Rating: 
Summary: A Forgotten Wells Novel
Review: When asked to name a Wells novel, most people would name the Time Machine, or the Invisible Man. But this book has no where near the amount of fame of these two; no movies, television shows, comic books, ect. For this I see no reason. This is a VERY good book. In fact at the moment I am reading the Time Machine, and I think this book is better. Is it because the modern man knows that humans have been to the moon and therfore cant read it with the same enthusiasm of a man of the 1800s? I dont know, oh well.
I first found this book durring a scanning of the shelves of my local library. At the time (which was really only about a month or two ago) I had not read any books by Wells. I knew the name well so I picked it up for a look. I became a fan of the author after barly reading a sentence of the introduction. Herbert George rapidly rose to be my favorite author.
This book is a science fiction novel, but the thing that seperates it from a Jules Verne or any other science fiction novel is that H.G. Wells added underlieing message about humanity. I will not tell you that message because I would probably give away the books ending in the process. The message is intriguing and thought provoking, but has nothing to with aliens.
I guess I should just get too the point now. In the begining of the novel you will meet the two main charecters, Bedford and Cavor. Bedford is a bankrupt buisness man who accidentily gets caught up in the research of Cavor, a scientist down the road. If you are anything like me you will be so engulfed in the story that you get excited whenever they make a breakthrough. Cavor eventually succeds in creating Cavorite, but finds that the only reasonable use he can think of for it is, you guessed it, space travel. From here it becomes a Verne-ish exploration of the moon. Near the end you will encouter the message I mentioned earlier.
This book goes beyond words. I cant believe Amazon is selling it for just $2! You could by ten or fifteen of these for the cost of one Harry Potter book. Now that is a great deal.
Rating:
Summary: Rousing adventure & thoughtful allegory
Review: A British scientist and his neighbor travel to the Moon, where they run afoul of the local Selenites and find themselves on the run for their lives. Wells does an exceptional job of extrapolation on the science of his day. The lunar ecology is fascinating and poetic: each sundown all the plant life dies and the air falls to the ground like snow. Wells betrays his interest in class once again: the Selenites have a society based on that of social insects, with each member possessing specializations necessary to its function, an idea that was no doubt fresher then than it is now.The first part of this novel is a rousing adventure, as Wells makes imaginative use of the fact that the Earthlings are virtual supermen in the 1/6 gravity of the Moon. No doubt this novel was greatly influential to later adventure writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs. The second part is more thoughtful and subtle, yet perhaps more horrifying, as a man alone among the Selenites strives to prevent their leader from deducing the greedy and expansionist nature of mankind for fear of his life.
Rating:
Summary: Rousing adventure & thoughtful allegory
Review: A British scientist and his neighbor travel to the Moon, where they run afoul of the local Selenites and find themselves on the run for their lives. Wells does an exceptional job of extrapolation on the science of his day. The lunar ecology is fascinating and poetic: each sundown all the plant life dies and the air falls to the ground like snow. Wells betrays his interest in class once again: the Selenites have a society based on that of social insects, with each member possessing specializations necessary to its function, an idea that was no doubt fresher then than it is now. The first part of this novel is a rousing adventure, as Wells makes imaginative use of the fact that the Earthlings are virtual supermen in the 1/6 gravity of the Moon. No doubt this novel was greatly influential to later adventure writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs. The second part is more thoughtful and subtle, yet perhaps more horrifying, as a man alone among the Selenites strives to prevent their leader from deducing the greedy and expansionist nature of mankind for fear of his life.
Rating:
Summary: A seminal book in the development of science fiction
Review: Although it is not as famous as some of his earlier science fiction books (or "scientific romances", as they were then called), and is not an absolute classic like those books are, The First Men In The Moon is nevertheless a delightful and important satrical SF novel. Also, its importance in the development of modern science fiction cannot be overestimated. Although numerous books before had dealt with a story set on another world (let us here, for the sake of convenience, refer to the Moon as a "world"), Wells's book is the first to make it convincingly real. Although, one hundred years on, much of the novel's science is dated and Well's Moon is far different from how we now know it to be, nevertheless, Wells here created a world out of his own imagination, and describes it with such a convincing level of detail that one actually feels like they are there. And the science, indeed, was, in fact, quite up-to-date for the turn of the century. The structure and format of the novel also was highly influential: one will see immediately upon reading it just how much modern science fiction owes to this novel, and to Wells (and yet, Wells himself borrowed prodigiously from previous books on the subject.) The book was originally supposed to end at Part I: Part II was added later by Wells after the book was already in the process of serialization. I think that the addition of Part II is what makes the book good instead of great. If it had ended as it originally would, it would still be a good book - a rousing adventure, an interesting yarn - but it would not be great. The second part makes the book a full-on satire - something that the earlier portion had merely hinted at. It sharply and bitingly satarizes manking and his many follies, particularly war. This addition of satire and borderline philosophy makes the novel a truly great one. I read an essay on this book that said it differs from Wells's earlier SF novels because it is not grim. I beg to differ. The ending, to me, seems quite grim, indeed. Although it does not involve the imminent extinction of man himself as earlier works did, it is nonetheless quite pessimistic and grim. The addition of the second part of the novel and the ending also pave the way for Wells's later works - ... This is a true science fiction classic that deserves to be more highly-regarded than it is.
Rating:
Summary: A Memorable Adventure with Surprising Underpinnings
Review: Born in Victorian England, H.G. Wells had very strong ideas about the advantages and disadvantages of a society built on fixed social classes and endless imperialism--and these ideas would inform virtually everything he wrote over his long and distinguished career. Even in the handful of science fiction novels for which he is chiefly recalled today, Wells would return to these issues again, combining them with then-emerging scientific concepts to remarkably provocative effect. In some respects THE FIRST MEN ON THE MOON is likely his most accessible novel to modern readers, for it is lighter in tone than such Wells novels as THE TIME MACHINE and THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, and it reads like an exceptionally well-written pulp adventure of the era. But the underpinnings are the same: class, conquest, and--as in THE WAR OF THE WORLDS--Darwin's controversial theories on natural selection and evolution. In this novel Wells relies significantly on fantasy, presenting us with Professor Cavor, an eccentric (and quite comical) scientist determined to create a substance that is "opaque" to gravity, what we would today call an antigravity material. Cavor is interested in the work for the sake of knowledge pure and simple, but bankrupt businessman Bedford realizes the commercial implications and attaches himself to the project--and when the material is perfected the two men create a sphere that launches them to the moon! If this is clearly the stuff of fantasy (Jules Verne sneered at it), what the two men find on the moon is not, or at least was not considered so at the time. In 1901 little was known about the moon, and many notable scientists thought it might hold life. Upon their arrival, Cavor and Bedford find an atmosphere of sorts, a host of strange plants, and ultimately an insect-like race of beings that reside inside the moon itself, beings who practice forced evolution upon their own kind in order to create a rigid, hive-like social structure. As the nature of the "Selenite" society reflects Victorian concepts of fixed social classes taken to a logical and unpleasant extreme, so do the two humans reflect opposing points of sociopolitical view. Cavor is clearly an instrument of science, less interested in practicalities than in knowledge for its own sake--a point of view that Wells seems to hold in considerable sympathy. But for all this, Cavor is ineffectual; he must rely on Bedford's smash-and-grab imperialistic temperament to see them through. As in many Wells novels, the resulting clash of ideology is stalemate: both extremes need each other, but they are incapable of building compromise and neither is able to overcome the other to reach an outcome that will be satisfactory to any one concerned. All of this sounds terribly dry and dusty, but the book itself isn't. THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON is a remarkably lively novel, a fast-paced quick read that will appeal greatly to most readers as it balances its philosphical questions with great chunks of pulse-pounding adventure. And even though we know that Wells was off the mark re lunar atmosphere, flora, and fauna, it is easy to suspend our disbelief to enjoy the ride. Recommended. GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Two men left for the moon...but only one will come back...
Review: Cavor, a genius, invents a material that allows him to build a Gravity-Defying Sphere. Soon he and a young, and very greedy, businessman use it to go to the moon. They find not only life, but the Selenites, a culture who can change their shape to fit their jobs. In other words, form is designed for the function of their class or in this case their caste. Over them rules the Grand Lunar, a being whose large brain gives him awesome power and foresight beyond even the businessman who tells us the story. Both characters show their human merits and their very human flaws. Not science fiction as much as a book on society.
Rating:
Summary: Two men left for the moon...but only one will come back...
Review: Cavor, a genius, invents a material that allows him to build a Gravity-Defying Sphere. Soon he and a young, and very greedy, businessman use it to go to the moon. They find not only life, but the Selenites, a culture who can change their shape to fit their jobs. In other words, form is designed for the function of their class or in this case their caste. Over them rules the Grand Lunar, a being whose large brain gives him awesome power and foresight beyond even the businessman who tells us the story. Both characters show their human merits and their very human flaws. Not science fiction as much as a book on society.
Rating: 
Summary: Imaginative, well written and easy to read.....
Review: H.G. Wells is, without a doubt, gifted with both imagination and the abilty to write. FIRST MEN ON THE MOON is a very good read; it is well written, fast-paced, and the plot is most definitely intriguing.
What you get out of this book, in my opinion, depends highly on your expectations of it. If you're looking for sci-fi written in 1901, and you want to be amazed by Wells as a visionary of things to come, this is not your book. With the exception of a lunar landing, none of the "scientific" developments or discoveries created and described by Wells exist nor in all probabilities will ever exist. This is the main reason why Jules Verne advocates place him well above Wells.
On the other hand, if what you want is a book that's easy and fun to read, with a plot that makes it hard to put the book down, then you're in for a treat. Even though most of what Wells has written is pretty dense and by no means considered easy to read, this novel is.
As with many other writers in Victorian England, Wells is very influenced by his world and surroundings. You will find (both on earth and on the moon!), that society is clearly divided into social classes, and it is definitely not Well's intention to disturb this normal "order" of things.
Each of the two main characters represents a different victorian current of thought. While Cavor is a true scientific mind, and his main concerns are truth, mankind, and a better world overall. Bedford is more adventurous and daring, and his main concerns are himself and his own wealth. In a way, neither ever understands the other, as they are blinded by their own view of the world.
In summary, FIRST MEN ON THE MOON is definitely worth the time it takes to cover the 180+ pages, and when you put it down you will be left with a feeling of satisfaction.....
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding turn of the century Sci-fi by Alien Voices
Review: I enjoyed the story line of this book, because the idea of turn-of-the-century travel to the moon would seem impossible, yet they did! The story was of course very fanciful but enjoyable. Just don't get hung up on technical details, just enjoy the story for what it is. DeLancey and Nimoy did an excellent job portraying the main characters. Nimoy was excellent as the befuddled scientist, while DeLancey played an excellent Capitalist. I would recommend this audio tape to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: Didn't he do Wells?
Review: I've read "The Time Machine", "War Of The Worlds" and "The Island Of Dr. Moreau" but I'd have to say that this was my favourite. Written in a slightly lighter tone than the other books I've mentioned, it tells the story of...well read the other reveiws, they've pretty much covered that part. I'm going to give it five stars because, although Wells' writing style does sometimes irritate, his sheer imagination and Swift-like digs at humanity keep you enthralled. Don't worry about the dated science, just read and enjoy.
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