The Time Machine (Signet Classics)

Book Description

The story that launched Wells's successful career-the classic tale of the Time Traveler and the extraordinary world he discovers in the far distant future. A haunting portrayal of Darwin's evolutionary theory carried to a terrible conclusion.

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When the Time Traveler courageously stepped out of his machine for the first time, he found himself in the year 802,700--and everything had changed. H.G. Wells's famous novel of one man's astonishing journey beyond the conventional limits of the imagination is regarded as one of the great masterpieces in the literature of science fiction.

Customer Reviews:

Book.......2007-09-22

This is a strong book that always keeps yo guessing and on the edge of your seat. I think that this author writes some nice pieces of written masterpiece! I will be buying more!

Classic.......2007-09-21

A short read, but definitely fits in the realm of classic sci-fi. This is nothing like the newer movie remake of Time machine.

Review of The Time Machine.......2007-09-04

The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells, was first published in 1895. It remains a piece of classic literature because it is well written and because many feel that its message about society is still relevant today. H.G. Wells uses formal diction throughout the book, and much of the language used is typical of English literature in the late 19th century. The Time Traveler develops a Time Machine which he uses to travel into the future, to the year 802,701 A.D. While there, the Time Traveler learns about the society of the future, and the reasons for the distinct separation of classes.
Immediately upon arriving in the future, the Time Traveler meets the Eloi, a beautiful, graceful, child-like race. The Time Traveler befriends one of the Eloi after saving her from drowning in the river. Her name is Weena, and the Time Traveler learns about the Eloi from her companionship. The Eloi are a peaceful people, but also weak and stupid. The Eloi live a very leisurely lifestyle, eating strictly fruits. There are no houses in the year 802,701 A.D., and there seems to be no private ownership. The Eloi live, eat, and play as a group. There does not appear to have any form of government, and the Eloi seem to live in a perfected socialist society.
The Time Traveler soon realizes, however, that the Eloi are not the sole inhabitants of the earth in the future, after he returns to find his Time Machine stolen. A separate and very different race, the Morlocks, live below the ground. The Time Traveler describes these subterranean creatures as pale white, clammy, and apelike. The Morlocks have become so accustomed to the darkness underground that they avoid all light. The Time Traveler presumes that it is the Morlocks who have stolen his time Machine and hidden it in the base of a great statue.
It is not until the Time Traveler ventures below ground to search for his Time Machine that he realizes that the Morlocks are cannibalistic, relying on the weaker Eloi for food. The Time Traveler then begins to understand society in the future. The Eloi were once the aristocrats, and the Morlocks the working class. The aristocracy continued to buy the land above ground until the industry was forced below ground. The workers moved below ground with the industry, and the aristocrats stayed above ground, pursuing pleasure and relying on the workers underground for their goods and labor. Gradually, the laborers underground grew to detest the sun and their skin became bleached white, while the aristocrats became so comfortable and so unaccustomed to necessity or hardship that their size, strength, and intelligence waned. Thus, the Morlocks met all of the Eloi's needs so that they would have food. In essence, the Morlocks fattened up the Eloi in much the same way that we fatten up pigs for the slaughter. This society is not at all socialistic, like the Time Traveler first believed, but rather, the deep separation of classes has been caused by capitalism.
I would not recommend The Time Machine to one of my peers, simply because I do not agree with the underlying social message of the book. I do not believe that capitalism would ever produce a separation of classes as great as the one described in The Time Machine. History has shown that when the ruling class abuses its power and harms the working class, the working class will rebel and overthrow the ruling class. I did enjoy the book's story, however, and it is an easy read.

Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

It will come as no surprise that the protagonist in this story, the
traveller, invents a time machine and uses it to venture into the
future.

The society that he ends up in seems amazing for a brief time, then
he realises that all is not as it seems. There is a large underclass
that is terribly exploited to produce all this for the eloi, as they
are called.

The underclass are named Morlocks, and it is here that the Time Traveler's sympathies reside.

Good to read before bedtime.......2007-09-01

I enjoyed watching the 1960 version of the movie as a child. I thought that if I read the book, that it would enhance my movie watching experience. Boy, was I wrong!

This book was a slow tedious read. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen. Anything. It never did. All I wanted was for the book to end. Reading it was like dying a slow agonizing death. I forced myself to read the first seventy pages, then I could not stand it any more.

The characters were uninteresting and had no personality whatsoever. The plot was way too basic and uneventful. Even the descriptions of the locations were bland.

This book is good to read before bedtime. It will put you right to sleep.

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A gorgeous book, from presentation to content.
too esoteric to feed my apocalypse-hungry soul
These Zombies Are Not A Metaphor

The Apocalypse Reader

Manufacturer: Thunder's Mouth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1560259590

Book Description

These are the ways the world ends.
Thirty-four new and selected Doomsday scenarios: an enthralling collection of work by canonical literary figures, contemporary masters, and a few rising stars, all of whom have looked into the future and found it missing. Across boundaries of place and time, these writers celebrate the variety and vitality of the short story as a form by writing their own conclusions to the story of the world. Obliteration has never hurt so good.
Contributors include Grace Aguilar, Steve Aylett, Robert Bradley, Dennis Cooper, Lucy Corin, Elliott David, Matthew Derby, Carol Emshwiller, Brian Evenson, Neil Gaiman, Jeff Goldberg, Theodora Goss, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jared Hohl, Shelley Jackson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Stacey Levine, Tao Lin, Kelly Link, H.P. Lovecraft, Gary Lutz, Rick Moody, Michael Moorcock, Adam Nemett, Josip Novakovich, Joyce Carol Oates, Colette Phair, Edgar Allan Poe, Terese Svoboda, Justin Taylor, Lynne Tillman, Deb Olin, Unferth, H.G. Wells, Allison Whittenberg, and Diane Williams.

Customer Reviews:

A gorgeous book, from presentation to content........2007-09-19

"THESE ARE THE WAYS THE WORLD ENDS--THIRTY-FOUR NEW AND SELECTED DOOMSDAY SCENARIOS"

This is a gorgeous book, from presentation to content. The selections are humorous, serious, simple, complex, and much more--thirty-four stories, some short, some long, make for a wide spectrum of apocalypses. Taylor, in the foreword, expounds on his conception of an apocalypse:

"It's worth pointing out that the word Apocalypse comes from the Greek, and literally means "a revelation" or "an unveiling." It can be used to describe cataclysmic changes of any sort. Revolution, for example, or social upheaval. [...] There are micro-Apocalypses that mark moments in our lives: childhood's end, a relationship's sudden implosion, Death."

The selections do span the gamut--some were written so long ago as to be in the public domain, and some were freshly minted in the late 2000's; some focus on religious upheavals, some macro, some micro; there are personal upheavals, student rantings, surreal recountings of madmen; and of course many take the reader through more conventional "end of the world" scenarios. And even with all that diversity, perhaps guided by the introduction, the theme of the anthology runs strong.

If there were a criticism I could make of this volume, that, ironically, would be it. I consider myself a bit of an Apocalypse afficionado--I particularly enjoy reading such stories, along with dystopias--and I would have thought that I could never grow tired of reading well-wrought incarnations of such--and these stories were all well-wrought and well-edited, there is no doubt about that--but this volume overwhelmed me. I was tired, even weary, by the time I had wended my way through the collection (and that in the course of several "sittings")..

The lead story, a piece of flash fiction by H. P. Lovecraft, starts the anthology out elegantly, and slowly. It warns you, implicitly, that you're in for some heavy reading, even if you're a fan of Mr. Lovecraft's writing (and not just his mythos, which more people are familiar with, and is much easier to get into third hand). On that end of the scale, there's also a piece from Edgar Allan Poe that is ponderous but worth an examination, entitled "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion".

Some of my favorites included:

"The Apocalypse Commentery of Bob Paisner" by Rick Moody -- This is an essay detailing the allegorical depths of the Book of Revelation with regard to Bob Paisner's life. The tone is both erudite and a bit delirious, and the piece as a whole is both informative and immersive--I found myself eagerly wondering where Moody was going to take us next, what dark or clinical humor would next be presented.

"Fraise, Menthe, et Poivre 1978" by Jared Hohl -- Another piece of meta-fiction, this follows a group of people through the more traditional trope of being the last survivors in a ruined post-apocalyptic city. What makes this piece stand out is the manic bent of the narrator and the push for the show to go on--the story weaves the primary narrative with a small handful of abbreviated stageplays that emphasize much about human nature, hope, and despair, while retaining a very human humor.

"An Accounting" by Brian Evenson -- An "honest" accounting of how one explorer fell into becoming a reborn Jesus and how he helps his flock survive. I don't want to say too much about this, but the voice is clear, the narrative is well woven and unrolls at a compelling pace, and other than, perhaps, the initial fanaticism he encounters, it is all quite believable.

"Some Approaches to the Problem of the Shortage of Time" by Ursula K. Le Guin -- This is a clever set of abstracts that are ever timely and consider a novel scenario for the end of the modern-day universe. The shortage of time is pervasive, and this story is brief to give you a maximum pleasure for what it takes.

"Think Warm Thoughts" by Allison Whittenberg -- A bite-sized slice of apocalypse that is poetically poignant; every word counts.

"When We Went to See the End of the World by Dawnie Morningside, age 11 1/4" by Neil Gaiman -- This is the end of the world, everyone and everything together, through the playful, somewhat naiive eyes of an eleven year old. It's told in the vein of "What I did over Summer vacation", and is very evocative, sweet, and strange.

"The Escape--a Tale of 1755" by Grace Aguilar -- This is an elegant tale of a woman's love for her husband, religious persecution, and a prison escape. It is written with a very modern feel despite its age (originally published in 1844).

That's not to say I disliked the other stories; and on another day I would have different favorites, though there were some pieces that didn't work for me. But I hope this selection will help give you a feel for the collection as a whole, beyond my simple regard for it. In all, it's a beautiful collection, and I recommend it strongly, with the caveat that you may want to take it in small doses.

too esoteric to feed my apocalypse-hungry soul.......2007-09-12

I was initially excited to discover the collection and didn't see how such a broad-based compilation could go wrong. I'm an avid reader of post-apocalyptic fiction, science fiction and futurism, so I'm no slouch, but this turned out to be quite different from what I was hoping for.

While a few of the pieces are good reads, so many of them are abstract, esoteric, or even reminiscent of the scribblings from slightly disturbed angst-ridden teenage diaries. There's no good "meat" here, no concrete scenarios, suspense or drama to drive fear into your heart and make your mind race. The circumstances under which "apocalypse" occurs are rarely even revealed. Even the subject matter is open to interpretation - "apocalypse" is made to mean many things, not simply the end of the world. Which it does, of course, but that's not what I was hungry for when I picked up this book. The book description should have done a better job of managing those expectations.

Perhaps if you are looking for a broad literary "treatment" of the subject, that kind of interpretation will appeal to you (or if you enjoy the just plain bizarre) then this collection is for you. It was not for me.

These Zombies Are Not A Metaphor.......2007-05-16

This is a fun collection of stories from some well known and serious talent (Gaiman, Lovecraft, Poe) and some newly minted authors. I found myself particularly amused by "These Zombies Are Not A Metaphor," the work of one of the new authors named Jeff Goldberg. I'll be keeping an eye peeled for future work from him.

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Deep Wells.
Rage and Selfishness
Science and Morals
WOW THAT WAS A GREAT BOOK
A Bit Dated in Parts, but Otherwise Has Stood the Test of Time

The Invisible Man (Signet Classics)
H.G. Wells
Manufacturer: New American Library/Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0451528522
Release Date: 2002-09-03

Book Description

This masterpiece of science fiction is the fascinating story of Griffin, a scientist who creates a serum to render himself invisible, and his descent into madness that follows.

Customer Reviews:

Deep Wells. .......2007-07-16

One of the most fertile and imaginative minds of the last 200 years, H.G. Wells foresaw the uses and impacts of the military tank, atomic bombs, and automobile freeways. Thanks to "The Invisible Man" we can add another biggie -- modern terrorism.
Wells envisioned what strong currents of fear, chaos and dread could be unleashed in an open, industrialized society by a small group of disgruntled men, or -- as in our story -- by just one man with a powerful invention.
Our author impressively challenged his own pro-science proclivities by showing how Griffin's breakthrough enabled him to sink to the lowest levels of depravity. Science is not necessarily uplifting, a heretical view among many Darwinists whom Wells associated with. Perhaps sentiments contained in "The Invisible Man" caused Wells's chances of leading England's Fabian Socialists to vanish.
Humor is used to bring home the existential dilemna. Our bodies, visible or not, are something we're stuck with as long as we're alive, Wells reminds us.
Another tension visible in the story and in Wells's own life is the individual's relationship to the masses. Wells, the political socialist, rose from humble circumstances (his father was a gardener, his mother a housemaid), making him a poster boy for capitalism and its up-from-boot-straps mystique. Griffin, Wells's "Invisible Man," is also an exceptional individual. Does Wells believe exceptional people need to be beaten down by socialism? Perhaps Wells thought some (like Griffin) need to be deflated while others (like himself) need not be.
Socialism usually means misery for all except the ruling clique (although Wells and idealistic fellow travelers of his era likely didn't view it as such). Maybe Wells took his public literary adoration as proof that he was one of the insulated elite.
Wells resembles current-day social democrats in acknowledging the beneficial role of the entrepreneur amid welfarism (although they just can't keep themselves from playing politics). Capitalism's "creative destruction" weakens the glue of order, something Wells valued highly. How to maintain order and cultural consensus without killing the golden geese found only in a market system? Tis a question that won't disappear anytime soon.

Rage and Selfishness.......2007-07-11

What caught my attention nearly immediately was how adept H.G. Wells was at conveying the rage held within Griffin, the Invisible Man. Admittedly, initially I was somewhat sympathetic to Griffin, trying to imagine how the total frustration of the circumstances might cause a nearly uncontrollable rage; however, within a matter of pages - if not paragpraphs - Wells removed any reader sympathy by developing the Invisible Man into a man most unworthy of such sympathy. To put it plainly, the Invisible Man was just a real jerk, and worse. The progression of the story displayed the extremely selfish position of the Invisible Man towards the surrounding society. Oddly, I finished the book with some small amount of sympathy toward Griffin, but sympathy only that a man should end up leading such a pathetic life, and that his rage and selfishness should ultimately lead to his violent demise. Unfortunately, such pathetic lives and violent endings are still too commonly found today.

Science and Morals.......2007-06-05

Having read the Ralph Ellison novel many years ago, I felt compelled to finally lift Wells' of the shelf recently. What a clever and accomplished man, and so prolific in his writing.
So, what did I make of this one?
Wells obviously explores the age-old tension between science and morality, examining what happens when the latter is not regarded in pursuits of the former. Naturally the story is largely, therefore, allegorical (aren't most?).
We meet the invisible man and hear his story, after which we follow him closely to his final breath, relieved that he is gone.
Personally I felt no sympathy for the character and did not feel I 'owned' him, unlike other novels where I have felt I could, to some degree, sympathise and identify with a protagonist with a distorted sense of reality or even a murderer. Yet, the story was effective,well written and achieved what it set out to do.
It is one of the classics that you need to have read also, because there are so many references to it in other works, such as Joanne Harris' 'Gentleman and Players'.

WOW THAT WAS A GREAT BOOK.......2007-04-13

THE INVISABLE MAN BY H.g. Wells is a great book that any one 9 and older would enjoy. It all begins on a cold December night and a blizzard just struck a quiet English country village. A train also arrived and a strange looking man got off. His name was Griffin. He was wearing a long heavy coat, he had bandages all over his face and the only thing you could see was his nose, dark glass, gloves, and a hat. When he got off he started going towards town. He fought his way through the storm and came across a hotel. So he got his room, he had tons of boxes full of things. Little did the hotel keeper know this short tempered man would cause this town more trouble then it could handle. Slowly the small town realizes there is something different about Mr. Griffin then meets the eye.
Mr. Griffin is a scientist who found a way to become invisible and it has gone to his head. He is trying to terrorize every one and overpower the small town and will kill anyone in his way. Griffin was not always this way once he was a scientist who was working on medicine and graduated top of his class. Then he switched his studies. He found out how to make a human transparent. My favorite part is when the town gets together and searches for the invisible man. They use attack dogs and lock their doors so the invisible man has no where to stay, and nothing to eat, but that doesn't stop him.
All in all this is a great book that you should read.

A Bit Dated in Parts, but Otherwise Has Stood the Test of Time.......2007-03-12

H.G. Wells certainly wasn't the first author to write stories involving something or someone who is invisible but his novel was definitely the first big hit of the invisible man genre. It is also easily the best known and widely circulated of the invisibility stories written before the 20th century. In fact with maybe the exception of H.F. Saint's Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1987) (which was later turned into a Chevy Chase movie which although enjoyable, was nowhere near the masterpiece that book was), Wells' 1897 classic is still probably the most well known of the genre today. This book also has had a number of movies made based on its story and as well has had a few sequel books written by other authors in the modern era such as Legacy of the Invisible Man by Dave Ulanski and The Invisible Dirty Old Man by Richard S McEnroe, both based on relatives of or people who found possessions of characters from Wells' story.

This was one of H.G. Wells first stories, it was actually originally a short story as were most other invisible man stories pre dating it which Wells later came back and expanded to the length it is now. Being one of his first stories the quality of the storyline isn't always sensational and is in fact rather slow moving in parts for the reader. A large number of words Wells picked to use, unfortunately for him have also dropped out of the English language meaning you've either got to look them up or just take a wild guess as to what he is referring to. The best parts of the story were when Griffin was recounting how he became invisible and the events straight after in London to his friend Kemp. The novel really would have benefited from more of this type of storyline. Saying that though if you're a fan of the invisible man genre you definitely need to check this out. Better stories have been written in the modern era that go more into depth with the problems an invisible man faces and have a lot faster paced storylines such as H.F. Saint's Memoirs of an Invisible Man as well as Donald E Westlake's novel Smoke.

The version of this book I have also has a lengthy intro by someone called Christopher Priest who is obviously a hard core fan of Wells. While it is great for fans of this genre to learn about other stories about invisible people (although it is certainly no comprehensive list there's many titles missing) unfortunately though Priest's bias shows as he makes some ludicrous claims about other stories being based on Wells' story which if he actually read these books, aside from having an invisible character have nothing more to do with this storyline at all then the this book does when compared to the invisibility stories that Wells must have read before writing this.

Anyway if you have no idea what this novel's about the basic storyline is a man named Griffin wrapped in bandages who never takes of his coat or gloves checks into a small town hotel. Obviously trying to keep his secret Griffin is quite short with the busybody landlady and others who just walk into his room uninvited and keep pestering him about things that are non of their business. Small town bigotry and gossip has locals assuming he is either a member of an undesirable to them race, criminal or something worse, so when there is a burglary in town he is the main suspect. Not being treated the way he should be he decides he'll become even more abusive back to them so it is not long before a physical fight breaks out, the police get involved and he is forced to shed his clothing, expose his secret and escape. Not having the most pleasant of personality certainly doesn't help stop those he has enlisted to assist him from betraying him and stealing his possessions. Griffin decides that if he is going to be labelled and treated as a ruthless monster he will go one better and become an even worse and feared villain then their lies ever wrote in the papers.

The War of the Worlds (Modern Library Classics)

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Book
Free SF Reader
Martian invasion
A science fiction classic
The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds (Modern Library Classics)
H. G. Wells
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375759239
Release Date: 2002-03-12

Amazon.com

This is the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories, first published by H.G. Wells in 1898. The novel begins ominously, as the lone voice of a narrator tells readers that "No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's..."

Things then progress from a series of seemingly mundane reports about odd atmospheric disturbances taking place on Mars to the arrival of Martians just outside of London. At first the Martians seem laughable, hardly able to move in Earth's comparatively heavy gravity even enough to raise themselves out of the pit created when their spaceship landed. But soon the Martians reveal their true nature as death machines 100-feet tall rise up from the pit and begin laying waste to the surrounding land. Wells quickly moves the story from the countryside to the evacuation of London itself and the loss of all hope as England's military suffers defeat after defeat. With horror his narrator describes how the Martians suck the blood from living humans for sustenance, and how it's clear that man is not being conquered so much a corralled. --Craig E. Engler

Book Description

“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own.” Thus begins one of the most terrifying and morally prescient science fiction novels ever penned. Beginning with a series of strange flashes in the distant night sky, the Martian attack initially causes little concern on Earth. Then the destruction erupts—ten massive aliens roam England and destroy with heat rays everything in their path. Very soon mankind finds itself on the brink of extinction. Wells raises questions of mortality, man’s place in nature, and the evil lurking in the technological future—questions that remain urgently relevant in the twenty-first century.

Customer Reviews:

Book.......2007-09-22

This is a strong book that always keeps yo guessing and on the edge of your seat. I think that this author writes some nice pieces of written masterpiece! I will be buying more!

Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Humans are not alone in the universe, let alone in the solar system itself. Large tripod-like machines land, and they are most definitely
not friendly. It is discovered that they are from Mars, information which is not particularly useful. With advanced weaponry and materials
they set about a mission of destruction and conquest.

In the end, it appears that the biological sciences were not their strong suit, bringing about their downfall.

Martian invasion.......2007-06-11

War of the Worlds is considered the book that started science fiction. The action in the story is lacking for today's generation of action junkies, but is still an interesting look at possible human annihilation. Its popularity has created countless books and movies about aliens and other fantasy writings making it the father of Star Wars, Star Trek and Independence Day. This is a great book that is worth the read.

A science fiction classic.......2007-06-02

I don't care about the supposed disguised attacks on British imperialism that Wells portrayed in this book. I enjoyed this classic by what I think it is: a gripping narrative of an alien invasion, cleverly written, intelligent, fast-paced, without naming even the main characters!

The other merit is that this book is the genesis of all "invasion" books that followed.

A great read.

The War of the Worlds .......2007-05-18

Mars has long since sparked our imagination. For centuries, mankind has wondered whether this cold, dark, and barren planet has ever supported intelligent life. When an observer in the English conutryside, whose name is never mentioned, notices gas flumes coming from the surface of the alien world, he becomes intrigued, especially when, ten days later, a green star impacts a near-by farm. However, curiousity changes to terror,when a cylinder rises from above the wreckage and shoots out and invisble heat ray that kills everyone around but himself. Confused, bewildered, and overwhelmed, he grabs his wife and heads to the town of Leatherhead, where he leaves his wife behind to look back at the wreckage. Over the course of the novel, he discovers more and more about these machines of terror in secret. However, he learns that even the great English army is no match for these weapons, as the army is quickly devastated. The Martian cylinders continue to come and transform into menacing tripods that spray a poisonous black smoke, silencing England and eventually, London. However, when the main character walks through a deserted street, he notices that several Martians have died. With the death toll of one billion people, humanity had survived the invasion, thanks simple microbes, which were not present in the Martians' own environment. Thus, the Martians were brought to their demise when they first invaded. As the main character walks on, he sees his wife, alive, and a new life ahead. The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells, is an excellent science-fiction novel for its suspense, its action, and its revolutionary science-fiction.

H.G. Wells wrote a great suspense novel when he wrote War of the Worlds. When the main character notices a shooting green star fall across the sky, he becomes curious. The reader is wondering what will happen next, until the alien machine lets out all fury on the crowd before it. The reader is then thrown into amazement as the machines of terror devastate the English countryside. When the machines arrive at a small port town, the masses trying to evacuate panic, the army tries to take them down, and so the war of the worlds begins.

Action is also prominent in the War of the Worlds. When the tripods first impact the port town, there are mass sequences of explosions, in which the Royal Army does manage to shoot down one of the tripods. But the only problem is that there are several more left standing, advancing with great speed. The tripods shoot their heat rays into the water, causing it to be boiling-hot, literally frying the fleeing people who used the water as a refuge. The main character is almost crushed by one of the feet of the machine, and is almost boiled to death by the sheer heat of the water. This signifies how much action this novel contains.

H.G. Wells revolutionizes the word "science-fiction" in writing the War of the Worlds. Written at the turn of the nineteenth century, Wells wrote of intelligent life on Mars, in fact, more intelligent than us. He imagines a cold Martian world that is getting colder and less inhabitable, which is why the Martians invade, to find a warm planet to thrive in. He invents the alien cylinders and the tripods, 100 feet tall weapons with tentacle-like arms and an invisible heat ray that turns anything to flames. H.G. Wells also created the Martians themselves, creatures crushed under the weight of Earth's gravity and creatures that have no resemblance to mankind what-so-ever.

The War of the Worlds tells a story of the Martian invasion and an Englishman's attempt to survive in the process. It's best trait, however, is the fact that it has been a classic for nearly a century. Children, teens, and adults alike still find fascination in his works. The results are in the sales: his books have sold millions of copies. Besides this, the War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells, is a an excellent science-fiction novel for its thrills, its climatic battles, and for its futuristic appeal. I rate this novel five stars out of five.

A. Chappell

An H. G. Wells Chronology (Author Chronologies)

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An H. G. Wells Chronology (Author Chronologies)
J. R. Hammond
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

H. G. Wells continues to be widely read as a novelist, short story writer, and as the father of science fiction. Because he was deeply involved with the literary, social, and political issues of his time, a chronology of his life is in a sense a history of ideas in the 20th century. J. R. Hammond offers a definitive chronology of Wells that provides a fascinating insight into the background, life, and times of a major literary figure.

Five Great Science Fiction Novels (Thrift Edition)

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Five of H.G. Wells' greatest works of science fiction

Five Great Science Fiction Novels (Thrift Edition)
H. G. Wells
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 048643978X

Book Description

Here, in an attractive gift box, are unabridged editions of the five most popular science-fiction novels of H. G. Wells: The First Men in the Moon, The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The War of the Worlds, a grippingly realistic tale of hostile invaders from Mars.

Customer Reviews:

Five of H.G. Wells' greatest works of science fiction.......2007-07-10

This fascinating book is a collection of five of H.G. Wells' (1866-1946) greatest works of science fiction. Mr. Wells was a pioneer in the genre of science fiction. Indeed, he did not simply write stories to entertain; instead, each one uses the scientific angle to teach a lesson. All of these stories are thought-provoking and quite interesting to read.

So, if you are a fan of great literature, or great science fiction, then this book is for you. I highly recommend it. By the way, the five stories in this book are:

The First Men in the Moon - 1901 - When an adventurous young man and an eccentric inventor use a fantastic invention to travel to the Moon, they find more than they bargained for.

The Invisible Man - 1897 - When a strange, bandaged man moves into town, tongues begin to wag. But, when strange things begin to happen, the town soon finds itself facing a nightmare in the form of an invisible man.

The Time Machine - 1895 - A dinner party is disrupted when the host arrives all disheveled, and telling what he found when he ventured into the far future.

The Island of Dr. Moreau - 1896 - A castaway finds himself on an island inhabited by unnatural seeming people and ruled by a mad scientist.

The War of the Worlds - 1898 - The Martians have exhausted the resources of their planet, and decide to take the Earth as their new home. Can man, with his most advanced technology hope to stop the Martians with their much more advanced technology?

The Island of Dr. Moreau (Bantam Classics)

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Worth reading carefully
Free SF Reader
Staggeringly good!
Cheap reprint from public domain
The difference between can and should

The Island of Dr. Moreau (Bantam Classics)
H.G. Wells
Manufacturer: Bantam Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553214322
Release Date: 1994-05-01

Amazon.com

A shipwreck in the South Seas, a palm-tree paradise where a mad doctor conducts vile experiments, animals that become human and then "beastly" in ways they never were before--it's the stuff of high adventure. It's also a parable about Darwinian theory, a social satire in the vein of Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels), and a bloody tale of horror. Or, as H. G. Wells himself wrote about this story, "The Island of Dr. Moreau is an exercise in youthful blasphemy. Now and then, though I rarely admit it, the universe projects itself towards me in a hideous grimace. It grimaced that time, and I did my best to express my vision of the aimless torture in creation." This colorful tale by the author of The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds lit a firestorm of controversy at the time of its publication in 1896.

Book Description

Ranked among the classic novels of the English language and the inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early work of H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest from reviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted to know more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in his first book, The Time Machine, not its potential for misuse and terror. In The Island of Dr. Moreau a shipwrecked gentleman named Edward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by the notorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures, and a reason to run for his life.

While this riveting tale was intended to be a commentary on evolution, divine creation, and the tension between human nature and culture, modern readers familiar with genetic engineering will marvel at Wells’s prediction of the ethical issues raised by producing “smarter” human beings or bringing back extinct species. These levels of interpretation add a richness to Prendick’s adventures on Dr. Moreau’s island of lost souls without distracting from what is still a rip-roaring good read.

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BUT the islanders, seeing that I was really adrift, took pity on me. I drifted very slowly to the eastward, approaching the island slantingly; and presently I saw, with hysterical relief, the launch come round and return towards me.

Customer Reviews:

Worth reading carefully.......2007-10-06

I went through this book pretty quickly, and read it the way you'd read a Dan Brown book. As a result, when I finished it I thought of it as a freaky adventure story with a few comments on evolution.

However, after reading the afterword by Brian Aldiss, I realized how deep the rabbit hole really goes with this thing. H.G. Wells has not only talked about evolution and weird science, but tied in religion, the human capacity for reason, the abuse of knowledge, and enough other deep thoughts to make your head spin. I might have to give it a second read sometime.

If you can pace yourself while reading it to let the ideas sink, then I recommend the read.

Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

An Englishman is rescued twice, once from a shipwreck, and once from being abandoned by the captain of the ship who rescued him.

Dr. Moreau takes him into his home, and slowly it dawns on the
horrified individual that Moreau is basically insane, and has been
experimenting with enhancing animal intelligence. The relationship
between the creations and Moreau is very warped, and a large part of
the horror.

Staggeringly good!.......2007-08-28

I thought the book was more about what happens to Society when the thought of a central God is removed. We have moved into a world where Christianity is a million miles away from how it mattered to people in 1896, and there is confusion and hostility with those to whom religion matters a great deal. The Society of the Beasts surely mirrors what Wells thought we were all heading for in 1896? He was, in part, quite right. A book which has many interpretations, and amazingly gains more as the decades pass.

Cheap reprint from public domain.......2007-08-28

Filiquarian Publishing, LLC published this book under the idea that it is in "public domain status." Meaning, it is not any better than you would find online. The book is readable, but emphasis (bold or italics) are done by an underscore before and after the word(s). Example: "_His_ is the lightning flash, we sang. _His_ is the deep, salt sea." (page 82) To me, it is annoying to read it this way. You occasionally find extra quotation marks and a double dash (--) in the place of an ellipsis (...). On page 41, you get all of the above.

The binding is right up there with self-published titles. The cover is as basic as it gets, and has no text on the spine (see picture.) The back cover has merely a UPC barcode. On my copy, the glue they used for the spine was pressed out and made a rather strange bind. By strange, I mean cheap-looking.

Anyway, if you are looking for an inexpensive copy of this book and don't care about the bindery or text issues, then this book is for you.

The difference between can and should.......2007-01-07

I was not planning on writing a review of this book, as I should have thought that a book this popular would have been reviewed well here by this point. As I looked through the fifty or so reviews, however, I realized that none of the reviewers had realized what the main idea of this book was, or if they had, they failed to mention it, and failing to mention the main point of a book in a review of the book is a rather poor practice, is it not? The main point of this book was that Wells wanted us to wrestle with one assumption that science in his day was making, and still is today, namely that whatever we can do we should do. Just because scientific advancement has given us the ability to do things, does that mean we should? In Wells' day the hot topic was vivisection, so that is the practice discussed in this book, wrapped in the garb of a novel, and a very good novel at that. The same discussion is raging today with issues like stem cell research and cloning. Just because we can clone a human, does that mean science should do it? If not, why not? Because it violates humanity? If we are products of evolution what basis do we have for holding humanity as something that should not be violated? These issues are the ones that Wells brings to bear in this book by having Moreau use vivisection to create (near) humans from animals. The horror of the new creations is that they are distorted humanity. They are the violated humanity, but why should we find that horrific? Dr. Moreau, the figure of rationality with no regard for emotion, conscience, or morality, has no problem with the creatures. He does not see why they are horrific to Prendick, the narrator of the story. It seems that Wells is saying that scientific rationalism has no basis for saying that we should not violate humanity in the interest of science. For those who hold to this scientific rationalism, the question of should does not even arise. In such a position, can is equal to should. Of course, there are secondory points as well, such as man's ever persistent derire to shape the world around him to fit his will. Wells' point seems to be that our attempts to do this are doomed to failure, as nature simply refuses to be bent, just as Moreau's "humans" refused to stay human and kept reverting to their original animal state. As for the literary quality of the book, it is of the same excellent quality of the rest of Wells fictional works. The sense of realness is still there. The best way I can think to describe it is that is writing seems have the exact opposite feel that of fairy tales. Fairy tales always seem magical, happy, and imaginative. Wells is extremely realistic, usually unhappy, and seems as if they were writings of someone who had really been through the things the narrator claims to have been through. Overall grade: A

War Of The Worlds! Invasion From Mars (L.A. Theater Works)

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Glad to buy it once again...
Great one hour summary with special sound effects ...

War Of The Worlds! Invasion From Mars (L.A. Theater Works)
H.G. Wells
Manufacturer: Listening Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 0807235628

Product Description

Starring: Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton, Meagan Fay, Jerry Hardin, Dwight Schultz, Armin Shimerman, and Tom Virtue. 63 Minutes on 1 CD Join actors from STAR TREK and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION as they recreate this classic radio thriller. The breathless pace and convincing details make it clear why the 1938 broadcast of an "eyewitness report" of an invasion from Mars caused a nationwide panic in 1938. Originally performed by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air, WAR OF THE WORLDS is truly the mother of all space invasions, offering a rare combination of chills, thrills and great literature. About the publisher: L.A. Theatre Works, founded in 1974, produces the world's finest audio theatre. Our catalogue features the largest collection of classic and contemporary plays, recorded in state-of-the-art sound quality, starring today's most popular and acclaimed actors. Your selection is packed in durable vinyl cases with colorful, attractive covers. These handsome editions are perfect for personal collections, schools and libraries. Our catalogue features many award-winning plays, musicals, docudramas and novels that let your imagination soar!

Customer Reviews:

Glad to buy it once again..........2005-11-23

A few years ago I purchased the cassette tape version of this play and enjoyed it a lot. Unfortunately, I lost my copy and have wanted to listen to this play many times since then. I'm glad I purchased this item again and look forward to hearing it again.

Great one hour summary with special sound effects ..........1998-06-17

After purchasing this audio novel I was initially upset because it was only an hour long. I much prefer my audio novels to be at least 2 hours long. With a foul mode in place I began to listen to the tape. In a few short minutes I was quickly swept up into the story, recogizing my favorite Star Trek actors as they played their parts. The audio novel although short has an excellant production quality. The story is concise and easy to follow. I would like to thank John DeLancie for directing this project and for the participaction of the other actors. I would not hesitate to recommend this audio novel and look forward to others from John DeLancy, Lenard Nimoy and the rest of the Star Trek gang. (The RAMA science fiction series would be great.) Please make them at least 2 hours though.

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I saw the movie first. The book difference was a surprise.
A Scientific Romance for All Time
"A horror of this great darkness came upon me..."
One of the greatest books I've ever read--get this edition!

The Time Machine (Penguin Classics)
H.G. Wells , and Steve McLean
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0141439971
Release Date: 2005-05-31

Book Description

When a Victorian scientist propels himself into the year a.d. 802,701, he is initially delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty, contentment, and peace. Entranced at first by the Eloi, an elfin species descended from man, he soon realizes that these beautiful people are simply remnants of a once-great culture—now weak and childishly afraid of the dark. They have every reason to be afraid: in deep tunnels beneath their paradise lurks another race descended from humanity—the sinister Morlocks. And when the scientist's time machine vanishes, it becomes clear he must search these tunnels if he is ever to return to his own era.

-Includes a newly established text, a full biographical essay on Wells, a list of further reading, and detailed notes -Marina Warner's introduction considers Wells's development of the “scientific romance” and places the novel in the context of its time

Customer Reviews:

I saw the movie first. The book difference was a surprise........2006-07-24

An unnamed time traveler sees the future of man (802,701 A.D.) and then the inevitable future of the world. He tells his tale in detail.

I grew up on the Rod Taylor /George Pal movie. When I started the book I expected it to be slightly different with a tad more complexity as with most book/movie relationships. I was surprised to find the reason for the breakup of species (Morlock and Eloi) was class Vs atomic (in later movie versions it was political). I could live with that but to find that some little pink thing replaced Yvette Mimieux was too munch.

After al the surprises we can look at the story as unique in its time, first published in 1895, yet the message is timeless. The writing and timing could not have been better. And the ending was certainly appropriate for the world that he describes. Possibly if the story were written today the species division would be based on eugenics.

A Scientific Romance for All Time.......2006-01-01

Wells's first novel is one of his best: it has lived on in the imagination of the Twentieth Century, breeding all sorts of children - some rather gainly like Jack Finney's delightful "Time and Again", some less so. This beautifully written novella blends Darwinian speculation and Marxist nightmare with a page-turning narrative of high adventure - still fresh and vivid after 110 years. It ends on a note of poignancy and optimism that seeks to balance the horror and despair that has come before, and leaves you in the quiet hush that follows a tale well told.

"A horror of this great darkness came upon me...".......2005-08-21

The first of HG Wells classic sceince fiction novels, The Time Machine begins with the return of the time traveler from the future who tells his tale of the humanity's ultimate fate. Having built his machine the scientist adventures into the beyond and finds what has become of man; a divided race living amongst the ruins of (presumably) the capitalists empire. Enslaved for a time in the year 802,701 the traveler sees the nature of the utopian society and the neandrethal creatures not burdened with progress but perfection. Ultimately, the traveler escapes his imprisonment and ventures into the dark abyss where the world has aged beyond recognition. He returns to find an unconvinced audience and decidely ventures again into the unbelievable future, never to return.

One of HG Wells most enduring novels it has the characteristics which would combine to define science fiction. Origenal and thought provoking it is perhaps the shortest novel that nevertheless retains the substance and power of most 300 paged novels. However, like all of his novels the revolutionary ideas and not the litary magnifisence of the text makes this one of the premere science fiction tales of all time. I recommend reading this piece of literature if you are in high school or above so as to truly apreciate and understand the brillance of the Time Machine.

One of the greatest books I've ever read--get this edition!.......2005-07-26

When I tried reading this book as a child many, many years ago, some of the "big" words and allusions made it hard going, and I never completed it then. Finally, about fifteen years ago I did read it through, but still was missing something. Then, a few weeks ago, I got this edition, after having enjoyed the Penguin edition of "The War of the Worlds" with its annotations and map. Well, the annotations in this edition (about four pages worth as endnotes) of "The Time Machine" cleared away whatever fuzz remained, and I was completely overcome by the greatness of the book, great from whatever way I looked at it: plot, speculation, characters, "sense of wonder", even throw away humor were all topnotch. I couldn't believe what I'd been missing. A few days later, I read another editon of the book that didn't have notes, and had no trouble following that version. I plan to reread the book again shortly. So if you've had difficulty reading "The Time Machine" for some of the reasons mentioned above, get this version pronto and find out what a true classic is.

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War of the Books
Great sci fi for a book written over a hundred years ago!
Book vs. Movie and other thoughts
This is a great book
War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells
Manufacturer: NYRB Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1590171586
Release Date: 2005-06-30

Book Description

When massive, intelligent aliens from Mars touch down in Victorian England and threaten to destroy the civilized world, humanity's vaunted knowledge proves to be of little use. First published in 1898, H.G. Wells's masterpiece of speculative fiction has thrilled and delighted generations of readers, spawned countless imitations, and inspired dramatizations by such masters as Orson Welles and Steven Spielberg. The War of the Worlds is a fantasy that is both startlingly up-to-date and in touch with the most ancient of human illustrationfears.

In 1960, Edward Gorey prepared a set of his inimitable pen-and-ink drawings to illustrate a new edition of Wells's The War of the Worlds for the legendary Looking Glass Library. Characteristically quirky, elegant, and entrancing, Gorey's visual take on Wells's seminal tour de force has been unavailable for close to fifty years. This special hardcover edition from NYRB Classics brings back for today's readers a richly rewarding collaboration between two modern masters of all that's wonderful and strange.

Customer Reviews:

War of the Books.......2007-10-09

Ellie Lezak
October 9, 2007

This book was no doubt the best science fiction book I have ever read. H.G. Wells does a amazing job recreating a book that has been done by many authors, into the type of story that has you on the edge of your seat, never wanting to put the book down because you just have to know what comes next. In this book, the main character who stays anonymous by name is a normal simple man, not any really any different from any of the other people in this time, but there is one difference, this man happens to know, how to survive. What to look for and what to stay away from, who to trust and who has to go. And how to rebuild something that was destroyed, so that there was nothing left. One normal night but one twist, what seems to be smoke in space coming from mars? For ten days, at the same time every night, the same smoke appears. And exactly 10 days after he 1st say the smoke a green light heading right for earth not to far from his house. Days. The day after the asteroid land no one really pays attention to it but it is mainly the noises inside that attract them. Even if they new what the future had in store for them. There would probably be no preventing fate from doing what was going to be done. Battling the fate of everyone around him this man manages to live, and start over again just like everyone else.

In H.G. Wells's writing, he does a amazing job to capture the seen, and make it so the reader can actually imagine what the situation would be like. And put them self's in the moment. There were only 2 things that I did not like about this book. At some points it would just go on, about the same thing, just a list of different things, and than it would happen again. And the only other thing that I didn't like was the ending. I've always thought that the ending of a book should be fun and exiting, and wrap up the whole story. But the ending to this book wasn't the best it explained a few things and than there was one food scene and it ended. But over all I would rate this book 4 stars out of five and I defiantly recommend it for all ages.

Great sci fi for a book written over a hundred years ago!.......2006-08-21

First thing I have to say is what great scientific imagination for a book written in the late 1800's. I mean they didnt even have cars yet and Mr. Wells is writing about partical beams and biological warfare. 2nd is I was actually surprised at how much the recent movie used from the book. I didnt care for the movie as much as I did the original version but it was much more faithful to the book than I'd ever imagined. If you your a fan of either of the two movies or just want a very good sci fi book to read I highly recommend this book. The language at times is dated being written at the turn of the century but it's still a quick and easy read.

Book vs. Movie and other thoughts.......2006-05-24

I read this book because I was curious how close or incredibly far the movie had stuck to it. I was quite surprised to discover, that while the movie's main character couldn't be more different, the plot is almost identical in spirit. Spielberg didn't create all those different modes of suspense, he just channelled them from Wells. First we have the discovery, then the initial panic, then the mob mentality, then hydrophobic, claustrophobic, and xenophobic situations that are chilling. Granted all these circumstances are updated into the 21st century. I was impressed by how many details were included (the redweed particularly).

The book is better than the movie in two aspects. First off, the scene in the cellar with the main character and curate. I've talked to a lot of people who felt that the execution of Tim Robbin's character in the movie was not just and unnecesary. The book handles this much better-"with one last touch of humanity"

The ending of the movie is absurd. You don't care that the son is still alive because he annoyed us so much with his whining. Then you are let down when there is no true reconciliation between the broken family. In the book (PLEASE STOP HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT YET) you barely meet the wife, and deep down, you are just sure she is still alive, but their reunion does not seem fabricated, it seems somehow eerie and almost gives you chills.

This is a great book.......2006-02-15

I liked this book mainly because it's science fiction. I liked the martions and the detail the writer used. I liked the interesting words used by the writer. It was illustrated well.

War of the Worlds.......2006-01-10

The War of the Worlds is about Martians invading the earth. The main character, Wells, runs away from the Martians in the direction of his family while also trying to figure out why the Martians were there. Wells goes on many exciting adventures to get to his family.
The book took place in London, England on the 13th of August 1894. Wells goes through many different cities while he travels 20 miles on foot towards his family in Leatherhead. Wells watched tons of people die from the Heat Ray and just getting crushed by the Martians in their robot.
This book is really good if you like adventure or science fiction. I think this book is mainly for boys 8+. I recommend this book if you have the chance to read it.

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