macbean221b's review
adventurous
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
3.5
The War of the Worlds: 3.5 stars
The First Men in the Moon: 2 stars
The Time Machine: 3 stars
The Invisible Man: 3.5 stars
The Island of Dr Moreau: 4 stars
The First Men in the Moon: 2 stars
The Time Machine: 3 stars
The Invisible Man: 3.5 stars
The Island of Dr Moreau: 4 stars
andimontgomery's review
4.0
We only listened to War of the Worlds (6 hrs), read by the excellent David Tennant. It was fast-paced, and a fantastic story. It was also remarkable how closely the Tom Cruise movie followed the plot, especially given the age of the story.
leksikality's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
raalux's review
2.5
The Island of Doctor Moreau saves this, barely.
I understand the importance H.G. Wells has in Sci Fi history, and it truly is impressive that he wrote such stories in the 1900s. I just... wasn't much impressed by what he had to say about the themes he explored. The science usually falls flat-especially so in The First Men in the Moon (by far the weakest story in this collection, in my opinion)-which is understandable, but then the philosophy is also sort of dated, in the sense that it is painfully Eurocentric (and other -isms I can't quite put my finger on).
One example is in The Time Machine. The narrator Like... hmm.
Overall I would not recommend this except to the most die-hard SF fans who are curious about the roots of the genre.
The narrators are top-notch, though.
I understand the importance H.G. Wells has in Sci Fi history, and it truly is impressive that he wrote such stories in the 1900s. I just... wasn't much impressed by what he had to say about the themes he explored. The science usually falls flat-especially so in The First Men in the Moon (by far the weakest story in this collection, in my opinion)-which is understandable, but then the philosophy is also sort of dated, in the sense that it is painfully Eurocentric (and other -isms I can't quite put my finger on).
One example is in The Time Machine. The narrator
Spoiler
goes to the far, far future and discovers that society has split along class lines, and that upper class people live on the surface in relative comfort, while lower class people live in squalor underground and have evolved to look barely human. An interesting proposal...except the narrator spends two lines bemoaning their misfortune and spends the rest of the story talking about how much he hates the brutes and want to kill them.Overall I would not recommend this except to the most die-hard SF fans who are curious about the roots of the genre.
The narrators are top-notch, though.
youpie's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
charonlrdraws's review
3.0
I have tried to get past The First Men on The Moon three times but I just can't. I'm sure the other books in this collection are good but the story listed just dragged on so much I gave up and I won't bother with the rest. I did enjoy War of the Worlds though it was the only reason I got this collection if I'm honest.
rashidmalik's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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