Title: The Time Machine

Author: H.G. Wells

Genre: Science Fiction, Classic Literature

Publisher: Orion Books Classic Collection

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 84

Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

‘I had made myself the most complicated and the most hopeless trap that ever a man devised’

When a Victorian scientist propels himself in the year 802,701 AD, he is initially delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty, contentment and peace. Entranced at first by the Eloi, an elfin species descended from man, he soon realises that this beautiful people are simply remnants of a once-great culture – now weak and childishly afraid of the dark. They have every reason to be afraid: in deep tunnels beneath their paradise lurks another race descended from humanity – the sinister Morlocks. And when the scientist’s time machine vanishes, it becomes clear he must search these tunnels if he is ever to return to his own era.

The Time Machine is the first and greatest modern portrayal of time travel. Part of a brand-new Penguin series of H.G. Wells’ works, this edition includes a newly established text, a full biographical essay on Wells, a further reading list and detailed notes. Marina Warner’s introduction considers Wells’ development of the ‘scientific romance’ and places the novel in the context of its times.

Review:

This was my first HG Wells, and it was a nice short read.

The book starts out with the main character, called the Time Traveller- he wasn’t given a name- explaining to a group of people that he has developed a machine that can travel through time. He tells the tale of his first experience time travelling. He travelled to the future, in the year eight hundred thousand. The sun was super hot, and it seemed to him that the human race were a primitive being. This suggests to him that they found the balance of nature. This made me think of the enlightenment thinkers discussing the role of nature in society, and how some theorized that we had to go back to more simpler times in order to find the balance of nature, and to get away from violence. At first it seems that the time traveller found this state of nature, but things are not exactly as they seem! He has to figure out how to get back to his own time, while still studying the future! This was a cool dip into HG Wells, and I did enjoy the story! I’m not a huge fan of science fiction, but I look forward to checking out the other stories in this book! 

Happy reading bookworms.