Showing posts with label H. G. Wells. Show all posts
Showing posts with label H. G. Wells. Show all posts

Friday, July 18, 2025

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells

by Karen S. Wiesner 

 

This first edition cover (UK), frankly looks like something the author's kid might have created with crayons. We've come a long way, baby. 

Be aware that there may be spoilers in this review. 

It's hard to imagine the classic horror novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells, is 128 years old. It was first published in 1896 and, oh, how it has stood the test of time! This story serves as our earliest depiction of "uplift", which is a science fiction motif where an advanced race intervenes in evolving an animal species to a higher level of intelligence. 

The Island of Dr. Moreau starts with a scientifically trained Englishman named Edward Prendick surviving a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean. After being rescued by a passing ship, he's cared for by a man named Montgomery. There, he meets who he assumes is Montgomery's manservant, M'ling, a grotesque bestial native. The ship is transporting a variety of animals to Montgomery's destination--the island of Dr. Moreau, his employer. Once they arrive, Prendick is forced off the ship by the captain, and Montgomery agrees that he can stay temporarily, though few ships pass the island. 

It isn't long before Prendick recalls who Dr. Moreau is--formerly a promising, respected physiologist who was forced out of the scientific community once his gruesome vivisection experiments were exposed. Moreau has all but disappeared in the 11 years since. 

Hearing the screams of the doctor's tortured patients on two early occasions, Prendick is driven by compassion out of the enclosed compound into the jungle. There, he begins to piece together the true horror of what's being done on this remote island. He discovers a colony of half-human/half-animal creatures living in the jungle. They're led by a creature called the "Sayer of the Law". They recite over and over their law, given to them by Moreau, their maker, which prohibits bestial behavior: 

Not to go on all-fours; that is the Law. Are we not men?

Not to suck up Drink; that is the Law. Are we not men?

Not to eat Fish or Flesh; that is the Law. Are we not men?

Not to claw the Bark of Trees; that is the Law. Are we not men?

Not to chase other Men; that is the Law. Are we not men? 

When I was a kid and watched the 1977 movie version of this book, the ritualistic chanting made quite an impression on me. It shocked and horrified me that Moreau made them obey his laws or he'd severely punish them by sending him to the House of Pain. To be so far removed from those he's, in one perspective, fathered, to feel so little regret or sorrow for their condition, was inconceivable to me, even at that young age. 

Moreau later admits that these "Beast Folk" weren't formerly men but animals he's operated and experimented on in hopes of transforming an animal completely into a human. With each new subject, he wants to believe he's getting closer to perfection, yet each time they revert to their animal form and behavior eventually. 

The balance in this fragile environment begins to erode with Prendick and his intact sense of morality (something Moreau lacks entirely and Montgomery has been losing steadily, at the cost of his own sanity, all these years) pushing it toward the edge. Seeing Prendick's rebellious behavior toward Moreau and Montgomery, the beasts soon begin retaliating for all their years of pain and suffering at the hands of the true monster in their midst. 

To put this story into the context of the time period it was published, note that in 1896, the possibly of humanity's degeneration was being discussed fervently in Europe. That's a whole 'nother subject that can be embarked upon at the reader's leisure and level of interest aside from this review. However, suffice it to say that several groups rose in opposition of animal vivisection on the basis of the topic, and The Island of Dr. Moreau is the author's reflection on the ethical, philosophical, and scientific concerns and controversies of that time period, most especially inspired by the trial of Oscar Wilde. Wells said in his preface to his collected works that The Island of Dr. Moreau embodies an ideal but otherwise "has no allegorical quality". Sure, whatever. 

Whatever the case, it's just plain a fantastic story of horror and, like Frankenstein, takes the concept of showing the monster being more the ideal of what man should be than the man himself, and, in that way, the man is the true monster. This is a story that I can't imagine anyone not finding compelling. Every part of it is perfectly developed. 

The Island of Dr. Moreau has inspired countless artistic endeavors, more than can be documented in this short review, but each of these is a testament to a story so compelling, even a century later, we're still influenced by the resonating message it proclaims. The countless films that have attempted to follow the book version are mainly all worthy of being watched at least, but it's the novel that, above all, shouldn't be missed. 

Next week, I'll review another Oldie But Goodie you might find worth another read, too. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Find out more about her books and see her art here: http://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Friday, July 11, 2025

Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: The Time Machine by H. G. Wells by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Oldies But Goodies

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Be aware that there may be spoilers in this review. 

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells was published in 1895 and is another story by this prolific author that's brilliantly passed the test of time. This forerunner of time-traveling fiction is as amazing now as it was in its own time period. A previous short story by Wells (1888's "The Chronic Argonauts", published in his college newspaper) was the foundation for the novella. 

I resisted reading The Time Machine for a long time because, as I said in my previous review of Timeline by Michael Crichton, I'm not a fan of time-travel fiction, which tends to be convoluted and dependent on too many elements having to converge at exactly the right moment or it simply won't work. In the case of 99% of these types of stories, I find the odds simply too astronomical for me to believe it's possible. And yet in every one of these stories, it does work. Impossibly. And, for the most part, stupidly. So I resisted this pivotal example of one of (the only two, in my opinion) the finest pieces of time-travel fiction available for a long time. Once I finally caved in and read it, it was nothing like I expected with elements of time-travel, yes, but also of horror and adventure, with a post-apocalyptic slant. 

Set in Victorian England (a time period I adore), a gentleman, scientist, and inventor identified only as the Time Traveller journeys into the far future and meets a small, "intellectually degraded", humanoid group called Eloi who live on the surface of the planet along with savage and simian Morlocks, underground darkness dwellers who only emerge at night to capture the Eloi. 

In the  story, the protagonist travels through time for a bit of adventure and goes right back out into other time periods using his machine after returning to tell his friends the tale of the Eloi and Morlocks. There is no deeper reason for his endeavors in creating and using this machine, but many since The Time Machine's publication have attempted to provide answers and justifications and sequels to this very brief story. I must say that I did actually enjoy the 2002 film version with Guy Pearce that gives the Time Traveller a deeply emotional reason for why he (a university professor and inventor) developed a time machine, as well as a name--Dr. Alexander Hartdegen. Follow-ups to the original story do hold appeal, but be sure not to miss the novella that started it all. 

Next week, I'll review another Oldie But Goodie you might find worth another read, too. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Find out more about her books and see her art here: http://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/