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kstericker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cannibalism and Fire/Fire injury
bookish_bry's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was an interesting short read. It has a plot that keeps you engaged, but at the same time that plot isn't really the point of the story. This book is really just one big metaphor reflecting on humanity and what being human means. It's about what separates us from animals and what doesn't. I think the end where Prendick starts to see the animal traits in real humans really drives this home.
There's a lot of interesting things this book calls into question. I find myself thinking of the humanity of Doctor Moreau and Montgomery verses the beast people and wonder which actually express more humanity. I think on that island everyone slipped back to their natural beastly ways at least a bit even the humans and especially Moreau with his horrible cruelty. Montgomery as well seemed to show this with the way he just laid down and accepted Moreau's actions, seeming to slip a bit into obedience. You could even compare the way he bent to Moreau to the way his companion M'Ling bent to him.
Overall, I'd probably give the story about a 3 star rating, but if you view it as an extended metaphor, I'd give it a more than 4 star rating.
There's a lot of interesting things this book calls into question. I find myself thinking of the humanity of Doctor Moreau and Montgomery verses the
Overall, I'd probably give the story about a 3 star rating, but if you view it as an extended metaphor, I'd give it a more than 4 star rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Racism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide attempt and Fire/Fire injury
claremcg's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism
kryten4k's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Racial slurs, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
literautres's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
you’ve made a beast of yourself,—to the beasts you may go.
had it not because of me listing all of my book purchases for the last 4 years three months ago, i would have forgotten this book in my shelf. apparently i bought it in 2019, i don't even remember why i bought it or what made me buy it, i think it is one of those books i bought just so i can come out of a bookstore holding a new book and feeling content. when i found this book i considered to just donate it because i don't think i will read it.
but a few days ago i stared at my tbr shelves (i have these two bookshelves where i put all the books i haven't read to stop me from buying books) trying to decide what i should read and was like, you know what. this is a small little book with a spooky yet impressive art on the cover. i can manage a small little book. i think a small little book is what i need right now. so i started reading it and could not put it down ever since. (ok i did put it down, but you know what i mean)
the story starts with a man named edward prendick, the only survivor of the sinking ship called lady vain. he was rescued by another ship through the hands of one of its passengers, montgomery. the ship, to his surprise, is filled with wild animals under montgomery's care. due to some beef with the captain, montgomery, his wild animals, and also edward (since he was rescued by montgomenry) were expelled from the ship and they landed on montgomery’s destination, an island belonged to dr moreau, the mad scientist. on this island dr moreau conducted experiments to create these human-hybrid creatures from animals using vivisection method, until all hell breaks loose.
my first reaction to the vivisection thing was that i stared at my book in horror, which surprised me as well because this is an actual scientific method and i knew this already (i read that doctors/scientists are obliged to use anesthesia to perform this legally though) but dr moreau twisted the method in a way that i imagined was Incredibly Painful, i feel like it’s not an experiment that’s A TORTURE, the book literally described the screaming sound of a puma being vivisected as ‘it was as if all the pain in the world had found a voice.’
also the way this is written from the first person’s pov (edward’s) made me feel like i shared the same shock with the character in a way where his shock, his fear, were all mine too. so this is a tiny book, but quite exhausting.
(oh and how dr moreau explained his reasoning to edward when he was terrified as fuck, i mean, no kidding, made me want to throw up. what the hell, man.)
in some ways, though, the story draws several philosophical concepts including morality and ethics on science experiments. how far can you go? does science really is limitless, are you really justified to do everything in the name of science, to twist nature, and which part of it is worth it enough? and what about when what has been done fire back at you in the worst way possible?
there is also this questioning on human nature and identity, this implied irony that inside every human there is a beast as well, that inside every beast there is a little human there. i think the book also nudged the ‘worshipping’ concept, because moreau’s experiments (the Beast People) has this faith system ingrained into them that makes them believe moreau is the one that created the Law they should all obey, or else they will go back to the House of Pain (moreau’s house) and other consequences. they even have this eerie chant, almost like a prayer, mostly warnings though, to not do this and that, they have this Sawyer of the Law (which i believe is like their priest?)
the storytelling is chilling and sinister, made me feel goosebumps and kept me up at night, but also there are desperate parts (mostly on edward’s side), and tragic parts (montgomery, the animals) didn’t really care about what happened to dr moreau though, serves him right me thinks. (i can be really judgy sometimes, sorry)
honestly, this was a remarkable read especially considering i didn’t think i would like this book. not sure if i’m going for a re-read someday, but i still want to keep this book for now.
had it not because of me listing all of my book purchases for the last 4 years three months ago, i would have forgotten this book in my shelf. apparently i bought it in 2019, i don't even remember why i bought it or what made me buy it, i think it is one of those books i bought just so i can come out of a bookstore holding a new book and feeling content. when i found this book i considered to just donate it because i don't think i will read it.
but a few days ago i stared at my tbr shelves (i have these two bookshelves where i put all the books i haven't read to stop me from buying books) trying to decide what i should read and was like, you know what. this is a small little book with a spooky yet impressive art on the cover. i can manage a small little book. i think a small little book is what i need right now. so i started reading it and could not put it down ever since. (ok i did put it down, but you know what i mean)
the story starts with a man named edward prendick, the only survivor of the sinking ship called lady vain. he was rescued by another ship through the hands of one of its passengers, montgomery. the ship, to his surprise, is filled with wild animals under montgomery's care. due to some beef with the captain, montgomery, his wild animals, and also edward (since he was rescued by montgomenry) were expelled from the ship and they landed on montgomery’s destination, an island belonged to dr moreau, the mad scientist. on this island dr moreau conducted experiments to create these human-hybrid creatures from animals using vivisection method, until all hell breaks loose.
my first reaction to the vivisection thing was that i stared at my book in horror, which surprised me as well because this is an actual scientific method and i knew this already (i read that doctors/scientists are obliged to use anesthesia to perform this legally though) but dr moreau twisted the method in a way that i imagined was Incredibly Painful, i feel like it’s not an experiment that’s A TORTURE, the book literally described the screaming sound of a puma being vivisected as ‘it was as if all the pain in the world had found a voice.’
also the way this is written from the first person’s pov (edward’s) made me feel like i shared the same shock with the character in a way where his shock, his fear, were all mine too. so this is a tiny book, but quite exhausting.
(oh and how dr moreau explained his reasoning to edward when he was terrified as fuck, i mean, no kidding, made me want to throw up. what the hell, man.)
in some ways, though, the story draws several philosophical concepts including morality and ethics on science experiments. how far can you go? does science really is limitless, are you really justified to do everything in the name of science, to twist nature, and which part of it is worth it enough? and what about when what has been done fire back at you in the worst way possible?
there is also this questioning on human nature and identity, this implied irony that inside every human there is a beast as well, that inside every beast there is a little human there. i think the book also nudged the ‘worshipping’ concept, because moreau’s experiments (the Beast People) has this faith system ingrained into them that makes them believe moreau is the one that created the Law they should all obey, or else they will go back to the House of Pain (moreau’s house) and other consequences. they even have this eerie chant, almost like a prayer, mostly warnings though, to not do this and that, they have this Sawyer of the Law (which i believe is like their priest?)
the storytelling is chilling and sinister, made me feel goosebumps and kept me up at night, but also there are desperate parts (mostly on edward’s side), and tragic parts (montgomery, the animals) didn’t really care about what happened to dr moreau though, serves him right me thinks. (i can be really judgy sometimes, sorry)
honestly, this was a remarkable read especially considering i didn’t think i would like this book. not sure if i’m going for a re-read someday, but i still want to keep this book for now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Death
jbabbm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book was better than I expected, and it's an easy to read classic. Wells decided to use the Island and its Beast Folk as a literary device to tackle various moral topics. I truly consider this a must read.
Also, this is classified as a children's book apparently but I honestly wouldn't read it to children below the age of 10 at least. It's not scary or gory, but I do think that it deals with complicated subjects that may prove too heavy/upsetting for a kid.
Also, this is classified as a children's book apparently but I honestly wouldn't read it to children below the age of 10 at least. It's not scary or gory, but I do think that it deals with complicated subjects that may prove too heavy/upsetting for a kid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
robynsimpson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
anastasiamakes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Cannibalism
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Sexual assault, Slavery, Antisemitism, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
crufts's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.25
In The Island of Dr Moreau, HG Wells asks us: where is the line drawn between human and beast? And what would happen if that narrow line began to fray?
The tale is told by Londoner Edward Prendick, a man from London who has the misfortune to be shipwrecked, eventually coming ashore the titular island. Here he finds the amoral Dr Moreau, a once-renowned London surgeon who was chased out of town after his bizarre and cruel animal experiments were publicized. Sure enough, the island is crawling with the strange half-human, half-beast results of his experiments...
At a slim 133 pages, the book can't help but run at a good pace. Similarly, the locations and characters used are condensed to a minimal few, maintaining a strong sense of unity and cohesion. The story also ends on a strong note that ties together everything the protagonist has seen over the course of the book.
While vivid horror themes like these are not my favourite, The Island of Dr Moreau is nonetheless a strong example of the genre.
The tale is told by Londoner Edward Prendick, a man from London who has the misfortune to be shipwrecked, eventually coming ashore the titular island. Here he finds the amoral Dr Moreau, a once-renowned London surgeon who was chased out of town after his bizarre and cruel animal experiments were publicized. Sure enough, the island is crawling with the strange half-human, half-beast results of his experiments...
At a slim 133 pages, the book can't help but run at a good pace. Similarly, the locations and characters used are condensed to a minimal few, maintaining a strong sense of unity and cohesion. The story also ends on a strong note that ties together everything the protagonist has seen over the course of the book.
While vivid horror themes like these are not my favourite, The Island of Dr Moreau is nonetheless a strong example of the genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Racism
rachelditty's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Murder