Heart of Darkness vs The Sea-Wolf: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Sailors, Sea Stories, Fiction
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart of Africa, by the story's narrator Charles Marlow. Marlow tells…
vs
The Sea-Wolf
Jack London's novel The Sea Wolf became an instant bestseller on its release in 1904. Ambrose Bierce wrote "The great thing - and it is among the greatest of things - is that tremendous creation, Wolf Larsen...the…
The verdict
- Readers rate The Sea-Wolf highest: The Sea-Wolf 4.1 · Heart of Darkness 3.4.
- Heart of Darkness is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 6 for The Sea-Wolf.
- Heart of Darkness has the widest readership — 573782 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Heart of Darkness | The Sea-Wolf | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.4 (573782) | 4.1 (34617) |
| Hardcover | 2.0 (1) | 4.7 (3) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (2209) | 4.5 (31) |
Reception
| Heart of Darkness | The Sea-Wolf | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 573782 | 34617 |
| Editions | 553 | 283 |
| Citations | 52 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 340601 | 24269 |
| Pages | 130 | 356 |