(44) Le Sphinx des glaces (An Antarctic Mystery, aka The Sphinx of the Ice Fields, 1897) (2 volumes) 114K words


The 44th Extraordinary Voyage takes place inside the Antarctic Circle, deep into the unexplored regions surrounding the South Pole. It's not the first time the series takes us near the South Pole, since we visited that area in "Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas", but in that case it was just a quick visit, taking only a small part of the novel. The Extraordinary Voyages have also taken us deep into the Arctic regions, in "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras". Novels like "The Fur Country" and "César Cascabel" also took us inside the Arctic Circle, but not very deep inside it.

"An Antarctic Mystery" was written as a sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket". It is the first out two times that Verne wrote a sequel to a novel by another writer. The second one will be "The Castaways of the Flag", a sequel to Johann Wyss' novel "The Swiss Family Robinson".


First read or reread?: This one is a reread for me. I loved it when I read it as a kid.


What is it about?: In the remote Kerguelen Islands, near the Antarctic Circle, a wealthy American geologist called Mr. Jeorling finishes his studies and takes passage in the ship Halbrane, on its way to Tristan da Cunha. The captain, Len Guy, turns out to be the brother of William Guy, commander of the Jane, the ship whose story is told in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket". To Joerling's surprise, the story told in that book turns out to be true, as a newfound clue allows Captain Len Guy to trace the fate of his brother's lost ship. Through the efforts of Mr. Joerling, the crew of the Halbrane is enticed to make the trip to Antarctica to search for any survivors of the Jane.


Since this is a sequel, the first question that comes to mind is "do I need to read Poe's book to understand this one?" The answer to that question is "no", because Verne gives the reader all the necessary information. In fact, chapter 5 is a detailed summary of the events of Poe's novel. Since I had just read it (see my review), I skimmed through this chapter. Nevertheless, I would recommend reading Poe's novel first, as it is quite a reading experience, and it combines well with Verne's novel to tell a complete epic. Two different styles, but they do complement each other. Besides, having read the first story, it's easier to get invested in the quest to discover what happened and rescue the survivors, if any.

While Verne greatly admired Edgar Poe, as he calls him, he also realized that they were rather different writers. Frustrated by the abrupt, mysterious ending of Pym's narrative, Verne would write "Who shall continue it? Someone braver than me, someone more willing to enter the domain of impossible things." Decades later, Verne took that task upon his shoulders.

So what about those "impossible things", the fantastic, extraordinary events observed by Arthur Gordon Pym near the South Pole? How does the rational Verne deal with that? Well, while most of the story told by Poe according based on Pym's diaries turns out to be true, some of the most fantastic effects described at the end of it are not observed in this sequel, and it is implied that some of them may be hallucinations due to Pym's mental state at that point, or perhaps embellishments added by Poe himself.

This leads some reviewers to complain that Verne takes the magic out of Poe's story. I personally do not share that complaint, because while the vividness and exuberance of Poe's imagination is wonderful, I also appreciate Verne's more rational worldview. This sequel is a great, epic adventure in its own right, and it doesn't lack some extraordinary, although rationally explainable, phenomena.

I do not want to give spoilers here, so I can't discuss the details, but the fate of the Jane's expedition will be discovered and the narrative circle closed. According to Verne's story, while Pym's narration is mostly true, there were things he did not know and we discover Pym's fate, different from what Poe told us. We also meet some survivors from the previous story.

I do not know why, but I really enjoy Verne's stories set in polar regions. I suppose it's because these were truly unexplored regions at the time, and any expedition there is a risky adventure. As modern readers, we know what's in the poles, but at the time Verne was writing they were unknown, so in his stories we never know what we are going to discover there. It's like we are in an alternate Earth, an imaginary geography, where we can be as surprised by what the characters find as the characters themselves.

On the minus side, there are a few details that are hard to believe, like what happened with the dog Tiger in the island Tsalal, and also some unlikely coincidences. Verne does telegraph some of the plot twists, not only here, but also in other novels. Funnily enough, the narrator in this one apologizes to the reader for not having seen an obvious twist before it was revealed, saying that the reader probably realized it much earlier.

This a fast-paced adventure, fast-paced for Verne's 19th century standards, anyway, but it's longer and not as frenetic as Poe's novel. It gives you more time to breathe and enjoy the interaction between the characters. The interest of the adventure is reinforced by the mystery of what happened to the previous expedition, which I, as a reader, was as eager to know as the characters.

By the way, for those reading in English: the original, public domain English translation is abridged, so if you want a complete English translation you should get the 2012 Frederick Paul Walter translation titled "The Sphinx of the Ice Realm" (with Verne's English translations this is a common advice: when possible, get the modern one).


Enjoyment factor: Very high. Verne was close to 70 when he wrote this and, although in the latest part of his career some of his novels were not as fresh and exciting as the ones written in the beginning, he still had a gift to tell great adventure stories, with that personal scientific touch that you don't find in other contemporary adventure writers.


Next up: The Mighty Orinoco


See all my Verne reviews here: https://www.sffworld.com/forum/threads/reading-vernes-voyages-extraordinaires.58... ( )

#545 in our old book database. Not rated.

480 / 15 - Μια υπέροχη ιστορία , βασισμένη σε ένα μύθο του Πόε και γράφτηκε σε βιβλίο
Ο πρωταγωνιστής σε αντίθεση με το πλοίαρχο του καραβιού που τον επιστρέφει στη πατρίδα θεωρεί το μύθο καθαρά φανταστικό. Ο καπετάνιος ισχυρίζεται το αντίθετο και είναι αποφασισμένος να του το αποδείξει .
Και η περιπέτεια ξεκινάει και σταματάει μόνο στη τελευταία σελίδα του βιβλίου ( )

Ledová sfinga je další dobrodružný vědecko-fantastický román z cyklu Podivuhodné cesty. Kniha je psaná jako pokračování románu Příběhy Arthura Gordona Pyma amerického básníka Edgara Allana Poea, který patřil k Vernovým oblíbeným autorům.

Román je vyprávěn americkým cestovatelelm Joerlinkem, který se v srpnu roku 1839 na Kerguelenových ostrovech nastoupí na loď Halbrane kapitána Lena Guye. Cestou na Falklandy zjistí, že kapitán Guy je přesvědčen o tom, že Poeův román je založen na pravdivých skutečnostech a že loď je na výpravě do Antarktidy, aby zachránila zbytek posádky goelety Jana, na které se Arthur Gordon Pym plavil a jejíž kapitán William Guy je bratrem kapitána Lena.

Joerlink se nakonec k záchranné výpravě přidá.

Esta obra surgió de la fascinación que sobre Verne ejerció siempre La narración de Arthur Gordon Pym, de Edgar Allan Poe, y su misterioso final inacabado. Veinte años antes había escrito: «¿Quién la continuará algún día? Alguien más audaz que yo y más resuelto a avanzar en el dominio de las cosas imposibles». Al fin se decidió él mismo. Para ello ideó al capitán Len Guy, hermano del capitán Guy del relato de Poe, que emprende un viaje al polo tras las huellas de la desaparecida goleta de su hermano. Y, en una sucesión de aventuras por un fantástico mar antártico, llegan a una tierra desconocida, donde descubren el helado secreto de la esfinge.