Noiset's release delivered the story in the past tense, which is the most common narrative time used in the writing of fiction. She explained, "In order for my translation to read smoothly, the Pacific Islands encountered in the novel have been given their present-day names, the measurements given by Verne have been converted from the metric system to the English system, and the narration has been translated into the past tense." Michael Orthofer critiqued the edition at his Complete Review website, writing that the original was "apparently one of the first examples of a novel written in the third-person and the present tense – yet surely these should count as additional reasons to try to recreate that in English..." Professor Arthur Bruce Evans of DePauw University reviewed the Noiset translation favorably, describing her prose as an example of "[t]he fine art of translating—blending textual faithfulness with discursive fluidity..." Evans noted the "regrettable lack of illustrations" in the 2015 edition, as compared to the Verne octavo which held approximately 80 illustrations by Léon Benett. References External links Standard Island (Book), reconstructions of the flags described in the novel at the Flags of the World website See also 1895 in science fiction 1895 French novels 1895 science fiction novels Novels by Jules Verne Novels set on islands Novels set in San Francisco Novels set in San Diego Fictional floating islands Artificial islands Novels set in Oceania Nautical novels