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A review by negative40
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
2.0
Journey to the Center of the Earth is the tale of the somewhat crazy scientist Professor Otto Liedenbrock, his whiny nephew and narrator Axel, and the unflappable superhero of a guide Hans as they make their way down a passage that hopes to lead to the center of the Earth. It starts off quite interesting, as the Professor finds a mysterious document from an obscure Icelandic scientist that seems to suggest that this Icelander traveled to the center of the Earth. Of course, Liedenbrock decides to rush from Germany to Iceland to follow the Icelander's steps, with Axel whining the entire time that he would rather not go.
This is about when the book starts getting rather tedious. I do give leeway to the fact that adventures in the context of 1864 are a bit different than they are today. Most of the first 100 pages are devoted to describing in detail the journey from Germany to Iceland, which I'm sure was mysterious and interesting in 1864 but not so exciting in 2012. After that, the journey down is a lot of scientific discussion on the nature of the crust of the Earth, and not really too much action is involved. On top of that, most of the science is now known to be wrong. I imagine this book was sort of like a nineteenth-century Michael Crichton book, where the central plot is buffeted by a wealth of scientific explanation that is sometimes dubious.
It is a fanciful book, and I imagine that it was a rollicking adventure for John Q. 19th-Century. My main disappointment was that the mystery that started the whole journey is shuffled to the background early on. It's never given any thought and never really explained either. I can look past a bit of the casual sexism and the need to be stuffy and academic in its writing to give an air of legitimacy; this was 1864, after all. I perhaps just thought that this book would have a different tone and style.
This is about when the book starts getting rather tedious. I do give leeway to the fact that adventures in the context of 1864 are a bit different than they are today. Most of the first 100 pages are devoted to describing in detail the journey from Germany to Iceland, which I'm sure was mysterious and interesting in 1864 but not so exciting in 2012. After that, the journey down is a lot of scientific discussion on the nature of the crust of the Earth, and not really too much action is involved. On top of that, most of the science is now known to be wrong. I imagine this book was sort of like a nineteenth-century Michael Crichton book, where the central plot is buffeted by a wealth of scientific explanation that is sometimes dubious.
It is a fanciful book, and I imagine that it was a rollicking adventure for John Q. 19th-Century. My main disappointment was that the mystery that started the whole journey is shuffled to the background early on. It's never given any thought and never really explained either. I can look past a bit of the casual sexism and the need to be stuffy and academic in its writing to give an air of legitimacy; this was 1864, after all. I perhaps just thought that this book would have a different tone and style.