Books by H G Wells

The ultimate science fiction classic: for more than one hundred years, this compelling tale of the Martian invasion of Earth has enthralled readers with a combination of imagination and incisive commentary on the imbalance of power that continues to be relevant today. The style is revolutionary for its era, employing a sophisticated first and third person account of the events which is both personal and focused on the holistic downfall of Earth's society. The Martians, as evil, mechanical and unknown a threat they are, remain daunting in today's society, where, despite technology's mammoth advances, humanity's hegemony over Earth is yet to be called into question. In Well's introduction to the book, where the character discusses with the later deceased Ogilvy about astronomy and the possibility of alien life defeating the 'savage' (to them) nineteenth-century Britain, is he insinuating that this is the truth and fate of humanity? It's up to you to decide…

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.