ROBUR THE CONQUEROR & MASTER OF THE WORLD
$13.50
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ROBUR THE CONQUERER is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne, first published in France in 1883 and alternately titled, THE CLIPPER OF THE CLOUDS. Robur claims to have built a heavier-than-aircraft, the ALBATROSS, and he kidnaps three scientists to prove that he has done so. Fearing that he will never free them, they cause him to crash the Albatross, but he lives and rebuilds it. At the end of the novel, Robur, having rebuilt a superior aircraft, kidnaps and the frees the scientists, vowing that he will one day return to reveal his secrets of flight. He does return in the novel, MASTER OF THE WORLD. To confuse things, Robur the Conqueror was adapted into the 1961 Vincent Price film, Master of the World.
MASTER OF THE WORLD, published in 1904, is one of the last novels by French pioneer science fiction writer, Jules Verne. At the time Verne wrote the novel, his health was failing. Master of the World is a "black novel," filled with foreboding and fear of the rise of tyrants such as the novel's villain, Robur,
Robur returns with a new machine, which he has dubbed the Terror. It is an amazingly versatile vehicle, capable of operating as a speedboat, submarine, automobile, or aircraft. It can travel at the (then) unheard of speed of 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) on land and at more than 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) when flying. The narrator, John Stock, tries to capture the Terror but instead is captured himself. Robur drives the strange craft to elude his pursuers, heading to the Caribbean and into a thunderstorm. The Terror is struck by lightning, breaks apart, and falls into the ocean. Stock is rescued from the vehicle's wreckage, but Robur's body is never found. Verne died before he could reveal if Robur survived.
ROBUR THE CONQUEROR & MASTER OF THE WORLD
$13.50