The Island of Dr Moreau by H.G. Wells (My Goodreads Review)

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another science fiction story set in Victorian times. A man stranded at sea is forced to disembark on the island of Dr Moreau. The island host and dissatisfied guest are caught in a dilemma. The guest must stay until another boat nears the island. Such vessels visit around once a year. As sci-fi goes this was an enjoyable story and I would recommend it. The Doctor does diabolical experiments with animals. He tries to cross genetically enhance animals with human cells etc. Obviously, we do not go into too much depth about the scientific methods involved. We just know the island is running alive with Dr Moreau's discarded experiments of animal/human hybrid creatures.

Right, that part of the review is out of the way. I would like to add that this is an H.G. Wells science fiction tale and most of us know H.G. is one of the masters of sci-fi. Keep in mind, this tale is up against grand stories like War of the Worlds, The Time Machine and The Invisible Man. On that basis, I think The Island of Dr Moreau lurks in the shadows. The other three, I mentioned; are more extraordinary stories. Suffice to say, if H.G. Wells had only ever written this novel, it would have been good at the time but by now, it would be unheard of. If he had written just one of any of the other three, then any of the three would still be around today. Therefore, I think the Island of Dr Moreau is preserved because of H.G. Wells other achievements. A good sci-fi story but a league division or two below the three I keep banging on about.

The Last Days of Thunder Child

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The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (My Goodreads Review)

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a thrilling story. Having read War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, I did not expect anything else would surpass. I thought The Invisible Man would be corny, but to my delight, it was so wonderfully presented. A gripping tale with characters that are better developed than those in his other good novels I have mentioned. The lead characters in the WOTW and TM had certain anonymity about them. The Invisible Man's written character seemed much more up close and personal.

The story takes place at an Inn in an English village during the time of late Victorian Britain. The local village people are nosey rumour mongers who find the strange bandaged man a bit of an odd fellow who keeps himself to himself. From here the wonderful plot begins as we gradually learn of the invisible man and the growing intolerance towards his desperate need for isolation and secretive studies. I thoroughly enjoyed this fabulous tale and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys SciFi or even horror.

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The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells (Retro SciFi)

This was a thrilling story. I thought it would be corny and I was only half interested when I picked it up. I did not think anything could surpass The War of the Worlds or The Time Machine. However, to my delight, The Invisible Man was so wonderfully presented. It takes place at an Inn in an English village during the time of Victorian Britain. The locals are nosey rumour mongers who find the strange bandaged man a bit of an odd fellow who keeps himself to himself. From here the wonderful plot begins as we gradually learn of the invisible man and the growing intolerance towards his desperate need for isolation and secretive studies. A gripping tale with characters that are deeper and more real than those in H.G. Wells' other good novels.

This story drip-feeds the reader with a developing plot. The scientific explanation for the man's invisibility is remarkable and very plausible too. The clothes and bandages to hide his transparency are all wonderfully thought out. 

One would think the prospect of being invisible would be exciting and advantages, but H.G. Wells thought otherwise as our scientist becomes obsessed, bitter and twisted in his attempt to find a cure for his invisibility - the result of a scientific experiment that went wrong. The reader is introduced to the invisible man as he is about to embark upon a new quest to reverse the accident that rendered the scientist permanently invisible. It is a race against time as he gradually loses his sanity while trying to keep his dilemma a secret. Desperately, he searches for a formula to reverse the dreadful process.