Glaces immediately after the novel to which it is a sequel, that-is-to-say Edgar Allen Poe’s “Adverntures of Arthur Gordon Pym”. I believe that this is the best if not the only way to enjoy “Le Sphinx des Glaces.” Certainly I strongly advise against reading “Le Sphinix” to anyone who has not read “Pym” within the previous five years. “Le Sphinx” is more strongly coupled to “”Pym” that “Wide Saragosa Sea” is to “Jane Eyre.” In both cases, one needs to read the book that inspired the second first.
I would also advise against reading “Le Sphinix” to anyone who is not a fan of Jules Verne. From what I can see from the other reviews on GoodReads, the Poe fans who were not also Verne fans were incensed by what Verne did in his sequel.
I am a fan of Jules Verne and essentially agree with what he did. “The Adventures Arthur Gordon Pym” is a great book but a botched novel. It is Poe’s first work of fiction and possesses all the delights that one encounters in a collection of his short stories. Bizarre and grotesque scenes arrive one after another dazzling the reader. Poe in fact almost succeeds in converting a series of short stories into a novel. Pym is a complex character and his relations with several of the other characters acquire great depth and complexity. The problem is the plot. Poe writes his hero into a cul-de-sac and then abruptly ends the book in a completely incompetent manner telling the reader that three chapters are missing from Pym’s manuscript which may possibly re-appear to properly explain how Pym’s adventures finally ended.
To explain his decision to write a sequel, Verne writes. “This is a truly bizarre novel written by the greatest author of the New World. The ending is utterly clumsy. In truth there is no ending. After having written a wonderful sequence of extraordinary adventures, Poe suddenly found himself in a position from which he could not exit. Thus he simply stopped writing stating the Pym had died and that three chapters had been lost from his manuscript.”
("Tel est ce bizarre roman, enfanté par le génie ultrahumain du plus grand poète du Nouveau Monde. C'est ainsi qu'il se termine, .. ou plutot qu'il se termine pas. À mon avis, dans l'impuissance d'imaginer un dénouement à de si extraordinaires aventures, on comprend qu'Edgar Poe ait interrompu leur récit par la mort soudaine de son héros tout en laissant esperer qui si l'on retrouve jamais les deux ou trois chapitres qui manquent, ils seront livrés au public.")
Verne succeeds in writing a credible sequel to Pym. He recreates the same mood as in Poe’s novel and also presents an interesting string of mysterious or fantastic events. However, unlike Poe who ended his novel on a tragic note, Verne gives the reader what might be considered a happy ending. In both books, the death count is very high and the human suffering is great. Personally I found reading “The Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym” and “Le Sphinx des Glaces” to have been great fun. Verne’s fans should consider reading the two books together. Poe’s fans are much less likely to enjoy the game.

My four star rating is for the complete set (Pym and Sphinx). There is no point to reading Sphinx on its own.



Profile Image for Rebecca.
217 reviews
February 10, 2017
In so many ways, a fantasy story unlike any real Antarctic adventure, but then, that's the draw. In short, a ship and crew guided primarily by divine providence (for lack of any other explanation) set out to the South Pole on a mission to rescue the previously supposed fictional characters of Edgar Allen Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Not a lot happens until the end and the book relies heavily on the original story's mysteries to keep interest. How did Dirk Peters survive to bring the narrative to Poe and what did he do after? What happened to Tiger, the dog that was abruptly left out of the story? Did everyone else die in the landslide? What of families back home when they did not return? Etc. Verne came up with answers that make enough sense and are slowly doled out over the course of the book.

At the same time, I feel like he didn't want this to be the end either, as additional mystery was left unsolved, artifacts and possibilities for future adventure were planted. I feel like the last line of the book was an invitation to future authors to pick up the torch, possibly even a hopeful title. Unfortunately, having actually discovered the South Pole, and finding all this to be utterly fictitious, I don't think anyone ever will. Which is a shame really. A story started by Poe and passed to Verne would have been an amazing thing for another great author to put their hand to.
Profile Image for Jesse.
1,195 reviews13 followers
November 1, 2012
Having read "the Narative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantuckett", I really liked this book. However, knowing the back story so well, it did also hinder the story a bit. (you don't have to read the Poe book if you don't want to. There is an excellent summary of the story in chapter 4 of Verne's book)

This book picks up 7 years after Poe's book. There are great new characters (though they take on the roles of old characterss, almost too seamlessly) and reintroductions of old characters, and for the most part I really enjoyed the character development.

In a somewhat a-typical style for Verne, there is very little science in this book (except at the very end), and mostly focuses on human drama between the men on the ship. Suprisingly, he does a great job at this.

The only thing that was a little bit of a bummer is that Verne ties up the loose ends that Poe left. While this sounds like it would be a good idea, it actually takes away from the mystery of the original text; what was science fiction simply becomes science.

All and all, totally worth the time, and if you've read Poe's "Pym" concider how much you want to know...
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