H.G. Wells Reader: A Complete Anthology from Science Fiction to Social Satire

By H.G. Wells

Book Overview

Huntington carefully compiled this readable anthology of Well's fiction. Includes 17 works, including The Time Machineand two other complete novels-the rarer The First Men and the Moon and In the Days of the Comet, 10 short stories, and excerpts from 6 other novels.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0878333061
• ISBN13: 9780878333066
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
• Length: 478 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A TERRIFIC COLLECTION

I didn't know very much about Wells beyond THE TIME MACHINE and THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (which I've only encountered via the movie versions) until a friend gave me a copy of this terrific collection. It was great to have almost three complete novels by him as well as other selections in one volume. The excerpts made me want to read the whole of THE FOOD OF THE GODS, THE WHEELS OF CHANCE, and TONO-BUNGAY. There's not a poor choice in this book. Including the majority of IN THE DAYS OF THE COMET (not available elsewhere as one reader states) makes sense to me, since it seems like such an important book-bridge between his science fiction and social novels. The editor also includes most of THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, which manages to be wildly imaginative, beautifully written, incredibly hilarious, and deeply chilling, often in the same paragraph. There's so much other great stuff in this anthology, which is a bargain at $14. The editor's comments were very helpful in placing the selections within Wells' creative growth and intent, and in placing Wells within the broader context of his day. I can't understand the venom of some of the other reader responses. Do they have some personal grudge against the editor? Perhaps they were former students and he graded them poorly. You'd think Wells was their grandmother and they were defending her honor. Wells speaks for himself quite well, I think. And the truth is if Wells' later stuff is so outstanding, and its absence worthy of being bemoaned and bitched about, why is it mostly all out of print? I'm definitely going to check out later Wells, but wouldn't be doing so without this marvelous introduction to spur me on.

A TERRIFIC COLLECTION

I didn't know very much about Wells beyond THE TIME MACHINE and WAR OF THE WORLDS (which I've only encountered via the movie versions) until a friend gave me a copy of this terrific collection. It was great to have almost three complete novels by him as well as other selections in one volume. The excerpts made me want to read the whole of THE WHEELS OF CHANCE, THE FOOD OF THE GODS, and TONO-BUNGAY. There's not a poor choice in the book. Including the majority of IN THE DAYS OF THE COMET (not available elsewhere as one reader states) makes sense to me, since it seems like such an important book-bridge between his science fiction and social novels. The editor also includes most of THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, which manages to be wildly imaginative, beautifullly written, incredibly hilarious, and deeply chilling, often in the same paragraph. There's so much other great stuff in this anthology, which is a bargain at $14. The editor's comments were also very helpful in placing the selections within Wells' creative growth and intent, and in placing Wells within the broader context of his day. I can't understand the venom of some of the other reader responses. Do they have some personal grudge against the editor? You'd think Wells was their grandmother and they were defending her honor. Wells speaks for himself quite well, I think. And the truth is if Wells later stuff is so outstanding, why is it mostly all out of print? I'm defintely going to check out later Wells, but wouldn't be doing so without this marvelous introduction to spur me on.

I AM ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED

I am absolutely shocked by the strident, outrageous, and embarrassingly ignorant responses of these readers (who, by the way, lack the courage to sign their indictments and condemnations). If some "invisible" critics don't even want their names attached to their own reviews, where's the value? I urge prospective readers to ignore these Griffens. No anthology can adequately represent a literary career as long and prolific as that of Wells, who wrote 1,000+ pages of short stories, dozens of novels and nonfiction works, hundreds of articles, and thousands of letters and public statements, not to mention the autobiographical and scientific writings. Saying the task is similar to anthologizing Dickens or Trollope is entirely inaccurate, since the breadth and quality of their nonfiction output was negligible comparative to their fiction, whereas Wells was one of the most astute, far-wandering, and all-encompassing intellectual and imaginative forces of his day. Right from the start, Huntington ought to be applauded for being bold enough even to attempt such an endeavor (Huntington's audacity and admiration Wells would surely appreciate). One of these critics says: "One wonders precisely who this 'reader' is for!" NO. One wonders if these "critics" spent enough time from penning their own masterpieces of destruction for their own sake to actually peruse the editor's introduction and prefaces to his selections. These critcs are eviscerating this anthology because it doesn't correspond to their own "inner" collections. Huntington clearly define THE H. G. WELLS READER as an introduction, i.e. for someone who is either totally unfamiliar with Wells or for someone who might think of him as having only "written that Martian book." In 496 pages the editor does a commendable job of presenting Wells. Not the entirety of Wells, which is impossible to accomplish in even a 1,000-page anthology (not the hot trend nowadays in publishing). But Huntington explains his intentions and criteria and even admits the unavoidable limitations inherent in any collection: "I have selected the texts for this anthology with an eye for quality and to what I see as the central issues and styles of Wells. In the case of such a prolific and varied artist, there is danger of dispersal and dilution. I have therefore confined the selection strictly to fiction." That seems as cogent and clear as any manifesto I've encountered. Huntington continues: "I have also narrowed this selection by limiting it to work Wells published in the first decade and a half of his writing career. Later Wells is a fascinating area [obviously the editor has read the totality of Wells prodigiously], but only to readers who already have a sense of what early Wells is about. If I have emphasized the scientific romances, it is with a sense of how it leads into social novels like TONO-BUNGAY [excerpted] and THE HISTORY OF MR. POLLY." Why critique the editor for including readily available work a

Greatest Hits

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.

A Great Collection

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.