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Summary
Summary
Picking up where Around the World in Eighty Days left off, Harry Fogg, the son of Phileas Fogg, has just made a wager of his own. Harry bets that he can drive a steam-powered motorcar all the way around the world in only 100 days. Racing off with three companions, Harry undertakes a grueling journey that will pit him against flash fires, marauders, and even sabotage from within. In the tradition of the Jules Verne classic, this is one historical adventure that will have you racing to the finish!
Author Notes
Gary L. Blackwood sold his first story when he was nineteen, and has been writing and publishing stories, articles, plays, novels, and nonfiction books regularly ever since. His stage plays have won awards and been produced in university and regional theatre. Nonfiction subjects he's covered include biography, history, and paranormal phenomena. His juvenile novels, which include WILD TIMOTHY, THE DYING SUN , and THE SHAKESPEARE STEALER , are set in a wide range of times and places, from Elizabethan England to a parallel universe. Several have received special recognition and been translated into other languages. He and his wife and kids live outside Carthage, MO.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Phileas Fogg made the voyage in 80 days, and in this imaginative historical adventure his son, Harry Fogg, has made a wager of his own. In 1891, the exuberant young man has bet that he can circle the globe in a steam-powered automobile-the Flash-in 100 days. There's much more at stake in this challenge than just the 6,000 prize. Free-spirited Harry is determined to prove that the automobile is the transportation mode of the future. His rigid and regimented father has reluctantly agreed to cover the cost of the wager, but there's a condition: if Harry wins, he can pursue his motorcar dreams, but if he loses, he must get serious and pursue a professional career that his father deems more befitting an English gentleman. Accompanied by his gifted but quirky mechanic; an abrasive, foppish "minder" who's there to make sure the rules of the wager are followed; and an intriguing female reporter, Harry and his crew face many obstacles. Some are natural, some mechanical, and some human. Most troubling is the fact that someone-most likely one of the passengers-is apparently trying to sabotage the Flash. Blackwood's steampunkish romp has a touch of humor and a great deal of heart, which brings readers fully onboard as they feverishly turn pages in this race against the clock.-Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Blackwood, known for writing historical fiction/alternative history (The Shakespeare Stealer, rev. 7/98; The Year of the Hangman), here writes a sequel of sorts to Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days, one that works well regardless of the reader's familiarity with its classic inspiration. In 1891 Harry Fogg follows in his famous father's footsteps when he makes a bet with Phileas's old nemesis that he can circumnavigate the globe in one hundred days -- this time in a steam-powered motor car. He sets off with Johnny, his friend and mechanic; Charles, the son of the man who bets against him, coming along to enforce the rules to the letter; and Elizabeth, a journalist bent on making her name by chronicling the historic undertaking. This is essentially a road trip novel with one entertaining episode following the next, but along the way there are plenty of revelations about key characters, not to mention several reversals of fortune, that leave the outcome of the bet in doubt. Likable characters, a varied setting, and an interesting premise mark Blackwood's latest offering as a good choice for fans of adventure. JONATHAN HUNT (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
It's 1891, and young Harry Fogg's obsession with automobiles has landed him in jail. His father, Phileas Fogg, and mother, Aouda, long for Harry to settle down and adopt a gentlemanly profession. When Harry lands in more hot waterwagering at his club that he can circle the globe by automobile in 100 daysPhileas finances the trip on the proviso that if Harry loses he will give up tinkering with cars. Accompanied by Johnny, friend and automotive genius, Charles, whose father is betting against Harry, and Elizabeth, journalist and proto-feminist, Harry sets off in his state-of-the-art, steam-powered car. Like his father, he'll face daunting challenges both technical and human, including the presence of a saboteur. Blackwood retains what's best from Around the World in 80 Days, by that forefather of steampunk, Jules Vernethe lighthearted humor, race against time, loyal friends and devious foeswhile dropping the Eurocentrism; Harry's mixed-race heritage and adventures in a world on the cusp of social upheaval provide a subtle contemporary subtext. The synthesis makes for a thrilling, thoroughly road-worthy joy ride. (Historical fiction. 10 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Let the extreme road trip begin: wild man Harry is never one to walk away from a wager. The young man-about-town succumbs to the challenge of mean-spirited businessmen who view him as an easy mark, challenging him to drive his newfangled steam-powered motor car around the world. He can board ships as necessary with the contraption, but he must arrive back in London within 100 days. It's 1891, and the world does not trust the promise of the automobile. Along with an observer and a journalist, Harry is joined by his trustworthy mechanic, and the unlikely foursome sets forth on a hair-raising adventure. Danger lurks at every turn Cossacks, kidnappers, and garden-variety outlaws as do mechanical failures and all manner of mayhem. And who knows if observer Charles and charming journalist Elizabeth are really undercover saboteurs? The journey is fun and suspenseful, and, of course, our hero prevails barely.--O'Malley, Anne Copyright 2010 Booklist
