The Wreck of the Titan (Futility): Stays afloat even after 120 years

I read the 1912 ‘Autograph Edition’ of Morgan Robertson’s short stories/novellas collection. It was quite good considering its age. I enjoyed the entire 4 story collection (some more than others), but will focus on the longest and namesake novella here (from 1898)-

In The Wreck of the Titan: Lieutenant John Rowland is on a several year bender after being rejected by a maiden, wanting nothing of him. After learning he is an Athiest, she feared his ‘evil blood’ and sent him packing. Rowland crews several boats and drinks his pay from port to port.

Rowland drunkenly stands aboard the ‘unsinkable’ Titan, watching for any object ahead which could decrease structural integrity of the ship if plowed through at full velocity.

After the Titan carves through a small craft murdering all aboard, Rowland begins to mentally sober up. When provoked and bribed, he stands his ground, sees fit to put the Titan’s Captain in a paupers prison. The Captain has a different plan, drugging Rowland on the job to discredit him and ruin him.

I was brought to this public domain book by an internet meme. I was presented with a picture of a boat and a ‘creepy fact’ that this fiction book ‘predicted’ the sinking of the Titanic, 14 years before its fatal accident. Speculation of coincidences lead to a bunch of nonsense. The only real coincidence is the name ‘Titan’.

People should read this for what it is. A time capsule from a time when distance and time kept drunken sailors searching for an improved mousetrap and financial glory. Unsinkable boats and the risk/reward they brought were likely a hot topic for seafaring entrepanuers as a form of near-future scifi. Robertson, being son of a captain and a 33 year merchant marine had as much time as any to dream up an infallible monolith, only one of many which were dreamed up and forgotten in a drunken fog.

The unsinkable ship was a pipe dream. The iceberg was a boogeyman in a pre-radar world. Lieutenant John Rowland is a mess of anti-god man logic who deserves his own movie.

Es Una entretenida historia, Puedes Que sea corta pero Es muy entretenida. Algo negativo Es Que toda La tragedia pasa demasiado rapido y No nos deja mucho Que nos impacte.

r/atheism

Ship called the Titan sinks, killing many; at that point, the similarity to the Titanic disaster proves to have been somewhat exaggerated.

Point in this story's favor: this Rowland dude, armed with only a jack knife, kills a polar bear in a freaking one-on-one fight.

Closer to 1.5/1.75. Most who have come to this (including myself) were drawn to the similarities and coincidences between this book originally written in 1898 and the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. There is a good novel to be made out of the bare bones, but Robertson is more of an engineer than a writer, and 19th century literary tastes are not conducive to the type of storytelling we expect in the 21st century. "Chekhov's atheist" also rears its head, not to mention said character's inevitable conversion, but it could've been handled worse. The scene involving the polar bear was probably the best part, but the outright anti-Semitic portrayal of the insurance adjuster simultaneously makes me cringe and wonder what recently-tolerated stereotypical portrayals will be looked upon with similar disdain a century from now (I'm guessing one rhymes with "schmapu").

Only interesting as a historical artifact really, this book was sickeningly melodramatic; the terribly antisemitic caricature was awful too.

This was a good read. The impetus for reading this was one of those stupid "Weird Historical Coincidences" FB junk posts that I sometimes can't keep myself from clicking through....but this did not disappoint. The idea that this was written many years before the sinking of the Titanic is kind of eerie --- which is what I was hoping.

Did not know about this book! Coincidence with the Titanic story?

This was… odd. To be honest I only read it to see the link to Titanic, which was admittedly creepy.

This novel, written in the late 1800s, is a foreshadowing of the events of the Titanic disaster in 1912. In this novel though, much of the book deals with what happens after the wreck of the "Titan" and not with the events of the wreck itself. It was a little difficult for me to read because of the style.