Futility or the Wreck of the Titanby Morgan Robertson
novella, ebook
What is it about:
Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan is a novel which was originally written and published in 1898 by Morgan Robertson. This novel is the story of an ocean liner, called the Titan, which sinks in the North Atlantic ocean after hitting an iceberg. There are many similarities between this novel and the facts in the sinking of the Titanic fourteen years later. Morgan Robertson revisited his work in 1912 after the sinking of the Titanic and made the ship larger as well as changing the ending of the story.
What did I think of it:
Having been interested in the Titanic for as long as I can remember I had often heard of this story and the uncanny similarities between the Titan and the Titanic. It was only recently that I actually got hold of this book and read it though.
And let me say that I think it's almost a shame that this story will forever be linked to the sinking of the Titanic instead of being known for it's own merits. Because this is a very entertaining story.
So there are a few similarities between the Titan and the Titanic: there are many more differences. Futility is a suspenseful story with dark conspiracies, lost love, survival and it has a man fighting a polar bear!
I had expected to be awed by the similarities, instead I was grabbed by the adventurous tale of a man down on his luck who then has to fight for his life against impossible odds. I found myself cheering the hero on and hoping that his struggles wouldn't turn out to be futile as the title of this book suggests.
The writing is a bit dated of course and there are some serious info dumps at the start, but all in all it's an easy, pleasant read.
I will most certainly reread this unexpected little gem in the future and can advice anyone who loves a good suspenseful story to read it as well.
Why should you read it:
It's got a man fighting a polar bear, need I say more? ;-)
Get this ebook novella for free at Project Gutenburg
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