20 Million Leagues Over the Sea

by K.T. Hunter

Book 1 of "The Nemo Paradox"


More than fifty years after Captain Nemo sank into a watery grave -
Two decades after the last Martian Invader fell to pestilence -
Earth is ready to avenge her orphaned children.


Born to fly: The starship Thunder Child's Fury is the child of Nemo's ingenuity and Martian cunning. After a disastrous maiden voyage, can she sail the solar winds to Mars?


Born to lead: Christophe Moreau, her commander, has trained for this mission since childhood. He has mastered the sea. Can he tame the wilderness of space?


Born to spy: Gemma Llewellyn, member of the Scientific Cohort, has trained for an entirely different mission. Haunted by her past, will she obey her masters or follow her own path?


With dark forces aligning against the brave crew of the Fury and her mission, will they even survive the journey?


A romp in the combined universes of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, this novel also aims to be a bit of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters in space. I hope everyone will enjoy this tale, especially those readers who are new to the science fiction and steampunk genres.


This is the first book in a trilogy, "The Nemo Paradox".
Book 1 - "Twenty Million Leagues Over the Sea" - New Release
Book 2 - "The Mysterious Planet of Captain Moreau" - Planned
Book 3 - "The Invisible Woman" - Planned

Genres: Science Fiction, Steampunk

311 pages, ebook

First published August 14, 2015

About the author

K.T. Hunter is a lifelong fan of reading just about anything she can get her hands on, from science fiction (her first love) to science fact, from alternate history to art history and true crime. She credits her parents' encouragement of her creativity and their own love of Star Trek as the spark that lit her literary dreams. She received her B.S. in Computer Science from UT-Chattanooga in 1993 and worked as a computer instructor and software developer in the insurance industry for the better part of two decades. Now she writes full time as an author with Twin Cedars Enterprises, along with her husband and fellow author, T. D. Raufson. She self-published her first novel, "20 Million Leagues Over the Sea", in 2015. The second book of that series, "The Mysterious Planet of Captain Moreau", was published in early 2019. Book 3, "The Invisible Woman", is a work in progress. Her hope is to write an exciting series with diverse characters that expose the reader to the history of science, especially the role of women in that history.

Reviews

[Hákon Gunnarsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads giveaway and would like to thank the author for my autographed copy. The reason why I entered the giveaways was that I'm interested in The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, and books that are somehow related to that classic. 20 Million Leagues Over the Sea is a sequel to TWotW.

I have read a few of those, but this is among my favorite sequels so far. It is a steampunk novel that uses works by Wells and Jules Verne into it's world building, and they fit quite well together. It all comes together in a very interesting time line.

It kept my interest all the way from the start to finish, but it does take a little time to get going. The romance, the introduction of the characters and the world takes a bit of time. So it may not be right for those that are looking for non stop action. Still it has got a good mood, interesting characters and an interesting story line so I thought it worked well. And things pick up as one get further into the story and becomes exciting. The author is working with a twist to stories by Wells and Verne that I find fascinating.

It is a very good start to a series because in the end I just wanted to continue with this story, but book 2 isn't out yet. When it does I will definitely read it. I really would like to know where this will lead to.

[Sandi Faulconbridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic read. I got to the end, and all I could think was .... Nooooooooo it can't end now!!!!!

I love the concept of this book. Sci-fi and Steampunk (with a bit of mystery, suspense & espionage thrown in) based on one of our much lived classics - 20 Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Brilliantly done. A completely new and unique story that relates/includes snippets of the classic, has a good amount of scientific story-line, and makes us dream of travelling to The Red Planet ourselves. Makes me want to read the original again.

Hunter's description of the series describes it so well : "A romp in the combined universes of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, this novel also aims to be a bit of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters in space".

There are a lot of references to good old New Zealand (yay us!!!), that I thought for a while the author was a Kiwi. No she's not, she lives in Tennessee, but I'm sure we can adopt her :-)

The first book in The Nemo Paradox series is a must-read.

Thanks K.T. Hunter for an awesome book. Glad you dipped your toes into a new genre :-)

[K.S. Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the amazing pleasure of beta reading this novel. I'm an English Instructor and teach both British lit and Science Fiction. So, a book that picks up where H.G. Wells leaves off with War of the Worlds and mixes in elements from Jules Verne was a dream come true. The story is well-paced, the characters are exciting, yet relatable, and the protagonist is a bad ass woman who is not caught up in many of the tropes we find with female characters in SF. If this is ever made into a movie, and it definitely should, I'll be sorely disappointed if Tom Hiddleston doesn't play Christophe Moreau. If you read the book, you'll understand why I say this. I'd recommend this for old school SF fans, Brit lit enthusiasts, and those who enjoy a bit of steampunk.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story. As a fan of HG Wells and Jules Vern this story slotted right in between them. The melding of Steampunk and Sci-Fi was a different concept than I’ve read before.

It was a bit slow in the beginning but got better. At times it felt convoluted but the story straightened its self out nicely.

Great characters, very detailed story, the rest of the series should be interesting.

[Renato Brazioli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice steampunk adventure, somewhat slow, with too many threads to explore.

In the end, I'm somewhat deluded, the story is quite promising but very diluted, and some of the threads are barely touched.

I'm always intrigued by new stories built on the framework of classical works, like "The war of the worlds", unfortunately, my expectations typically fall short.

And "20 Million Leagues Over the sea" doesn't get a distinctive score.

[M]

Interesting, unusual and very well written--I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Admittedly at first, I kept thinking when are we going to get to the point where something is actually happening, as I read through the setup and descriptions of the time place, and people, but the author does describe things very well, and is a definite wordsmith. Most people will run across at least a word or 2 they are not familiar with and more than a few you don't see often- but they are all used properly! The quality of writing is excellent. For those who are rubbed the wrong way by typos, misuse of words, conflicting verb tenses, the inability to properly write out and punctuate a conversation, etc. fear not! That is certainly not always the case with some modern authors, so I relaxed, enjoyed the quality of the interesting descriptions and kept reading and am so glad I did. And it is worth attending to the setting of scenes in this early part of the book and remembering things.
The setting is a world on earth in the 1800s which due to an attack from aliens repulsed at great cost, gained some scientific information such as we find in our own future, or beyond today, and yet at the same time their society actually seem to have gone backwards or static in some things. There are bits of mystery concerning characters and situations that are gradually unraveled, and the ebb and flow of relationships. At times there is great sorrow and great courage among the characters, and various surprises along the way
When interest was captured, it was held to the very last sentence of the story- and I like another reviewer came looking for the sequel. The mysteries and relationships are worked out, but with that last sentence, a whole new situation opens up so the book is not a cliffhanger, and yet you feel that you, like the characters in the scene, have just stepped off the edge into the next startling phase.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, this book is only at-history due to the time period. Second, the author took many fantasy liberties creating an amazing world and cast of characters.
Third, this is an actual adventure story for all readers! No sex, it's not gory, no cursing, but it is a little nail-biting at times. What great story isn't?!
I received this as a gift, and I'm going to get the next one without delay! I didn't expect to enjoy this book half as much as I did. You won't be disappointed taking a chance on this one!

[Angel Ballard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic story!
This is one of the most fascinating and detailed stories I have read. The characters are full of life and pull you in. You become so involved that the world around you disappears. I couldn't put it down until way later than I should have. And couldn't wait to get back to it to immerse myself in one of the best stories ever written by modern day authors! I can't wait to read the next book continuing the story.

[Bryan Beal · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great steampunk story that really stands in the tradition of Wells and Verne, and continues that legacy! 20 Million Leagues Over the Sea is an immersive story and the characters are exceptionally developed. I loved this read!