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  • The Mysterious Island

  • By: Jules Verne
  • Narrated by: Berny Clark
  • Length: 19 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (122 ratings)
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The Mysterious Island cover art

The Mysterious Island

By: Jules Verne
Narrated by: Berny Clark
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Editor reviews

This 19th-century adventure novel will delight Verne fans. As in other works by Verne the characters are ideal and the plot seems convenient rather than organic. Verne was not a scientist, but he was obsessed by all the scientific disciplines. Verne’s novels are full of magical inventions and pseudo-scientific rhetoric. In The Mysterious Island, five men and a pooch land their balloon on an exotic island. They undertake to learn the secret of the place. Narrator Berny Clark’s lively voice sings out the animated dialogue. His excited yet genteel tone makes the densely descriptive text sound lighter and less mannered. His voice sustains an energetic lilt throughout his performance of this lengthy and exhaustively sketched fiction.

Summary

Based on the true story of Alexander Selkirk, who survived alone for almost five years on an uninhabited island off the coast of Chile, The Mysterious Island is considered by many to be Jules Verne’s masterpiece.

“Wide-eyed mid-nineteenth-century humanistic optimism in a breezy, blissfully readable translation by Stump” (Kirkus Reviews), here is the enthralling tale of five men and a dog who land in a balloon on a faraway, fantastic island of bewildering goings-on and their struggle to survive as they uncover the island’s secret.

Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Mysterious Island

Average customer ratings
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in the words of Pencroft, Hoorah!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, yes and yes again, I loved this book and couldn't put it down.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Mysterious Island?

Any thing involving pencroft and food!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Try it, you'll love it!

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An all-time classic

one must remember that Jules Verne was an educated man and at the time that this was written the United States and England were at the dawn of "modern" science. This book celebrates the passion for education and the investigation of new things through the words of both Jules Verne and the hero of the adventure Cyprus Harding.

This book is a perfect reflection of both the attitude and the dedication to study that our ancestors of the time help in the highest regard, which defined a society that was both well educated and morally rich.

Some might argue that these opinions are somewhat biased and seen through rose tinted glasses other the romanticism of the past, however the values that our ancestors held in the highest regard are so sadly lacking in our "modern-day" society.

The narrative of this book dwells largely on the scientific study of flora and fauna and touches deeply on the natural sciences, which only adds to the charm of the adventure of a group of men, escaping from the terrible effects of the American Civil War only to grind themselves marooned on an unknown island hundreds of miles from civilisation.

These men were what we would term today as "old school educated", armed with practical knowledge which allowed then to survive the terrible and hostile environment that they now found themselves in.

Armed with that knowledge and applying it practically to their current situation allowed them no only to survive but to colonise their small island, building small manufactories and going beyond basic survival to establishing a proper civilised community.

The prodigious fauna does, in some places, over-step the boundaries of possibility, but it displays the fantastic passion that the people of that generation felt towards society. The importance of learning all aspects of the sciences and the practicality of survival.

This adventure rates very highly to anybody who has the imagination to let themselves be immersed in the society of that erase, open their minds to the infinite possibilities and the great hopes of the people of that time period and to live through every success and tragedy of this group of people who pulled together in the common fight for survival.

It is a great pity that the passions and hopes of our modern-day attitudes and education are not so profound, and we have lost that which we were given so long ago... a desire to learm and to further ourselves for the good of all.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • M
  • 27-11-18

A secret sequal that's really a prequal

If you are a already a Jules Verne fan you will spot early on the probable presence of a character you already know from his other books. But don't worry this book isn't about him. It's a great story of surviving on ones whits and engineering absolutely from scratch with some real moments of suspense and danger along the way.
As for our mysterious character (Who I will not name despite it being really obvious from very early on) What looks like being a Sequel is in fact far more interesting as a prequel as we learn of the early life of one of Verne's greatest creations. I would even go as far as to suggest that as origin stories go it has much potential for some great (possibly steampunk) fanfic.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A great book

Well written and beautifully read.
Imagine a 19th century version of The Martian!
An uplifting story about a struggle for survival and the deployment of science to do so.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Capital!

Fantastic story and narration, the kind of book that makes you want to hear more of it once you reach the end.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I am delighted

I read the book immediately after I finished 20 000 leagues below the sea, and I found the same narrative style as well as similarities between the characters.
If you enjoyed the previous book this one is a must read.
The narrator is just perfect, impersonating each character, and trying to dramatise at the climax moments.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

Really good book couldn’t stop listening to it, it would keep me up all night

Narrator really makes the book come alive

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Some very interesting practical solutions expressed in this story, of how to survive in those circumstances.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • mo
  • 14-01-24

Thrilling!

Second version I've heard of this one and absolutely loved it.. great narration, interesting story and a cameo from Captain Nemo.. what more could you want!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fascinating despite far from Verne's scifi

A fantasy-inducing adventure leaning heavily on a belief in strong men conquering nature. Exterminating animals and industrialising a paradise island seems less impressive today than it perhaps did at the time of the books writing.

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