by Mark Askeda

Created on: May 05, 2009

Jules Verne novel "800 Leagues on the Amazon" was published in 1881 and does not contain his standard science fiction content. It is rather, an adventure novel. This book, however, does have some of the standard trademarks of Jules Verne's work. It is a novel about a dangerous journey and the adventures the characters encounter. Verne's space exploration novels ("Around the Moon", "Off on a Comet") his sea novels ("20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "Mysterious Island", "Master of the World"), and his adventure novels ("Journey to the Center of the Earth", "Dick Sand") all were in one way or another, stories about a journey. Similarly, this work is a story about a dangerous journey through the Amazon jungles.

800 Leagues on the Amazon is a story about the Garral family. The family lives on a large plantation in Peru, just past the Brazilian border. Joam Garral's daughter Minha wishes to marry Manuel Valdez. Valdez is a doctor and officer in the Brazilian military. Joam grants her wish and the family must travel to a city called Belem for the wedding. Belem is a long way down the Amazon River and the vehicle of choice is a large raft. The Garral family boards the raft and traverses the dangerous waters of the Amazon. Along the way, Garral and his family encounter piranhas, crocodiles and other dangerous animals.

Joam has some dark secrets. In his distant past, he was an outlaw. For a long period of time, he has been living on his plantation, far away from his history. Joam plans on using this trip to exonerate himself from his past sins and clearing his name. A con artist and bounty hunter named Torres is willing to clear Joam's name in exchange for the unthinkable. Torres will clear Joam's name in return for Minha's hand in marriage. Torres is in possession of a coded letter contains information that would exonerate Joam. Will family love and dedication help Joam in his struggle to clear his name? Will the coded message be deciphered in time? Will Torres get his wish and obtain the beautiful Minha's hand in marriage?

This work has been made into an independent film. The film stars Daphne Zuniga as Minha, Barry Bostwick as Garral and Adam Baldwin as Koja. Even though this book is not standard Jules Verne, it is still an exciting adventure novel and a quick read.

This story is not one of Verne's best known or most popular. This book also does not translate very well from French, but it is, however a very quick read and contain some excellent, descriptive narratives of the Amazon jungles. This book is recommended for fans of Jules Verne, but not necessarily for the casual reader.

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