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A review by heyimaghost
From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne
3.0
The first book I fully read by Verne was [b:Around the World in Eighty Days|54479|Around the World in Eighty Days (Extraordinary Voyages, #11)|Jules Verne|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1308815551s/54479.jpg|4537271], and I described it as a 'travelogue disguised as a novel.' The first book I attempted by Verne was [b:Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas|7085072|Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas|Jules Verne|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1345387258s/7085072.jpg|41366562], when I was around eleven. (This was the same time I tried and failed to read [b:Moby-Dick; or, The Whale|153747|Moby-Dick; or, The Whale|Herman Melville|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1327940656s/153747.jpg|2409320].) So my experience with Verne has not been great up to this point. One of these days I'll actually read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, but it took me nearly twenty years to get to Moby Dick, so who knows.
These experiences seem to continue. Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, or maybe I just don't really enjoy Verne. To be clear, I didn't dislike this novel or Around the World in Eighty Days. I also think I'd probably really like Twenty Thousand Leagues when I get to it, and I've seen a film of [b:Robur the Conqueror|376957|Robur the Conqueror|Jules Verne|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1349052595s/376957.jpg|366801] that made me think I'd enjoy the Robur books. I own [b:Journey to the Center of the Earth|32829|Journey to the Center of the Earth (Extraordinary Voyages, #3)|Jules Verne|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1389754903s/32829.jpg|1924715] as well. My point is, I'd like to like Verne. I just haven't so far.
I gave this three stars because I couldn't bring myself to give it two. An honest rating would be two and a half.
It shouldn't be called From the Earth to the Moon--it should be called Talking about Going to the Moon, Eventually, because that's mostly all this is. I was talking to my dad about this novel while I read it, and I told him that reading a novel like this that tries to explain the science in some detail almost becomes laughable when we read it a hundred and fifty years later. I can respect his commitment, and I am impressed at the closeness to some of his predictions and some of his science. But you know who didn't have good science, but had a far more entertaining story about going to the moon? [a:H.G. Wells|880695|H.G. Wells|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1392678719p2/880695.jpg]. His science didn't make sense then, and it doesn't make sense now, but [b:The First Men in the Moon|536478|The First Men in the Moon|H.G. Wells|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1311647668s/536478.jpg|2401415] is still a damned entertaining story--and not without its thought-provoking moments either.
Long story short, this novel is about somewhat interesting characters talking about and preparing to do something extraordinary, and then
I'm not giving up on you, Verne. One day we'll mesh and this will just be bump in the road. I plan to read the sequel, so maybe I'll learn to appreciate this after that.
These experiences seem to continue. Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, or maybe I just don't really enjoy Verne. To be clear, I didn't dislike this novel or Around the World in Eighty Days. I also think I'd probably really like Twenty Thousand Leagues when I get to it, and I've seen a film of [b:Robur the Conqueror|376957|Robur the Conqueror|Jules Verne|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1349052595s/376957.jpg|366801] that made me think I'd enjoy the Robur books. I own [b:Journey to the Center of the Earth|32829|Journey to the Center of the Earth (Extraordinary Voyages, #3)|Jules Verne|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1389754903s/32829.jpg|1924715] as well. My point is, I'd like to like Verne. I just haven't so far.
I gave this three stars because I couldn't bring myself to give it two. An honest rating would be two and a half.
It shouldn't be called From the Earth to the Moon--it should be called Talking about Going to the Moon, Eventually, because that's mostly all this is. I was talking to my dad about this novel while I read it, and I told him that reading a novel like this that tries to explain the science in some detail almost becomes laughable when we read it a hundred and fifty years later. I can respect his commitment, and I am impressed at the closeness to some of his predictions and some of his science. But you know who didn't have good science, but had a far more entertaining story about going to the moon? [a:H.G. Wells|880695|H.G. Wells|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1392678719p2/880695.jpg]. His science didn't make sense then, and it doesn't make sense now, but [b:The First Men in the Moon|536478|The First Men in the Moon|H.G. Wells|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1311647668s/536478.jpg|2401415] is still a damned entertaining story--and not without its thought-provoking moments either.
Long story short, this novel is about somewhat interesting characters talking about and preparing to do something extraordinary, and then
Spoiler
finally doing it with ten pages left in the novel.I'm not giving up on you, Verne. One day we'll mesh and this will just be bump in the road. I plan to read the sequel, so maybe I'll learn to appreciate this after that.