H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells' The Time Machine, from 1895, popularized the idea of a vehicle that allows its user to travel intentionally and selectively across time, and indeed Wells is credited with coining the very term "time machine." The Time Traveler of this novella tests his time machine with a leap forward to the year 802,701 A.D., to find that evolution has produced two very different post-human races - the peaceful and childlike fruit-eating Eloi
...The man's become inhuman ... He has cut himself off from his kind. His blood be upon his own head.' One night in the depths of winter, a bizarre and sinister stranger wrapped in bandages and eccentric clothing arrives in a remote English village. His peculiar, secretive activities in the room he rents spook the locals. Speculation about his identity becomes horror and disbelief when the villagers discover that, beneath his disguise, he is invisible.
...H. G. Wells, in his 1906 In the Days of the Comet uses the vapors of a comet to trigger a deep and lasting change in humanity's perspective on themselves and the world. In the build-up to a great war, poor student William Leadford struggles against the harsh conditions the lower-class live under. He also falls in love with a middle-class girl named Nettie. But when he discovers that Nettie has eloped with a man of upper-class standing, William
...One of the primary motivations behind H. G. Wells most popular science fiction works was his exploration of the factors that could help or harm society. As a result, many of his novels and short stories explored utopian or dystopian worlds. In Mankind in the Making, he tackles the same topic from a nonfiction perspective, ruminating on the variables that serve optimal human development from conception to adulthood.
H. G. Wells' A Modern Utopia is a fusion of fiction and philosophy. In it Wells' explores his ideas for social change, the creation of a world state and of what would be needed to facilitate increases in overall human happiness. The people of this utopia have to plan for "a flexible common compromise, in which a perpetually novel succession of individualities may converge most effectually upon a comprehensive onward development." This is
...7) The Red Room
Best known as a science fiction writer, H.G. Wells also dabbled in horror and supernatural writing. The Red Room is a taut psychological thriller that showcases Wells' mastery of these genres. Get ready to sleep with the lights on after you finish this short spine-tingling tale.
H. G. Wells' 1901 science fiction novel The First Men in the Moon tells the story of a voyage to the moon by Mr. Bedford, a businessman plagued by financial problems, and Dr. Cavor, a brilliant and somewhat eccentric scientist. On arrival they discover that the moon is already inhabited by an advanced underground civilization of insect-like beings who they call "Selenites". This forward-looking novel, critical of the imperialism of Wells'
...Another visionary novel from the great science fiction writer H. G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau tackles the thorny issues thrown up when humankind plays God and explores notions of society and identity, bringing the mythical chimera - part human, part animal - into the age of science.
Today, the name H. G. Wells is synonymous with the genre of science fiction, and Wells is best remembered as the creator of masterpieces such as The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and The Island of Doctor Moreau. However, the prolific thinker and writer worked in many genres, and he was regarded as an important voice in social and political thought in his day. This collection brings together a series of essays in which
...13) Anticipations: Of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human life and Thought
The author of dozens of science fiction and fantasy novels, including such well-known works as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and The Island of Doctor Moreau, H.G. Wells is now recognized primarily for his contributions as an author. However, in his era, he was regarded as an important thinker, particularly on the subjects of science, technology, and human advancement. In this book, Wells' speculates about future scientific
...Widely recognized as one of the key figures in the development of the science fiction and fantasy genres, H.G. Wells was a prolific writer who produced hundreds of short and long works in these styles. The tales collected in The Door in the Wall and Other Stories span Wells' early career and offer a satisfying cross-section of his work.
The comical Wheels of Chance was written in 1896 at the height of the golden age of the bicycle, when practical and affordable bicycles led to profound social shifts in England. Suddenly people of modest means could travel greater distances for work or even for pleasure, without the limitations of rail schedules, weakening England's rigid class structure and strengthening the movement towards the liberation of women. In the novel, the poorly-paid
...One of H. G. Wells' first ventures outside of the science fiction realm, the novel Love and Mr. Lewisham was published in the year 1900. Seeking love rather than his youthful hopes of fame and glory, Mr. Lewisham moves to the city of London where he becomes convinced of the merits of socialism and gets involved in the spiritual charlatanism of that later Victorian era.
The World Set Free is H. G. Wells' prophetic 1914 novel, telling of world war and the advent of nuclear weapons. Although Wells' atomic bombs only have a limited power of explosion, they keep on exploding for days on end. "Never before in the history of warfare had there been a continuing explosive; indeed, up to the middle of the twentieth century the only explosives known were combustibles whose explosiveness was due entirely to their
...H.G. Wells is best remembered as a central figure in the development of the science fiction genre and as the creator of such works as The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and The War of the Worlds. However, much of his literary output was more conventional in nature, and he published a number of novels dealing with interpersonal relationships and social themes. Many critics regard The Secret Places of the Heart as
...Though Wells is best remembered as a trailblazer in the genre of science fiction, he worked masterfully in many genres, and often combined elements of several styles within the space of a single tale. The short story collection The Plattner Story and Others is packed with an eclectic array of wildly engaging tales, demonstrating the full breadth of Wells' talent and skill.
In the dystopian vision of H. G. Wells' novel The Sleeper Awakes (1910), a man awakes to a London where all he knew has radically changed after his sleep of two hundred and three years. Due to the wonders of compound interest, he is now this later world's richest man. As a committed socialist and futurist, he now sees his dreams realized and revealed to him in all their abhorrent and frightful glory.