Customer Reviews
Fantasy adventure 
2008-12-02
When I was a kid, I used to read lot of Jules Verne. In those days I couldn't read neither English, nor French so I was destined to use translations which were few and of varying quality. Nevertheless, I think I'll always remember captain Nemo and his mysterious ship, his exile on the island and his death. Stories of Jules Verne always stirred my fantasy, and I guess that he should be blamed, together with Poe and Tolkien, for me entering the world of SF&F and staying there for a long time.
Today, I'm much more cynical, writer of literary criticism in my own language, somewhat versed in few branches of Theory, result of which is, however paradoxical that may sound, growing inability to read and enjoy books from my childhood memory. Only thing that I'm capable of is sort of a nostalgic remembrance, which overlooks the style of ages, straightforward ideology, and overpopmpousnes of Verne's work. And this is a bad thing, 'cause my intellect shows me the drawbacks of this book, but my memory says otherwise. Balancing those two, I'll give in to the memory and say that "Journey to the center of the Earth" is a fantastic novel of mysterious nature and adventuring in the dark. It is a part of Fantastic voyages series, written by Jules Verne, series that tried to explain geographical and topological characteristics of various places on Earth by using latest scientific discoveries and presenting them in form of a novel. To reader of today, Verne's style may be troublesome, and many a young reader because of it will probably put book aside not feeling drawn enough into it's story, and being attacked by the language of mid 19th century sure won't help in those feelings. Today, when modern fiction has covered almost every aspect of adventure, having in it's pages every imaginable mystery solved, written in contemporary language, it is hard to imagine someone willingly taking Verne's work and reading it (unless he also feels nostalgic or has a school paper to hand in). And you couldn't blame them for that. Strength of Verne's work comes from mystery and unknown, mainly of scientific nature (psychological readings of captain Nemo I should put aside for now), mysteries which are far better explained in contemporary prose, with greater ability in novel writing and various other things.
Verne's time has passed and today we may only look upon him as a pioneer of SF adventure, or as a fond memory from our childhood. Sure, we could apply modern Theory on the text and see with what we'll come out, but in a long run it won't help. One can't fool the reader so easily.
"Journey to the center of the Earth" will remain fond memory but nothing more than that.
Enjoyable 
2008-11-10
Over the decades, I have read "Journey ..." a few times. Despite the years since it was written, it holds up quite well as a fantasy / Adventure! It is an enjoyable book and I think today's teenagers would like it.
No Hollywood Spam 2008-08-19
A true classic of adventure with real name places for authenticity. Only one place on earth, Iceland, can be the beginning point for such a fanastic venture. Even the early versions on screen added Hollywood schlock to ruin this fantastic story. Read this book, have an atlas handy, and escape. For more fun, become familiar wih the "Hollow Earth Theory".
ending was a dissapointment 
2008-08-01
I'm a dissapointed ten year old rating this book. Up until the end it
Was probably one of the best books I've ever read. It was full of adventure and excitement, but then I got to the end. The book did not live up to it's name. It would be more appropriately called "Journey Almost to the Centre of the Earth. I recommend this book only to people who like major dissapointments.
Journey to the Center review 2008-07-20
I bought this book for my 9 year old son and he really liked it.
Recommended as a faithful translation 2008-07-14
In this classic tale, a newly-discovered ancient parchment reveals that a secret passage through a volcano extends into the depths of the earth. Three men are hurled into the adventure of their lives as they undertake a journey of scientific discovery and terrific danger. HC: New Edition.
If you own Rick Wakeman's Piece, You gotta have this. 2008-04-20
Go get the music CD "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" by Rick Wakeman right after you read this great little book by Jules Verne. You won't be sorry.
Brilliant read if you can leave your knowledge behind 2008-02-22
It had been many years since I had read a Jules Verne novel, and to be honest, I couldn't recall his skill as a writer at all. When I dug this book off of my bookshelf I admit, I was simply bored and looking for something mindless to read while the children fought over gluing cotton balls to construction paper.
I admit that it took my mind a while to re-acclimate to the writing style of the time, not that it was difficult to read, it was just far too easy to skim. So, bringing my mind to a screeching halt, I sat down and began to truly read this wonderful novel. Let me begin with saying that the science in the novel is extremely outdated but at the time of it's writing, was plausible. If you can get your mind past the huge hurtle of your current scientific knowledge, you can appreciate this book for what it is: a brilliant science fiction/adventure novel. The conventions of the time include misunderstandings of the makeup of the earth, and the propensity to marry one's own cousins.
The book is written in the form of a diary at times, and a retelling at times, of events that had passed previously. The voice of the book is the character Harry, nephew and assistant to Professor Von Hardwigg. The novel begins with the professor's discovery of a secret parchment which when decoded gives the location that a previous explorer used to enter the bowels of the earth. The immediately set out to follow in the footsteps of this great explorer of centuries before. Joining them is Hans, the apparent superman of Iceland. He never complains, rarely talks, and saves the lives of those around him on a regular basis. I cannot help but to believe that this is Verne's ideal man, his "Adonis" if you will. The Professor, though he loves Harry, is a closet ADHD case hidden behind a brilliant and stubborn mind. There is great adoration for his nephew, on those occasions when he stops moving or talking long enough to notice him. Harry, who is telling the story, is easily written off as a coward; however he is so much more than that if you take into account the beliefs of the time. He is following his uncle on a dangerous journey into the unknown to a place he does not even believe exists. (Harry's beliefs are far closer to the reality that we understand, however in this novel they are all completely incorrect)
Upon entering the depths of the earth many hardships and terrors await the three, ranging from dehydration, starvation, dinosaurs, many falls, getting separated, raging storms on underground seas and volcanic eruptions. I won't go into great detail suffice to say that the movie, though highly entertaining, does no justice to this story. Spray painted iguanas with horns are far from what is described in this book. If you have spare time on you hands, this is an excellent read and I would highly recommend it to anyone. There is a reason that this is considered "Literature."
4 of 5 stars.
Exciting start and great premise, but falls short in the end 
2007-12-12
This book starts off strong with the Verne's classic style and wit. The initial pages are entertaining, fast-paced and set the stage for a potentially wonderful novel. However, the story quickly slows down as preparations for the trip take entirely too long. In the version I read, the actual journey doesn't begin until page 90. Then, once the journey begins, it is rather uneventful. Verne also puts in too much geological information for the average reader to appreciate. It becomes quite tedious reading the detailed content of various mineral deposits, composition of the substrata of the earth, etc. While some such material is interesting, Verne innundates the reader. While there were some exciting moments, this novel failed to win me over.
A fine Jules Verne read. 2007-11-22
Journey To the Center of the Earth was always one of my favorite movies and after all these years, I finally read the book. The book is not like the movie at all. Honestly, I liked the movie better however that is not to say I was in any way disappointed with the book. It moved along quickly and drew me in such that I couldn't put it down and so read it in one sitting. A geologist, his eager young nephew and an Icelandic guide make their way to the earth's core following the footsteps of a previous mysterious explorer into the dark subterranean world of weird plants, animals, rocks and unforeseen dangers. There was no woman with them as in the movie but a female companion might have spiced it up a bit. The Icelander didn't have a pet duck along as in the movie but he was an indispensible partner in the venture. All in all, it was adventurous and fun and worth my time. I enjoyed it very much. Sure glad I finally read the book!
Betsy
