Right off the bat, Jules Verne had me gripped on a tight vice. Journey to the Centre of the Earth thrusts you in a wave of momentum that rivals even some of the most adventurous works of cinema. The pacing is upbeat and contagious, whilst its storytelling navigates us along through a balancing act of fun scientific exposition (though its integrity is lost on me, it was entertaining nonetheless) and action-based progression. With that, it did run the risk of the characterisation being an almost empty tank, favouring more so thematic gestures of the human spirit rather than delivering us a complexity of its key characters. That momentum that was generated at the beginning does eventually wean as it approaches its climax and finale. It's a shame since he did so well in setting up an infectious premise, only to lead us to an ending that seems to deliver far less than what had been promised. With this, I do not mean only in the manner of plotting, but also in its thematic address and emphasis, which was far less than I had hoped. That being said, this is truly a fun ride and Verne has a way of sweeping his readers off their feet into the exciting motivations and daring ambitions of his characters, and I believe that warrants enough for anybody to give this a shot.