alisarae's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, this is an imaginative story about two men who travel to the moon, written as a first-person eye-witness account.
HG Wells makes use of two characters to illustrate different ways that we can approach other cultures: with dreams of exploitation, personal gain, and colonization; or seeking communication, understanding, and knowledge sharing. He also makes a powerful critique of humanity's love and glorification of war, which affects the way we try to understand each other -- "They want to communicate, and yet not to communicate."
HG Wells makes use of two characters to illustrate different ways that we can approach other cultures: with dreams of exploitation, personal gain, and colonization; or seeking communication, understanding, and knowledge sharing. He also makes a powerful critique of humanity's love and glorification of war, which affects the way we try to understand each other -- "They want to communicate, and yet not to communicate."
jacobjonk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I started reading this by accident in a collection of H.G. Wells because it was preceded by war of the worlds and I thought that book had more parts. I kept reading it when I realized because over all I was enjoying it more than war of the worlds so I figured I might as well. In the end I enjoyed this quite a bit. It's a little silly in a very serious way and I really liked that duality. Wells' style is a little tough at times but I have grown used to it now that I've read a good number of his works. I think now I'll go back and reread the time machine as I really enjoyed that on first read and now have the tools to understand it even better. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys h.g. Wells or old scifi
direton1's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-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? No
1.75
chadimus's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
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
5.0
crickets's review against another edition
3.0
This was the second book I read by H.G. Wells, soon after I realised they had originally been written much earlier than I thought, in the 1890's. After the thrilling novelty of The War of The Worlds, though, The First Men in the Moon was a much more moderate read.
It was interesting to see how someone in the 18th century thought space travel and the moon would really be like, or what creatures living beyond Earth valued. It was, admittedly, a bit eerie how these descriptions of the Moon folk brought computers and specialised machines to mind. However, it It felt drawn out at some points, and it lacked a lot of that urgency that my previous Wells' story had.
Still, worth reading, if only for the description of their departure from Earth towards the Moon!
It was interesting to see how someone in the 18th century thought space travel and the moon would really be like, or what creatures living beyond Earth valued. It was, admittedly, a bit eerie how these descriptions of the Moon folk brought computers and specialised machines to mind. However, it It felt drawn out at some points, and it lacked a lot of that urgency that my previous Wells' story had.
Still, worth reading, if only for the description of their departure from Earth towards the Moon!
sierrakilocharlie'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
4.5
galliexyc's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-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
2.75
rosekk's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the narrator; he was funny, and a bit morally questionable, and provided a good perspective on the odd story. It's odd looking at sci-fi from this age, because there are elements that are wrong, and conflict with science that is fairly common knowledge now, but there are other elements that are very much in line with existing knowledge. It's the odd blend of the two that makes in such strange reading, and makes me wonder what in our current sci-fi is going to strike people in the future as wildly, ridiculously off-base.