I've come to the point of acceptance that I like Verne more than I should. As I'm reading it, I can acknowledge that some of the stuff I'm reading is boring. But I still like it.

Aside from comparing Africans to monkeys, and the tedious recounting of previous European expeditions across the continent, this was a cute first novel from Jules Verne.

It was a stupid trip of ours, after all, and I wouldn't advise any body who is greedy for excitement to undertake it. It gets very tiresome at the last, and if it hadn't been for the adventures on the Lake Tchad and at the Senegal River, I do believe that we'd have died of yawning.

This was Jules Verne's debut novel and it is amazing that he was able to create this on his first time. it is certainly a product of it's time and it is very evident in relationship between Dr. Ferguson and Joe (a master and his servant) and in how our characters view native Africans and their beliefs. The premise of the novel is to travel across African continent from East to West in a hot air balloon. Let's go over our characters first: Dr. Ferguson, the mastermind of the whole operation. He is a scientist, know-it-all upper class gentleman. He enlist his friend, Dick, a Scottish hunter, who is good with guns. Dick is sure that the whole expedition is a bad idea and only comes to London to persuade Dr. Ferguson to abandon this madness. When that doesn't succeed, he travels with Dr. Ferguson all the way to Africa, once again to make sure the Dr. doesn't take off. Needless to say, Dick is not successful and very easily persuaded to join Dr. Ferguson. Our last hero is Joe, Dr. Ferguson's servant and butler. His loyalty to the master knows no bounds and he brings a little bit of humor (however, he does love to state the obvious). Neither Dick nor Joe exhibit a lot of character or free will. All of their decisions are based on what Dr. Ferguson wants or says. Even when Dr. Ferguson openly asks their opinion on how to proceed (which, by the way happens only once), they all agree that Dr knows what's best.
Novel itself was revolutionary for it's time. Africa wasn't yet fully "explored" and majority of the expeditions were not ending well - either due to diseases or unfriendly locals. Verne provides a very long list of explorers (both successful and not so much). To be honest, I don't know if all of them were real or if they were imagined by Verne. Because not much was known about certain regions of Africa at the time, Verne took some liberties with describing landscapes. But, this is not a work of non-fiction and I have no problem with it. He also spends too long (in my opinion) on describing the balloon and how it will work with Dr. Ferguson's invention. Some readers might find it interesting, but I was somewhat bored.
Now for the problematic portion...It is very condescending and racist towards Africans. Verne doesn't shy away from using derogatory terms. There are scenes that were uncomfortable to read (even though I fully understood the time period it was written in and the general view of African people at that time). Even with that extra room, it was a little too much for me at times.

The beginning is so terribly dry and scientific that I scarcely thought I'd be able to read it in more than 4-5 page chunks. Luckily, the chapters, are short, and, little by little, I made my way through the tale, which eventually got more exciting as they finally embarked on the balloon trip.

However, this book is RACIST AF. Racism definitely goes hand in hand with the imperialism inherent in the entire premise of three white Europeans crossing the African continent in a balloon as part of an exploration. It's bad stuff though. Comparing human beings to animals, kicking intelligence, etc. Definitely the worst part of the book because even if scientific language is dry, at least it's not offensive.

There are finally some adventures about halfway through the book, and from there, it is much more pleasant reading.

2.5 stars for a racist imperialist adventure story

It’s okay

A late review, because actually I've started reading this book after I've finished reading "Around the World in 80 Days" (two in one). Similar plot, one guy tries to prove that he's capable of doing something that others can only imagine (and cannot). That is why the more I read Verne's books, the more I feel that he's trying to stress human spirit and optimism. If you have the capability, funding and strength to achieve your dreams, go for it and who cares about what others may think. That's the key message.

The theme is an ambitious African exploration using air balloon, from the East Side (Zanzibar) to the West Side (Senegal). At that time (the 19th century), Africa is still regarding a mysterious region with its dangerous beasts, cannibals, tribal wars and extreme environmental condition. This book tells them all, including several description of the journey's made by famous explorers such as Livingstone, Burton and Speke. Quite an eventful journey of three English men: an academician, his servant and a hunter (Yes, there's always an "intellectual" figure in all Verne's books, no doubt about that!) However, the scientific explanation only limited to "how the balloon works".

My fave scene would be when the balloon was attacked by condors, the sacrifice made by one of the aeronauts, and the rescue mission for him. It reminds me of Indiana Jones' films.

Anyway, if you like these kind of adventure books, I recommend to read H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines.

6/10