Last year, I finally read the Jules Verne novel that plumbs the depths of our world. When first I had attempted to read it, I was but a first semester junior in high school; thus, it gave me a fair amount of pleasure to complete the novel as a second semester sophomore in college. Anyway, I digress.

The purpose of this thread is to gauge interest in the novel: how many of you have read it? What, for those who have completed it, or read till the Nautilus is introduced, is your impression of the story? How do you feel Verne succeeds (or fails) as an author?

Now to answer some of my own questions.

I truly wanted to enjoy the book, especially after watching "Nadia: the Secret of Blue Water." There is so much that one can do with a plot exploring the unimaginable and uninhabitable abysses beneath the ocean surface, so naturally I assumed Verne would utilize as much as he could in his own delving into the chasmic trenches. Alas, 'twas not so! What could have been a truly exhilarating adventure beneath the seas turned into a mere catalogue of fictitious (and realistic) zoophytes and infusoria, polypi and coral, &c. &c.

As far as Verne being successful in this endeavor: sure? He was not aiming to entertain, it seems, so much as delight the fancy of other ecologists and those interested in marine life. Of course it is rather dry, especially in the modern age, and other than Captain Nemo, the characters are severely flat, but as a prognostication of subsea undertakings, "20,000 Leagues" is exceptional!

I rather enjoyed the novel, but then again I lean towards the side of science as entertainment rather than plot. Most of Verne’s novels tend to be written this way, and his characters, I must admit, are notoriously shallow. However, one cannot help but admire his ingenuity when it comes to world-building and feasible science in a work of fiction. The language and flow of events makes it a bit difficult to immerse oneself in the novel, but I was at times genuinely on the edge of my seat waiting to see how things played out, if the Nautilus and it’s passengers could survive those subsea challenges. I read the novel twice during middle school and enjoyed it thoroughly both times; I’ve a sort of affinity with Verne that perhaps biases my judgment of his abilities as an author. Nevertheless, for what he set out to do, I feel that Verne succeeded with 20,000 Leagues, as his way of writing tends to be more about exploration of environments, worlds, and the limits of science rather than character development and plot.