What do you think?
Rate this book
Captain Antifer
Captain Antifer's father had befriended an Egyptian prisoner at Jaff [Jaffa], Kamylk Pasha, and many years after he received a mysterious document naming latitude 24 degrees 59 minutes north, and saying that the longitude would follow later. It never did; but Antifer succeeded in discovering it, and had a series of most exciting adventures in searching for the wealth which was to be found on the spot indicated.
324 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1894
6 people are currently reading
565 people want to read
About the author
Jules Verne
6,334 books12k followersNovels 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...
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...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 27, 2025
Jules Verne bizi Fransadan aldı ve Afrikaya, oradan da Norveçe doğru yolculuğa çıkardı. Bir hazinenin arayışında Saint Malolu Kaptan Thomas Antiferin ve arkadaşlarının yolculuk maceralarını, on dokuzuncu yüzyıl dünyasının köşelerini okumak gerçekten bütün zevkti arkadaşlar. Verne okumak adeta bir terapi gibi. Verne severler kaçırmamalı bence.
December 3, 2025
Story feel kinda off with too much description and too little happening
May 12, 2021
În acea dimineaţă de 9 Septembrie 1831, căpitanul ieşi din cabină la orele 6 şi se urcă pe dunetă.
Soarele se ivea la răsărit – mai bine zis refracţia razelor sale se înălţa deasupra păturilor joase ale atmosferei, fiindcă discul său mai întârzia sub orizont.
O prelungă dâră de aburi luminoşi mângâia suprafaţa mării, larg vălurită de vântul de dimineaţă cu un plescăit abia auzit.
După o noapte liniştită, se părea că ziua va fi frumoasă, una din acele zile de septembrie de care se bucură uneori, către sfârşitul sezonului cald, zona temperată.
Căpitanul îşi potrivi luneta la ochiul drept şi, făcând o jumătate de întoarcere, plimbă obiectivul pe circumferinţa de-a lungul căreia marea se contopea cu cerul.
Lăsând apoi luneta jos, se apropie de omul de la cârmă, un bătrân cu barba zbârlită, a cărui privire ageră răzbătea de sub pleoapele care tot clipeau.
— Când ai intrat în cart? îl întrebă.
— La ora patru, căpitane.
Cei doi bărbaţi vorbeau o limbă destul de aspră pe care niciun european, englez, francez, german sau de alt neam, nu ar fi recunoscut-o, afară doar dacă ar fi trecut vreodată prin agenţiile comerciale din Levant. Trebuie că era un fel de dialect turc amestecat cu siriana.
— Nimic nou?
— Nimic, căpitane.
— Şi nicio corabie în zare, de astăzi dimineaţă?…
— Una singură… o corabie mare cu trei catarge, care ne venea din coastă, împotriva vântului. Am făcut un sfert de întoarcere pe dunga vântului, ca să trec cât mai departe posibil.
— Bine ai făcut. Şi acum?…
Căpitanul cercetă cu o deosebită atenţie orizontul de jur împrejur. Apoi:
— Pregătiţi-vă să viraţi! strigă el cu un glas puternic.
Soarele se ivea la răsărit – mai bine zis refracţia razelor sale se înălţa deasupra păturilor joase ale atmosferei, fiindcă discul său mai întârzia sub orizont.
O prelungă dâră de aburi luminoşi mângâia suprafaţa mării, larg vălurită de vântul de dimineaţă cu un plescăit abia auzit.
După o noapte liniştită, se părea că ziua va fi frumoasă, una din acele zile de septembrie de care se bucură uneori, către sfârşitul sezonului cald, zona temperată.
Căpitanul îşi potrivi luneta la ochiul drept şi, făcând o jumătate de întoarcere, plimbă obiectivul pe circumferinţa de-a lungul căreia marea se contopea cu cerul.
Lăsând apoi luneta jos, se apropie de omul de la cârmă, un bătrân cu barba zbârlită, a cărui privire ageră răzbătea de sub pleoapele care tot clipeau.
— Când ai intrat în cart? îl întrebă.
— La ora patru, căpitane.
Cei doi bărbaţi vorbeau o limbă destul de aspră pe care niciun european, englez, francez, german sau de alt neam, nu ar fi recunoscut-o, afară doar dacă ar fi trecut vreodată prin agenţiile comerciale din Levant. Trebuie că era un fel de dialect turc amestecat cu siriana.
— Nimic nou?
— Nimic, căpitane.
— Şi nicio corabie în zare, de astăzi dimineaţă?…
— Una singură… o corabie mare cu trei catarge, care ne venea din coastă, împotriva vântului. Am făcut un sfert de întoarcere pe dunga vântului, ca să trec cât mai departe posibil.
— Bine ai făcut. Şi acum?…
Căpitanul cercetă cu o deosebită atenţie orizontul de jur împrejur. Apoi:
— Pregătiţi-vă să viraţi! strigă el cu un glas puternic.
April 29, 2020
A fun morality tale.
A search for burried treasure left by an eccentric Egyptian millionaire to one captain Antifer and his descendents after being rescued by that man.
The characters are fairly one note but the point is a cautionary tale about greed and is not really focused on them.
It has a science based twist ending that only Jules Verne would come up with but it is not an outstanding one by any means. If the book was paced better I would rate it higher but its a little long for what the plot ultimately becomes and could have been shortened.
If you are familar with latitude and longitude you might get more out of it. I would reccomend it for three types of readers. Naval buffs, lovers of Jules Verne, and those who enjoy an obsessive main character as Captain Antifer is certainly that and has his moments.
A search for burried treasure left by an eccentric Egyptian millionaire to one captain Antifer and his descendents after being rescued by that man.
The characters are fairly one note but the point is a cautionary tale about greed and is not really focused on them.
It has a science based twist ending that only Jules Verne would come up with but it is not an outstanding one by any means. If the book was paced better I would rate it higher but its a little long for what the plot ultimately becomes and could have been shortened.
If you are familar with latitude and longitude you might get more out of it. I would reccomend it for three types of readers. Naval buffs, lovers of Jules Verne, and those who enjoy an obsessive main character as Captain Antifer is certainly that and has his moments.
July 31, 2017
Ho letto vari libri di Verne e a malincuore devo dire che questo romanzo è deludente. I primi capitoli lasciavano ben sperare, ma poi la trama si regge tutta su pochi colpi di scena inframezzati da tanta noia e prevedibilità, con troppe informazioni inutili nel contesto del racconto (in inglese si usa il termine infodump). Antifer non sono proprio riuscito a farmelo piacere, e un protagonista antipatico uccide un romanzo, a parte rare eccezioni in cui l'approfondimento psicologico rende comunque il personaggio interessante, ma non è certo questo il caso.
August 22, 2022
(40) Mirifiques Aventures de Maître Antifer (Captain Antifer, 1894) (2 volumes) 99K words
The 40th Extraordinary Voyage takes us on a treasure hunt around the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The use of coordinates and other geographical clues that the characters are trying to follow is reminiscent of "In Search of the Castaways", although in that case the objective was finding people whose ship had been lost.
First read or reread?: First read for me.
What is it about?: Because of a noble deed committed by his father, Captain Antifer expects to someday receive the legacy of wealthy Egyptian, Kamylk Pasha, who his father helped many years before. To receive this legacy, first Antifer must await receiving the longitude that accompanies the latitude that he already possesses. It arrives in the form of Egyptian notary, Ben Omar (who must be present when the legacy is uncovered) and his "assistant" Nazim. Nazim is actually Saouk, son of Kamylk's treacherous cousin. He feels the legacy is rightly his and he only waits for the right time to steal it all. The Egyptians, along with Antifer, his nephew Juhel (who only desires to marry Antifer's niece Enogate) and family friend Tregomain journey to the Gulf of Oman to uncover the legacy. Unfortunately, the quest turns out to be longer and much more complicated than they had anticipated.
People do not generally think of Verne as a funny writer, but some of his novels have a comical streak or a touch of irony, while still being interesting as adventure stories. Novels like "From the Earth to the Moon", "Tribulations of a Chinaman in China" or "Godfrey Morgan" have that comedy element.
The humor in "Captain Antifer", however, reminded me of "Kéraban the Inflexible", because it's based on the explosive personality of a stubborn, irate, energetic, unreasonable main character. I found Antifer funnier than Kéraban, though, because the supporting cast here plays off against his personality to better effect. We do get the same kind of family members and friends who try to appease the stubborn hero, but we also get a bunch of villains and collaborators/rivals who are the perfect target for Antifer's wrath and biting remarks.
On the adventure side, this novel is less inspired. We get the typical Vernian travels and description of places, and the locations are exotic enough, but it feels as if we never get too far away from civilization, which makes it feel less adventurous. There are two reasons for that: one is that Western-style civilization had indeed grown during Verne's lifetime (he was 66 when he published this), and the other is that the locations visited are always by the sea, which makes them more reachable.
Don't get the idea that there's no adventure, though. There is, including both human obstacles and some typically Vernian unlikely behavior of wild animals. But this one is not among the most inspired Extraordinary Voyages in this sense. Of course, the fact that there is a lot of discussions and interaction between the characters doesn't help make it move faster, although it does make it funnier. I even laughed out loud (which is unusual for me when reading Verne) at the surrealistic meeting between the treasure hunters and the radical anti-wealth priest whose help they needed. Verne, of course, makes fun of both the extremist priest and the greedy treasure seekers.
The novel does feature some interesting twists at the end, including a weird final location which, to my surprise, turns out to be a real place, depicted accurately. Many of Verne's early novels have very nice twist endings, but you don't find them so often his later novels.
Enjoyment factor: I had fun reading this, but possibly it's one I would recommend to people who are already Verne fans, because some readers might get bored at the description of places when it's not accompanied by a fast-moving adventure. Or, at least, not as fast-moving as other Verne novels, which are never very long. I found the treasure hunt aspect rather interesting, though, and was eager to find out how it would all end.
Next up: Propeller Island, aka The Floating Island
See all my Verne reviews here: https://www.sffworld.com/forum/thread...
The 40th Extraordinary Voyage takes us on a treasure hunt around the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The use of coordinates and other geographical clues that the characters are trying to follow is reminiscent of "In Search of the Castaways", although in that case the objective was finding people whose ship had been lost.
First read or reread?: First read for me.
What is it about?: Because of a noble deed committed by his father, Captain Antifer expects to someday receive the legacy of wealthy Egyptian, Kamylk Pasha, who his father helped many years before. To receive this legacy, first Antifer must await receiving the longitude that accompanies the latitude that he already possesses. It arrives in the form of Egyptian notary, Ben Omar (who must be present when the legacy is uncovered) and his "assistant" Nazim. Nazim is actually Saouk, son of Kamylk's treacherous cousin. He feels the legacy is rightly his and he only waits for the right time to steal it all. The Egyptians, along with Antifer, his nephew Juhel (who only desires to marry Antifer's niece Enogate) and family friend Tregomain journey to the Gulf of Oman to uncover the legacy. Unfortunately, the quest turns out to be longer and much more complicated than they had anticipated.
People do not generally think of Verne as a funny writer, but some of his novels have a comical streak or a touch of irony, while still being interesting as adventure stories. Novels like "From the Earth to the Moon", "Tribulations of a Chinaman in China" or "Godfrey Morgan" have that comedy element.
The humor in "Captain Antifer", however, reminded me of "Kéraban the Inflexible", because it's based on the explosive personality of a stubborn, irate, energetic, unreasonable main character. I found Antifer funnier than Kéraban, though, because the supporting cast here plays off against his personality to better effect. We do get the same kind of family members and friends who try to appease the stubborn hero, but we also get a bunch of villains and collaborators/rivals who are the perfect target for Antifer's wrath and biting remarks.
On the adventure side, this novel is less inspired. We get the typical Vernian travels and description of places, and the locations are exotic enough, but it feels as if we never get too far away from civilization, which makes it feel less adventurous. There are two reasons for that: one is that Western-style civilization had indeed grown during Verne's lifetime (he was 66 when he published this), and the other is that the locations visited are always by the sea, which makes them more reachable.
Don't get the idea that there's no adventure, though. There is, including both human obstacles and some typically Vernian unlikely behavior of wild animals. But this one is not among the most inspired Extraordinary Voyages in this sense. Of course, the fact that there is a lot of discussions and interaction between the characters doesn't help make it move faster, although it does make it funnier. I even laughed out loud (which is unusual for me when reading Verne) at the surrealistic meeting between the treasure hunters and the radical anti-wealth priest whose help they needed. Verne, of course, makes fun of both the extremist priest and the greedy treasure seekers.
The novel does feature some interesting twists at the end, including a weird final location which, to my surprise, turns out to be a real place, depicted accurately. Many of Verne's early novels have very nice twist endings, but you don't find them so often his later novels.
Enjoyment factor: I had fun reading this, but possibly it's one I would recommend to people who are already Verne fans, because some readers might get bored at the description of places when it's not accompanied by a fast-moving adventure. Or, at least, not as fast-moving as other Verne novels, which are never very long. I found the treasure hunt aspect rather interesting, though, and was eager to find out how it would all end.
Next up: Propeller Island, aka The Floating Island
See all my Verne reviews here: https://www.sffworld.com/forum/thread...
June 8, 2017
Novela entretenida para pasar el rato y no mucho más que eso.
October 9, 2018
One of Verne's less serious books, but entertaining nonetheless.
March 8, 2023
Julio Verne es el maestro de la aventura. Si bien este libro no es de sus más logrados, tiene los ingredientes de la receta de Verne: suspenso, acción, descripciones y humor.
April 4, 2023
Solo puedo decir WOW
November 19, 2023
Данное произведение практически не известно широкому читателю. Однако, это незаслуженно. Очень интересная и захватывающая книга с интересным сюжетом.
May 27, 2024
This is what i think of when someone mentions adventure!! Also the ending was really satifying
January 27, 2025
Gelesen in der stark gekürzten und bearbeiteten Ausgabe von Fischer.
March 2, 2020
A fun late 19th century sea and treasure adventure, with characters salty, warm, and conniving. Irony and humor blend with the suspense in a manner recognizably "Verne." Makes for a great audiobook while driving or doing menial work.
April 17, 2016
No la recordaba tan truño. En fin. Un Verne bastante menor que, pese a movernos por el Mediterráneo, África costera y los países nórdicos, apenas llena como otras obras de su juventud.
Eso sí, el truco y solución final sí que es del más puro estilo Verniano, aunque, ejem, valen cualesquiera tres, lo difícil es que los haya en los puntos adecuados.
Y lo peor de todo es que el final no es como lo recordaba. Supongo que son cosas de la edad, aunque estoy casi seguro de que en otras versiones acaba diferente...
Comentar que no he leído la edición citada, que también poseo, sino la de aproximadamente 1910 de Sáenz de Jubera, que es la misma que la anterior de Gaspar y Roig. Lo peor de la edición son las ilustraciones, que se adelantan mucho al texto, y que los cuadernillos están desbalanceandos, con unas 60 páginas los dos primeros y casi 90 el último.
Eso sí, el truco y solución final sí que es del más puro estilo Verniano, aunque, ejem, valen cualesquiera tres, lo difícil es que los haya en los puntos adecuados.
Y lo peor de todo es que el final no es como lo recordaba. Supongo que son cosas de la edad, aunque estoy casi seguro de que en otras versiones acaba diferente...
Comentar que no he leído la edición citada, que también poseo, sino la de aproximadamente 1910 de Sáenz de Jubera, que es la misma que la anterior de Gaspar y Roig. Lo peor de la edición son las ilustraciones, que se adelantan mucho al texto, y que los cuadernillos están desbalanceandos, con unas 60 páginas los dos primeros y casi 90 el último.
November 14, 2012
Místy to bylo skutečně zbytečně zdlouhavé, ale děj jakž takž ubíhá. Velmi oceňuji konec, který nikdo nemůže předvídat :-)
July 13, 2017
not bad, yet not good either
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews