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Omnibus 1: The Space Machine ; &, A Dream Of Wessex
An omnibus of Christopher Priest's work, containing his science-fiction novel "Space Machine", which is partly a homage to H.G. Wells, and "A Dream of Wessex", the tale of an alternative reality.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
576 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 1999
2 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Priest
179 books1,073 followersChristopher Priest was born in Cheshire, England. He began writing soon after leaving school and has been a full-time freelance writer since 1968.
He has published eleven novels, four short story collections and a number of other books, including critical works, biographies, novelizations and children’s non-fiction.
He has written drama for radio (BBC Radio 4) and television (Thames TV and HTV). In 2006, The Prestige was made into a major production by Newmarket Films. Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Prestige went straight to No.1 US box office. It received two Academy Award nominations. Other novels, including Fugue For a Darkening Island and The Glamour, are currently in preparation for filming.
He is Vice-President of the H. G. Wells Society. In 2007, an exhibition of installation art based on his novel The Affirmation was mounted in London.
As a journalist he has written features and reviews for The Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the New Statesman, the Scotsman, and many different magazines.
He has published eleven novels, four short story collections and a number of other books, including critical works, biographies, novelizations and children’s non-fiction.
He has written drama for radio (BBC Radio 4) and television (Thames TV and HTV). In 2006, The Prestige was made into a major production by Newmarket Films. Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Prestige went straight to No.1 US box office. It received two Academy Award nominations. Other novels, including Fugue For a Darkening Island and The Glamour, are currently in preparation for filming.
He is Vice-President of the H. G. Wells Society. In 2007, an exhibition of installation art based on his novel The Affirmation was mounted in London.
As a journalist he has written features and reviews for The Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the New Statesman, the Scotsman, and many different magazines.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 18, 2015
After being recommended "The Space Machine," I bought this omnibus out of necessity. I had no interest in reading "A Dream of Wessex."
I plunged into "The Space Machine" with great anticipation and with "War of the Worlds" fresh in my mind, but it wasn't long before I started to tire of the characters. The characterisation felt forced, as though the dialogue was written with only the time period in mind, not the characters' personalities. The plot itself was interesting, but came nowhere near "War of the Worlds" in quality, and occasionally it felt as though the story wasn't sure whether it wanted to be a tribute or an AU fanfic. Basically, it just started to feel like slightly sub-par fanfiction to me. Maybe I'm missing something.
But I decided to give "A Dream of Wessex" a go regardless, and I am so glad I did; I was hooked from the first page. The plot was really intriguing, and the characters were well thought-out. I think having the story set in a time that mirrored when it was written meant that the focus was purely on personality, rather than over-thinking how people would have behaved a hundred years ago. The story itself was compelling, and I felt genuinely attached to the characters by the end.
So basically, I give four stars for "A Dream of Wessex" alone. I'd probably give "The Space Machine" two?
I plunged into "The Space Machine" with great anticipation and with "War of the Worlds" fresh in my mind, but it wasn't long before I started to tire of the characters. The characterisation felt forced, as though the dialogue was written with only the time period in mind, not the characters' personalities. The plot itself was interesting, but came nowhere near "War of the Worlds" in quality, and occasionally it felt as though the story wasn't sure whether it wanted to be a tribute or an AU fanfic. Basically, it just started to feel like slightly sub-par fanfiction to me. Maybe I'm missing something.
But I decided to give "A Dream of Wessex" a go regardless, and I am so glad I did; I was hooked from the first page. The plot was really intriguing, and the characters were well thought-out. I think having the story set in a time that mirrored when it was written meant that the focus was purely on personality, rather than over-thinking how people would have behaved a hundred years ago. The story itself was compelling, and I felt genuinely attached to the characters by the end.
So basically, I give four stars for "A Dream of Wessex" alone. I'd probably give "The Space Machine" two?
April 24, 2010
A group of people have a way of inventing the future. This book explores how this vision can be warped by one personality.
December 30, 2025
I liked the idea of 'The Space Machine' but felt that it could have been a fair bit shorter or a lot longer; falling in the middle felt like some parts of the story were under-developed (such as the life and society on Mars) but others just dragged a little bit. Moreover, that actions of the male protagonist require a generous dose of credulity on several occasions in order for the plot to move forwards. For me it's more of a 2-star ('It was OK') goodreads rating.
A 'Dream of Wessex' is typical Priest doing what he's best at.
It's undoubtedly worth a read.
Here you'll also find a prototype for characters in his book 'The Glamour'; namely, Susan (Julia) and Nial (Paul) and specifically, the sick relationship that they had and which continues. In 'The Glamour' the twist at the end allows me to pass over that aspect of the story and characters in a way that I couldn't reading 'A Dream of Wessex' (it just felt too gratuitous). Likewise, in the case of Paul's intrusion into The Project I just didn't find that part believable.
This would have been a solid 4-star rating but the abusive and rapey aspect to the aforementioned relationship soured it for me.
A 'Dream of Wessex' is typical Priest doing what he's best at.
It's undoubtedly worth a read.
Here you'll also find a prototype for characters in his book 'The Glamour'; namely, Susan (Julia) and Nial (Paul) and specifically, the sick relationship that they had and which continues. In 'The Glamour' the twist at the end allows me to pass over that aspect of the story and characters in a way that I couldn't reading 'A Dream of Wessex' (it just felt too gratuitous). Likewise, in the case of Paul's intrusion into The Project I just didn't find that part believable.
This would have been a solid 4-star rating but the abusive and rapey aspect to the aforementioned relationship soured it for me.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews