The Master of the World

Verne has done it again! Once again Robur takes to the skies in a new ship the "Terror". Except this time his conquest of the elements covers them all. Water(both above and below the waves),Land(racing across the land at 100s of miles an hour), and the skies(soaring with the agility of the birds). Mr. Stock, a goverment ageant investigating a strange occurence in the mountains, is accidently pulled aboard the Terror and sees the true genius and maddness of Robur. In the end the very elements Robur sought to conquer destroy him. Showing that only nature can stop the "Master of the World".

This book is nothing like the movie with Vincent Price, which is actually a strange combination of both "Master of the World" and "Clipper of the Clouds". The story mainly follows the adventures of U.S. secret agent John Stark as he tries to solve the strange appearances of a fantasy craft along the eastern American seaboard. Robur doesn't make an appearance until the last quarter of the book, but its an exciting read. The chase across Lake Ontario and Robur's escape over Niagara Falls is one of the most memorable scenes from the book. The Terror definately stands out as one of the best of Verne's incredible machines since the Nautilus.

Verne's "Master of the World" is usually published with its prequel "Robur, the Conquerer" as part 1 of the book. In "Robur, the Conquerer" we meet the engineer Robur who has built the great aeronef "Albatross" which he proposes to use to destroy all fighting ships and machines in the world, thus ending once and for all the scourge of war. He kidnaps Mr. Prudent, a weapons maker from Philadelphia, his son-in-law and principle antagonist in their mutual desire to build the ultimate ballon, and Mr. Brock, an American agent, who accompany him on his tour of the world but who ultimately bring about his downfall. In "Master of the World", Robur returns at the helm of the amazing all-terrain vehicle, the "Terror", once again preparing to try to end war and assuming upon himself the title of "Master of the World". The Terror can zoom at great speeds across land or water, submerge like a submarine, or soar into the air on a pair of retractable rotors. This effort, too, comes to naught, but as we progress we see more of the genius and pain of Robur.