Jules Verne is one of those authors I've been aware of for ever, but never before got as far as reading. As a result, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was my first experience of his writing.

An early forerunner of the Science Fiction genre, 20,000 Leagues leans very strongly towards science rather than fiction. It contains a great deal of very detailed description of the marine science of the day (being written in 1870), which is, while impressive, somewhat dry and tedious. Between this, there is fairly little by way of plot, resulting in a novel that is far from a light, enjoyable read.

I would recommend this only to the very dedicated. I look forward to trying some of Verne's other novels, however, such as Around the World in 80 days and Journey to the Centre of the Earth.