Book Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
Release Date: 1896
Publisher: Heinemann, Stone & Kimball
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 209
Read the Book: Project Gutenberg ; Kindle
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 4.5/5








I suppose H.G. Wells has done more to incite my interest both in Anthropology and English than any other author to date. The Island of Dr. Moreau was no different, as it explored the possibilities of science and evolution much like his creation of the Morlocs and Eloi in The Time Machine. Relatively straightforward plot, The Island of Dr. Moreau follows Prendick (thank you for a name this time around Wells), a bourgeoisie victim of a shipwreck who lands on, as the title implies, an island run by a man calling himself Dr. Moreau.  The main brunt of the story follows Prendick as he slowly uncovers the truth of the island, dicussions with Dr. Moreau over what makes one 'human' and, eventually his attempts to escape the island as things turn for the worse.

If you have only seen one, or more, of the movie adaptations, I strongly suggest reading the book as the themes presented in the movies and the themes explored in the book are, while similar, more questioning, ambiguous, and deeper than those presented in the movies, especially the 1996 version, which I think went for shock value more than anything else. What is especially interesting to me is the moments where Prendick is in the village of the beast-men and encounters the Sayer of the Law, and Prendicks own thoughts on the blurring of man and beast and his own place within that spectrum.

Now, I don't want to ruin anything, but where the movies end, the book does not, and the book takes the plot in an interesting direction though, in the case of Wells, less is more. Further, we get a bit of an epilogue with Prendick back in England with the now tired claim that 'men are just animals in suits, etc, etc' but, understandably, was fresher in 1896.

The Island of Dr. Moreau is a shorter book for those on the go and a compelling read. If you have only seen the movies, or, more likely, the 1996 version, do yourself a favor and pick up this book. The movies don't do Wells justice.

Book Review: The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Release Date: 1898
Publisher: William Heinemann
Audience: Everyone
Pages 303
Read the Book: Project Gutenberg
Buy the Book: Amazon ; (Compilation) Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5








I was introduced to many books by the Moby Illustrated Classics, small books with truncated versions of classic novels with comic book frames on each page illustrating the novel as it progressed. These books often made an impression on me as a child and I have returned to many of them as an adult to read the original books to reread the books but also see how they differed (often a great deal) from the Moby books. Tangent aside, The War of the Worlds was one of the books I had from the series and, since then, have read the actual book a fair amount of times.

Spare some change?

For those who are not familiar with the plot, the unnamed narrator (as Wells was wont to do) is at the center of an invasion from Mars as the martians land on Earth, hungry for our resources...including MAN! The narrator gets separated from his wife and the story focuses part on his quest to find his wife and part on the invasion and the narrators attempts to come to terms with both.

Like many of Wells novels, a great deal of the novel is given over to the narrators introspection to what is happening around them but it does not affect the pace of the novel (as often occurs with heavy handed authors in the 19th century) Not quite a epistolary narrative (such as Dracula or Frankenstein) the book is nevertheless a journal by the narrator narrating the events as they happen to him.

The book, regardless of its science fiction trappings, still stays within the science of the times to a reasonable degree. H.G. Wells, an advocate of Darwinism, saw the usurpation of mankind's place on Earth as inevitable, be it by other races, species, or aliens. Much like my recommendation in regards to The Time Machine modern science fiction and its offshoots owe much to H.G. Wells, and The War of the Worlds should be on everyone's list of must read sci-fi.

Book Review: The Time Machine

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Release Date: 1895
Publisher: William Heinemann
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 250 Pages
Read the Book Here: Project Gutenberg
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5








Since I have been discussing 19th Century Dystopian Literature, I can't neglect discussing H.G.Wells who, perhaps, is one of the most influential authors in the science fiction genre, and the Dystopian genre as well. The Time Machine follows a scientist (known only as the traveler) as he, after inventing a time machine, tests it and goes hundreds of thousands of years into the future. When he arrives 800,000 years in the future mankind has already reached the apex of civilization millenia ago and now exists in a fallen state. Further, it is revealed that humans have split into two distinct species, known as the morloc and the eloi. The traveler faces a bleak future as he soon discovers his time machine has been stolen by the morloc's and he must not only try to understand how the world has arrived at such a dark state, but recover his time machine and either travel farther into the future, or, return home.

One of the first science fiction books I read when I was younger, I was fascinated by the potential of mankind when evolution is combined with the passage of time. This concept, I think, has driven not only my search for similar books (Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut as a quick example) but also in my own writing as well, and my interest in anthropology. The idea that mankind, given different environmental conditions would create such distinct end results as the morloc and the eloi has always fascinated me. That, and much like the traveler, being witness to the passing of all civilization and viewing the end of humanity. 

This novel is one of the earlier examples of the Dying Earth genre, a genre where the author explores a specific type of apocalypse: the utter exhaustion of the earth, sun, life, the universe, and everything (sorry, couldn't resist). Or, to put it simply: entropy. This is seen in The Time Machine as the traveler goes to the very end of time itself.

Much like Frankenstein, apocalypse and post-apocalypse fiction owes much to H.G. Wells and, specifically, The Time Machine. For fans of The Road, Deathlands, and others like them, pay homage to those who created the series and give this book a read.

Short Story: The Birthmark

The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Release Date: March 1843
Publisher: The Pioneer
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 19
Read the Story Here: The Birthmark
Story Rating: 3.5/5







What was it with the 19th century and mad scientists bent upon the perfection of the human body? We had perhaps the most famous of all mad scientists-Dr. Frankenstein-create a monster in search of bodily perfection, and now we have Aylmer who, believing that the birthmark upon his wife's face represents the imperfections of nature, sets out to remove it using the technology of man.

Hawthorne, not one to skimp on symbolism in his tales (See "Young Goodman Brown") also packs a lot of symbolism into the three main characters: Aylmer (our resident mad scientist), Georgiana (his wife), and Aminadab (Aylmer's assistant). Further, how these characters are described, what they say, how they play off one another and, ultimately, their fate in the story have lead to multiple modes of interpretation and analysis of this story.

However, that aside, this short story is a good read insofar as watching Aylmer's descent from loving husband to almost brute dictator over his wife in his attempts to remove the birthmark and the extremes he will go to to remove it, proving man's superiority over nature. Much like Dr. Frankenstein, what starts out as an attempt towards perfection soon turns the opposite way and the bright future envisioned by Aylmer becomes dark indeed.

I recommend a read, I mean, its only 19 pages and if you have a little time between stops, this is a good short story to check out. If you are interested in something less digital, Hawthorne did publish this short story in Mosses from an Old Manse in 1846 and the collection also includes "Young Goodman Brown", another excellent short story from Hawthorne. Check it out on Amazon.

Book Review: The Last Man

The Last Man by Mary Shelley
Release Date: February 1826
Publisher: Henry Colburn
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 432
Read the Book Here: Project Gutenberg
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 2.5/5









A lesser known title by Mary Shelley and regarded as one of her weaker works, The Last Man follows a group of individuals (generally understood to operate as roman à cléf for Shelley and her circle of literary friends) as they flee across Europe to escape a plague that is wiping out mankind.

This book also fits the definition of dystopian literature in that Mary Shelley sets her novel in the year 2100. If one could make a definitive argument that Frankenstein is not a dystopian novel, they would be hard pressed to make a similar argument about this novel. You have social order breaking apart, with new social groups emerging as they react to the plague and attempt to survive, and, well, you have a clearly defined apocalypse. Much like a natural disaster movie in the same vein, you follow a group of people as they navigate a crumbling world and try to make sense of it all.

I have only read this book once as I have somehow misplaced my copy of The Last Man and, to be honest, it took me awhile to get through it as it moves much slower than Frankenstein and I sat it aside a couple times to read something else as well. I think the problem is sometimes it gets mired down in details of day to day and, in all honesty, extensive monologues reflecting upon the apocalypse cast in 19th century language can get tedious at times. Not to mention the blood and chaos we typically think of if the apocalypse occurred today isn't there in The Last Man. Yes, you do have some of it, and it has been several years since I read it, but I just don't recall much other than the group traveling from place to place with people dying en masse across Europe.

For those who read contemporary dystopian literature, the offerings of the 19th century are a fascinating departure from today's offerings in that ideas concerning the end of the world 100+ years ago and the general mindset was quite different. There was a lot of exploration of the idea of the end of the world and the 19th century is really worth an exploration of to see what is has to offer. As far as The Last Man is concerned, I would recommend checking your local library to check it out or, if you see it for a couple bucks, it can't hurt to pick it up, but it takes it time telling its story (to the detriment of the novel I feel) and it may lose the readers attention.

Book Review: Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Release Date: March 1818
Publisher: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones
Audience: Everyone
Pages: 280 (322 in OWC)
Read the Book Here: Project Gutenberg
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Rating: 5/5







The question of precisely when dystopian literature reared its head in the literary world is debatable, with many scholars leaning towards the latter end of the 19th century, usually citing H.G. Wells oeuvre as the beginnings of the genre. However, I disagree with that as I feel that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is probably one of the earliest examples of the genre. In the next week or so, I will discuss more about this topic and the concept of 'Dystopian' in my first post examining the genre. Onto the review!

If you have not read the novel, and have only gone by the popular depictions of a shambling brute monster, you will be surprised by the fact that the monster (as it is only known by that name) is intelligent, learns several languages, and engages Dr. Frankenstein in a battle of wits that takes them across the globe and eventually intro the arctic. The monster even demands a wife from Dr. Frankenstein by rights as Dr. Frankenstein has created him and must take responsibility for his actions. However, Dr. Frankenstein, seeing the monstrous end result of his aspirations to create a new human race, refuses to do so, fearing the eventual extinction of human beings across the globe.

If I could sum up this book in one word, that word would be obsession. Dr. Frankenstein's obsession to create the perfect human being, the monsters obsession with destroying Dr. Frankenstein, and Walton's obsession with finding the north pole. With numerous frames and epistolary narratives, Frankenstein explores both creator and creation and how they understand the world around them. The latter half of the novel involves the cat and mouse games between the monster and the Doctor as they try to destroy the other.

Regarded as one of the earliest examples of science fiction, I argue it is one of the earliest examples of dystopian literature. While it does move slow at some points, this is a must read for any fan of the dystopian genre, and outside of the genres it rests in, Frankenstein is a classic and should be read by everyone. It can be picked up for super cheap and is worth the money. I put the 1818 edition up as I used it in a class and the introductory materials give a lot of background on the story and author and gives a lot of perspective on the novel and is a good edition to pick up if you are wanting to toss down more than a few bucks.