I believe Verne intended this book chiefly to be a satire of some people living
at his time who were unable to accept the peaceful condition of the world. The
Gun Club is nothing more than a group of disfigured and excitable old war
mongers, who, since there was no war, needed to create some grand project as an
outlet for their destructive energy. He also could have been satirizing the
attitude of greatness that he perceived Americans to have about themselves and
their country. This is illustrated in many lines of the members of the Gun Club,
how they fear no obstacle, confident that American ingenuity will conquer all.
Another possible reason for his writing this book could have been merely to
express how he foresaw man reaching the moon. This book is a delightful satire,
and is very enjoyable to read. It's written in a smooth, easy to follow
language, and has really no dull parts. I liked the way the story was presented,
through the eyes of the members of the Gun Club, who were very amusing
characters. It was also written in common language, so it was easy to read.
Another thing I liked about this book were all the great characters. I
especially liked the members of the Gun Club, with their artificial appendages
and talking about nothing but past wars, future wars, and accomplishments in the
field of artillery. I really liked Matson who had multiple arm attachments, like
a hook, a pencil, and a knife. Setting was also described very well in this
book. From the weapon filled meeting hall of the Gun Club, to the construction
site on Stone Hill, Verne always used such descriptive language, that you could
easily see the place in your mind. I especially liked how he portrayed the
enormous dimensions of the cannon and of the projectile itself. Another
characteristic of this book was, unlike most others I have read, there is no
messy love story to get in the way of the plot development. I think Verne
replaces a female love interest with the desire to go to the moon, and then
gives that desire form in the cannon and projectile, which I think you can
securely say the men were all in love with. Another quality of this book was
that there was always something going on, there were no wasted words. There was
also a lot of suspense in many places throughout the book, especially at the end
when the cannon is fired. The pages leading up to that event were extremely
exciting. I even got a little nervous myself. The ending also was very
suspenseful, and I was a little upset. It really bugged me that you never really
find out what happened to the travelers. This book is definitely not for
everybody. If you don't like science fiction very much, I wouldn't really
recommend this book. Even though there is much more to this story than just the
technical "mumbo-jumbo," a person could get bored in the detailed
descriptions of the different facets of the project. I, though, found those
descriptions to be some of the best parts. I was amazed that Verne could portray
all that stuff that never existed in such great detail. This book also shows how
learned of a man Verne was. There are many sections that would require much
research about astronomy, astronomical tools, and artillery. In conclusion, if
you're looking for a great science fiction book, with a lot of satire and
comedy, but also one with suspense and tension, then I highly recommend this
book. It's a book that you can easily read in a short time since the language is
relatively plain, and the story keeps you interested the entire time.