Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - The Time Machine

I read this book because I recently read a history of the concept of time travel - the first chapter is the only one worth reading. Misogynistic, exceptionally racist even for the period. If it were any longer, I wouldn't have finished it.

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wishbea's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Brilliant, an intriguing story and excellent ending. The tale of a Time Traveller having invited several men of various influential positions to his house to tell them about his adventures into the future.

A surprisingly easy read about issues of classism that remain true to this day, highlighting how a rich man would be more likely to believe the future to be a human utopia so of course he'd come to the future unprepared for the dangers.

The Morlocks were written as convincingly terrifying and I understand why the Morlocks persist in pop culture when classism remains prevalent.

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melosamatic's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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m_hates_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Time Machine, HG Wells

4/5

The Time Machine wasn’t as difficult to follow as I thought it might be. The language was easy to follow and decently simple - the version I own also has endnotes explaining any contextual references that might not make sense to someone reading it today, which were helpful.

It’s fast paced and short, so you don’t have the chance to get bored - I’d say it’s pretty good for if your not really familiar with 19th century fiction (which, outside of it being part of my English GCSE, I am not).

I like the concept. Most novels/novellas set in/about travelling to the future focus on technological advancement and cultural shifts, where The Time Machine is about an age after the death of our society - it is about the descendants of humans. This makes it truly timeless as the future shown in it is one that will never be seen by man.

There’s nothing in particular I didn’t like, but there’s not much especially noteworthy I did like - I enjoyed the book and I think it has some interesting stuff to say about a potential future of the human race. I understand why it has the reputation it does, and it is (one of) the first ‘science fiction’ novel(s) ever written and so Wells does deserve some credit for aiding in the creation of the modern sci-fi genre.

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ayah_reads's review against another edition

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2.0

Third book for my Empire and it's Fictions course!

This is best one I've read so far, which isn't saying much, the other two literally got 0 starts from, and this only gets 2 stars, but that's colonial literature for you.

I also greatly prefer this to War of the Worlds because HG Wells sticks to what I think he's knows best - exploring the anxieties Britian was having at that time around social Darwinistic ideas of progress and degeneration. Whereas War of the World tries to critique British colonialism while still being incredibly social Darwinistic and therefore upholding the very ideas that justify colonialism, so basically it really doesn't do much.

This story also sticks to Britian (London specifically I believe), better than the other books I've read in this class that are obsessed with Africa and only use it as a prop for their own exploration of European issues. So appreciate that from this.

Also generally a short story, whereas War of the World has a 'this meeting could have been an email" vibes.

But why is the THIRD book in this course that has same narration style that is one person just tells the story to a group of people. WHY ARE THESE STORIES JUST MONOLOGUES.

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lou_o_donnell's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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gizzylove's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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