The Science Fiction Novel - Jules Verne

It's a rainy Thursday. Jo and Fiona have gone out shopping. Jamie and Harrie had planned to take Logan to the park but unfortunately the bad weather seems to have kept them indoors. The dogs and I are in the den; I'm listening to MSNBC and the dogs are listening to every noise in the house.

Jules Verne

So I think I'll continue with my new topic, the Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) novel. I'm going to start with a book I read back in public school. I guess the question is whether this classifies as Sci-Fi or not.

Jules Verne was born in Nantes, France in 1828 and he died in Amiens in 1905. Over the course of his life, he wrote 11 novels. I first tried his writing when I was back in public school. I used to use both the school library and public library constantly at that time. We students also received a monthly book catalogue from Scholastics books and I often ordered from it. I remember deciding to try A Journey to the Center of the Earth. Verne had it first published in 1864 and it was later published in English in 1871. It's a fascinating story of a group of explorers to find a way to the Earth's core and the adventures they have on their way.

Now, does that qualify the story as a Sci-Fi novel? Verne has been labeled as one of the first Sci-Fi authors, although he considered himself an adventure story teller. he felt he did not offer any scientific inventions, or as he says, 'he never wrote a single sentence of scientific-marvellous'. However he is still considered to be one of the founders of the genre, like H.G. Wells, someone who had a strong influence on future authors of the genre.

I never read any others of Verne's novels, but I have watched movies based on his books and also have enjoyed graphic novels that have been influenced in part by his work. Verne's other novels, clearly adventures, covered many aspects of the exploration that might classify them as Sci-Fi. The complete list of his novels is available at the link. Some of his more noted books are listed below:

- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
- From the Earth to the Moon (1865)
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869 - 70)
- Around the World in Eighty Days (1873)
- The Mysterious Island (1874 - 75)

While I haven't read any others of the books Verne wrote, I have enjoyed movies based on the books. So many have been made into movies; Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, etc., while not classics by any means are always entertaining and I've seen many times.

I also have enjoyed how Verne's works, along with other classic writers, have influenced the graphic novel. When I was a youngster and read countless comics, one brand I enjoyed was the Classic comic series. They brought so many books by authors such as Stevenson, Poe, Dumas and Verne to the young minds of people like me. It was fantastic to read such books in such an easily accessible form.

Also, more current graphic novelists, especially Alan Moore, have incorporated many of the classics into their graphic novels. Moore exposed me to the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. His League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series incorporated characters from H.G. Wells, Oscar Wilde, Verne and others into this series. Captain Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is one of the League. It's a great series and makes you want to find out more about the characters that make up the group.

So there you go, my first entry in the Sci-Fi genre. I hope I've piqued your interest. More to follow as I work up the years.