The H.G. Wells Reader (Courage Classics Giant)

Rating:
Summary: Greatest Hits
Review: This book contains the best-known short stories of H.G. Wells, as well as a lesser-known work called The Crystal Egg. The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man, and War of the Worlds make up the heavy hitting line-up in this book. Wells wrote most of these stories in the 1890's, which solidified his position as grandfather of the science fiction genre. His work still holds up amazingly well today.

As I worked my way through these stories, I quickly came to realize that I was adversely affected by seeing film versions of the stories. It was impossible to read The Island of Dr. Moreau without seeing Brando in that outrageous get up. I didn't enjoy The Time Machine nearly as much as I would have if I hadn't seen that old film version. Despite this, I still enjoyed the stories. My favorite tale was The Island of Dr. Moreau, when we see the horrible effects of what happens when man decides to play God with nature. My least favorite tale was the Invisible Man, which I thought moved slowly and didn't have as much of the technological aspects as the other stories had. War of the Worlds is good as well, although a map of England would certainly come in handy, as Wells drops location names all over the place. A surprise was The Crystal Egg, which was the shortest work in the book. It made me think of Lovecraft with its bizarre plot of looking in on another world.

I won't go into detailed plot outlines, but it is sufficient to say that a person could do much worse than reading this book. If you like science fiction, this is must read material. I would certainly read other stories by Wells, and he wrote some very serious material that would probably be profitable to peruse.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Collection
Review: This collection houses the best of (or at least MOST of the best of) H.G. Wells's work. His three undeniably classic novels are here: The Time Machine, The War of The Worlds, and The Invisible Man. All early science fiction classics that still stand up today. Indeed, they do more than that, they put most of today's SF to shame. Also included is the notoriously underrated and controversial Island of Dr. Moreau, which is a very thought-provoking read, and one of Wells's best books. Also included is the good, but not great short story The Crystal Egg. A must read for any Wells fan.