SFIA Book of the Month – Oct 2018 Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, over a century after its original publication, remains one of the hallmark works of science fiction. At a time when the development of submersible craft was still in its infancy, little more than a risky nautical experiment, Jules Verne virtually predicts the birth of the nuclear submarine. Readers are taken on an exciting tour of our undersea world that would be considered exotic even by today’s standards of travel and adventure. And, the theme of a driven and tortured genius using technology to isolate himself from the rest of mankind is perhaps even more relevant in today’s world of ever increasing technological progress.