Classic Starts®: Journey to the Center of the Earth

By Jules Verne, Arthur Pober and Eric Freeberg

“Go down the crater of the volcano Snaefells. Follow the shadow just before the month of July. You will find your way to the center of the Earth. I did it.” That mysterious message, found in a long-lost letter, propels a young man and his uncle on the adventure of a lifetime: to a prehistoric world below the earth where dinosaurs and other strange creatures still roam. Jules Vernes classic fantasy will enchant a new generation of readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Union Square Kids
• Release date: Jun 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781402789076

Jules Verne

Jules Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. Verne is considered a major French and European author, as he has a wide influence on avant-garde and surrealist literary movements, and is also credited as one of the primary inspirations for the steampunk genre. However, his influence does not stop in the literary sphere. Verne’s work has also provided invaluable impact on scientific fields as well. Verne is best known for his series of bestselling adventure novels, which earned him such an immense popularity that he is one of the world’s most translated authors.

Book preview

9781402789076_0002_001

Journey to the

Center of the Earth

1

Retold from the Jules Verne original

by Kathleen Olmstead

Illustrated by Eric Freeberg

9781402789076_0002_003

STERLING and the distinctive Sterling logo

are registered trademarks of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Olmstead, Kathleen.

   Journey to the center of the earth / retold from the Jules Verne original by Kathleen Olmstead ; illustrated by Eric Freeberg.

       p. cm. — (Classic starts)

    Summary: Professor Liedenbrock, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans explore a volcanic crater in Iceland that leads them to the center of the Earth and to incredible and horrifying discoveries.

   ISBN 978-1-4027-7313-6

[1. Explorers—Fiction. 2. Science fiction.] I. Freeberg, Eric, ill. II. Verne, Jules, 1828–1905. Voyage au centre de la terre. III. Title.

   PZ7.O515Jo 2011

   [Fic]—dc22

2010009754

Lot#:

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

3/11

Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016

Text © 2011 by Kathleen Olmstead

Illustrations © 2011 by Eric Freeberg

Classic Starts is a trademark of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

All rights reserved

Sterling ISBN 978-1-4027-7313-6

Sterling eBook ISBN: 978-1-4027-8907-6

For information about custom editions, special sales, premium and corporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special Sales Department at 800-805-5489 or [e-mail].

CONTENTS

1

CHAPTER 1:

An Old Book and a New Mystery

CHAPTER 2:

Uncle Liedenbrock Works Night and Day to Solve the Mystery

CHAPTER 3:

Axel Has a Secret

CHAPTER 4:

Axel Worries About the Future

CHAPTER 5:

The Great Adventure Begins

CHAPTER 6:

A Warm Welcome to Iceland

CHAPTER 7:

A Guide for the Journey

CHAPTER 8:

Snaefells, At Last

CHAPTER 9:

Into the Volcano

CHAPTER 10:

The First Sign of Trouble

CHAPTER 11:

Axel Struggles Against the Odds

CHAPTER 12:

The Search for Water Continues

CHAPTER 13:

Axel Loses His Way

CHAPTER 14:

Uncle Liedenbrock and Hans to the Rescue

CHAPTER 15:

The Liedenbrock Sea

CHAPTER 16:

Creatures of the Deep

CHAPTER 17:

Passing Through a Violent Storm

CHAPTER 18:

A New World Discovered

CHAPTER 19:

Eruption

CHAPTER 20:

The Journey Ends

What Do You Think?

A Note to Parents and Educators

Classic Starts™ Library

CHAPTER 1

An Old Book and a New Mystery

1

On May 24, 1863, my uncle rushed through the front door of our little house. Professor Liedenbrock, as my uncle was known, shared that small place with me in Hamburg, Germany.

Axel, he shouted. I need to speak with you! He sped toward his study.

My uncle was often excited. A new idea or theory would send him rushing to his study to work. I was used to him acting this way. I had lived with him since I was a teenager—I was now twenty years old—so this was not new to 2 me. He was an impatient man. He did not like to wait for anything.

This is the reason our housekeeper, Martha, panicked when Uncle Liedenbrock burst through the door. She assumed he wanted to have his supper. She rushed into the kitchen and said to me, Axel, please don’t tell him dinner isn’t ready. Distract him. I’ll have the meal on the table as soon as possible.

My uncle was not a bad man. In truth, he was just very odd. He taught mineralogy—the science of minerals—at the Johannaeum, the local university. However, he was not a good teacher. I also studied mineralogy at the university and had heard students complain about him.

He had very little interest in helping others learn. He was a very stubborn man and only talked about whatever interested him at the time. I heard stories about him flying into a rage if he thought a person misunderstood him. He did not think that he needed to explain anything again or in a different way. When my uncle was misunderstood by anyone, he thought that that person simply was not listening.

Please keep in mind that my uncle was a scientist. He was a very smart man, and he was well respected. The Liedenbrocks were well known in Germany. There were many libraries and buildings with the family name. My uncle did not care about such things, though.

His entire life was wrapped up in his work. He was devoted to the study of minerals, rocks, and geography. He did worry about what other people thought of him. But he was just too occupied with his own scientific world to notice much else.

Therefore, Uncle Liedenbrock could not understand why I was so slow to follow him to his study. I thought I walked very quickly when he called. But it was not fast enough for him.

What on earth took you so long? Do you expect me to wait all day? My uncle was already sitting in his armchair. He had a very big book in his lap. He did not look up at me while he spoke.

I did not sit down right away, but stood by his desk. Uncle usually had a job for me to do. He might ask me to get a book down from a shelf. Or he could ask me to run into town to pick something up.

What a book, he said. What a book! He shook his head in amazement. Can you not see? This is a priceless gem I found in a shop this morning.

I gazed at the book in my uncle’s hands. He carefully leafed through the pages. It looked old and tattered to me. I could see nothing special about it.

What is the book about? I asked. It was the only thing I could think to say.

It is an Icelandic book from the twelfth century, he said. It is the story of Norwegian princes ruling Iceland.

But Uncle, I said. Can you read Icelandic?

Icelandic? Yes, a little. But Axel, you are a fool, Uncle Liedenbrock said. This is not written in Icelandic. It is written in runes.

Runes? I gasped. I ran to his side to look at the book more closely.

The pages were filled with small stick-like figures. The language looked impossible to understand, and I was not very interested in learning it. My uncle, however, had a lot to say on the subject.

Uncle Liedenbrock described to me the history of the runic language. It was used

Reviews for Classic Starts®

[MsKaylachristine · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a kids book it was good and kept my interest. The narrator was a spineless and whiny unlikeable character and not enough time was spent exploring the animals in the new world.

[thorold_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Even in the 1860s, conventional scientific opinion would have ruled out a "journey to the centre of the Earth" quite firmly: from the study of volcanoes and extrapolating measurements made in deep mines, it was clear that it would soon get too hot for humans to survive. Verne has to jump through a few conceptual hoops to have his eccentric professor support a fringe theory (on the authority of Sir Humphrey Davy!) that allows it to cool as you descend further, and he sidesteps a few other obvious problems, like where you get oxygen from, and the logistics of travelling 6300 km vertically (even on the level it would take the best part of a year to walk that far...). Moreover, like so many adventure stories, this one is triggered by the flimsiest of pieces of evidence. I'm sure any real professor, finding a crudely enciphered bit of paper left in an old book that purported to give directions for reaching the centre of the earth, would assume it was a practical joke by his students and pin it up on the college noticeboard with the spelling mistakes corrected... Verne's eager professor doesn't even stop to wonder about why anyone would take so much care to encipher such a message, or whom he thought he might be addressing. All the same, it's a good story, Verne mixes in enough real Icelandic background (including the farrier-priest-innkeeper who later featured in Under the glacier by Halldór Laxness), geoscience and palaeontology to keep us interested, as well as a reasonable amount of peril and suspense. Unsurprisingly, he doesn't quite deliver on the promise in the title, and the ending is just silly, but we knew from the start that (a) the narrator survives to tell the tale and (b) Verne couldn't be planning to make us sit through the reverse of the entire downward journey, so there has to be a quick exit from the subterranean world somewhere...

[fingerpost_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

There are only three characters in this tale. Henry, our narrator, seems to have only one personality trait: fear, and desire to end the journey ASAP; his uncle, Professor Hardwigg, also seems to have only one trait: eagerness to accomplish this dangerous journey; and the third character, the Icelander, Hans, has no personality at all - he's just there to perform tasks.The first two thirds of the book read like an exceedingly tedious and detailed travelogue from a group of spelunkers. In the final third, the adventure gets more interesting, but is really still just an explanation of a series of events on a journey, not a real story. And though the final third is more interesting than the endless descriptions of rock formations that make up the bulk of the book, it is also so preposterous that even the most avid science fiction lover will have difficulty suspending disbelief enough to actually like the random events of the tale.

[sara_cat-107388 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I greatly enjoyed the humor of the narrator, Axel. And some of the descriptions of what they see under the crust of the earth is wonderfully vivid and beautiful. I also enjoyed a lot of the feeling of adventure and occasional suspense of what would happen next.There are some problematic ways in which certain characters or types of people are talked about, but, the book was written in the mid-1800s, so I was very much expecting that. Though, it wasn't to the extent I had assumed.For anyone who understands geology, seismology, etc. will probably cringe if they think too hard about the 'facts' and 'discoveries' Axel and his uncle make on their journey. But, if you can put those things aside for a while, it's a fun read into someone's imagination of what it could be like to try and travel deep into the earth.(For clarity, the English translation I read was done by Robert Baldick.)

[tonifgmamtc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is somewhat interesting. It tries to stay scientific instead of totally going off some some tangent like sci-fi does these days. I'm sure in it's time, it would have been beyond amazing because so much of it could have been true for all people knew.

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I liked the beginning of the book with the trekking of the professor and Axel from Hamburg to Iceland. This was descriptive and realistic. The adventure of the three travelers into the passages of the earth were also interesting albeit it begins to be fanciful. The latter portions of the book are ridiculous and have no credible logic. I imagine the book was more interesting in the time in history at which it was written. I do not recommend this book as I believe that science fiction should have some logic which veers from the known to the unknown. Often it based on a supposition that is unfounded but examines the ramifications of this deviation. This book is counter to our knowledge and therefore is ridiculous.

[juva_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Our young protagonist is visiting with his uncle who is a professor when an exciting discovery is made. Within a book the professor has recently purchased is a coded message from long ago. Without delay, the old gentleman locks himself, his nephew, and the servants in the mansion and refuses to let any of them eat again until they come up with the solution to the code.Although the nephew is reluctant to reveal the meaning to his uncle, he does eventually solve it and give up the information. It seems that their is supposedly a tunnel within an Icelandic volcano that leads deep within the earth, perhaps even to its center. The uncle wastes no time in making travel arrangements for himself and his nephew to Iceland. No matter the danger, they must investigate this wild claim for science!Thus begins an epic journey which will throw our two intrepid protagonists into countless near-death situations. They will traverse icy wastes, underground seas, and endless dark tunnels before reaching their objective and who knows if they will possibly survive. A strange, unlikely story of adventure and exploration.

[darthdeverell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth follows the German professor Otto Lindenbrock and his nephew Axel as they, along with their guide Hans, descend into the Icelandic volcano Snæfellsjökull, see various prehistoric animals, and return via the Stromboli volcano in Italy. Verne found inspiration in the geologist Charles Lyell’s 1863 book, Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man as well as some of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. This edition, published by Oxford University Press, features a new translation from the original French by William Butcher. The book also features an introduction situating Verne and his work in its historical milieu as well as an explanation of the translation. As part of the Oxford World’s Classics series, the novel features explanatory notes for many of the scientific and foreign-language terms Verne used to add verisimilitude to the book. Though typically classified as science-fiction, the term was not popularized until Hugo Gernsback used it in the 1920s, and Verne himself would have considered this an adventure novel as it focuses more on the journey than the science or technology involved in getting there. This edition works well for those studying science-fiction and its history, though, and is a must-read for even the casual fan!

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have to admit that Jules Verne is harder to read as an adult than as a bright-eyed, impressionable kid. There is so much wonder on these pages, and yet I felt like I needed to work far too hard to get at it - the adventure is hidden behind steampunk techno-babble in a way that modern writers would never be able to get away with. Still, I'm glad to have revisited this book, and I will continue to work through the Verne canon, disillusioned though I am.

[carlahaunted · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book made me feel agoraphobic...in a good way. Tim Curry's narration was sublime, as usual.

[bhutton_10 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There is a lot to get past in this book, the hysterical narator/nephew, all knowing uncle, mute, resourceful guide, the lack of character progression, the lists of flora, fuana & minerals, and diversions to show of at the time cutting edge science. But for all that it moves fast and always wanting to know what happens next. Ruined only by the lack of a compelling conclusion.

[jerry.yoakum · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I know a lot of people who don't bother to read a book that has a movie version. You don't need to worry about this book. The movie is so different from the book that you won't know what will happen.

[john_warner-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was a young adolescent when I first started reading this book. However, I placed the book on top of the family's station wagon when we stopped at a convenience store only to lose it when we I forget it as I hopped back in the car. Fifty years later, I finally finished it. When Professor Lidenbrock deciphers a runic note authored by Icelandic alchemist Arne Saknussemm, he discovers that the alchemist discovered and traveled a passage in Iceland to the center of the Earth. With the assistance of a Icelandic guide, the taciturn Hans, Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel, and the novel's narrator, follow their predecessor in his descent into an extinct volcano to the center of the Earth.If you have seen either the 1959 movie with James Mason and Pat Boone or the 2008 film with Brendan Fraser, you will not significant differences, especially with the latter which is more a sequel to the book. In the book there are no competitors seeking to first reach the center of the Earth, no dinosaur fights on the beach, or abandoned temples at the center of the Earth. However, the book is a good read nevertheless.

[pilgrimjess · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

“We are of opinion that instead of letting books grow moldy behind an iron grating, far from the vulgar gaze, it is better to let them wear out by being read.”Professor Otto Lidenbrock , metallurgist and bibliophile, returns to his home in Hamburg in 1863 with a prized and obscure Icelandic runic manuscript which he eagerly shows to his nephew, ward and assistant Axel. In the process of which an old piece of paper falls out of the book and is discovered to have a message in code from “Arne Saknussemm!…another Icelander, a savant of the sixteenth century, a celebrated alchemist.” After hours of trying to decipher the code Axel, to his own surprise, succeeds in doing so. Fearful of what this discovery may lead to Axel is initially determined not to reveal it to his uncle believing he alone will never solve it. However, when his uncle refuses to let anyone in the household eat until the riddle is solved, hunger finally forces Axel to yield the message, which is:“Descend, bold traveller, into the crater of the jokul of Sneffels, which the shadow of Scartaris touches before the kalends of July, and you will attain the centre of the earth; which I have done, Arne Saknussemm.”Over the intervening years since his death Saknussmm has been largely discredited but on reading the message the Professor immediately starts secretly preparing for Axel and himself to journey to the extinct Sneffels volcano in Iceland, in the hope of retracing Saknussemm's footsteps. At the time there is a raging scientific debate as to whether the centre of the Earth is cold or hot with the Professor believing it to be the former. He envisages this trip as his opportunity to prove his way of thinking is right. Once on Iceland they hire a guide called Hans and set of on an exciting and dangerous adventure.Firstly I think that it is only fair that I admit that I'm not really a fan of science-fiction and when this is coupled with the fact that the action takes place on earth making the science behind it all the more improbable, then I am going to struggle. My main concern is the lack of character development. Throughout the Professor is portrayed as intrepid explorer who seems to have a logical explanation for everything contrasted with Axel, the cowardly voice of reason trying vainly to oppose him, whereas Hans is a largely silent, steadfast, dependable, unflappable, unquestioning servant. Whilst this did cause a certain amount a contrast and friction between the characters, I cannot in all honestly say that I particularly took to any of them. However, if you are able to put all this to one side and read it purely as a boys' own adventure story then, despite its age and the fact that there are no car chases or gun battles, it still has its place and why it is still read and enjoyed today.

[lgandt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a great fantasy story, if you take it with some serious grains of salt. The imagery is marvelous, the pace is very fast. Keeps your attention throughout. The physical demands that he expected from the human body though and the slight continuity problems in the end are the only problems I have with it.I have to say the film with James Mason tightened some things up quite well.

[sumisbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

True to form, this is a classic adventure piece at it's best! This was a great read with something new happening on nearly every page. Axel and his eccentric uncle Professor Otto Lindenbrock discover an ancient text that happens to fall out of one of the Professor's coveted historical tombs. The text explains how to get to the center of the earth through a crater located in Iceland. The farther they descend into the earth, the farther back in time they seem to travel as they begin to see plants and even animals that lived on earth once long ago. With peril and even death lurking around every corner and down every passage, will Axel and his uncle (along with their guide) ever make it to the surface world alive again? However wrought with tons of scientific jargen, this book is not difficult to follow and instead proves to be quite easy for the reader to follow along. With exciting plot twists at every turn, Verne leaves you constantly wondering if our pros will EVER see daylight again. Simply a classic.

[narilka · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Journey to the Center of the Earth is the grand adventure story of Professor Lidenbrock's quest to follow a the instructions in a cryptic text that describe how one can descend to the very center of the planet via volcanic tubes originating in an Icelandic volcano. He sets out with his nephew Axel and their hired guide Hans on an extraordinary journey through the bowels of the earth that has them encountering strange phenomena and many dangers. The story is told entirely from Axel's point of view as he writes journal of the trip.This is my first time reading Jules Verne. It was a lot of fun and reminded me very much of the 1959 movie. The story starts off slow and spends a bit more time in the preparation than on the journey than I'd like. I wish there had been more time spent deep within the earth and the discoveries there. Axel is quite over dramatic and probably should never have gone along with his uncle. The science in the story is incredibly out dated so you have to unplug that part of the brain to enjoy the adventure.I listened to the audio book narrated by Tim Curry. His performance is top notch and fits the work beautifully. I love the emotion he's able to give the characters.

[daisy_may-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a fun, quick read. I did find it a bit slow to start off with but I was later swept up in the excitement of the journey and the wondrous things that the three travellers encounter on their journey. It's a short book, and didn't take me long to read, but it was definitely worthwhile reading.

[5eva5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans, descend into Iceland's Snæfellsjökull volcano in an attempt to reach the center of the earth. This classic adventure tales is obviously aged, but doesn't feel dated at all; it feels as if someone contemporary wrote an adventure story in an old style - the storyline is exciting enough and has a "new" feel to it. Great story, recommended for all.

[shaunesay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I probably wouldn't have gotten through this very quickly had I been reading it on my own rather than listening to Tim Curry's masterful performance. He was able to infuse so much character into it, and it truly helped me to appreciate how well done this story really is. There really is a lot of character there. There is also A LOT of detailed geological and instrumental description that probably would have bogged me down, even though I understand it, it's not always the most exciting reading, but definitely added realism to the story. Axel and his uncle Otto, and their guide Hans, really have very distinct personalities that add humor to the story which I believe I would have missed without having the assistance of Tim's reading.

I highly recommend listening to this version, as we like to say Tim Curry could read the phone book and it would be a 5 star performance. He brings this classic adventure story to life and I'm happy to have experienced it!

[zottel-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Das Buch war deutlich besser als erwartet. Da ich kein großer Fan von Science Fiction bin, hatte ich nicht viel erwartet, es war einfach ein Experiment, den alten Klassiker einmal zu lesen. Faszinierend war für mich dann auch eher die Reise in die Vergangenheit, die das Buch mir ermöglichte, als die zum Mittelpunkt der Erde. Die alte Sprache meiner Übersetzung, die Beschreibung der Reise nach Island und vor allem die wissenschaftlichen Vorstellungen dieser Zeit. Äußerst faszinierend, gepaart mit einer spannenden Geschichte, die das Lesen leicht macht. Die von mir gelesene Ebook-Ausgabe von NTS Editions hatte des öfteren komplett falsche Wörter im Text, wo die OCR-Software offenbar s und f nicht unterscheiden konnte. Einmal erkannt machte das aber nicht mehr viel aus. Insgesamt eine klare Empfehlung, allerdings mehr an den historisch Interessierten als an Science-Fiction-Fans.

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A solid science-fiction adventure novel, though characterisation was a little weak I thought.

[carl_alves_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic Jules Verne tale. Even before listening to the story on audio, I was already familiar with the tale, so there wasn’t going to be any big surprises in the novel. But even knowing more or less what was going to happen, didn’t mean the novel would be enjoyable. The basic plot and adventure were strong. I enjoyed the different things that the adventurers encountered at the various levels during their journey to the center of the Earth.There were a few negatives to the novel. The first is the first person narration. It’s often told in a clinical manner that took away from the excitement of the story. The narration could have used more of a flare for the dramatic. The other thing that I didn’t much care for was the character of Axel. He had some funny lines and moments, but I found him to be whining and lacking any sense of adventure. He was constantly trying to get out of going on this voyage, but simply lacked the spine to tell his uncle no. The professor, on the other hand, was a more memorable and enjoyable character. He was touched with a bit of madness and insane drive to explore and discover. Overall, this was a fun adventure story, one that inspired many other similar stories.Carl Alves – author of Reconquest: Mother Earth

[judygibson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well. That was nothing like the movie.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a wonderful thing an imagination is. In Journey to the Center of the Earth we get to appreciate the imagination of Jules Verne in his 1864 novel that follows Professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans down a volcanic tube in Iceland in a quest to reach the center of the earth.A little dated and somewhat silly at times, this was still a fun and exciting read that had this group of adventurers encountering many dangers, including prehistoric animals before they discovered themselves back on the surface of the earth. Although many of the scientific “facts” that were used in this book have since been disproved, the author’s vision and his writing style make this book a classic of nineteenth century literature.I read this book in instalment form through Daily Lit and as much as I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to this subterranean world, I can’t help but wish I had discovered this book when I was young as I know it would have fired my own imagination tremendously. Coming to the book at my advanced age, does allow me to understand why this book has been filmed for both movies and television numerous times as the author’s vision of a strange inner earth is vivid and one can see that it would play well on film.

[garrison0550 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An absolute classic. Love it!

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this as an audiobook, which I have been finding the most effective way of making my way through the classics. It was a fun adventure story, a little goofy--I can see why it would appeal to younger readers. I certainly had to curtail my skepticism; for example, how did three men port all the food and lamp oil they needed for several months themselves? For me, the first-person protagonist's voice made all the difference. Harry (as he was called in the audio version) was not really a natural-born explorer; he preferred decent meals and a soft bed, and he was given to panic attacks and fits of hyperbole. I liked him. Jack Sondericker, the narrator, was excellent. He brought a lot of expression to his reading and gave all the characters terrific accents.

[karin7-11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I read this in high school, I loved it, but I have no idea what I'd thnk of it now.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Book on CD performed by Simon Prebble

Book three in the Extraordinary Voyages series begins with Professor Otto Lidenbrock showing a volume of Icelandic literature to his nephew Axel. A sheet of parchment falls out. It contains a coded message by a 16th century scientist. Although Axel fears that decoding it will lead to some ill-advised adventure he helps his uncle decipher the message, which, of course, gives direction for finding a passage to the center of the earth.

This is a classic adventure tale – imaginative, humorous, suspenseful and even though high implausible still great fun. I found it a bit slower to get going than some of Verne’s other tales (we are a third of the way into the book before they even get to the crater that has the passage to the center of the earth), but once they began their descent I enjoyed it more. The “science” may be complete fantasy, but Verne’s imaginative text just pulls the reader along.

Simon Prebble does a fine job narrating the audio version. He has good pacing and he brings the characters to life. I especially liked his voice for the irascible Professor Lidenbrock.

[michael_rose-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was the first true adult book I read. I seem to recall the story being a bit different than any of its film depictions. It makes me wish you could attempt to journey to the center of the earth in that way.