Journey to the center of the earth
by Jules Verne · first published 2000
33% recommend67% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Imaginative, fast-moving adventure that sparked wonder in many readers, with underground caverns and geology taught through the story; often cited as a first step into science fiction for younger readers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…father had a big book shelf in his office room in our house which spanned two of the walls. As a kid I loved to browse the shelf and pick up different kinds of literature. I remember reading Jules Verne's “Journey to the Center of the Earth“ around the age of 10 and although it was a rather tough read, I was blown away.
on “It’s time to break up the Ivy League cartel” ↗Jules Verne's "The Mysterious Island" was how I got interested in tech around the age of 6. I devoured all of his books that I could find after that and it was my introduction to geology ("Journey to the Center of the Earth"), geography ("In search of the castaways", "Around the world in eighty days"), oceanology ("Twenty thousand leagues under the sea"), Astronautics ("From the Earth to the Moon", "Around the moon"), dystopian/utopian…
on “Jules Verne’s Most Famous Books Were Part of a 54-Volume Masterpiece” ↗I know it was mostly nonsense, but Jules Vernes’ Journey to the Center of the Earth enchanted me to no end and sent my mind imagining such undiscovered wonders, including, yes, oceans within massive caverns miles below the crust. That man was such an incredible, creative storyteller.
on “Massive ‘ocean’ discovered towards Earth’s core (2014)” ↗I was disappointed not to see any of the real classics (20000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Time Machine, Journey to the Center of the Earth, etc.) on the list.
on “The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit)” ↗I still get goosebumps remembering the scene in "journey to the center of the earth" when they see a human figure lumbering across the cavern. Paris in the 20th century was also really cool to read. Almost every Jules Verne book has this unbridled optimism (especially pronounced in…
on “Jules Verne’s Most Famous Books Were Part of a 54-Volume Masterpiece” ↗…after 2 seasons, I stopped watching it. The material taken from the first two movies had ended and nothing really interesting have come out after from the writers (IMO). Voyage au centre de la Terre (Journey to the Center of the Earth) is a great book from 1864 and I honestly prefer the movie from 1959 than the its latest 3D incarnation from 2008. Not because older is better, but because the 1959 version is more centered around the…
on “DALL·E 2 and The Origin of Vibe Shifts” ↗…cannon that could fire humans into space had not been implemented in 1865 when he wrote From the Earth to the Moon, and the interior of volcanos and the Earth's core had not been explored when he wrote Journey to the Center of the Earth. I really think you're selling him short - he used cutting-edge scientific theories as inspiration for imaginative, speculative stories, he didn't limit himself to existing inventions. I have plenty…
on “Science Fiction vs. Science Fantasy” ↗Not to mention Frankenstein and Journey to the Center of the Earth, both of which are science fiction classics. And then, of course, you leave out the entirety of 20th century science fiction.
on “Unauthorized "David Attenborough" AI clone narrates developer's life, goes viral” ↗…number of references to fantasy or science fiction worlds. I count eight so far. * WoW - Zangermarsh * Elder Scrolls - Vvardenfell * StarCraft - Mutalisks * Smurfs * Mario Brothers * Jules Verne - Journey to the Center of the Earth * Miyazaki - Nausicaa and the Valley of the Winds * Paul Stamet - Mycelium Running
on “Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms” ↗…Chronicles, 1-10 - Roger Zelazny The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250 - 1600 - Alfred W. Crosby * Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C Clark * The Time Dweller - Michael Moorcock Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card * Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card * Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible - Tim Gunn * The Gods Themselves - Isaac Asimon * The Hugo Winners vol. 3 - Various…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗When I read the title, I immediately thought of Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864). The flora are described as consisting of "...surrounded by a rocky coastline covered in petrified trees and giant mushrooms".
on “Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms” ↗"The Mysterious Island". It was my first book by Jules Verne, and it striked me with it's utter realism. Most his other books, like "20000 leagues under sea" or "Journey to the center of the Earth" are based on a fictional devices or exceptional characters, but Cyrus Smith became for me a realistic exemplar of a man using his engineering skills and knowledge to change his life and world around…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗That's exactly what I thought when I read the title! I'm right now in the process of reading Journey to the Center of the Earth and this struck me. Jules Verne really was quite the visionary...
on “Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms” ↗I hope they find the dinasouars like in Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth
on “Massive 'ocean' discovered towards Earth's core” ↗When I read the mysterious island for the first time, I thought of Jules Verne in terms of Journey to the Center of the Earth, or Around the World in 80 Days. The Mysterious Island absolutely bowled me over with the science and engineering.
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗