Category Archives: Science Fiction

Join the Laser Pistol Gang

I plead guilty…to violating many laws of science in my writing. But I’m not alone. I’m in good company with many other science fiction writers. Call us the Laser Pistol Gang.

Authors of so-called ‘hard SF’ should adhere to known scientific principles and knowledge, but aren’t above bending or breaking the laws of physics for the sake of a good story.

Mary Shelley really stretched biological science in Frankenstein when her fictional scientist animated a human from dead tissue. Jules Verne knew human astronauts wouldn’t survive the acceleration of a manned projectile launched from a canon in From the Earth to the Moon. H.G. Wells disobeyed temporal causality in The Time Machine. When he wrote Fantastic Voyage, Isaac Asimov understood the impossibility of miniaturizing people. From his medical training, Michael Crichton must have realized not enough intact DNA fragments remain to create the living dinosaurs of Jurassic Park.

These represent a small sampling from SF literature. Don’t get me started on SF movies, which seem to break more laws of science than they obey.

On what charges could the science police arrest me? Consider my rap sheet:

  • “The Steam Elephant” (from Steampunk Tales, Issue #5 and The Gallery of Curiosities #3). The state of steam and mechanical technology in the 19th Century did not allow for a walking, steam-powered, quadrupedal vehicle.
  • “Within Victorian Mists.” Everything needed to invent lasers existed in the 1800s except the conceptual framework, so if it had happened, it would have required dumb luck.
  • “Bringing the Future to You” (from Cheer Up, Universe!). That story contains too many science violations to list, but I meant the tale to be funny.
  • “Leonardo’s Lion.” Some accounts state Leonardo da Vinci built a walking, clockwork lion. Even if true, it’s doubtful the creation would have supported a child’s weight or traveled over rough terrain, as it does in my story.
  • “The Six Hundred Dollar Man.” Yes, steam engines existed in the late 19th Century, but no one then could have made one small enough to fit on a man’s back and power the man’s replacement limbs.
  • “A Tale More True.” Try as you might, you can’t build a metal spring strong enough to launch yourself into space as my protagonist does.
  • “The Cometeers.” In this story, I violate the same laws Verne did in launching humans to space using a canon. In fact, I used his same canon.
  • “Time’s Deformèd Hand.” Nobody in 1600 AD built walking, talking automatons powered by springs. However, I did mention the wood came from magical trees.
  • “A Clouded Affair” (from Avast, Ye Airships!). You couldn’t build a steam-powered ornithopter in the 1800s, and you’d find it difficult even today.
  • “Ripper’s Ring” Human invisibility remains impossible today, let alone in 1888. Even if it were possible, it would render the subject blind.
  • “The Cats of Nerio-3” (from In a Cat’s Eye). Evolution allows organisms to adapt to new environments, but neither cats nor rats would likely evolve in such a rapid and drastic manner as my story suggests.
  • “Instability” (from Dark Luminous Wings). According to legend, a Benedictine monk constructed a set of wings and tested them sometime around 1000 AD. The wings work no better in my story than they would have in reality.
  • “The Unparalleled Attempt to Rescue One Hans Pfaall” (from Quoth the Raven). Just because Edgar Allan Poe wrote about a balloon trip to the moon didn’t mean I had to repeat his error.

With so much law-breaking going on, how can we hope for an orderly reading society? Must we be forever besieged by the criminal authors of the Laser Pistol Gang?

That answer, I’m happy to report, is yes. Authors write to entertain readers. That’s a writer’s ‘prime directive,’ to steal a phrase. If the writer must bend or break a rule of science to tell a good story, the writer is going to do it.

One key phrase there is ‘good story.’ The better the story, the easier it is for a reader to forgive a scientific flaw. Of course, if you can tell a good story while keeping the science accurate, by all means, do that.

If you aim to join the Laser Pistol Gang, be aware we have a tough initiation ritual. You have to write a story where a law of science gets broken. Not a very exclusive gang, I admit. But it’s a proud, longstanding group. Take it from one of its most notorious members, known by his gang name—

Poseidon’s Scribe

March 18, 2023Permalink

The SF Obsolescence Problem

No matter how much a science fiction writer keeps up with science, the writer’s stories will go obsolete.

As science advances, our understanding of the universe changes. A spherical earth replaced a flat one. A sun-centered solar system replaced an earth-centered one. Birds replaced reptiles as closer descendants of dinosaurs. Continental drift replaced an unchanging map.

SF stories based on outdated science seem backward, passe, naïve. Yet we still read them. Why?

When Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, she may have thought the technology to animate dead human tissue lay in the near future since Luigi Galvani had caused frog legs to twitch with jolts of electricity. Two centuries later, we still can’t animate dead humans. How silly it seems to have ever thought it possible at the dawn of the 19th Century. Yet we still enjoy Shelley’s novel today.

Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days astounded his reading audience at such a short duration for a globe-circling trip. Today, astronauts orbit the planet in just over eighty minutes. How quaint to think of an eighty-day circumnavigation as short. Yet we still enjoy Verne’s novel today.

H.G. Wells’ story The War of the Worlds gave us invaders from Mars. Today we can’t imagine fearing an attack from inhabitants of that planet. How pathetic to think people once swallowed that premise. Yet we still enjoy Wells’ novel today.

Why do we readers find these outdated, naïve, obsolete books—and others like them—still readable? Because science fiction isn’t only about science.

SF, like all fiction, is about one thing—the human condition.

True, readers of SF prefer stories in which authors adhere to the science at the time of writing. But as decades pass, readers know the progress of science may render a work of fiction obsolete. They forgive all of that for the sake of a good story.

They want to read about human characters struggling to achieve a goal, to win a prize, to survive. To live means to suffer, but also to strive against and despite that suffering. The struggle reveals the human qualities of bravery, ingenuity, perseverance, loyalty, love, and others. These timeless truths persist no matter how much science morphs our understanding of the cosmos.

As essayist James Wallace Harris stated in this post, “It’s the story, stupid.” Author Michael Sapenoff put it this way: “So while the language itself remains outdated, the ideas are not.”

You may shake your head, chuckle, or even sneer at the obsolete notions in SF stories, ideas since debunked or overturned by later discoveries. But remember, while looking down your nose, science fiction is more about the fiction than the science.

I encourage you to suspend your scientific skepticism and just enjoy the tale, follow the spinning of the yarn. Set aside the transitory and obsolete parts and appreciate the unchanging, permanent parts.

Maybe, in the end, the SF obsolescence problem isn’t a problem after all, for you or for—

Poseidon’s Scribe

February 19, 2023Permalink

Sale on 20,000 Leagues Remembered – Only $2.99!

Two days ago, I mentioned a sale on the new anthology, Extraordinary Visions. Now I’m announcing a sale on another Jules Verne-related anthology—20,000 Leagues Remembered.

Maybe these publishers and book distributors are trying to celebrate Verne’s 195th birthday on February 8, I don’t know.

At any rate, in conjunction with a promotion at the Fussy Librarian, the ebook version of 20,000 Leagues Remembered is on sale for $2.99 at the publisher’s site, as well as Amazon, Nook, Kobo, and Smashwords.

At the Fussy Librarian, 20,000 Leagues Remembered is listed with their Bargain E-books under General Fantasy. That promotion may only last today, Saturday, February 4, but the sales at the other sites will likely remain in effect until Friday, February 10.

20,000 Leagues Remembered, published on the 150th anniversary of Verne’s masterwork, contains 16 stories by modern authors, each inspired by the classic tale of underwater adventure. Read exciting stories by Mike Adamson, Alfred D. Byrd, Demetri Capetanopoulos, J. Woolston Carr, Maya Chhabra, Eric Choi, Corrie Garrett, Andrew Gudgel, Nikoline Kaiser, James J.C. Kelly, M. W. Kelly, Jason J. McCuiston, Gregory L. Norris, Allison Tebo, Stephen R. Wilk, and Michael D. Winkle.

Prices are rising for everything else, but for this book—at least for a while—the price has dropped. When it comes to good deals, it’s hard to beat this one. Everyone likes a bargain, even—

Poseidon’s Scrive

February 4, 2023Permalink

Sale on Extraordinary Visions – 20% Off!

BearManor Media, Inc., the publisher of Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne is letting the book go for 20% off. The sale only runs through February 4, so hurry.

When you order either the hardcover or paperback version, it will show up at full price until you put the book in your shopping cart. Then you’ll see the discount.

As a reminder, the North American Jules Verne Society sponsored their first-ever anthology of stories written by modern authors, each inspired by Verne’s works. Not only does the book contain thirteen wonderful tales, but each story is accompanied by an original illustration from the earliest publications of Jules Verne’s novels. In an appendix in the back, you’ll find a complete listing of all of his writings.

You had this book on your to-read list, but never got around to buying it yet. Now’s your chance to grab it at a discounted price. For the hardcover version, click here, and for the paperback, click here.

Forgot to mention: one of the co-editors of this anthology is—

Poseidon’s Scribe

February 2, 2023Permalink

7 Science Fiction Predictions for 2023

Though I’ve tried and failed to predict future science fiction trends before, practice makes…well, better. I used the wrong techniques, that’s all. It’s obvious to me now—you can’t see the future in crystal balls, tea leaves, tarot cards, or astrology charts.

You need to read palms. Chiromancy—that’s the foolproof way. My hands have touched so many science fiction books during my life, it should have been obvious to look there for what’s coming in 2023. I had it all along, right in the palm of my hand.

As I gaze at the length and curvature of the lines and the fleshiness of the seven mounts on my hands, it all becomes clear. Some of my predictions repeat those of previous years, but that only means a trend continues or re-emerges in 2023. Here are the types of science fiction books you can expect next year:

  • Artificial Intelligence. A continuing trend, yes, but in 2023, we’ll see a twist. Authors will get past the Frankenstein reruns and the cute-robot-is-nobler-than-humans plot. Novels will show us more sophisticated AI, computers with a different order of intelligence, one alien to us.
  • Classics redone in LGBTQ. Authors will explore the contours of the LGBTQ realm by rewriting classic tales, but repopulating them with LGBTQ characters.
  • Climate Fiction. CliFi hasn’t run its course yet. Readers want it, and authors will supply it.
  • Mars. The Red Planet is in again. We’ll see books featuring the fourth rock from the sun.
  • Private Space Flight. I jumped the gun, er, rocket, in predicting this for 2022. 2023 is the year we’ll see spaceships funded by billionaires without government involvement, for better or worse.
  • Solarpunk. I’m seeing more novels in the coming year with this motif, bringing us sustainable, renewable energy and diverging from capitalism and a colonial mindset.
  • Terraforming. Once seen as an extension of man’s dominion over Earth, terraforming will show its warts in 2023. We’ll see stories of botched terraforming, opposed terraforming, and weaponized terraforming.

There they are—rock solid predictions you can take to the bank. Or, more correctly, the bookstore. As you peruse the New Releases section of bookselling websites or stores, seeing novels on those topics, you’ll say “I’ve really got to hand it to—

Poseidon’s Scribe”

December 31, 2022Permalink

Looking Back, My 2022 Predictions Assessed

In the last several Decembers, I’ve used various techniques to predict the sort of science fiction books to be published in the upcoming year. Last year, I used an astrological chart. Let’s see if my predictions came true.

  • Prediction: Games and Virtual Reality. This recent trend will continue in 2022 as authors explore the landscape of these settings. Moreover, readers will enjoy the escapism aspect of these stories.
    • Assessment: I nailed it. Here are two examples–Unanimity by Alexandra Almeida involves a simulated reality, and Rabbits by Terry Miles concerns a secret, dangerous and sometimes fatal underground game.
  • Prediction: UFOs/UAPs. As the government promises to release data on UFOs or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, scifi authors will capitalize on the public’s interest in these sightings.
    • Assessment: My astrological chart worked on this one, too. Light Years From Home by Mike Chen involves alien abductions, and Beyond the Burn Line by Paul McAuley gives readers alien spacecraft coming to Earth after humanity’s extinction.
  • Prediction: Pandemic. 2022 will be the year for pandemic scifi. Expect bizarre diseases with weird symptoms.
    • Assessment: Success in this prediction, as well. How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu concerns a plague released from a preserved corpse. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel involves three separate people connected by a plague.
  • Prediction: Post-pandemic. As we emerge from the COVID-19 Pandemic, scifi writers will give us tales of humanity returning to normal after devastating pandemic diseases.
    • Assessment: I’ll say I got this right, too. The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson takes place in a post-COVID Florida, in 2025, on the cusp of a new and different pandemic.
  • Prediction: Private space exploration and tourism. In 2022 we’ll read scifi novels featuring billionaire-funded space travel, both for tourism and exploration.
    • Assessment: Here’s where my chart let me down. I found no examples of this.
  • Prediction: Humor. We’ll see a welcome surge in funny scifi, just in time to meet the public’s need for a lighter mood.
    • Assessment: I’ll rate this prediction as borderline, as the humor in my examples tends to be either subtle or dark. Some reviewers have mentioned the humor in How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. Mickey7 by Edward Ashton gives readers some dark humor.  
  • Prediction: CliFi.  Many readers and scifi writers share concerns about climate change, which will inspire new novels about how humanity copes.
    • Assessment: Okay, anybody could have made this prediction, I grant you. Authors delivered. The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton follows a child born out of a hurricane who must handle a changing climate. Imagine 2200: The 2022 Climate Fiction Collection edited by Tory Stephens contains clifi short stories. Extinction Notice edited by David Harten Watson is another such anthology.     
  • Prediction: AI. Artificial Intelligence will continue to prompt the scifi of 2022 as it has for years now. I predict stories involving the whole spectrum of AI, from specialized AI capable of one type of task, to general AI similar to human intelligence, all the way to superintelligence.
    • Assessment: I’ll give myself partial credit, since I’m not sure the whole spectrum of AI got covered. The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard features a sentient spaceship. A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga is a middle grade novel about a sentient Mars rover. Unanimity by Alexandra Almeida shows AI experts creating a virtual reality. In Roadkill by Dennis E. Taylor, the protagonist has an AI sidekick. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers is a hopepunk journey of human and robot through the wilds of future human civilization.

Personal Predictions

I made two of these, only one of which panned out.

  • Prediction: My collection of short stories about the future history of seasteading, titled The Seastead Chronicles, will be published in 2022.
    • Assessment: Nope, but likely in 2023.

I’m getting better at this prediction business. If only my abilities extended to the stock market, the lottery, horse racing, or casino gambling. Stay tuned for my next blogpost, where all the science fiction trends to look for in 2023 will be revealed by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 26, 2022Permalink

Eighty Days – Day 80

This, fellow voyagers, marks the 80th day of Phileas Fogg’s journey around the world, 150 years after the fictional tale. Will Detective Fix finally arrest the bank robber he’s been chasing the whole way around? Will Princess Aouda go on to live with her cousin in Holland? Will Fogg return to the Reform Club in time to win his wager?

In New York, Fogg had missed the departure of the China, and found—from consulting his ‘Bradshaw’—that no other steamer would reach London in time. They stayed overnight at the St. Nicholas Hotel (perhaps a reference to the upcoming Christmas holiday?) on Broadway. In the morning, Fogg found the ship Henrietta about to leave, bound for Bordeaux. The captain never took passengers, but changed his mind when Fogg offered 2000 pounds apiece for the four of them.

Fogg ended up paying off the crew to perform a mutiny and they confined Captain Speedy to his quarters, while Fogg ordered a course change toward Liverpool. When the coal gave out, Fogg purchased the ship from Speedy and ordered everything above the waterline burned. On December 21 at 1:00 am, the Henrietta arrived in Queenstown, Ireland. The four travelers took a train to Dublin and a steamer to Liverpool, arriving at 11:40 am. There, Detective Fix arrested Fogg.

Imprisoned in the Custom House, Fogg waited, without apparent emotion. At 2:33 pm, Fix freed him, saying police had arrested the real bank robber three days earlier. Fogg knocked the detective to the floor. He, Aouda, and Passepartout took a train to London, but arrived at 8:50pm, 5 minutes too late to win his wager. Back in his London flat, he had discussions with Aouda the next day, and she proposed marriage to him. If her proposal seems rather sudden, remember that this novel followed the adventure format, not the romance formula.

Fogg accepted and sent a delighted Passepartout to make arrangements with Reverend Samuel Wilson at Marylebone Parish for a wedding the next day, Monday. When Passepartout found out it was only Saturday, he dragged Fogg to a carriage and they made it to the Reform Club just in time to win his wager. By traveling east, he’d gained a day and hadn’t noticed it. He’d covered 24,544 miles in exactly 80 days.

Bradshaw’s Guide, 1882

When Verne had Fogg consult the ‘Bradshaw,’ he referred to Bradshaw’s Guide, a book of railway and steamship timetables, published from 1839 to 1961.

St. Nicholas Hotel on Broadway, 1853

The St. Nicholas Hotel existed, having opened in 1853 as the first NYC building to cost over $1M. It closed in 1884 and luxury condos occupy that site on Broadway today.

The port of Queenstown in Ireland changed its name to Cobh in 1920.

Marylebone Parish

Marylebone Parish existed. An Anglican church, it stands about 1.2 miles NNW of Fogg’s mansion at 7 Saville Row. Fogg asked Passepartout to contact the Reverend Samuel Wilson, but I found no record of that name in connection with that church. Charles Eyre served as its rector from 1857 to 1882.

Fogg’s group required 8 days to travel from New York to London, but today you can fly that route in about 7 hours. Throughout this blogtour, I’ve contrasted Fogg’s trip with modern-day flying times. For the entire circumnavigation, those flight times total 102 hours. If we assume an average layover time of 1.5 hours for each of the 16 stops, the total time is 126 hours, or a bit over 5 days. Of course, if you’re interested in the shortest possible time without mimicking Fogg’s route, that’s a bit over 44 hours, accomplished on commercial flights (including the Concorde) by David Springbett in 1980.  

This post completes our blogtour, but need not end your enjoyment of Verne. I recommend almost all of his novels. If you prefer a more modern style, I recommend Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne. Just published, it’s the first anthology of fiction ever produced by the North American Jules Verne Society. I also recommend you join that group if you’d like to know more about Verne.

In the end, Phileas Fogg spent about as much money as he won. He’d seen nothing of the world he’d just circumnavigated except the insides of steamships and railway cars, where he’d played countless games of whist. However, he’d won the love of a charming spouse, and Verne asks us to ponder whether we, too, would circle the globe for even less a prize than that. Is love, after all, the greatest adventure?

Thank you for traveling Around the World in Eighty Days with—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 21, 2022Permalink

Extraordinary Visions has Launched

At long last, the North American Jules Verne Society has produced its first-ever anthology of new fiction. Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne just got published today. As of today, it’s available from the publisher, BearManor Media, in paperback and hardback, and from Amazon in both versions.

The anthology includes stories by Mike Adamson, Joel Allegretti, Gustavo Bondoni, Demetri Capetanopoulos, Brenda Carre, Eric Choi, Christopher M. Geeson, Kelly A. Harmon, David A. Natale, Alison L. Randall, Janice Rider, Michael Schulkins, and Joseph S. Walker. Credit goes to artist Amanda Bergloff for the splendid cover image.

The stories derive not only from Verne’s better-known novels, but also from the obscure ones many are unfamiliar with. These stories may prompt you to sample Verne’s lesser-known writings.

In addition, an image taken from the original illustrations of Verne’s novels accompanies each story. One appendix lists the sources of these illustrations, and another appendix provides the complete bibliography of Verne’s works.

I’m honored to have served as a co-editor for this volume. I’m proud of the result, and should mention my co-editor, Rev. Matthew T. Hardesty, and the others who served on the anthology team: Dana Eales, Arthur Evans, Alex Kirstukas, Andrew Nash, Reggie Van Stockum, and the Society’s current president, Dennis Kytasaari.

Even 117 years after Jules Verne’s death, his works continue to inspire and delight writers and readers alike. Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne comes highly recommended by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 13, 2022Permalink

Eighty Days – Day 70

Though a century and a half has passed since the publication of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days, that novel still resonates with and delights us today. We’ve been blog-touring along with Phileas Fogg and we’ve just reached New York City.

Fogg had put 20,963 miles behind him since leaving London on October 2, which was 85.4% of the total distance. However, he’d used up 87.5% of the wagered time. He had to board the steamer to Liverpool on time to have a chance.

From Chicago, Fogg and his group took the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago railway to NYC. For once, nothing much happened. Verne spent little time describing the trip, which concluded at 11:15pm. Sad to say, the Cunard steamer China had left the pier 45 minutes earlier.

The PFW&C Railway did exist. It formed in 1862 as a result of a reorganization of a predecessor railroad that had foreclosed.

Cunard Steamship China
1875 Ad for NYC-to-Liverpool Run

The Cunard Line steamer China existed as well. A three-masted steamship, she made regular New York-to-Liverpool runs. Some 18 years after her 1862 launching, Cunard sold her to the Spanish Government who renamed her “Magallanes.” In 1889, Spain sold her to Norway, who renamed her “Theodore,” and converted her to a four masted bark. In 1906, she went missing on her way from Tampa to Yokohama.

In 1872, New York City reigned as the most populous city in the U.S., with over 942,000 residents. Abraham Oakey Hall served as its 79th mayor. Today, NYC remains the most populous city in the country, with a population exceeding 8,467,000 people. Eric Adams is the mayor.

It took Fogg around 31 hours to ride the train between Chicago and New York. Today a 2-hour flight shortens that trip by a lot.

In previous posts, I’ve listed my first and second favorite screen adaptations of Verne’s novel. I’ve chosen the most recent as my third favorite, the 8-episode 2021 BBC TV miniseries starring David Tennant, Ibrahim Koma, and Leonie Benesch. This adaptation really tried to give the story a modern flair—perhaps too much—but succeeded in putting the characters into more trying circumstances, dire straits, and hopeless situations than the novel did.

Things may look hopeless for Phileas Fogg since he missed sailing aboard the China, but a slim chance may remain for him to win his wager. One way you can find out if he’ll succeed is to keep reading blogposts by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 11, 2022Permalink

Eighty Days – Day 69

Welcome back, fellow literary adventurers. We’re traveling Around the World in Eighty Days, 150 years after the publication of Jules Verne’s famous novel. Today, we’re in Chicago, but it wasn’t exactly a breeze to get to the Windy City. Well, in a way it was…

We left Princess Aouda and Detective Fix at the Fort Kearney station in Nebraska, waiting the return of Phileas Fogg. He’d left with thirty soldiers to rescue Passepartout from the Sioux. At dawn on the 9th, Fogg returned, having rescued his servant and the other missing passengers. However, he’d have to wait until that evening for the next train. Fix made arrangements with a man named Mr. Mudge to ride a sail-powered sledge over hard-packed snow from Fort Kearney to Omaha.

They arrived there in time to board a train of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. That took them past several Iowa towns—Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Iowa City, and Davenport. At 4:00pm on the 10th, they arrived in Chicago, having come 20,063 miles on their journey, or 81.7% of the distance. Trouble was, they’d used 86.3% of the time.

What about Mudge’s wind-powered sledge? Verne made it sound like Nebraskans used them all the time when heavy snow delayed the trains. Ice boats existed then, but I found no record of their use in the Midwest.

However, this site and this one both mention a wheeled wind-wagon built by Samuel Peppard of Oskaloosa, Iowa, who planned a trip to Pike’s Peak and visited—guess where—Fort Kearney in Nebraska.

Drawing from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper

An article in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, dated July 7, 1860, contained an article on page 104 titled “The Wind-Ship of the Prairies,” datelined Fort Kearney, May 27, 1860. The wind-wagon’s four-man crew declared Pike’s Peak as their destination. Could Verne have read a French translation of that article and replaced wheels with sled runners?

The company Verne called the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad had changed its name in 1866 to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company. That railway became the inspiration for the song, “Rock Island Line.” The company ended in 1980.

Fogg spent little time in Chicago, and Verne noted the city had “already risen from its ruins.” That refers to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, an event no doubt fresh in his readers’ minds.

By 1872, Chicago’s population numbered nearly 300,000 people and Joseph Medill served as its 26th mayor. Today, some 2,756,546 people call it home and Lori Lightfoot is its 56th mayor.

Fort Kearney no longer exists, but you can take a two-hour flight from nearby Lincoln to Chicago. Or you could drive ten hours along Interstate 80. I’ve mentioned that highway a few times now, and you might think it traces the route of the Transcontinental Railroad. It does. According to this site, the following routes form almost identical paths: California Trail, Mormon Trail, Pony Express Trail, Transcontinental Telegraph Line, Transcontinental Railroad, Lincoln Highway, the First Transcontinental Telephone Line, the First Transcontinental Airmail Route, and Interstate Highway 80.

Regarding screen adaptations of the novel, see my previous post for my favorite. For my second favorite, I’d pick the 1989 NBC TV miniseries starring Pierce Brosnan, Eric Idle, Julia Nickson, and Peter Ustinov. It’s been years since I saw it, but I recall being pleased with it.

With the four travelers reunited, they still stand a chance of arriving in New York in time to board the steamer to Liverpool. Watch this space for further updates from your entertaining and informative correspondent—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 10, 2022Permalink