Rating: 
Summary: Spooky and yet Amazing
Review: This book definetly deserves 5 stars. I loved it! I really did not expect that ending! Amazing! Truly Wells' masterpiece. I enjoyed it more than the Invisible Man.
Rating: 
Summary: An exciting read
Review: When Edward Prendick, an unfortunate shipwreck survivor, is plucked out of the ocean by the strange Dr. Montgomery, little does he know that he has dropped out of the frying pan and into the fire. When they arrive at their destination, Prendick finds that the whole island is filled with unnatural seeming people, and the least unnatural, but the most frightening is the lord and master of the island Dr. Moreau. There is a secret to this island, something terrifying, and Prendick is about to find out what it is, whether he wants to or not.This book is one of the crowning examples of nineteenth century fantastic fiction. But, it is not merely an early science fiction story. Mr. Wells wrote this story as something of a lesson about scientists playing God, and creating monstrosities (not unlike Mary Shelley's Frankenstein). This book is an exciting adventure story, with a fascinating lesson. Even though the book was written in 1896, it is still an exciting read, one that I highly recommend to you.
Rating:
Summary: This is a classic
Review: A classic written by one of the masters. I think any sci-fi fan should read this one.
Rating:
Summary: Wells' classic on the nature of mankind
Review: This is the only Wells novel I can imagine going back to again in my old age. It has had the good fortune to be made into 2.5 wonderful films. (The Charles Laughton and Burt Lancaster versions count as one each, and the Marlon Brando counts as a half, with Brando serving as the other half.) A mediation on the essential nature of man as well as a fast-moving adventure, it will leave you thinking, as the best science fiction does, about things you may have taken for granted.
Rating:
Summary: Are we not men?
Review: Like The Time Machine, this is a story about the descent of Man. Dr. Moreau turns animals into "men" on his island. There's only one problem - given the choice, they'd prefer to stay animals. As predicted, order gives way to chaos and the "men" quickly devolve back into animals.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly modern and thoughtful
Review: Wells' imagination is almost scary. Despite being written over one hundred years ago, Wells presents a tale chilling and relevant to this day. A great story in it's own right, it delves deeper into human technological and biology conflicts that have only intensified in recent years. With the onset of cloning, gene therapy, and genetic modifications, the issues spark debate to this day. It starts off with Pendrick, shipwrecked, eventually arriving on the Island of Dr. Mareau and discovering strange beasts. These strange beasts were not natural though, but instead modified animals made up to look and act like humans. Without giving away the plot, the book then moves into action, while moving into such themes as insanity, animals versus humans, and the existence and treatment of god. This book works as a simple fun filled novel with intrigue, suspense and action. It's strange to have a book of such magnitude provide so much simple enjoyment. Even without the deep literary and social meanings, this book stands out by itself. The only flaw is the somewhat antiquated language. Of course, as a sort of added bonus, the insights and issues brought up provide a great addition. Such a book could easily be debated in literary and scientific circles. If such a book was used in my English classes, as opposed to such crud and Faulkner and Jane Austin, I might have actually enjoyed class. The Island of Dr. Maruea is the best mixture of plot and intellectual enjoyment I read since Animal Farm.
Rating:
Summary: A true classic of the genre.
Review: This book is one of a relatively small number of stories that could all be considered prototypes of the "mad scientist" subgenre of the science fiction genre. (Some of the others are "Frankenstein", by Mary Shelley, "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", by Jules Verne, and "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde", by Robert Louis Stevenson.) As such, there are many elements of the story that to a modern reader may seem trite and overused; what is necessary for the reader to understand is that these concepts were NOT trite and overused at the time; this is one of the writers who CREATED these concepts, which are so powerful that they've been copied by later writers until they seem downright hackneyed. If a modern writer had written this story, I'd rate it two or three stars for a fairly competent style, by no higher because it adds nothing new to the genre. But as it is, it's one of the originals, and is worth reading if for no other purpose than to be able to see the references back to it in later novels, such as "Jurassic Park", by Michael Crichton. If you're bored with the "mad scientist" subgenre, you probably needn't read this book. But if you're at all curious to see one of the books that originated the concept, this is an excellent early example of the idea. And if you are a fan of the genre, this book is definitely a must-read.
Rating:
Summary: A great perspective of humanity.
Review: This book contains views about inhumanity which is very relative to todays technological advances. H.G Wells has written a extraordinary book which will never get outdated and will always be looked upon as a classic. The tale which is told brings up many different perspectives of the inhuman creations of Dr Moreau and many can either be argued or agreed to by the reader which makes this a very moving, realistic and interactive book. A book which must be read!!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Imaginative
Review: The Island of Doctor Moreau was an excellent book. It had a good plot, and the author had a very creative story line. It was filled with interesting and imaginative characters, from Dr. Moreau himself, to the creatures known as the Beast Folk. This book was a real page turner. It kept you in suspense and wanting to know what happened next.
Rating:
Summary: Far-reaching work quite relevant today
Review: This is certainly an interesting work, though not nearly as exciting or gripping as The Time Machine or War of the Worlds. For some reason, I had the notion in mind that this short novel was a "most dangerous game" type of story where the protagonist is hunted, but this is of course not true. Dr. Moreau is a scientist--a quite mad one, actually--whose life's work involves vivisection; in essence, he takes a plethora of animals and, through surgery and mental indoctrination of some sort, attempts--with varying success---to endow them with humanity. The result is a twisted menagerie of beasts who share both human and animal traits of myriad sorts. They can understand human speech, in fact, which has allowed the doctor to indoctrinate them into a worldview wherein he is the god whose laws must be obeyed. While the story of the protagonist, Prendrick, is interesting, from his initial shipwreck to his "rescue" and eventual escape, his main purpose in the story is to describe the inhabitants of this macabre island. As one may imagine, this isolated, fragile society eventually breaks down and the beasts regress more and more into their animal instincts, to the great detriment of the "god" Moreau and his rather pitiful assistant Montgomery. Metaphors and broad, deep-reaching themes abound in this tale. While one can certainly make out an obvious theme concerning man's desire to play God and the negative consequences of such efforts by science, there are deeper and more mysterious conclusions one can draw about Wells' view of humanity itself. While this is certainly not a racist novel, one can conceivably see it as a warning against racial mixing, particularly in terms of the notion that the lower and more "bestial" traits will eventually win out over any "higher" traits imbued into a mixed creation, a common idea at that time. However, I tend to see the strange human-animal creations of Dr. Moreau as a microcosm of mankind itself. There is evil (or bestiality) present in all men which has the danger of erupting to the surface at any time; no set of external factors can make a truly good man. Society will always have a minority who are bestial in nature and who cannot be redeemed despite the best efforts of that society's members to form a perfect world. The tale is a rather unusual one for Wells, it would seem, particularly in terms of this seemingly negative interpretation of society itself. There are no good guys in this tale; every character is a victim; the experimentation (social as well as physiological) of Dr. Moreau is an unadulterated failure. Perhaps the conclusions I have drawn from reading this story are my own alone. The Island of Dr. Moreau, however, clearly shows the depths of Wells' thinking and his deep interest in society and its ills, and it challenges the reader to think about the negative consequences of genetic and social engineering. As always, H.G. Wells shows himself to be a far-reaching thinker and a man truly before his own time.
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