Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius [Hardcover]

K.J. Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2002

Most readers know Capain Nemo only as the enigmatic protagonist of Jules Verne's classic novel "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But what if Nemo was a real man, whose actual life was more fantastic and adventurous than all the fictions it inspired?

Here is the epic tale of Andre Nemo, the man behind the myth. The free-spirited and inventive son of a French shipbuilder, Nemo goes to sea as a cabin boy, faces marauding pirates and bloodthirsty sharks, is marooned for years on a mysterious island, battles prehistoric monsters long believed extinct, journeys to the center of the Earth, balloons across Africa, escapes from Arab slavers, discovers the fabled city of Timbuktu, endures a plague of locusts, survives the Charge of the Light Brigade, tends to the wounded with Florence Nightingale, is pressed into service by the ruthless Robert the Conqueror, and, ultimately, wages war on War itself as the captain of his greatest creation: the legendary underwater vessel known as the "Nautilus.

"Captain Nemo is also the story of Nemo's childhood friend, Jules Verne, who would bestow immortality upon the captain's exploits, and of the remarkable woman they both loved to the very end.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

rolific bestseller Anderson (Hopscotch; the original Star Wars anthologies) pays dashing homage here to Jules Verne (1828-1905), one of the genre's founding fathers and creator of the brooding captain of the Nautilus, hero of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In this fictionalized biography of Verne, Anderson postulates a "real" Andre Nemo, Verne's boyhood friend who lived the life and then some that Verne wanted but didn't dare to follow. After young Nemo's father dies in a shipbuilding accident in Nantes, Verne runs off to sea with Nemo, only to be jerked back by his dry-as-dust father to the caning of his life, then law school. Both Nemo and Verne love the luscious Caroline Arronax, but her heart belongs to Nemo alone. She patiently waits through his exotic adventures, which Verne eventually shapes into his Voyages Extraordinaires (Five Weeks in a Balloon, etc.), wildly popular whales-of-tales that made the French author wealthy and famous. Anderson's rollicking whopper of a novel glides along smoothly in a style deliberately modeled on Verne's own, yet unvexed by the scientific detail that often bogged down Verne's prose and muddied his narrative waters. Anderson's Nemo, whose stories alternate here with Verne's, is a sympathetically drawn Byronic hero, playing off the pedestrian Verne, a multitude of flamboyant pirates, Turkish caliphs, raging sea monsters and the incomparable Caroline, a proto-feminist shipping executive and composer. No one would miss the boat by signing on this fantastic journey. (Jan. 2)Forecast: This title could get a boost from the publication of Verne's last novel, Invasion of the Sea, in its first English edition (reviewed above), plus the reissue of two new editions of The Mysterious Island (one of which is noted below).

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As young men, Jules Verne and Andre Nemo pledged to experience a world of adventures together but fate set them on two different paths. Nemo becomes an adventurer, traveling to fantastic places and encountering hidden civilizations and mythical creatures, while Verne builds a reputation chronicling his friend's exploits. The author of Dune: House Corrino (with Brian Herbert) pays tribute to one of the genre's founding fathers in a fast-paced sf fantasy reminiscent of the early pulp stories. Romance, adventure, and a new look at Verne's classic novels make this a strong addition to most sf collections.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek; First edtion edition (January 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074344406X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743444064
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #447,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kevin J. Anderson has written 46 national bestsellers and has over 20 million books in print worldwide in thirty languages. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the SFX Readers' Choice Award. Find out more about Kevin Anderson at www.wordfire.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Old Fashioned Scientific Romance, March 1, 2003

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius (Hardcover)

Captain Nemo is a novel in the tradition of Farmer's The Other Log of Phileas Fogg and other tributes to science fiction pioneers. Andre Nemo is the son of a carpenter in the shipyards of Nantes. His friend Jules Verne is the son of a local lawyer. Together they dream of exploration and experiment with diving suits.

When Andre's father is killed in a ship fire, he becomes a cabin boy on the Coralie and sails on an exploratory mission. Jules tries to join Andre but is intercepted by his father and taken back to Nantes. After a long voyage, the Coralie is attacked by pirates and Andre is stranded on a mysterious island. He escapes underground, finds dinosaurs, and travels through the center of the earth. Later, he travels across Africa in a huge balloon and is involved in the building of a great undersea vessel by Robur, a Turkish general.

Meanwhile, Jules completes his training as a lawyer and dabbles in writing plays, with little success. As he receives news of Andre's exploits, Jules incorporates them into fictious adventures which become wildly successful. Eventually, Jules is reunited briefly with Andre aboard the Nautilus and gets an underwater tour.

Caroline Aronnax, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, is the friend and sweetheart of both boys, but is more attracted to Andre. After Andre goes to sea, Caroline is married to Captain Hatteras, who sails away to the Arctic Sea, never to return. In his absence, Caroline manages the Hatteras household and finances and, when her father dies, the family business as well. Although still loving Andre, she is determined to be true to her husband until he has been legally presumed dead. Andre can't stand the wait and goes off to the Crimean War.

Although bowing to the imagination of Jules Verne as an author, this novel suggests his many flaws and shortcomings as a man. Would Verne have written his great adventures if he had been more contented with his life? Maybe the greatest dreamers are never fully content.

Anderson has written a scientific romance of the old style, but with a thoroughly modern heroine. It is fun, but not the best that Anderson can produce.

Recommended to Anderson fans and anyone who enjoys a good retake of a classical SF story.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Adventure, March 29, 2002

By 

Jon G. Hargrove (Fullerton, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius (Hardcover)

What a fun book! Enjoyed it thoroughly, and admire the author's meticulous research. His love for Verne and his characters is evident. Anderson pulls off perhaps the advenure novel of the year.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another good book from Kevin J. Anderson, December 27, 2001

By 

Aaron B. Larson (Chamberlain, South Dakota United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius (Hardcover)

Whether you read the novels of Jules Verne or watched the spate of Jules Verne inspired movies of the 1950's and 1960's (as I did) while growing up -- CAPTAIN NEMO is a must read! In this book Kevin J. Anderson weaves an intricate tapestry intertwining the real life story of Jules Verne with a fictional tale in which Andre Nemo (of MYSTERIOUS ISLAND and 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA fame) stars in all the "Extraordinary Voyages" that Verne later turned to literary gold. If I had a complaint about the book, it would only be that sometimes Jules Verne comes across as a pretty dull fellow next to his friend Nemo! Still, it is wonderful to once again have a book take those of us who must stay home on an extraordinary voyage across an Earth still rich with adventure!
CAPTAIN NEMO is highly recommended by this reader.