Having recently ventured around the world with Mr Verne, I decided that a journey into its depths with the same author might be in order. After all, Around the World in 80 Days, while flawed in many ways, was an immense amount of fun, and its hard not to feel fondly towards it despite its shortcomings. So it was in an adventurous frame of mind (cue image of hard hat, goggles, and spelunking gear) that I began Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
Unfortunately it seems as though travelling around the world is rather more interesting than travelling through it. In this novel, Verne takes us along on a psuedo-scholarly journey through the earths mantle, stopping frequently to tell us all about different geological materials and the equipment by which they might be assessed. And while I have an appreciation for rocks and stalactites and sedimentary and igneous what-have-you, I admit to needing a bit of plot or character to make this educational meal more palatable.
Vernes characterisation seems to be a recurring weak point in his work, but its painfully apparent in this book. Brusque and snarky Professor Liedenbrock is, well, brusque and snarky, and engages in all manner of shenanigans for utterly incomprehensible reasons. Upon by chance finding in a newly purchased book a cipher hes unable to crack, he locks up everyone in his household. When his (no doubt hungry and cabin-feverish) nephew Axel cracks the code (a process that is depicted in thoroughly excruciating detailMr Verne, if I wanted to read about tedious cryptography and steganography, Id pick up a Dan Brown book), which tells in poor Latin of the truth of the centre of the earth, Liedenbock suddenly sets off to Iceland, dragging a few hapless others in his wake. And Liedenbock continues in such a manner throughout the rest of the book (with the exception of a few scenes in which hes forced to show his oh-so-human colours). Its with a Terminator-esque determination that he sets out on his journey. But curiously, it seems less that hes motivated by the geological side of thingswhich might be the case given his preferred area of studybut by a boyish need to conquer stuff.
While a larger-than-life character can be good fun, their presence needs to be balanced by the other characters with whom they interact. But Verne gives us wimpy Axel, whos roughly as useful as Bella Swan, and who has a similar propensity for tripping over his own feet, and a guide called Hans, whose role is limited to occasional ejections in Danish: water!, help! and so forth. In fact, the most interesting character is Axels betrothed, a young lass whos an academic in her own right and might well have made for some interesting reading. Of course, being a young woman shes unsuited to such things, and is left behind to undertake some needlework in the parlour or somesuch.
Needless to say, all of this makes for a rather bumbling effort when it comes to determining whether or not the centre of the earth is molten.
But perhaps whats most frustrating about this book is its potentialand the fact that that potential goes unrealised. Theres so much room here for this book to be a fabulous, rollicking adventure. We get dinosaurs! Underground waterspouts! Humanoid life! But Vernes characters utterly ignore these in their efforts to effectively plant a flag in that all-essential central part of the earth. And, of course, once they meet their destination theyre vomited up back on to the earths surface (after a few random flashbacks about skulls and academic lectures). I understand that theres a statement being made here: the human tendency to fixate on one outcome or objective to the point that our myopia stops us from so much as noticing those other astonishing things around us. Given that Vernes main character is a scientist, this is no doubt a commentary on the nature of scientific practice and research. But while thats all fine and dandy, one cant help but feel that this insight might be better served with a dinosaur scene or two.
In all, Journey to the Centre of the Earth makes for a fabulous elevator pitch: three guys journey to the centre of the earth!, but theres little more to it than that.
Rating: 
(not bad)
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And yet, it has been adapted several times, which argues that there is something there worth adapting. :-) ( like Ivanhoe, which makes a great story when the waffle is removed as it is in an abridged version I own).Have you come across the Alien Voices series? Its produced by members of the Star Trek cast, as radio plays. I have the Journey To The Centre Of The Earth one on CD, with Leonard Nimoy as the grumpy professor and John De Lancie, aka Q in STNG, as Axel. Its a delight.
I really think youre spot on there, Sue. Its such a great concept, and Im not surprised that so many people want to take the basic idea and take it somewhere the original didnt. All of Vernes work is like that, to be honestbrilliant high-concept stuff, but not quite there in terms of the execution.
I havent heard of the Alien Voices series before, but it sounds great! Thanks for the heads up.