Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas

by Ron Miller (Adapter), Jules Verne

Professor Pierre Aronnax is part of a team sent to investigate reports of a sea monster—suspected to be a narwhal—off the coast of New York. They soon discover that the monster is in fact a submarine called the Nautilus, headed by Captain Nemo, an enigmatic man who has withdrawn from the world. When Arronnax and his team are taken prisoner by Nemo, the Nautilus heads into the deepest fathoms of the seas where adventure and discovery await.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas is a science-fiction classic that has been adapted into numerous films, television episodes, comic books and graphic novels. This edition uses the 1991 F. P. Walter translation which restores a great deal of material that was cut in the original English translations of the work.

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Genres: Classics, Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure, Literature, Ebooks, Novels

48 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 1993

About the author

Ron Miller is an illustrator and author living in South Boston, Virginia. Before becoming a freelance illustrator in 1977, Miller was art director for the National Air & Space Museum's Albert Einstein Planetarium. Prior to this he was a commercial advertising illustrator. His primary work today entails the writing and illustration of books specializing in astronomical, astronautical and science fiction subjects. His special interest is in exciting young people about science, and in recent years has focused on writing books for young adults. To date he has more than 50 titles to his credit. His work has also appeared on scores of book jackets, book interiors and in magazines such as National Geographic, Reader's Digest, Scientific American, Smithsonian, Air & Space, Sky & Telescope, Newsweek, Natural History, Discover, Geo, etc.

Miller's books include the Hugo-nominated The Grand Tour, Cycles of Fire, In the Stream of Stars, and The History of Earth. All of have been Book-of-the-Month Club Feature Selections (as well as selections of the Science, Quality Paperback and Astronomy book clubs) and have seen numerous translations.

Considered an authority on Jules Verne, Miller translated and illustrated new, definitive editions of Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth as well as a major companion/atlas to Verne's works. He has worked as a consultant on Verne for Disney Imagineering and for A&E's Biography series.

Miller is also considered an authority on the early history of spaceflight. The Dream Machines, a comprehensive 744-page history of manned spacecraft, was nominated for the prestigious IAF Manuscript Award and won the Booklist Editor's Choice Award.

As an artist, Miller has designed a set of ten commemorative stamps for the U.S. Postal Service and has been a production illustrator for motion pictures, notably Dune and Total Recall. He has also done preproduction concepts, consultation and matte art for David Lynch, George Miller, John Ellis, UFO Films and James Cameron. He designed and co-directed the computer-generated show ride film, Impact! and has taken part in numerous international space art workshops and exhibitions, including seminal sessions held in Iceland and the Soviet Union (where he was invited by the Soviet government to take part in the 30th anniversary celebration of the launch of Sputnik). His original paintings are in numerous private and public collections, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Pushkin Museum (Moscow).

Reviews

[G.R. Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like visiting the fish counter together with a guy who's off his medication. But Mom says I loved it when I was six.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is hyped as a must-read book. Even considering all that has come after, it doesn't seem to be. It was boring and, fortunately, wasn't so long that I wasn't able to finish it. None of the characters seem to have any depth. The plot doesn't seem to exist: the whole of the books eems to be the narrator's assumptions of what is possible with technology being challenged by Captain Nemo. Perhaps it is a product of its time, when science and engineering had started to accelerate with culture and attitudes needing to be jolted into action to keep up.

[Jack Douse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This version Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas is a shortened copy of the original Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.

Professor Pierre Aronnax is sent out to the Atlantic Ocean to investigate and potentially kill an unknown monster suspected to be a large whale. His ship is punctured after hit by the unknown monster. During the commotion of the attack, he falls overboard. His assistant, Conseil, who follows him wherever he goes, Professor Arnnax, and Ned, a sailor find themselves floating on a big, black, metal island. When it starts sinking, they start screaming for help. Just before it is fully under water, it stops. Six men climb out of a hatch on the top. Days later, they are met by the captain, Captain Nemo, and find out they are aboard the Nautilus. Over the next few months, they meet Island Natives, travel to Atlantis, and fight Giant Squids.

This book was very entertaining. I thought the author did a great job rewriting this book and getting all the important points into a shorter book. I think this writing is entertaining. It is not persuading you to do or agree with anything and it's not real, so it's not informing of anything.

This is a great book. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good adventure.

[Wes Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great abridged version of a wonderful tale! And the illustrations in this edition (huge and full-color) are amazing. I just finished reading this to my daughters for bedtime story, and they both were engaged all through. ...Ok, the youngest fell asleep at the end, but she was into it until then.

[Alex Reborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being the first book of this kind that I read, I have to admit that I did not have any kind of expectation. It was simply curiosity which made me read my first Jules Verne novel and now I can tell for sure, it will not be the last.

Putting aside all the descriptions about the creatures of the deep oceans' world, I preferred to focus on the story and on the adventure. Firstly, it was easily imaginable to find myself inside the Nautilus, living each chapter along with the characters. The sea world appears to be an amazing place, both intriguing and dangerous, with high quantities of resources for human beings. The author raises the problem of people's destructive actions and the consumption of Earth's resources, which is rather interesting, given the fact that the book was published in 1870.

Furthermore, the mysterious Captain Nemo leaves a good amount of untold information and it might be frustrating not to know the real story behind his actions. I believe "The Mysterious Island" provides more valuable details on his life, so I will definitely read it as well. Finally, I was pleased to find out that the other characters managed to survive and to escape the submarine, finding their way into the "civilized world".

The entire adventure increased my interest for the underwater world and, most important, for science. It also changed my perspective on some aspects, freedom included, and I will gladly read other books written by Jules Verne, in search of new adventures and dangers of the world.

[Rowan Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. This book blew me away.

It's just so amazing. It's like a visual adventure on par with James Cameron's Avatar, but with a good plot line you can remember.

The vibrant images the author summons and creates to describe this bizarre Beauty and the Beast underwater adventure are astounding. Furthermore Verne's use of scientific terminology and theory wrapped me up in the adventure of science fiction as well as enveloped me in the excitement of scientific discovery that the late 19th century was so full of.

This tale of a fainting scientist, a timid yet devoted manservant, the rudest Canadian ever imagined, and a crazy genius billionaire playboy philanthropist kept my rapt in attention.

Possible actions moving forward: This should be like the first in depth big and great VR game, be super easy to do since the story is public domain. Also--- could be EASILY made a dating sim, I dare you to name a character Arronax doesn't have romantic tension with.

Downsides: Was there a single woman? There's a painting of a woman 3/4ths of the way through the book but the whole point of her was to be fridged.

Still overall 10/10 good book would recommend, worthy of being called a classic.

Downsides: Was there a single woman?

[Matt Berning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is widely perceived as a classic. In reading the work by Jules Verne, I would have to agree. As Professor Aronnax and his servant Conseil, along with harpooner Ned Land, partake in a journey with U.S. Navy vessels to rid the sea of a "monster" that was terrorizing ships, Arronax, Conseil, and Land are thrown overboard and come aboard the Nautilus, as guests of Captain Nemo. They explore the seas of the world and see things never seen by man. They visit the South Pole, Atlantis, and a coral graveyard, and have many hunts and fights. I would reccomend this book to people who are fans of classic novels that outlast time and are still relevant, even after 150 years.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago and as I sat down to read it again, I was reminded of what an amazing man author Jules Verne truly was and a visionary. At the time he wrote this book it was definitely science fiction and a lot of what he wrote is now science fact. This is a great adventure not to be missed as readers head into the depths of the ocean on a fantastic journey. This classic and this author's many others should be read and enjoyed by all.

[Brooke Hargett · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were things about this book that I enjoyed, but ultimately it didn't resonate with me like I was hoping. I read it for my book club and definitely appreciated it more after our discussion. I'm glad to have read another classic though!

[BrokenTune · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review posted on Booklikes:

http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/...

[Becky Holtan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. Very scientific and so wondrously descriptive. I felt and saw what Professor Aronnax described. Glad I finally got around to it. Probably better because it was an audio book:)

[Bhumi Devi Dasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jules Verne, although I find his writing very simple.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read the translation by David Coward and published by Penguin Books. The characters are so engaging, each chapter is a grand adventure and I liked learning about the futuristic technology ideas and the geography of the ocean floor.

[Derek McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always been a favorite of mine since childhood. I reread it periodically.

[Tony Rabiola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Undoubtably a great work of description. At times felt like Verne was just chucking a story together as an excuse to depict the incredible sea imagery he writes of.

[Morris]

Of its time. An undoubted classic when that is considered but has not aged well.

[Mark McTague · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back when imagination still ruled.

[Kike Rojas · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far this is the book that I've liked the least from Verne and it is not that is bad but just that it's so full of details of the underwater situations and specimens experienced and encountered by the profesor Annorax during his voyage that somehow I feel it hinders the plot. However I might be a little biased here since I like the sea but don't love it like others.
Being as hard as it was for me keep on reading I found myself let down by the ending which leaves too many thing unresolved and felt rushed compared with the overly detailed descriptions found theoughout the story.
All in all I still think it is a good book but just no one of my favourites.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was a tough read. It wasn't without its moments, but I had to slog through it.

The book's biggest fault is its lengthy cataloguing of various flora and fauna that Arronax, the main character, discovers aboard the Nautillus. You could easily cut out 1/4 of the book's length, with all its biological references and the book would be greatly improved. The book reads a little bit like a National Geographic documentary: they travel to a given place, Arronax observes a bunch of animals and birds, they have a small adventure, they move on to the next place.

I thought the book lacked development. I thought the characters could have used more depth. There was some good adventures, but they seemed to be over too soon, and we're back observing fish at the bottom of the sea. My biggest disappointment was the character Ned Land. He added a bit of spice to the book, but his character was completely unbelievable. Like Ned Land, my hometown is Quebec City. So from my perspective, the idea that a man by the name of Ned Land came from Quebec is quite unbelievable. And it's not just the fact that he had an English name, but that his name wasn't identifiably Scottish or Irish. He's supposed to be French Canadian, but he was referred to as an Anglo-Saxon and Protestant. So Verne seems to be confused about his own character. Verne also said that there was a fishery in Quebec City. That's completely untrue. I might have bought it had Land been born several hours down the St. Lawrence, but not Quebec City. If Verne had been serious about character development, he would have picked out a genuine French Canadian name and maybe did a bit better research. But the novel wasn't really about the characters but the story.

If you just want to know the story of 20 000 Leagues, read the comic book version. I think it would make a great read. If you don't have to read it, I don't recommend it, unless you're some marine biologist nerd or a taxonomist.

[Andrea Ika · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a huge and glowing sea monster attacks and wrecks several ships, French professor Arronax joins a US mission to hunt for the mysterious beast. The professor soon finds himself aboard the submarine 'Nautilus' and a "guest" of Captain Nemo who is intent on exploring the ocean depths.
The French title of this novel is Vingt mille lieues sous les mers. This is accurately translated as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the SEAS - rather than the SEA, as with many English editions. Verne's novel features a tour of the major oceans, and the term Leagues in its title is used as a measure not of depth but distance. (true story)

My thought
20,000 Leagues incorporates more science and technical explanation than any other science book I've yet read, and I can only imagine how riveted 1870's audiences were by his explanations of the Nautilius' electric engine, and his descriptions of what the waters of Earth contain and might contain.
Leagues isn't quite as readable as Around the World in 80 Days, and I don't quite know why. The abundance of scientific and technical descriptions contributes, but the translator approached the book knowing it was known for troublesome translations and so I must assume he would have earnest on making the book readable. Writing style was different to modern books and is a great example of how writing has changed over time.
Summary
Great read, it brings the underwater world into vivid pictures in your minds eye
If you love action adventure, you will love this. Scifi is slightly more complex due to its age. I recommend it.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It didn't "walk the dog for me" as a friend of my brother's used to say, but I enjoyed it. The best part about reading classics written in the 19th century is that it really wasn't that long ago. The writing style is similar to today, and you'll find some of the same themes of wonder, adventure, romance, and so on, which makes the characters easier to relate to than some older books. "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is a story of wonder. You share the sense of exploring a new world under the sea, the boldness of adventure as they explore the south polar regions, the terror of facing "monsters" like giant squid.

I gave it three stars rather than four or five because of some parts of the story that I found awkward. The crew of the Nautilus are almost never seen. They speak a language that the main characters can't understand. This keeps the story from getting bogged down with noise from characters we really don't care about, but it makes it feel like the main characters are on a UFO with aliens rather than a submarine with human beings. Conseil is unfailingly loyal to Arronax, to the point that I wanted to slap him or figure out when Arronax drugged his tea.

All in all, a fun read, something that any lover of scifi should experience.

[Oliver Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It wasn't so much the amazing (for the 19th century, anyways) science and technology in this book that I liked as the well-constructed character of Captain Nemo. On my first reading of this book, I was greatly interested in all the 'cutting-edge,' 19th century technology: the diving-suits, the submarine (The Nautilus, the Leyden-jar bullets which wouldn't actually work (these taser-like devices would short out electrically underwater), the electric lamps, the electric motor, and the submarine's mode of movement (ballast tanks). On this reading of the book, I noted how Jules Verne painted a picture of an immensely rich yet reclusive Captain Nemo. Rich but reclusive, reclusive but wrathful, wrathful but concerned for Earth's resources, concerned for Earth but detached from the world-that describes Captain Nemo.
As with any complex character, Captain Nemo is portrayed a variety of ways (the only similarity between all of these images is an abundance of facial hair):
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[Elise · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. Very technical with the sea creatures and the technology of the boat. Jules Verne is one of the first science fiction writers but it was so boring.
Nemo, captain of the Nautalis, was a wealthy man who didn't like the B.S. of life. So he shuns mankind and lives his life under the sea. The ship does not go unnoticed, however. People thought is was some kind of animal. So a professor from France, his servant, and a Canadian harpooner Ned Lander, fall of a ship in search for it. They get picked up by Nemo and he makes them his prisoner.
Not only was it technical but I also didn't like the characters. There was not one that I liked. Definitely would not recommend

[Al Philipson · Rating 2 out of 5]

"OMG! This is a classic. How can you only give it two stars?"

Because it bored me to tears. It's basically a biological travelogue where the main character talks about all the various fish and other sea critters he sees. If you're an oceanographer or biologist, it should be fascinating reading. But if you classify undersea critters as "whales, dolphins, fish, kelp, cephalopods, anemones, and crustaceans", then you're going to fall asleep reading this -- just like I did.

Yes, there were a few interesting parts in the book, but the rest was filler.

For once, the movie (Disney's version) was better than the book.

[Emma Chorley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read TTLUTS because of its status as a classic; while the writing is clever and it's truly brilliant imagining the technology as it's described by Verne and not how we know it to be today, the book is slightly lacking.
The ending seemed rushed almost, in my opinion, having waited throughout for just a glimpse of more information into the secret life of Captain Nemo I was really rather disappointed with the ending.
Worth reading? Yes - if you have nothing else to read currently. It's a great sci-fi book but didn't live up to my expectations.

[Eya · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a modern day reader, the book is most likely to be a snoozefest. I know it was for me at times and I was aware I had to read it as 19th century science fiction. As that, it's pretty awesome - the things Verne was able to imagine and predict (especially those he predicted correctly) must have been incredible to his contemporaries. Makes me wonder if the things he described inspired people into inventing them. If you read the book with the time period it was written in mind, it does get a whole new dimension. And I liked that part.

[Quintez Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very informational. It was a book mostly about specimens and ships. This is also about 3 crew member that were captured and are held captive in a submarine. They weren't harmed in any way, but really are trying to get off the ship by going with the captains order. They see that the captain likes spear fishing, specimens, and the antiques of his ship which looks likes a big cigar.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected it to be really great considering it is a book that many people said 'defines their childhood' or introduces them to 'a life of adventure'. Maybe it's just me. I expected it to be really grand and finely crafted, and while the idea is there I don't see it being explored in a way that is life changing for me.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this. It's as much a mystery as an adventure story, and Verne combines the two elements wonderfully. The political and social commentary is subtle and appropriate, never reaching the level of preaching, which is certainly welcome. An all-around excellent novel.

[Joseane · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a book by Jules Verne, which would grant me to write “enough said”, it is a classic of classics! Verne is a genius for the ages and “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas” is in my humble opinion his best work. I absolutely love and am obsessed with Captain Nemo :)