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Summary: A good story, but a fascinating coincidence
Review: John Rowland is a man in much reduced straights. Once an officer on a U.S. Naval warship, he fell in love with a woman who ultimately rejected him, and then descended into alcoholism at the cost of everything. Things might be looking up, when he finds himself a berth as a common sailor aboard the brand new passenger liner Titan, the largest, fastest, most technologically advanced ship afloat. However, when Rowland witnesses the Titan ramming and sinking a smaller ship during the night, he realizes he must stand for what is right. Things become much worse, when the Titan sinks after ramming an iceberg, and Rowland finds himself one of the few survivors, along with the captain. This is Rowland's time of to realize the futility of his former life, and to stand tall.This book was written in 1898, and is of historical interest for the number of similarities between the ship in the story and the Titanic, which sank some fourteen years later. Both the Titan and the Titanic were on their maiden voyages, both had watertight compartments (which made collision a smaller worry), both carried as few lifeboats as the law allowed, both sailed in April heading for New York, both struck icebergs around midnight, and both sank with heavy loss of life. The story in the book is good, not great, but good. If it hadn't been for the Titanic similarities, it probably wouldn't be remember today. Overall I found the story unconvincing, but nonetheless a good read. Also, I found the similarities between the Titan and Titanic somewhat superficial. If you are looking for a pre-telling of the Titanic story, then you will be quite disappointed. Therefore, I would give this book a rather qualified recommendation.
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Summary: What a strange coinsidence
Review: one of the strangest books I've ever read. It has so much in common with Titanic it isn't funny. More like a prophesy book. Everything in this book is almost the same as Titanic: The names of the ships, where the iceberg hit, number of passengers, number of lifeboats, month of maiden voyage and sinking, number of propellars and the length of the ship. I suggest you read this if you want to see one of the weirdest of the many pyschic foretellings of the Titanic disaster. Very, very strange how much Titanic and the Titan (in the book) have in common...
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Summary: THIS IS SCARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: That's all I have to say about it! The most harrowing of modern sea-vessel prophecies!
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Summary: Too many coincidences........
Review: The book "Futility", if taken alone, only deserves 1 star. Morgan Robertson, a self described "visionary", was not a very good writer. His writing style was, in my opinion, a sure cure for insomnia! But on a fateful night in 1912 one of Robertson's books came true -- almost. He mispelled the name of the ship by two letters (Titan rather than Titanic) but everything else he got right: month, number of people on board, lifeboat capacity... the coincidences are astounding. If you choose Futility, be prepared for one of the worst written books you've ever read.... and chills down your spine!
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Summary: The actual stories are not the same as the myths about them
Review: The book is actually a collection of Robertson's short sories, including Futility, The Pirates, Beyond the Spectrum, and In the Valley of the Shadow. I have read both Futility and Spectrum, since these stories have gotten a lot of press lately. Much has been made of Robertson's tales about a great steamer named the Titan and the Titanic. Yes, there are a number coicidences between the two, but the stories diverge in a number of ways. Robertson displays an arrogance amongst the crew and the owners that exceeds even that of the Titanic and White Star Line. Sheer hubris sank the Titan; a blend of hubris and ineptitude sank the Titanic (see Lord, W., The Night Lives On). The Titan sinks almost instanstanously with almost no survivors; its demise differs quite a bit from the Titanic's. The story also spends a lot of time on the attempt to make an insurance claim for the loss from Lloyd's of London and where the liability for the tragedy lies. Finally, there is a subplot about a Titan crew member, his emotional breakdown, his heroism during the disaster, and the near tragic results afterward for him. The story was fairly interesting, the writing rather stilted (which I would expect for a story written a century ago), but it was not a great piece of literature. Like most people, my interest was peaked by the hype; the reality makes the story a bit disappointing, except where there is convergence between fact and fiction, which I must admit, are quite intriguing.
The innacuracies in the comments about Spectrum make it even more disappointing than Futility. Yes, there is the Japanese attack on US interests in the Pacific, with the attack on Hawaii a component of that attack, and it's not clear to me that a war actually ensued. There are no airplanes and bombs mentioned in the story, and the weapon that blind combatants is designed to do only that. (The reviews intimate that the weapon is actaully a nuclear device, which it is not). The story focuses on bringing justice to the perpetrators, and the story of that weapon offers an interesting twist regarding its genesis.
This story is a short read, only twenty pages, and again, the style is what you would expect from nearly a century ago. But beyond the superficial coincidences between the story and WWII, the hype and the reality are clearly disconnected.
My suggestion, find the book in a library before investing twenty plus dollars in it. The stories are more intriguing curiosities rather than great literary pieces, and one should be sure they want to add this to their library before they make the purchase.
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Summary: This book is eriee
Review: This book predicts the Titantic disaster 14 years before the Titanic sinks. Morgan Robertson predicts everything that will happen to the Titanic. Robertson predicts the the ship's size, how many passengers (rich and poor), how many lifeboats, which side of the ship the iceberg hits and how many people die when the ship takes its final plunge to the ocean floor. The book also predicts the inquieries which take place after the sinking.
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Summary: This book was not authored by Nostradamus
Review: This book was a huge disappointment. I've known of this story for years, but could never get a copy of it until now. The story itself is only about 37 pages long, shouldn't take more than a hour to read, yet seems to never end. The similarities between the Titan and the Titanic are mere coincidences, and the story is choppy and incoherent. This book is not a prophetic work. Perhaps if it were lengthened it would make a decent novel in its own right, but comparing it to the Titanic is a waste of time. If you want to read about a good historical prediction try reading about Cortez's landing in Mexico, and how it coincided with the return of an exciled devil of the Aztecs.
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Summary: IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE TITANIC...
Review: This book would not even be of any value. The book had very little to do with the ship, Titan and the storyline that Morgan Robertson applied to the story was scarcely believable. After so much attention was given to the similarities between the Titan and the Titanic, I was expecting more than what I got. I know little about the author but he did write other pieces that had some degree of prophecy associated -- lasers, as US war with Japan, etc. But he could not develop his thoughts and put them down on writing in an entertaining manner.
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Summary: Yes, it's NOT like today's writings, but...
Review: This is a story (really stories) worth reading. It is uncanny how the author concocted this whole premise only to have a fatal chunk of it become reality 14 years AFTER it was written! The Edgar Cayce of the sea! Worth having in your Titanic library.
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Summary: Yes, it's NOT like today's writings, but...
Review: This is a story (really stories) worth reading. It is uncanny how the author concocted this whole premise only to have a fatal chunk of it become reality 14 years AFTER it was written! The Edgar Cayce of the sea! Worth having in your Titanic library.
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