Master Of The World Jules Verne Book Summary
 

Master of the World Jules Verne Book Summary

Jules Verne's short novel was published in 1904, shortly before his death. A series of unexplained mysteries are occurring all over the United States. On the roads of America, a road vehicle, traveling much faster than thought possible, is sighted in various areas of the country. At the same time, mysterious events are taking place on the oceans of the world.

The narrator and protagonist is Mr. John Strock. He is an investigator for the federal police department of the United States. Mr. Strock is sent to North Carolina, where he is investigating unexplained lights in the sky above the Blue Ridge Mountains. He attempts to identify the source of the lights, but due to impassable ridges, he is unable to approach the source. However, he concludes that it is not likely that there will be an imminent volcanic eruption and the citizens around the area are in no danger.

Mr. Strock is unable to solve the mysteries of the land vehicle and the ocean sightings, but eventually learns that the unknown vehicle sometimes rests on a lonely lake. With some assistants, he travels to the lake where he attempts to capture the owner of the vehicle. Instead of arresting the figure, he is captured and taken aboard the vessel. He learns that the vessel is called “The Terror” and the captain of the vessel is Mr. Robur.

Mr. Strock, now a prisoner, travels with Robur and his crew of 2 on board the Terror. The vessel is chased by 2 American destroyers, but the Terror easily outclasses the warships and escapes. We also learn that the Terror is not only a land and sea vessel, it can also fly. It is an automobile, airplane, submarine and surface vessel all at the same time. This vehicle has no equal in the world. The craft, with Mr. Strock, Robur and unnamed crew members travels to the oceans around the Caribbean. The vessel is struck by lightning, and falls into the ocean.

Mr. Strock uses this opportunity to escape and is promptly rescued. Mr. Robur is assumed to have died, but the reader cannot be sure. This short book is a sequel to Jules Verne previous work, “Robur the Conqueror”. It has also been loosely made into a movie. The 1961 movie, “ Master of the World” starred Vincent Price as Robur and Charles Bronson as Strock.

Overall, this is a pretty good book and one of Verne’s last piece of work. It has similarities with Verne’s classic “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”. Both books have a protagonist that is captured by the mysterious master of a power vehicle. As a matter of fact, Robur and Captain Nemo of 20,000 leagues are very similar characters. Verne is a master at combining elements of science fiction with that of sea adventure stories.