james1star's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Yh this was alright I guess. Basically a time traveller tells the story of the previous week where he used his machine to travel to the future year of 802,701 AD. He sees that humanity has become like a socialist paradise with no toil socially or economically, they all like in large palace like buildings, vegetarians, same size, seemingly genderless and the children are basically miniature versions of the parents. There’s more but yh whateves, I also found it a little strange how much he was able to come up with at first glance and just by looking - bit too much detailed extrapolation kinda I dunno. After looking around he begins to consider there may be something going on underneath with these shafts and sightings of ape-like things so deduces that thousands of years ago humanity split into two species and yhhh they’re a note to it.
Writing was fine, characters ehh not really that developed or likeable, setting was good I guess. Some messages were put forward but nothing too much, maybe more could be taken if read when it was published but currently I didn’t gain much. The actual story was alright, I’m really not a sci-fi reader but wanted to check this classic granddaddy of the genre. I’m glad I did but it wasn’t my cup of coffee in all honestly. Would recommend if it sounds like something you’d be interested in. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kelsey Grammer which I think was presented well - he’s passionate, clear and I think if I was reading physically I’d of DNFd it earlier.
Last note: I just felt the relationship with Weener (dunno if that’s how you spell it) was a bit weird cause she’s constantly described as childlike and small and Yhh it was just kinda uncomfortable/cringy.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cannibalism, Violence, Injury/injury detail, and Racism
kirame's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Cannibalism
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
f18's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cannibalism, Violence, and Racism
minor drowningcoolfijiwater's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Moderate: Violence
rory_john14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Drug use, Injury/injury detail, Racism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Adult/minor relationship
gcoulsxn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-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
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism and Fire/Fire injury
strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
This was a reread and it was even better the second time. I annotated this time and found so much joy while doing so! This book is a really interesting take on utopian and dystopian societies and how they relate to each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury
bad_bookworm_h's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
c_hates_reading's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Cannibalism
Minor: Racial slurs
norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/injury detail, Classism, Blood, Cannibalism, Violence, Murder, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Death