Boring and at times a brutal read. I respect the research by Verne done for this book and can understand the spectacle this was originally when deep sea exploration wasn’t even a thing during its time, but the book itself is quite tedious for 95% of the time up until say the final 50 pages or so.

2.5 stars for readability today and my personal enjoyment, 5 stars for cultural influence and how exciting it no doubt was for its original audience.

I never read Verne before this year, and I have now read three of his novels. I enjoyed Around the World in 80 Days, but didn't much care for Journey to the Center of the Earth or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

I found 20,000 Leagues wordy and boring, with an occasional (very occasional) passage of interest. I also did not enjoy the excessive hunting and killing.

Still, Verne deserves credit for being far ahead of his time and for influencing culture with Captain Nemo and the Nautilus. He must have done tremendous research about the seas, and I'm sure his original readers looked forward to the next installment with as much excitement as today's viewers look forward to the next episode of their favorite TV show.

Well THAT was boring. It took me 7 weeks to read this book so you may think it was a tome but no, it was 245 pages long. Maybe if I was a marine biologist or a nautical engineer I would have found it much more interesting. This was the English translation from 1873 which was very dry and unembellished, hung up on botanical names and specifications of the ship. I blame the translator and not Jules Verne. If you’re interested in reading it I recommend you seek out modern translations, or maybe just watch the Kirk Douglas movie.

DNF, just too much killing of animals at every chance they get. not my cup of tea. Abandoning.

I am a fan of seemingly boring 19th-century novels, so I went into this with an open mind, ready to enjoy it. About halfway through, I was ready to declare this one a disappointment primarily due to the writing style, but in the end, I enjoyed it.

"20,000 Leagues" doesn't have the staying power of other adventure novels of its age like "The Count of Monte Cristo" or "Moby Dick," but I can still see the appeal. It must have been stunningly imaginative at its time, brimming with excitement for exploration, advancing technology and science while grounded by anti-imperialist political themes through the mysterious, conflicted Captain Nemo.

However, it reads like a daily logbook with one experience after the next described without any building action until the very end, which caused my interest to wax and wane (particularly when Professor Aronnax just lists sea creatures). The audiobook I listened to also wasn't helped by the narrator's strangely robotic voice for Captain Nemo, which didn't seem to fit the character. In all, I'm glad I read it though.

I hate to say it but I'd rate it 1 star.
It's hard to read, and reading it does not feel enjoyable because it is dry. I felt like I was reading a science textbook, not a sci-fi promoted to be a classic. I expected some crazy and fun adventures under the water, not some dudes chilling around in a submarine (I have only read about half of it and had to give up). Other than that, it is quite ahead of its time, to be honest, and I'll give it the credit for that, given it was written in 1870. This is my subjective review, you may like it if you want some very detailed description of the machineries and explanations of scientific facts. But not for a fiction girlie like me.

Verne's novel is painfully slow reading and unimpressive.

Almost every chapter includes excruciating, detailed accounts and descriptions of animals and plants the characters encounter underwater. Classifications of the animals and plants take up a good portion of the novel.

The dialogue is rather stilted and lackluster with cliched statements and exclamations. As an example, time after time Arronaux declares it impossible to do x,y or z and each time Nemo proves otherwise Arronaux bows to his extraordinary feats. The same exchange happens again and again.

There is very little character development. Each character acts and speaks in one dimension - Conseil is submitting, Ned is rebellious, Arronaux is in wonderment. The only interesting person is Nemo, yet very little is learned or revealed about his past and how he came to be.

Disappointing.

I had two overarching problems with this book. The first--its rhapsodic recounting of all things underwater--I can forgive. I understand: it was all so new and fascinating at the time. The second--it's abysmal lack of character development--I cannot. I found Captain Nemo to be an insufferable, self-righteous, arrogant ass. Verne never explains Nemo's motivation for mass murder, and such a thing must be explained or else I cannot empathize with the character. The narrator was even less likable. He was a spineless sycophant. Only Ned Land (and boy, does Verne hit the reader over the head with that name!) was remotely understandable.

It may seem a little unfair to downgrade this classic for its clunkiness, given how old it is, but Verne's almost contemporary HG Wells wrote with such vibrancy. The dispassionate storytelling, heavy on the exposition has dated badly. Some cool concepts though.