rcthomas's review
3.0
I think this is a pretty interesting read and definitely an intriguing look at what was then the future by HG Wells. Obviously, Wells' socialist leanings shine throughout this book and sometimes it gets to be a bit much. However, all in all, its a good read.
tony_t's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
I read "The World Set Free" by H.G. Wells primarily because it was mentioned by several of the scientists working on the Manhattan Project. They found it thought-provoking and insightful. I found that the novel did not age all that well but it remains an impressive vision of the future written, as it was, in 1913. Not an action novel nor one heavily into science or technology, it none-the-less embodies one of the best approaches to science fiction, namely, what are the effects of science on the human race. I have read several of his other novels, mostly written later than 1913, and this one gave me a greater appreciation of his writings. I can recommend this novel.
fionacalda's review
1.0
Gave up half-way through. Is this a novel or a "history" lesson? Not enough plot for me!
thomcat's review
3.0
Wells predicted not only the first atomic bomb but also the search for weapons of mass destruction. The difference is that his was successful.
barryhaworth's review
3.0
I've read this book just once before. Written before the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914, it is perhaps the first science fiction novel to realistically describe nuclear war. Not bad for thirty years before the Manhattan Project.
This book makes for an interesting read. On the one hand you have the nuclear technology. Wells imagines nuclear power as coming about through artificially triggered radioactivity. Radioactive decay is induced in a heavy metal and power produced. The device needed is small & light and large amounts of power can be released, so that cars and aeroplanes are powered by nuclear sources. Ah, if only it were so. Wells also seems not to know about the dangers of radiation. Nuclear bombs are what Wells calls "continuously exploding". One of his "Carolinium" bombs does not release its power all in an instant, but releases it instead at the same rate as a regular explosive, with the difference that it continues for weeks and months (a half life of 17 days is mentioned). This means that a small bomb (dropped out of a biplane, in a war imagined to take place in the 1950s) will devastate a large area and render it uninhabitable for years.
The other aspect to the book is the social commentary. Wells imagines society as being unable to deal with either the disruption caused by the new technology, or with its use in warfare, and imagines a new society arising from the ashes of the old. The social comment is just as dated as the technology, and while I am no economist or sociologist I can see many ways where our current society performs much better than the society Wells was writing to criticise.
Still, an interesting read and well work the effort, if alternative visions of technology or society appeal to you.
This book makes for an interesting read. On the one hand you have the nuclear technology. Wells imagines nuclear power as coming about through artificially triggered radioactivity. Radioactive decay is induced in a heavy metal and power produced. The device needed is small & light and large amounts of power can be released, so that cars and aeroplanes are powered by nuclear sources. Ah, if only it were so. Wells also seems not to know about the dangers of radiation. Nuclear bombs are what Wells calls "continuously exploding". One of his "Carolinium" bombs does not release its power all in an instant, but releases it instead at the same rate as a regular explosive, with the difference that it continues for weeks and months (a half life of 17 days is mentioned). This means that a small bomb (dropped out of a biplane, in a war imagined to take place in the 1950s) will devastate a large area and render it uninhabitable for years.
The other aspect to the book is the social commentary. Wells imagines society as being unable to deal with either the disruption caused by the new technology, or with its use in warfare, and imagines a new society arising from the ashes of the old. The social comment is just as dated as the technology, and while I am no economist or sociologist I can see many ways where our current society performs much better than the society Wells was writing to criticise.
Still, an interesting read and well work the effort, if alternative visions of technology or society appeal to you.
lord_tyronisis's review
3.0
This is supposed to be Wells’ utopian fantasy, but frankly I found it frightening.
Also weirdly sexist
Also weirdly sexist
silenttardis's review
4.0
Its amazing that a book that was written more than 100 years ago, had so much about the future as this one, I mean, the narrator explained in such details the outcome of a nuclear bomb, of course there are some things that are not totally correct, but still wells imagination is so over the top, that really makes me wonder, of the modern authors that describe future apocalypses, how many of them will look like wells when he wrote this book… yes it’s a scary though but still a possibility.
It’s clear from reading this book that the theme was something that was a concern to wells, he did a pretty good research about nuclear bombs, the results, and how could the world could recover and even prevent this kind of situations, I do feel that wells was a socialist and the utopia that he dreamt was very much based in those beliefs, but that aside, this book is a pearl, really!, a travel to the past, that feels like going to the future itself.
I highly recommend this book to the future generations, I mean people should be recommending reading this book as much as the war of the worlds or the time machine, the English could feel a bit outdated in some situations but also quite modern.
Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.
It’s clear from reading this book that the theme was something that was a concern to wells, he did a pretty good research about nuclear bombs, the results, and how could the world could recover and even prevent this kind of situations, I do feel that wells was a socialist and the utopia that he dreamt was very much based in those beliefs, but that aside, this book is a pearl, really!, a travel to the past, that feels like going to the future itself.
I highly recommend this book to the future generations, I mean people should be recommending reading this book as much as the war of the worlds or the time machine, the English could feel a bit outdated in some situations but also quite modern.
Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.