Product Description

Jules Verne, celebrated French author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in 80 Days, wrote over 60 novels collected in the popular series "Voyages Extraordinaires." A handful of these have never been translated into English, including Invasion of the Sea, written in 1904 when large-scale canal digging was very much a part of the political, economic, and military strategy of the world's imperial powers.

Instead of linking two seas, as existing canals (the Suez and the Panama) did, Verne proposed a canal that would create a sea in the heart of the Sahara Desert. The story raises a host of concerns -- environmental, cultural, and political. The proposed sea threatens the nomadic way of life of those Islamic tribes living on the site, and they declare war. The ensuing struggle is finally resolved only by a cataclysmic natural event. This Wesleyan edition features notes, appendices and an introduction by Verne scholar Arthur B. Evans, as well as reproductions of the illustrations from the original French edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #250052 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 284 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Leading off Wesleyan's Early Classics of Science Fiction series, Verne's 1905 techno-thriller debuts in English, rendered by Baxter with supple decorum and reinforced by editor Arthur B. Evans's thorough scholarly notes, bibliography and Verne mini-biography. Inspired by the rage for canal-building obsessing the world's imperial powers around 1904, this novel draws on an aborted 1874 French proposal for an inland "Sahara Sea," which would have involved digging a 200-kilometer Suez-type canal through Tunisia into eastern Algeria. Verne's self-confessed passion for travel writings and geographical detail illuminate the then-current events that Verne shaped into his fiction, but his deluge of scientific facts engulfs the story's slim teen-oriented literary content. Verne also radically shifts point of view, from the Tuareg tribespeople, who vow holy war against the foreigners because they will lose their lands to the inundation, to a European engineering expedition and its French military escort. Verne sympathetically focuses on the soldiers' heroic canine companion, Ace-of-Hearts, before plunging into an unlikely deus ex machina, producing a disjointed yet predictable narrative with negligible development of character and motivation except for the delightful dog. Students of early SF will appreciate Evans's and Baxter's efforts in bringing Verne's late work to light, but general audiences may find themselves swamped by Verne's quicksand of geographic minutiae. (Jan.)Forecast: Evans speculates that this last Verne novel wasn't translated earlier for political reasons as well as on account of tough competition from H.G. Wells's more sensational "scientific romances." While the appeal here is primarily scholarly, this reader-friendly edition, which reproduces the original illustrations, may well have enough curiosity value to garner some trade sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Wesleyan launches its "Early Classics of Science Fiction" line in style with this first English translation of Verne's 1904 novel Invasion of the Sea. The series will feature scholarly editions of popular sf works, with illustrations, bibliographies, textual notes, etc. Though long available in English, The Mysterious Island here receives a new and much more spry and exciting translation to replace the drab version that has been boring readers for years. This also features illustrations and an introduction by Caleb Carr.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"This 1904 volume capped Verne's remarkable career (he died in 1905). Writing at a time when many of the world's top powers were busy building canals to link major bodies of water, Verne goes a step further and weaves a tale of a sea being created in the Sahara desert. This first English translation also includes numerous illustrations, textual notes, and other nice extras. When it comes to vintage sf, Jules Rules!"--Library Journal, "Classic Returns" section

"[A] ripping good yarn."--Harper's Magazine

"The revival for the French father of science fiction . . . continues with the first English translation of this short novel, the last Verne published during his lifetime . . . Journalistic explorations of North Africa and wide-eyed discourse about technology are paced with action scenes . . . Clear, readable translation of a minor but prescient adventure novel, with useful annotations, a brief Verne biography, and 44 b&w illustrations from the original French edition." --Kirkus

Customer Reviews

The timely appearance of a book unknown here
The Invasion of the Sea is unusual for its time in its political complexity and temporal setting, looking ahead to the 1930s. Indigenous customs and colonial opportunism clash as plans are made to irrigate the Sahara desert, opening the inland to new commerce and ports for the French navy. Verne's writing is modern in his immersion in multiple points of view, opening from the native perspective, then shifting to that of the French colonists. Verne had no illusions about the overseas power plays of his own country.
Verne makes clear how the respective sides view the situation; the West seeks to remake nature to its advantage, while the East has adapted to their surroundings. The West wants to change the land, failing to realize that the desert
is home to the tribes of Bedouins. Flooding the land and changing its fundamental purpose becomes the ultimate form of imperialism. While recognizing its political shortcomings, Verne still valorizes the heroic aspect of the human attempt to
harness nature.
The first half of the book establishes the region and the dimensions of the conflict, comparing the different cultures of the Arabs and the Europeans. During the last half, Verne foreshadows the final outcome as nature asserts its own primacy over human plans. A monstrous earthquake shifts the land, allowing the sea to flood the Sahara, overwhelming even the designs of the French. The characters in The Invasion of the Sea are men (and an Arab woman) in action--bandits, French soldiers and an engineers--but the novel is not as exciting as the general reader might hope.
The translation by Edward Baxter is ideal; he fluently transfers Verne's French into readable, contemporary English. All of the 43 engravings and photographs from the original French edition are included, bringing to life the scenery and action of the story in the context of their time. For years it has seemed that this novel could not be more timely, considering confrontations between Arabs and the West, yet its appearance in English comes at a historical moment whose aptness could not be exceeded. While scarcely a lost masterpiece, The Invasion of the Sea is a worthy and important addition to the Verne canon and science fiction literature.

A "must" for Jules Verne enthusiasts!
Invasion Of The Sea is the first English edition of a novel written in 1904 by Jules Verne, best know for his classics "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and "Around the World in 80 Days." Meticulously translated from the original French by Edward Baxter, Invasion of the Sea is an engaging novel that takes serious look at political and imperial struggles in North Africa. When a canal is proposed to create a sea in the Sahara Desert, the way of life of the Islamic tribes living there becomes threatened, and they declare war to protect their lands, prompting a cataclysmic struggle that only natural forces can surpass. A thought-provoking and serious tale, Invasion Of The Sea is recommended for Jules Verne enthusiasts.

Good Choice For Study
This is far from Jules Verne's best work, but it is still very worthwhile for many reasons. It is the first English translation of this title, and it is the last of his works to be published in his lifetime. This is the first book in the "Early Classics of Science Fiction" series from Wesleyan University Press, and the quality of the presentation is outstanding. There is an introduction by Arthur B. Evans where he covers the history of "Invasion Of The Sea", and its place in Verne's writing and life. He also discusses Verne's opinion of the differences between his writing and that of H. G. Wells. Evans also has a very interesting discussion of the problems with many of the English translations of Verne's books. The text itself includes the illustrations by Leon Benett, as well as notes which discuss the real world history which created the base of the story.

The story doesn't rise to the level of the presentation. However, it does make an interesting study for several reasons. Despite being written near the end of Verne's life, there are certainly several similarities to his earlier work. The story takes place in Africa, the same continent as his first novel "Five Weeks In A Balloon". The story also has a pro-science feel to it, which had disappeared in his later works. There are significant differences as well. In Verne's earlier works the characters are active in the pursuit of the goal, but in this story the Sahara Sea is created not by the actions of the characters, but instead by a natural event.

Overall, this book is recommended for those who want to study Verne, or those who are compiling a complete collection of his works. If you are looking for a good example of his works, it would be better to stick with one of his classics.