After the discovery and
subsequent solving of a three hundred year old puzzle, suggesting that
travelling to the centre of the earth and how it might be accomplished, is
possible, Axel, and his uncle, Otto Lidenbrock, (a scientist held in the highest regard), begin their journey.
Heading across Europe from
Hamburg to Iceland, they make their preparations - hiring an Icelandic man
by the name of Hans, and acquiring the necessary provisions for their decent
into the volcano of Snæfellsjökull.
As you can
imagine, their journey is fraught with danger: exposure, hunger, ancient extinct creatures,
to name just a few, but when Axel becomes separated and believes all is
lost, as his light gradually dims and he finds himself alone in the
impenetrable dark, miles beneath the earth’s surface, you get a real sense
of foreboding.
When our
intrepid explorers discover an underground sea, with sandy beaches, cliffs,
inlets and tropical foliage to boot, there is euphoria, but before all of that there is the thirst. Minutes turn to hours that become days, with no water, but
what is that noise? Are they hearing things? Are they hallucinating?
With the
last of his energy, and with brute force, Hans manages to bore a hole through
the rock, and find water; hot scalding water, but water all the same.
Incidences
like this befall our trio throughout the book, the tempest that destroys their
raft and the battle between two giant marine creatures, are both worthy of
mention, as is the constant sense of threat, but the stand out moments for me where, Axel's despair in isolation, and the almost catastrophic effects of
their dynamiting what they were hoping was their path to the centre of the Earth.
It's not a
long book this one, and is quite fast paced, especially the second half, so well worth a
read.
Three and
a half stars.
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