The Time Machine (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

Wells, H.G.; Warner, Marina; Patrick Parrinder; Steven McLean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141439971 ISBN 13: 9780141439976

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2005

A seminal and hugely imaginative work of early science fiction, H.G. Wells's The Time Machine is the first and greatest modern portrayal of time-travel, edited by Patrick Parrinder with an introduction by Marina Warner and notes by Steven McLean in Penguin Classics.

When a Victorian scientist propels himself into the year 802,701 AD, he is initially delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty, contentment and peace. Entranced at first by the Eloi, an elfin species descended from man, he soon realises that this beautiful people are simply remnants of a once-great culture - now weak and childishly afraid of the dark. But they have every reason to be afraid: in deep tunnels beneath their paradise lurks another race descended from humanity - the sinister Morlocks. And when the scientist's time machine vanishes, it becomes clear he must search these tunnels, if he is ever to return to his own era.

This edition includes a full biographical essay on Wells, a further reading list and detailed notes. Marina Warner's introduction considers Wells's development of the 'scientific romance' and places the novel in the context of its times.

H.G. Wells (1866-1946) was a professional writer and journalist. Wells's prophetic imagination was first displayed in pioneering works of science fiction, but later he became an apostle of socialism, science and progress. Among his most popular works are The Time Machine (1895); The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), filmed with Bela Lugosi in 1932, and again in 1996 with Marlon Brando; The Invisible Man (1897); The War of the Worlds (1898), which was the subject of an Orson Welles radio adaptation that caused mass panic when it was broadcast, and a 2005 film directed by Stephen Spielberg; and The First Men in the Moon (1901), which predicted the first lunar landings.

If you enjoyed The Time Machine, you might like Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, also available in Penguin Classics.

Review:

HG Wells virtually defined modern science fiction with the two tales featured in this double volume, a welcome addition to the SF Masterworks series. The Time Machine is the classic tale of a time traveller's journey to the world of 802,701 AD where humanity is divided between the bad and the beautiful, a simplistic vision at first glance but a prophetic take on a future that may not be so far removed from a reality yet to take hold, simply lurking in the shadows and waiting for the human race to bring it about by its own hand.

The War of the Worlds is perhaps one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written, a chilling, brooding tale that has lost none of its power or punch as the soulless alien invaders blast their way across the English countryside, collecting hapless humans for fiendish experiments and scorching the land. Coming at a time of great technological leaps and bounds, it is not surprising that the War of the Worlds makes as much comment on the fragility of the human race and its dependence on technology, as it does the indestructible nature of the human spirit. Though constantly beaten back, the dwindling human armies throw all the might of their warships at the alien machines with little or no effect--in the end, it is the common cold which brings about the downfall of the extra-terrestrial killers. Their motivations are never explained, nor do they need to be, their chilling cries echoing across the deserted, burning countryside of Britain accting as both a chilling war cry and a blood-curdling wake-up call. Surely, one of the most essential science fiction publications you could ever buy. --Jonathan Weir.

Review:

"[Wells] contrives to give over humanity into the clutches of the Impossible and yet manages to keep it down (or up) to its humanity, to its flesh, blood, sorrow, folly." --Joseph Conrad

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0141439971
• ISBN 13: 9780141439976
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144