The Survivors of the Chancellor, diary of J.R. Kazallon, passenger
Posted by admin | Posted in Kindle Books | Posted on 20-03-2010-05-2008
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Product Description
It is high tide and three o¿clock in the afternoon when we leave the Battery-quay; the ebb carries us off shore and as Captain Huntly has hoisted both main and top sails- the northerly breeze drives the ¿Chancellor¿ briskly across the bay.’ (Excerpt from Chapter 1)…
First the content: This book is a fairly interesting account of the adventure of the passengers of the Chancellor after it’s captain begins losing his mind and the boat effective wrecks (after having been set on fire and almost blown up). Not Verne’s most exciting effort, but definitely worth the read. If nothing else it is noteworthy for it’s accounts of starvation and cannibalism. I would give it 3.5 stars.
Now about this particular edition: The translation itself is fine, a little lackluster but likely fairly accurate; however, the punctuation is a nightmare. There are semicolons and other marks smack in the middle of independent clauses, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It looks like there isn’t much variety in English editions of this novel but if you can, I recommend steering clear of this one, it’s as though no one bothered proof-reading it. I would give this edition 1.5 stars.
So read it, but buy a different version.
Rating: 3 / 5
A very typical Verne story – he likes to write about castaways. Not great, but quite unusual. The edition on sale would benefit from an introduction or some background on the genesis of this story. When was it written, etc. and where it fits in to the Verne oevre. Illustrations (in the woodcut Verne tradition) even just one, would also have been great. Also, the editing/typesetting leaves a lot to be desired and needs cleaning up before the next printing.
Rating: 3 / 5