The Mighty Orinoco: A New Translation (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798306527185)

A father vanished into the jungle. A son's search down South America's most dangerous river. And answers that may lie thousands of kilometers away-if he survives to find them.

Years ago, Colonel de Kermor disappeared during an expedition along the Orinoco River. Now his son Jean, accompanied by his father's loyal friend Sergeant Martial, retraces that fatal journey through Venezuela's treacherous waterways.

The Orinoco is one of South America's mightiest rivers-2,000 kilometers cutting through rainforests, savannas, and mountains. Its rapids can shatter boats. Its wildlife ranges from jaguars to anacondas. And somewhere along its vast network of channels, Jean believes he'll find the truth about his father's fate.

As their expedition pushes upstream, they gather companions: scholars documenting the river's wonders, adventurers seeking fortune, locals whose lives are shaped by the Orinoco's rhythms. Together they navigate dangers and piece together clues. But the river guards its secrets, and some mysteries resist easy answers.

Written in 1898 near the end of Verne's career, The Mighty Orinoco represents his shift from technological speculation to geographical exploration. Less fantastical than his science fiction, it offers detailed travelogue of South American landscapes and a human story of devotion driving one son's search through one of the world's legendary rivers.

From the author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea-a voyage into the heart of Venezuela's wilderness in search of a father, a mystery, and the natural world's wonders.