Best Jules Verne Books Ranked
Jules Verne was born in 1828 in France and is a poet, novelist, and playwright. He is well-known for his adventure series known as the Voyages Extraordinaires (Extraordinary Voyages), which were published starting in 1864.
Since 1979, he is the second most translated author in the world, right behind William Shakespeare and Agatha Christie. His literary reputation outside of France wasn’t the greatest until the 1980s, in part because he was known to most of the world as a writer of genre fiction and children’s books.
Today, he is known to be one of the best science fiction writers of all time, so his reputation has definitely improved since his books first came out.
Below are some of the best books Verne ever wrote.
Try Audible Premium Plus and Get Up to Two Free Audiobooks
20. Master of the World
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.47 | 3.19 | 3.33 |
Overview
Being the head investigator at a federal police department isn’t always easy, but the one who’s in charge now is taking the job seriously, including all of its secret missions, important affairs, and extraordinary investigations that the reader won’t forget.
19. A Floating City
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.41 | 3.27 | 3.34 |
Overview
Onboard a ship called the Great Eastern, a woman finds herself sailing with her abusive husband, then later finds out that the man she loves is also on board. From the very start, this trip has the potential to be a disaster.
18. Robur the Conqueror
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.49 | 3.21 | 3.35 |
Overview
When Robur constructed the Albatross, the first heavier-than-air flying machine, people laughed. Now, he has the last laugh because the machine gives him the power to conquer the world.
17. The Green Ray
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.42 | 3.29 | 3.36 |
Overview
Helena Campbell has postponed her wedding to the man she didn’t want to marry anyway to take a voyage to find herself after the newspaper wrote of the effects the Green Ray has on both body and mind. Along for the ride are two would-be suitors, and they all take off on the journey of a lifetime before returning to their lives.
16. The Purchase of the North Pole
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.51 | 3.25 | 3.38 |
Overview
A sequel to The Gun Club tells the story of a group who wants to buy the North Pole, let it melt, and make the planet into a terrestrial heaven in the end.
15. Paris in the Twentieth Century
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.40 | 3.41 | 3.41 |
Overview
Written in 1863 but only discovered more than 100 years later, this book was deemed too far-fetched to publish but is profoundly prophetic and very interesting to read.
14. The Castle of Carpathians
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.62 | 3.34 | 3.48 |
Overview
This book was published in 1892 and is a bit different than most of Verne’s books. It is part paranormal, part a little frightening, and part just plain weird, and readers will love every page of it. If you love tales about the unexplained, this is the book for you.
13. The Meteor Hunt
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.58 | 3.42 | 3.50 |
Overview
When a meteor made of pure gold speeds toward Earth, people all over, but especially in the United States, are greedily contemplating how they’re going to get their hands on it.
12. An Antarctic Mystery
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.60 | 3.41 | 3.51 |
Overview
Verne never visited the Kerguelen Islands, but you wouldn’t know it by reading this book. This incredible journey to the south Indian Ocean isn’t nearly as extraordinary as what they find once they get there.
11. Round the Moon
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.57 | 3.57 | 3.57 |
Overview
This is a sequel to From the Earth to the Moon and tells the story of the three main characters deciding to take a trip around the moon. But how will they get there? Can they avoid the miscalculations by scientists now putting them in danger?
10. The Begum’s Millions
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.64 | 3.51 | 3.58 |
Overview
This is the story of two newly built cities – one devoted to health and harmony and the other devoted to weapons of mass destruction. Which of these cities will win in the end?
9. Off on a Comet
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.67 | 3.61 | 3.64 |
Overview
When a comet touches the earth and picks up a few chunks of it, 40 people from various countries find themselves riding on that comet and having to remain there for two years.
8. From the Earth to the Moon
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.79 | 3.52 | 3.66 |
Overview
One thing that makes this book so fascinating is that, while parts of it are a little odd, much of it turned out to be very similar to what actually happened when man first landed on the moon, even though the book was published in 1865.
7. Journey Through the Impossible
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.58 | 3.75 | 3.67 |
Overview
Using characters from some of his past books, Verne wrote this three-act stage play, and it was performed in Paris in 1882 and 1883. The characters in this book go from the center of the earth to the sea and finally to the planet Altor, with lots of adventures along the way.
6. Five Weeks in a Balloon
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.77 | 3.61 | 3.69 |
Overview
Also called Journeys and Discoveries in Africa, this is a tale of patriotism and the exploration of Africa, which was unfamiliar to most Europeans when it was written in 1863.
5. Journey to the Center of the Earth
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.86 | 3.73 | 3.80 |
Overview
Professor Lidenbrock came across a 16th-century manual that claims an explorer went to the core of the earth, and he is determined to do the same. He takes his nephew and a native guide across Iceland to find out what the claim is about.
4. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.89 | 3.73 | 3.81 |
Overview
When an unidentified “monster” ends up being a futuristic submarine called the Nautilus, Captain Nemo takes his crew and three other adventurers through coral graveyards, undersea forests, and the underwater ruins of Atlantis to give all readers a glimpse of underworld travel.
3. Two Years’ Vacation
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 4.00 | 3.71 | 3.86 |
Overview
This is the story of a group of boys who find themselves adrift at sea and finally land on a deserted island. Afterward, they realize they have to learn how to get along with one another, or they won’t survive, which may be more difficult than they think.
2. Around the World in Eighty Days
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 3.94 | 3.82 | 3.88 |
Overview
Phileas Fogg has bet his companions that he can travel around the world in just 80 days, and now he has to use any mode of transportation he can get his hands on to make that happen.
1. The Mysterious Island
| Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
| 4.12 | 3.92 | 4.02 |
Overview
During the American Civil War, five northern prisoners escape, and 7,000 miles later, they drop onto an uncharted island in the Pacific. There, they must fight against the elements to survive, all while a mysterious evil presence lurks around them.
Complete Rankings of Jules Verne Novels
| Rank | Book Title | Goodreads | LibraryThing | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Mysterious Island | 4.12 | 3.92 | 4.02 |
| 2 | Around the World in Eighty Days | 3.94 | 3.82 | 3.88 |
| 3 | Two Years’ Vacation | 4.00 | 3.71 | 3.86 |
| 4 | 20,000 Leagues under the Sea | 3.89 | 3.73 | 3.81 |
| 5 | Journey to the Center of the Earth | 3.86 | 3.73 | 3.80 |
| 6 | Five Weeks in a Balloon | 3.77 | 3.61 | 3.69 |
| 7 | Journey Through the Impossible | 3.58 | 3.75 | 3.67 |
| 8 | From the Earth to the Moon | 3.79 | 3.52 | 3.66 |
| 9 | Off on a Comet | 3.67 | 3.61 | 3.64 |
| 10 | The Begum’s Millions | 3.64 | 3.51 | 3.58 |
| 11 | Round the Moon | 3.57 | 3.57 | 3.57 |
| 12 | An Antarctic Mystery | 3.60 | 3.41 | 3.51 |
| 13 | The Meteor Hunt | 3.58 | 3.42 | 3.50 |
| 14 | The Castle of the Carpathians | 3.62 | 3.34 | 3.48 |
| 15 | Paris in the Twentieth Century | 3.40 | 3.41 | 3.41 |
| 16 | The Purchase of the North Pole | 3.51 | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| 17 | The Green Ray | 3.42 | 3.29 | 3.36 |
| 18 | Robur the Conqueror | 3.49 | 3.21 | 3.35 |
| 19 | A Floating City | 3.41 | 3.27 | 3.34 |
| 20 | Master of the World | 3.47 | 3.19 | 3.33 |
