The Master of the World by Jules Verne

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Master of the World by Jules Verne and it is well narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was the first novel by Jules Verne I'd ever read. I loved it so much that I've read it at least twice! I've also read The Mysterious Island and Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. 

I recently learned about The Master of the World by Jules Verne, which was first published in 1904 and one of Jules Verne's last works. I decided to give it a try as it sounded intriguing and it is set in the USA. 

Honestly, I was truly hoping to love The Master of the World as much as I had enjoyed reading the three previous novels I'd read by Jules Verne. However, The Master of the World was a bit formulaic in that it was too much like Verne's other novels. The only difference to me were the specific details to fit the storyline and move the plot along. 

The Master of the World also fell flat in terms of capturing and holding my interest. It wasn't that the writing or storyline were awful or anything like that for The Master of the World... It just didn't live up to Verne's other works I'd previously read.

The following is the publisher's summary for The Master of the World by Jules Verne from Chirp's website:

One of Jules Verne’s final books, The Master of the World, which was released in 1904, is a science fiction classic. The novel was written as Verne’s health was deteriorating. The Master of the World is a “dark novel,” full of dread and anxiety about the emergence of totalitarianism and tyrants, embodied by the novel’s antagonist, Robur.

I am giving The Master of the World by Jules Verne 3 stars out of 5 stars. This is my fourth read of September 2025.

Until my next post, happy reading!!