An Antarctic Mystery
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4.1 • 134 Ratings
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Publisher Description
An Antarctic mystery” is based on the classic tale of horror “Arthur Gordon Pym” by Edgar Allen Poe and serves as a continuation of the story although it must be noted that this is not a work of horror. Rather, “An Antarctic mystery” begins in 1839 with the lead character and narrator, Jeorling, on the Kerguelen Islands to study wildlife. He is ready to depart and learns that a ship, the Halbrane, is coming into port shortly. Jeorling is done on the island and wants to depart on the Halbrane with no particular destination in mind. The captain of the Halbrane, Len Guy, at first refuses but finally relents on the night before the ship sets sail. Jeorling is uncertain as to why the strange captain had a change of heart but he wants to leave so he happily sets sail aboard the ship the next morning.
Customer Reviews
An Antarctic Mystery
Reads faster than most Jules Verne. Best read after first reading "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pyn of Nantucket", Poe's only novel. Verne's book expands on Poe's story. Both written before the discovery of Antarctica.
Bad transcript of an outdated tale
Someone scanned this edition from an original source and never bothered to see if the new version had any typos. It does. Lots and lots of them.
What makes it worse is that the story itself is rather pedestrian and riddled with racist language and concepts. Even allowing for the time it was written, the constant use of racist terms took this reader out of the story.
Skip it and leave it to the dust bin of history.
Antarctic Mystery
Jules Verne is a well known fiction author. This was not one of his best works. The story is interesting especially for those who love sea stories. The plot and character development lack sufficient depth but nevertheless keep the reader hooked. The story unfolds too slowly, drags in some places and never builds to that great crescendo one expects from a master story teller. My rating is likely biased from comparing this story with the genius of Jules Verne's other great works.