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20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (精装)
by Jules Verne , Anthony Bonner , Stephen Armes
| Category:
Classics, Science fiction, Ages 9-12, Children's books |
| Market price: ¥ 198.00
MSL price:
¥ 178.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
No matter how many times people remake it as a movie with ever increasingly stunning special effects, it will never be a match the fantastic imagery that this wonderful book will conjure in your mind. While not an essential purchase, this is an impressive attempt to adapt a classic. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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Daniel Jolley, North Carolina USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
20,000 Leagues under the Sea is a masterful science fiction classic and the crowning achievement of Verne's impressive literary legacy. While the story itself is absorbing, it is the character of the enigmatic Captain Nemo that makes this novel so successful. Many of the characters we meet in Verne's fiction are one-dimensional; while eccentric, a man like Professor Lidenbrock in Journey to the Centre of the Earth is easy to understand, seemingly driven by science and nothing else. In contrast, Captain Nemo is an incredibly complex man whom neither the reader nor the protagonist is ever really able to understand. He has forsaken all of humanity and retreated beneath the sea, yet he shows great compassion to his crewmen and to the poor on earth; he is generally self-absorbed and emotionless, yet we see glimpses of an emotional trauma that constantly afflicts him and is capable of destroying him. He has suffered a great loss at some point in his life, and his sorrow is matched only by a drive for vengeance against his unnamed oppressors. Captain Nemo is one of the most interesting, delightfully mysterious characters in all of literature. As for the story, a naturalist, his assistant, and a harpooner join a party in search of a giant sea creature which has attacked a couple of ships. They are knocked overboard and find themselves saved by the monster, which turns out to be a submarine manned by a mysterious crew of sailors. Captain Nemo requires them to stay on board the Nautilus permanently because he wants to keep the existence of his submarine a secret from the world. The three men sail on the Nautilus for ten months, exploring the world's oceans and seas. They marvel at the animal life under the waves; explore underground forests, oyster beds, deep trenches; gaze with somber eyes at great numbers of sunken vessels; fight off giant squids and dangerous sharks; cast their eyes upon the sunken continent of Atlantis; and burrow underneath the polar ice caps to emerge at the South Pole. All the while, they hope to escape and return to their homelands, although the naturalist hesitates to leave his traveling laboratory until such a time as Captain Nemo's emotions become dangerously unbalanced. All in all, this is an incredibly rich, fascinating novel with a poignant yet powerful conclusion. Contemporary readers must have been overpowered by Verne's descriptions of this unknown sailing vessel and the exploits the sub was capable of. That magical element is missing from modern reader's reactions, but this does little to hinder the overall effect of the story. There is one negative aspect to the book-the naturalist and his assistant go out of their way to name and catalogue virtually every animal, mineral, and plant they discover. This is interesting to a point, but the plot often finds itself bogged down for a couple of pages while the reader is bombarded with a veritable encyclopedia of scientific names which are virtually unpronounceable and largely meaningless to his/her ears. These interludes are the only things slowing down the story, however. It is a joy to read the adventures these men have under the sea, and it is even more fascinating to ponder the mind of Captain Nemo. Even the unseen depths of the sea cannot offer the reader a mystery as deep and powerful as that of the Nautilus' exceptional captain. |
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Jimi Oke, Zimbabwe
<2006-12-21 00:00>
Having chewed and digested Around the World in Eighty Days, Five Weeks in a Balloon and Journey to the Centre of the Earth, I set out to devour another chef d'oeuvre of Verne [the often overlooked "true" father of science fiction] with much relish. Sure, 20,000 Leagues seemed bigger than the others I'd read, but I thought it would be the classic excitement and drama of Verne all the way. Well, I was nearly right. Professor Arronax leaves a "normal" life in France for the US, taking his assistant with him, to investigate the matter that has taken all the attention of the "modern" or "known" world. Joined by the egotistic harpooner, Ned Land, they seek adventure, and they find it. Again, I see Verne's classic touch of the dramatic as the threesome find the monster - the Nautilus - or rather, as the Nautilus finds them. They awaken to an interminable adventure under the sea. The Professor is fascinated, or perhaps, intoxicated with the endless wealth of life in the sea and spends hours, days and months observing and recording. The tireless taxonomist takes in all the eye can see and with the help of his assistant, classifies it all. This is where the tedium began for me as the reader. Pages upon pages of pure taxonomy. The accounts of the undersea explorations in specially designed suits offers some relief. The enigmatic Captain Nemo is in charge; incidents and never accidents. Everything about him is shrouded in mystery - pondering on the life of Captain Nemo offers some useful distraction and provides the fuel to consume more and more pages. However, you can never miss Verne's climactic scenes, where he brings drama and suspense to their peak. The almighty Nautilus is trapped inside a huge mass of ice at the South Pole, and for the first time, Captain Nemo shows signs of worry, however subtle. Yet, he goes on with a steely determination. Things are looking very desperate, but as usual, the day is saved. However, I found myself following every detail, sharing all their fears, their toil, their despair. Their ecstasy was mine when the Nautilus broke free. I was totally drawn in...The irritable Ned Land sparks the fire of escape. He's sick and tired of submarine life as Nemo shows no signs of releasing his charges. The adventure ends with the escape of the threesome back to terra firma, or does it? I guess it continued with Captain Nemo and his longsuffering crew until his death, burying years of useful knowledge and resources under the sea. Or did he live forever? A highly challenging but rewarding read for the discerning reader or Verne fanatic. |
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Gabriel E. Borlean, California USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
If you ever wondered what would be like to have your own submarine, what encounters with the beasts of the sea and of the earth you would have, and how far deep down into the cravesses and cracks of the oceanic floor you could go without being sqeezed like a soda can, ... then this is the read for you. You will be pleasantly captivated by the adventures of the captain and his accomplishments. Remember that this novel was written well before submarines were commonplace and even before the mechanics of submarine buoyancy were fully understood. Can never go wrong with a Jules Verne novel. He is the embodiment of the word science in "science-fiction." |
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A reader, USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
This book is about a man who finds an underwater secret boat. Everybody on land is trying to find it because they think it is a Narwhale. The "narwhale" which is really a submarine ran by Captain Nemo is going through boats and sinking them. The submarine went through a boat and three men got caught on top of the sub. Captain Nemo found them and made them stay aboard for a long time. Read about the remarkable journeys of the three men and how they lived off of the sea in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. I liked how they left cliff hangers at the end of each chapter, it made you keep on reading and you couldn’t stop because it was so good. I recommend it for ages 9-16. I loved this book! |
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A reader, USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
This book is, by far, one of the best books I have read in the last year. It proves that classics are still the best books to read. In this undersea adventure, two unique characters travel 20,000 leagues facing everything from giant squids to themselves. This book is a must read for anyone whether you like science fiction to drama. You will enjoy it no matter what. I know I did. The book is truly unique. Jules Verne brings the wonders of science and drama to this book. If you are smart, you will read this book because it will make you smart. It is awesome, a must read, unbelievable. Highly recommend. |
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Jessica Guidry, USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
Jules Vernes captures our imaginations in his tale of adventure and science. The narrator, Dr. Arronax, is a French naturalist who goes on an expedition to hunt down a mysterious sea creature spotted by many sailors. However, in an interesting turn of events, he finds out that the enigma that roamed the oceans is in fact a futuristic submarine (the Nautilus) built by Captain Nemo. Dr. Annonax, along with his Flemish companion Conseil and Canadian harpooner Ned Land, are held hostage on the Nautilus and through their time aboard they experience the great wonders of the seas. Giant squids, ice caps, pearl hunts, close calls with Papuan natives, are only a fraction of the exciting events they experience. Using Arronax as the narrator, Verne gives us a look into the mysteries of the deep seas. While Arronax often gets carried away labeling and categorizing sea life, it makes the narrative seem more authentic. I felt a little cheated about not learning the life story of the brilliant and enigmatic Captain Nemo. We learn that he is driven by revenge, yet we don't know exactly why and who is his unfortunate target. However, this lack of revelation allows the reader to create his/her own theories, which can be quite fun. This book may not be for action junkies. However, I recommend this book to readers who are curious about the unknown with an interest in science. It is an interesting and very creative read, and should not be missed! |
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1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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