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A review by isabellarobinson7
From the Earth to the Moon - Unabridged Classic - Harper Collins Edition - by Jules Verne, Jules Verne
4.0
Rating: 4 stars
So I read my first Jules Verne novel because David Tennant was in the upcoming TV adaptation (of which I am now in the middle of watching; more of a modern take on the original text but still good), and now I read my second because of two reasons: it is quoted in Back to the Future Part III, and it was mentioned by the Apollo 11 astronauts on their way back from the moon.
Anyway, From the Earth to the Moon starts with a whole bunch of American-y Americans, in that they love guns and cannons and things that go boom! The inciting incident is when one of these pew-pew loving Americans reckons he can shoot someone far enough that they would reach the moon. Essentially, he aims to hurl a giant bullet at the moon. With a person inside. But it won't explode. Hopefully. Then, in a similar fashion to Around the World in 80 Days, some stuffy well-to-do man (not upper class, because this book is set in America, so instead a captain) thinks that is absolutely preposterous and in comes the gambling.
Entrepreneurial Bloke: Hey guys, I think I can do this really hard thing.
Pompous Adversary: *eavesdropping* Pfft! You can't do that!
Entrepreneurial Bloke: Oh yes I can!
Pompous Adversary: You're too wimpy! *laughs with cronies*
EB: No! I'll do it! Just watch me!
PA: Ah, well, if you're really that sure, put your money where your mouth is. Care to place a wager?
EB: One that doesn't seem like much to the audience but taking inflation into account it's actually worth a lot more?
PA: You know the one. $2 says you can't do it!
*crowd gasps at their flippant regard of wealth*
Male extra #5: *whispers* two whole dollars!?
Female extra #3: *faints*
EB: *considers offer* You're on!
PA: Aha! I'll be expecting all that money - every single penny - in a doable-but-slightly-difficult-timeframe! *laughs and walks away with cronies*
EB: *mutters under breath* What have I gotten myself into? We need to do the thing now!
And thus we have stakes. Nah, but in all seriousness, because From the Earth to the Moon is such a classic novel, and because of its freaking title, it's not a spoiler that yes, the people are shot to the moon. Or at it, at least. And yet it was hard to believe that Verne wrote this book in 1865! A whole 100 years before we actually landed on the moon! The genius of this man. All I can say is that the first person to really enter the space race was Jules Verne - he just died before the "race" officially started.
Also, there is not a single edition of this book that has an ugly cover. The one I read had a pretty cover, the original one had a pretty cover, they're all just pretty covers! Ah, well, maybe not all. There are some distinctly "era" covers that definitely reflect the time period in which they were released, but on the whole this book has some great covers. Well, I have loved the moon and stars and space etc. from a very young age (it's no wonder sci-fi is my most read and watched genre) so I am probably - no, definitely - a little biased. Ooh, I also need to comment on the pretty pictures my edition had throughout the story (why do I keep saying "pretty"? Get a thesaurus Isabella). I can't find the name of the illustrator in my copy to give credit where it is due (I have this giant - and I mean 24,639 page giant - ebook of all Jules Verne's works and I can't see the illustrators listed anywhere) but Wikipedia has the illustrators listed as Émile-Antoine Bayard and Alphonse-Marie de Neuville so we'll just go with that.
Ok review done.
So I read my first Jules Verne novel because David Tennant was in the upcoming TV adaptation (of which I am now in the middle of watching; more of a modern take on the original text but still good), and now I read my second because of two reasons: it is quoted in Back to the Future Part III, and it was mentioned by the Apollo 11 astronauts on their way back from the moon.
Anyway, From the Earth to the Moon starts with a whole bunch of American-y Americans, in that they love guns and cannons and things that go boom! The inciting incident is when one of these pew-pew loving Americans reckons he can shoot someone far enough that they would reach the moon. Essentially, he aims to hurl a giant bullet at the moon. With a person inside. But it won't explode. Hopefully. Then, in a similar fashion to Around the World in 80 Days, some stuffy well-to-do man (not upper class, because this book is set in America, so instead a captain) thinks that is absolutely preposterous and in comes the gambling.
Entrepreneurial Bloke: Hey guys, I think I can do this really hard thing.
Pompous Adversary: *eavesdropping* Pfft! You can't do that!
Entrepreneurial Bloke: Oh yes I can!
Pompous Adversary: You're too wimpy! *laughs with cronies*
EB: No! I'll do it! Just watch me!
PA: Ah, well, if you're really that sure, put your money where your mouth is. Care to place a wager?
EB: One that doesn't seem like much to the audience but taking inflation into account it's actually worth a lot more?
PA: You know the one. $2 says you can't do it!
*crowd gasps at their flippant regard of wealth*
Male extra #5: *whispers* two whole dollars!?
Female extra #3: *faints*
EB: *considers offer* You're on!
PA: Aha! I'll be expecting all that money - every single penny - in a doable-but-slightly-difficult-timeframe! *laughs and walks away with cronies*
EB: *mutters under breath* What have I gotten myself into? We need to do the thing now!
And thus we have stakes. Nah, but in all seriousness, because From the Earth to the Moon is such a classic novel, and because of its freaking title, it's not a spoiler that yes, the people are shot to the moon. Or at it, at least. And yet it was hard to believe that Verne wrote this book in 1865! A whole 100 years before we actually landed on the moon! The genius of this man. All I can say is that the first person to really enter the space race was Jules Verne - he just died before the "race" officially started.
Also, there is not a single edition of this book that has an ugly cover. The one I read had a pretty cover, the original one had a pretty cover, they're all just pretty covers! Ah, well, maybe not all. There are some distinctly "era" covers that definitely reflect the time period in which they were released, but on the whole this book has some great covers. Well, I have loved the moon and stars and space etc. from a very young age (it's no wonder sci-fi is my most read and watched genre) so I am probably - no, definitely - a little biased. Ooh, I also need to comment on the pretty pictures my edition had throughout the story (why do I keep saying "pretty"? Get a thesaurus Isabella). I can't find the name of the illustrator in my copy to give credit where it is due (I have this giant - and I mean 24,639 page giant - ebook of all Jules Verne's works and I can't see the illustrators listed anywhere) but Wikipedia has the illustrators listed as Émile-Antoine Bayard and Alphonse-Marie de Neuville so we'll just go with that.
Ok review done.