Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius

Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius is a novel by Kevin J. Anderson, published in 2002 by Pocket Books. It is a secret history and crossover work, the central premise being that many of the things Jules Verne wrote about existed in real life as told to him by the real Captain Nemo.

The novel follows Verne and André Nemo from their childhoods. Verne is depicted as being a sheltered, almost neurotic individual who is incapable of taking risks, while Nemo is adventurous and resourceful, especially after the death of his father (a dock worker). Both lust after the independent-minded Caroline Arronax.

The two boys attempt to apprentice themselves to a ship captain named Grant, but Verne's stern father finds him and forces him to come home and study to become an attorney. However, Nemo joins the crew, and after an attack by pirates, is stranded on a mysterious island. Meanwhile, Caroline is forced to marry an explorer, Captain Hatteras. Eventually Nemo manages to escape through a fantastic underground world. Returning as a hero, Nemo proposes to spend five weeks in a new balloon design exploring Africa. Caroline joins him, but Verne, fearing what might happen, refuses.

Nemo volunteers to fight in the Crimean War. While there, he is taken captive by one of his supposed allies, an Ottoman commander named Robur. Robur is engaged in a power-struggle with a rival official, Barbicane. Nemo is forced to design a submarine for use in the Ottoman navy; after many difficulties, it is finally launched, and christened the Nautilus. Nemo and his fellow slaves use it to kill Robur, but not before their families — including the Turkish wife Nemo had taken and their son — have been killed. Grief-stricken, he turns to piracy, destroying the warships of the world he encounters.