Strange Fiction: Stories by H. G. Wells

by H.G. Wells

Nine stories including The Door in the Wall, The Country of the Blind, The Truth About Pycraft, and The Strange Orchid. Each piece of narration is invested with gristliness and wit. Talking Book World

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Audiobook, Victorian, Fantasy

Audio CD

First published October 1, 2008

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

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for Strange Fiction (audiobook) by H. G. Wells read by Ralph Cosham.

I really enjoyed these interesting and twisted tales. I love how they slowly build the tension and make the listener squirm in anticipation.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised at how many of these stories I have heard referenced to over the years, most notably Land of the Blind. There are some good observations or critiques of perspectives in the stories, though the style of re-telling them by the narrator and the intimate style of the original narrator made me uncomfortable at times, like I was hearing details I shouldn't, almost "tmi".
The final story, The Door in the Wall, reminds me of Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea...I wonder if she borrowed from this story for hers?

[Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Includes:
> The Country of the Blind
> The Diamond Maker
> The Man Who Worked Miracles
> Aepyornis Island
> The Strange Orchid
> The Cone
> Purple Pileus
> The Truth About Pyecraft
> The Door in the Wall

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how sci fi should be done! Interesting twists that make the reader consider something about human nature that they hadn't considered before, or at least not from that angle. Possibilities. No laser guns or space battles!!

[Warren Dunham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a mix of short stories by wells, telling a variety of tails dealing from killer flowers, to dinosaurs, to Indian curses. For the most part the stories were all ok, but i loved the first one about a man who discovers a land were every one else is blind.

As an aside its different reading older stories. not all good like with the casual racism, but sometimes so with different view point of the world(in this case as a place were there is plenty to discover just around the corner).

[Laura Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection very much. His style of fictional reporting - telling one person's story from the perspective of another - is intriguing to me. My favorite of this set was The Door in the Wall. In the Country of the Blind is also wonderful.

[Katherine Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories would have been better without such abrupt endings for most of them...like he just didn't want to write anymore. Not as Wellsian as I was expecting but the premises of the stories are definitely Strange Fiction.

[Sabina · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories feel like musings before the big work.
Still, candy for the imagination.

[Seb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Country of the Blind was definitely the best of the lot, and one I can't wait to revisit. A story of frustration and acceptance. I, too, felt like I had discovered El Dorado. Wells' philosophical, scientific, and anthropological speculations are so fascinating to dive in to. The History of a blind people being devoid of the language of 'sight' rendering its application and connotations confoundingly useless. There's always something in a Wells story about an isolated group, who are confined by their narrow ways.

Already forgot The Diamond Maker.

The Man Who Worked Miracles worked well due to its Monkey's Paw twist. Shocking and great imagery of the desolate wind-swept Earth.

Aepyornis Island just felt like The Island of Dr Moreau revisited.

The Strange Orchid was your basic killer plant story. Enjoyed the plants vampiric nature.

The Cone is one I'd like to revisit, mainly because I didn't really soak in the atmosphere enough. Where the characters were located was entirely clear to me, but there was this distinctly sooty atmosphere of machinery and coal and heat. Story itself was ok.

Purple Pileus seemed like a very personal story to Wells. Early shrooms story? I'd like to have read more about the effects the protagonist felt, but it seems that Wells must've only had the feeling described to him, or couldn't reveal risking such a singular experience to the public.

The Truth About Pyecraft was quite a whimsical one, but damn...there must've been a large person in Wells' life that he absolutely despised. Any chance to essentially call him a lard-ass was always an opportunity taken.

At first I thought The Door in the Wall was heavy-handed with its metaphoric language and comparisons. I still think that, but it was a nice little reminder to take the chances you get, especially for artists and writers. You push it off again and again, and eventually it becomes your undoing.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My average rating is 3.39. I do think that this is worth reading / listening to. They ponder life and there are some interesting twists to their lives.

1. The Country of the Blind - 4.5 stars - It’s about how the masses perceive life.

2. The Diamond Maker - 2 stars - the concept was interesting, but this story felt a little pointless to me (the way it was presented).

3. The Man Who Worked Miracles - 2.5 - I wasn’t sure what was happening… then I read the summary of the story. What an amazing concept! But like I said, I didn’t gleam any of that from the actual story.

4. Aepyormis Island - 3.5 stars given after reading it, but it could easily be bumped up to 4 stars for how it lingers in my mind. I recommend reading this one. There are several ideas and thoughts in it.

5. The Strange Orchid - 3 stars - The ending made me laugh.

6. The Cone - 2.75 - The writing and macabre descriptions was excellent. However you have to pay incredibly close attention to the part(s) that indicate an affair, because if you blink then you miss it. Without a summary of the story, I would not have known the reason why.

7. Purple Pileus - 3.75 - A psychedelic plant experience changes his life.

8. The Truth About Pyrcraft - 3.75 - I am convinced that Stephen King was inspired by this story when he wrote Elevation.

9. The Door In The Wall - 2.5 - Well written. You can ponder the meaning of the door and the ending. However it was on the boring side.

Song: Ironic by Alanis Morissette

[Sarahbrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection. Especially love The Country of the Blind and The Door in the Wall.

Contains:
1. The Country of the Blind (1904; revised 1939)
2. The Diamond Maker (1894)
3. The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1898)
4. Aepyornis Island (1894)
5. The Strange Orchid (1894)
6. The Cone (1895)
7. Purple Pileus (1896)
8. The Truth About Pyecraft (1903)
9. The Door in the Wall (1906)

[Pat T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the premise of almost all of these stories but the endings were a little big lacklustre. At some points, the story was cut so abruptly that I had to go back and reread the last page just to make sense of what is happening.

[Priscilla Vorce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading even though not all the stories have aged well.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories better than others.

[Jaclyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Country of the Blind
The Diamond Maker
The Man who Worked Miracles
Aepyornis Island
The Strange Orchid
The Cone
Purple Pileus
The Truth about Pyecraft
The Door in the Wall

[Anthony Schorr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt like so many of these should / could have been longer, they were just getting started. But they were good concepts.

[Timothy Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok but a bit dated. I did like the story of the green door.

[DC · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mostly solid and entertaining. It's interesting to see how some trends in contemporary short fiction perhaps originated.
I do often find short stories somewhat unsatisfying.

[Norjak · Rating 3 out of 5]

an ok collection

[Barbara (Bahberanne) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extra star for narration by the great Ralph Cosham.

[Ayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange little collection of stories. Look out for purple mushrooms and homicidal orchids .

[Caroline Valencia Dalisay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as strange as I wanted them to be. I liked the first one.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was a weird book of short stories. some were better than others but it is not really something that i think was earth shattering and needed to be read. but it was on my list so i read it. the stories were usually quite unsettling- though that is how this author writes.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

HG Wells demonstrates an old fashioned but powerful talent for straightforward narrative fiction in many of these short stories. The Country of the Blind is worth the price of admission. Can be nicely paired with Saramago’s Blindness.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of fantastic old scifi. If my boys were younger I would definitely add this to our "read aloud" list.

[Lori Tian Sailiata · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delight to visit these classics! I hadn't put it together before that so many more recent works were homages to Wells. Little Shop of Horrors, UP! and many more.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd series of short stories.

[Janet Rodriguez]

Wonderful.