Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

By: Jules Verne

Narrated by: Alan Munro

Length: 17 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

A mysterious sea monster, theorized by some to be a giant narwhal, is sighted by ships of several nations; an ocean liner is also damaged by the creature. The United States government finally assembles an expedition to track down and destroy the menace. Professor Pierre Aronnax, a noted French marine biologist and narrator of the story, master harpoonist Ned Land, and Aronnax's faithful assistant Conseil join the expedition.

After much fruitless searching, the monster is found, and the ship charges into battle. During the fight, the ship's steering is damaged, and the three men are thrown overboard. They find themselves stranded on the "hide" of the creature, only to discover to their surprise that it is a large metal construct. They are quickly captured and brought inside the vessel, where they meet its enigmatic creator and commander, Captain Nemo.

Public Domain (P)2017 Trout Lake Media

The Deadpan of Alan Munro

Great novel, always been a favorite and deserving of its status as a classic. This was my first encounter with the narrator, and I have endured him through many since. The novels he narrates are always priced cheap, so if you can tolerate him then it's a good deal.

Can barely understand the narator

I'm sure this classic is much more interesting than the narration from Mr. Munro. If you want to be put to sleep, his voice will do it for you.

Good Narrator

A lengthy read and a lengthy listen. Good narrator. I remember reading it in High School. Jules Verne created some memorable characters, but his story skills could have been improved. 99k words without much story arc, lots of experiences played along a 1st person calendar. Still a great book.

Terrible narration of classic scifi

The narrator's delivery is choppy, often unintelligible and ruins this classic scifi masterpiece. Jules Vern must be doing 20,000 RPM's in his grave.

needs new narrator

the narrator was terrible - bought this audible book for a long trip with my grandson and it was horrible.

not what I expected

I had always wanted to read this book. I expected adventure and a great story. what it is, is mostly a listing of all the fish and fauna he sees along the way, a few adventures that were good but overall rather boring. Also not happy with the ending, i would have expected better.

Unabridged. So rich in 19th C. scientific detail!

What made the experience of listening to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea the most enjoyable?
Jules Verne was clearly brilliant, captivated by new discoveries and the possibilities chemical and mechanical engineering presented 150 years ago. This work was prescient in many respects, yet full of natural "flaws" from the science of the day. The narrator rolls dreamily through the myriad Latin names for creatures, imparting the character's awe at the wonders of the deep. I loved it.

What about Alan Munro’s performance did you like?
Here's the only fault I found: the volume was insufficient! I had to amplify by connecting my Kindle to my radio. Otherwise, the recording was excellent.

Terrible Narration for a Fantastic Story

Would you try another book from Jules Verne and/or Alan Munro?

I couldn't even get through half of this beloved story because of the subpar narration. The narration sounds like they recorded Mr. Munro saying all the phrases in random order and spliced them together haphazardly. He doesn't even sound like a native speaker in this rendition. He breaks sentences at awkward moments and speaks in a dreary monotone the entire time I bared to listen to.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Alan Munro?

Literally anyone else. Gilbert Gottfried. Bob Dylan. Sylvester Stallone.

a literary classic?

I have to admit I was very disappointed with this book. I have been told what a literary classic it was my whole life, it was one of the most driest books I have ever listened to and the narrator was extremely monotone wich did not help. if you are into identifying and classifying sea species you might like this, if you're looking for a classic action book this is certainly not one.

distracting

The narrator had an cadence and I found it distracting. Otherwise, it was a good story, of course!

Painful narration

A classic ruined by very poor choice of narrator. I found this painful to get through and only persevered due to it being one of my favourite tales from childhood. The narration reminded me of Captain kirk's stuttering delivery with emphasis on every.... other.... word. The narrator abandons the written grammar and inserts his own pauses every couple of words, which loses the impact of the writing. Top that off with his dry monotone voice with very little expression, and you have a very painful listen.
I increased the speed to 1.3 as this helped reduce the length of the many unnecessary pauses and made it just about listenable.
Such a wasted opportunity to make a classic come to life.

my first audio book 20000 Leagues Under the Sea

the audio book of 20000 Leagues Under the Sea was very captivating most most rememberable moment was about sea creatures being described very interesting to listen about the battles Wars Islands visited in all it was a captivating the narrator was very strong voiced in his Reading kept me interested and I finished the whole book very good I reckon thank you very much audible

Great reading, strange book

The book contains many many lists of sea creatures and Latin names, which can get a bit long. Read very well, the narrator's voice suits the story style

Munro's limited vocabulary is horribly obvious.

He mispronounces even simple words such as 'quadruped' and his many subtle hesitations are cumulatively ruinous. This is a book in which erudite conversation is crucial.

Go for an abridged version

Good story hidden behind page after page after page of animal classification and mathematical calculations that is so dry and irrelevant it really become distractingly bad.

Good book but Narration left a lot to be desired.

I loved the story which kept me listening. how ever Alan Monro's narration did not flow as well as it should. it was very stop starty . which distracted from what is a classic.

Disappointing to the end

Whilst excellently delivered, the story itself lacks excitement beyond the 19th century. This may be due to current knowledge vs. Old, but that does not detract from the averagely written monotony of this supposed classic.
Without spoiling anything, you’ll find the most exciting parts in the second part of this book. Sadly they’re either hastily scrawled, or glossed over completely. Those who know the book will understand what I mean when I say that the ending feels rushed and dissatisfying.

2/5 is generous, only because it’s not so awful to get the lowest rating. From 0-5 inclusive, I’d rate this 1.5.

loved this version

This was a well read version. The narration was colourful so much as not to send you to sleep as some narrations do. Just hope you enjoy like I did .

Fascinating novel, banal narration

The book is riveting if you are a Victoriana/Steam Punk fan yet Alan Munro’s narration is the most monosyllabic, inexpressive voiceover I have ever heard. It’s a crying shame.