Reviews

The Green Ray by Jules Verne

nath5yd's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

zecdavies's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A surprisingly funny story, very simple plot but enjoyable all the same. A progressive female protagonist considering when it was written. 

franklyfrank's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5 to 3. On the low end.

iasmy's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book surprise me. Helena, the protagonist, had more aseetivness than I thought a book of these era would give her female protagonist. 

dixiet's review against another edition

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3.0

What a very odd little book! It is not science fiction in any way, shape, or form. It is a very simple, straightforward story about a young woman who hears about a phenomenon that sometimes occurs at sunset called the Green Ray, and who sets out to see it. She and her Tweedledum and Tweedledee-like uncles go to various spots on the Scottish coast to try to accomplish this. They meet up periodically with a half-hearted suitor of the protagonist, who is an amusingly annoying character, and rescue another young man from drowning. Mild adventures and misadventures are had and in the end, everything wraps up neatly. This is so unlike the other Verne tales that I have read that I hardly know what to think of it.

blueyorkie's review against another edition

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3.0

The Green Ray - Two Stars

This Jules Verne novel is original because it is neither fantastic nor adventurous, but this reading is, unfortunately for me, a disappointment.
The characters irritated me; in particular, the young Helena was described as reckless but felt to be capricious. In addition, her uncles are spoiled, her fiance annoying with so much pretension (on purpose), and their journey is only the repetition in the loop of the same failure in their quest for the green-ray under different weather or landscapes.
So I didn't have the impression of reading an adventure novel but a contemplative tourist guide of the Scottish coasts.

Ten Hours of Hunting - Four Stars

The opportunity to discover the humour of Jules Verne!
That was an excellent little read, short and entertaining, which tells the author's first (and undoubtedly last) attempt at hunting. I think it's the only time he puts himself on the stage. He doesn't like hunters; that's what we understand from the start, and yet he lets himself embark on a day of hunting—punctuated by lousy luck!

Final Rating: Three Stars

charlielovesbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

yellowdogblues's review against another edition

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3.0

the brothers are def not brothers and def gay

ergedogan's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

canislatrans's review against another edition

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2.0

This has not quite the soaring scope of the better-known Verne stories — more of a fun little Victorian romance, really. It does have the classic Verne trope of a science geek who's a bit too smart for his own good — much too much so, in this case. But the book's an interesting travelogue of the west Scottish archipelago, if nothing else! I followed along on Google maps and Wikipedia, and found myself far, far afield... which is worth something right there.