Fish, fish, fish!

So many fishes. AH!

*breathes*

I finished 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea on Tuesday evening and let me tell you, there is lot of fish names in there. Think Tolkien's description, but fish-wise! Fishes all over the place!

Whew. I still enjoyed the book a lot. It's slow-moving, true, but intriguing and marvelous at the same time. As soon as you learn to speed-read when he lists species and genus, you have a nice ride ahead of you.

The Quirky Thing that Made Me Squee
Ned Land, one of the three main characters (excluding Captain Nemo here) is a whaler from Quebec. Not just any part of Quebec, either: Quebec City. It's stated twice through the novel and call me silly, but I love the idea one character from a famous novel is from my hometown.

What I Learned From Jules Vernes
Know your shit. Do your research. There is not one part of this novel that seems fake or impossible. Jules Verne was up to date about the technologies of his time and used them to justify the new technologies he presented in his novel. The Nautilus might not seem like much today. It's just a submarine. This novel, however, comes from 1870, and Jules Verne takes the time to explain how such a thing could exist.

His research and attention to details bring the tale to life. Don't mess yours. Get familiar with every aspect of your story.