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Summary: Verne spins a beautiful web of the literary elements.
Review: In A Jounery to The Center of the Earth Jules Verne spins a beautiful web of literary elements. The story is a combination of fantasy, science fiction, action, and suspense. It involves many scienctific principles and ideas. Even though, the entire story takes on a fantastic aspect. It begins rather slowly, but once thew actually story begins, it is a non-stop, "roller-coaster ride." Throughout the entire story the anticipation of what is to come is continually rising. This is the perfect book for almost any reader, especailly those of science fiction.
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Summary: Great entertainment during a long drive
Review: I'd always considered audio books as being for those who were too lazy to read the real thing. However, being a fan of Leonard Nimoy, I decided to purchase this tape. I listened to it during a long road trip and it was great entertainment! Having the book read to me by my favorite actors enhanced the experience rather than diminished it. I'd read the book back in high school, but Nimoy and DeLancie really bring the story to life. This is a wonderful work of science fiction which was way ahead of its time. Written in the late 1800s it still has the power to touch us today. I'd recommend this and other Alien Voices audio tapes to anyone who finds themselves trapped in a vehicle or on a plane for long periods of time.
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Summary: One Of the Best Books for a younge, ingenious adult to read.
Review: Jules Verne wrote an arosing book showing the need to explore places we haven't gone before. He showed many children how to look at this world of ours in different, amazing ways. This particular book involves Professor Von Hardwigg, a german scientist, his nephew, Harry, and their guide on a long, fearce journey to the center of the earth. On their journey they encounter worlds only dreamt in your wildest dreams before. They reach the center of the earth to find but an emty sherical room with a great ball of magma floating in the center. In minutes of arrival the magma erupts spuring out heat that would have melted an average man on contact. Luckily they catch a floting chunk of rock and ride it from the center of the earth to the skies above their land. They land hard and abruptly, their journey over???
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Summary: great book
Review: great descreption
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Summary: A classic that I read at least once every two years!
Review: This book is awesome! It has adventure , suspense , and more excitement than any of these new so called adventure movies of the 90's. The movie they tried to make of this book left so much out that it was sad. I would reccomend this book to anyone who loves adventure
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Summary: A bit dissatisfying.
Review: I found this book to be dissatisfying. Joseph Campbell speaks of the Hero Cycle involving many things, such as a dismemberment or crucifixion being associated with the threshold crossing. As the trio enters the volcano, there is nothing horrendous about their passage. There is no "elixir theft," although Arne Saknusemm's dagger could have fit the bill. Lastly, there is no real character development. You have the clash and tension between Harry and the Professor: young-old, scientist-novice, driven-reluctant. But there is not enough to drive the story, and no enchantment.
There are some mythic elements, but they seem a bit haphazard. They exit the earth, the "belly of the whale," by way of a torrent and lava, the Masonic fire and water trial. IT pushes them out and up, in a mock rebirth. Then they land in paradisiacal Italy, contrasting with cold and dead Iceland. This is the motif of a "sacred grove," but it is never utilized fully.
Furthermore, there are some structural problems. Specially, Verne has two backtracks. The first is in Chapter 18, when they take the wrong road, and then Chapter 33, with the storm blowing the raft back to the starting point. Aesthetically, this is wonderful parallelism, but by the time you get to the discovery and the back track, you feel cheated. All the reading you have done up to that point was pointless.
The ending is rushed, and the denouement seems like a slipknot at times. I would have preferred a bit drawn out enduing and the possibility of a sequel. After all, who is Arne Saknusemm, and is there more to mysterious and even Christic figure? He is a Buddha, an enlightened one who leads the way for other to follow as they go through the underworld that is middle earth.
It is Verne's second book, so he is still in the process of becoming "Verne" or the icon we have depicted in "Back To The Future III." Despite my criticism, you do see the wonderful characters and Technicolor and three-dimensional scientists at work. They are not the flat logic boxes or computing machines, like Sherlock Holmes, or the campy "Professor" cutout character on bad TV programming.
Vern can spin a yarn, and mix enough technical scientific detail to make it believable. I am not familiar with Verne's scientific background, but he understands that science is merely part of the backdrop to any science fiction story.
Leonard Nemoy's afterward in the Signature Books Edition (0451528964) is worth reading. He does an analysis between the father-son relationship of Harry and th Professor. He caught things that I had missed, in my frustration of the backtracking problems. Read after reading the text.
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Summary: Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Review: This is one of Verne's best works. The characters wonderfully believable and the plot is absolutely brilliant. Okay, so you're not going to find many people that believe in the hollow earth theory these days, but who cares? It's easy to suspend your beliefs and just get caught up in the story. Admittedly, the discourses on geology can drag a little for some readers, while others may find it part of the 19th charm, it all comes down to preference. Personally, I love the 19th century "info dumps" it's an insight into how people saw the world at that time. Verne had a reputation for writing fast paced adventures full of unexpected twists and turns and Journey to the Centre of the Earth is no exception.
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Summary: I love J. Verne. This book is why.
Review: I absolutely loved this story. The beginning dragged some but after 20 pages the story is rolling. Verne's imagination into unknown territory and his scientific reasoning is fascinating. Very good read!
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Summary: Journey Into Your Imagination
Review: PLOT: Armed with ancient directions, courage, and intelligence a scientist, his nephew, and a hunter search for the center of the earth and adventure.POSITIVES: This is a masterpiece. I am a Jules Verne fan and this is one of his best works. It is full of danger, suspense, excitement, and passion. I read this to my children as they were growing up and the story stayed with us all through the years. PROBLEMS: It is of course dated. This book requires imagination. It is long (44 short chapters). I usually read a chapter each night to my kids on a book such as this. If I couldn't finish the book in a month the children got restless. PROPOSAL: Purchase an audio version. This is one book that I'd rather hear read than read myself.
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Summary: If Enough Suspension of Disbelief, Excellent Adventure Novel
Review: This is a high-adventure novel. A German scientist puts together an expedition to follow successfully in the tracks of a previous, attempt to reach the center of the Earth. In Verne's time, it was not known that the Earth had a molten core, and the nature of the core, while believed by many to be molten, was debated. The expedition encounters many unexpected creatures, land-forms, plants, and obstacles. The pace of the writing is very fast, in general, with a few digressions to explain scientific debates. The science in the novel is actually superior to the science of the film, as the dinosaurs of the book are more believable than those of the film. Definitely a fun read! By the way, I read the novel and watched the film at about the same time, and now realize that the film was only very loosely based on the Jules Verne novel. The premise remains intact: a scientist leads a small team in an attempt to retrace an earlier expedition to the Earth's center. However, the movie added several characters and plot-lines, rearranged many aspects of the "world" found within the Earth, and inserted a solid dose of comic relief not found in the novel. The film discarded an ongoing discussion of scientific theory between two characters (played by Mason and Boone in the film), possibly because their debate is now a moot point. If this film, as is, came out today, it would be blasted as being totally unfaithful to the novel. I wonder if that occurred when the film was released. Either way, it is still an interesting and entertaining film. However, please do not expect the film and the novel to be very similar.
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