Title: The Island of Doctor Moreau

Author: H.G. Wells

Genre: Science Fiction, Classic Literature

Publisher: Orion Books Classic Collection

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 118

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

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.

Review:

I finished this book over the weekend and I am really enjoying the world building if HG Wells! This story was much more gripping than the Time Machine!

The book starts out with the main character getting stranded in a small dingy, and then being rescued by some unlikely characters. They take him to an island, where all is not as it seems!! He can’t decide what exactly these creatures are on the island, but they definitely scare him!

The book brings up an interesting discussion on genetically modifying people and animals, and this was back in the 19th century! We are still having this debate today whether it is ethically ok or not! I find it interesting that someone back then wrote a science fiction novel on the horrors of genetically modifying animals!

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I read it in one sitting!
Happy reading bookworms!