The War of the Worlds with the Time Machine and Selected Short Stories

by H.G. Wells

The best-known and best-loved works of some of the world's foremost writers. In this volume: H. G. Wells. The father of modern science fiction introduces us to a world of fantastic creations in The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine.

Contents:
The War of the Worlds
The Time Machine
The Crystal Egg
The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham
The Red Room
The Valley of Spiders
In the Abyss
In the Avu Observatory
The Truth About Pyecraft

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Science Fiction, Time Travel

514 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Herbert George Wells was born to a working class family in Kent, England. Young Wells received a spotty education, interrupted by several illnesses and family difficulties, and became a draper's apprentice as a teenager. The headmaster of Midhurst Grammar School, where he had spent a year, arranged for him to return as an "usher," or student teacher. Wells earned a government scholarship in 1884, to study biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at the Normal School of Science. Wells earned his bachelor of science and doctor of science degrees at the University of London. After marrying his cousin, Isabel, Wells began to supplement his teaching salary with short stories and freelance articles, then books, including The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.

He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.

More: http://philosopedia.org/index.php/H._...

http://www.online-literature.com/well...

http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells

Reviews

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Wells. His writing is very straightforward and journalistic, and he doesn't necessarily develop his characters very deeply, but his imagination is unmatched. The protagonist's walk through post-destruction London will stay with me forever.

This edition also contains The Time Machine, which I could read over and over, and an assortment of short stories that most assuredly inspired Rod Serling in writing The Twilight Zone. This collection is a real treasure.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

wells' imagination was truly marvelous to behold, exacerbated by his style of personal narratives filled with certainty. i particularly liked the device of ending the story with the narrator saying and he was never seen again..... you just don't see that type of established ambiguity in modern fiction anymore! how deliberately tantalizing. like a little terrier sinking its teeth into a piece of meat and shaking it about and saying grrrr! chew on that! yes thank you wells i will indeed chew on that

-crystal egg that looks into mars, inhabited by dragon-like creatures
-fleshy blobby martians with different machine carapaces, impervious to human weapons but ultimately succumbing to bacteria
-time machine: humans evolved into a subterranean gollum-like species who cultivate a soft useless happy above-ground species (weena) for meat
-old man tricks young guy into switching bodies (is this the origin of freaky friday?)

[Barbara George · Rating 4 out of 5]

War of The Worlds
I found this novel fast paced and suspenseful. While reading Wells gave me a great sense of the aliens as well as the machines.
Told from two different perspective’s.
Begins with a unnamed narrator in his home in England when the invasion/attack begins. His desire to get to his family to safely.
The second perspective is from his brother’s view. His struggles show how the masses are reacting to the invasion.
The overall ending was rational and intelligent.
The Time Machine
I found the portion of the novel foreword thinking for the age of the story. It also addresses future race’s and sub-race’s that live in the shadows.
With distinct black and white contrasts of past versus future.
A wonderful weird read.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those interested in a collection, this is a nicely organized book with clear titles and index. The added introduction is lightly interesting.

My review is for War of the Worlds.
This was written in the mid 1890s, and it reads very well today. It oddly feels like a modern steampunk sci-fi. I enjoyed the read, and can understand how it captivated so many. I don't feel like I need to keep this on my shelf, but will pass it along for others to enjoy.

[Be Storie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham and The Truth About Pycraft were so fun

[Brandon William · Rating 3 out of 5]

War of the Worlds has very slow parts but is overall good, I couldn't force myself through the Time Machine

[justin banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

War of the Worlds- 8.3/10. The Time Machine- 8.5/10

[Sandy Salzinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two classic stories from one of the first great science fiction writers. Very accessible and page turning..

[Cws]

JAR6+-Wel

[Lizzie]

On my shelf, husband's book. Too dry.