Bottom of the League
So, Century then. Having at last gotten my grubby mits on a copy of Century:1910, I actually found it a bit disappointing compared to previous installments of the League. There’s no denying it feels like an introductory chapter, which is fair enough, but considering that the next chapter will take place in an entirely different time period (as well as being released in one, considering it’s at least a year away), I had hoped it might have had more value as a stand-alone story. As it is, the 1910 edition of the League really doesn’t see an awful lot of action, which is a shame as it seems unlikely that Raffles and Carnacki will feature in any subsequent stories. Without wishing to give anything away, their efforts are also pretty ineffectual in the long run, rendering their part of the story apparently rather pointless.
Much of the volume is given over to the exploits of Captain Nemo’s daughter Janni, whose dark and gloomy tale is presented as a kind of mock-opera. It’s a novel idea, but I didn’t really warm to any of the characters involved, so it just came over as a bit of a gimmick to me.
If you enjoyed the earlier volumes, it’s certainly still worth reading; decadent immortal Orlando is an amusing addition to the line-up and a brief appearance from the time-travelling prisoner of London is a particular highlight. Unfortunately, it’s just drifted too far from the ‘boy’s own adventure’ stylings of the first volume for my liking. Century is the start of a sweeping epic for sure, but frankly I think I preferred it when The League was still just a ripping yarn.
