Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

By: Jules Verne

Narrated by: Alan Munro

Length: 17 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

A mysterious sea monster, theorized by some to be a giant narwhal, is sighted by ships of several nations; an ocean liner is also damaged by the creature. The United States government finally assembles an expedition to track down and destroy the menace. Professor Pierre Aronnax, a noted French marine biologist and narrator of the story, master harpoonist Ned Land, and Aronnax's faithful assistant Conseil join the expedition.

After much fruitless searching, the monster is found, and the ship charges into battle. During the fight, the ship's steering is damaged, and the three men are thrown overboard. They find themselves stranded on the "hide" of the creature, only to discover to their surprise that it is a large metal construct. They are quickly captured and brought inside the vessel, where they meet its enigmatic creator and commander, Captain Nemo.

Public Domain (P)2017 Trout Lake Media

Unabridged. So rich in 19th C. scientific detail!

What made the experience of listening to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea the most enjoyable?
Jules Verne was clearly brilliant, captivated by new discoveries and the possibilities chemical and mechanical engineering presented 150 years ago. This work was prescient in many respects, yet full of natural "flaws" from the science of the day. The narrator rolls dreamily through the myriad Latin names for creatures, imparting the character's awe at the wonders of the deep. I loved it.

What about Alan Munro’s performance did you like?
Here's the only fault I found: the volume was insufficient! I had to amplify by connecting my Kindle to my radio. Otherwise, the recording was excellent.

The Deadpan of Alan Munro

Great novel, always been a favorite and deserving of its status as a classic. This was my first encounter with the narrator, and I have endured him through many since. The novels he narrates are always priced cheap, so if you can tolerate him then it's a good deal.

not what I expected

I had always wanted to read this book. I expected adventure and a great story. what it is, is mostly a listing of all the fish and fauna he sees along the way, a few adventures that were good but overall rather boring. Also not happy with the ending, i would have expected better.

Timeless and fantastic story, monotonous narrator.

A true timeless classic, however the narrator fails to keep a continuous engaging reading.
The story makes up for it though.

A little too wordy

I found this a bit tedious to get through and jumping around so many various adventures, hard to follow. Good storyline about a killer whale and an obviously crazed captain but couldn't hold my attention.

Narrator was hard to listen to. Very monotone.

Narrator was hard to listen to. Very monotone and deep bass voice. Great story though.

Beautifully written

The narration was kind of drab, but slightly got better as the story went along. I enjoyed it despite any deficiencies of theatrical emphasis.

Visions of todays reality

Science fiction of the time over 100 years ago has become today’s reality. Jules Verne: a writer, researcher, prophet

Fun but slow

Slow, because this is a very long book, full of elaborate made-up science. I guess that is the point but it was kind of plodding, I couldn't finish it. I loved Around the World in Eighty Days, which, although also very long, is much faster paced and has some humor.

Poor audio

Alas, great story, great performance, but the tone was so rich and resonating that you can't discern the words with any background noise. I had to turn the bass all the way down and the treble all the way up to listen.