1895 marks the publication date of a pioneering book that today is considered a classic of science fiction. “The Time Machine” is a novel to read at least once, if only to realize that more than a century ago, an author introduced elements that are still used today in many contemporary films and books.
In this novel, we follow a man, the explorer, the creator of a time-traveling machine… The year 802,701. The Eloi inhabit the Earth; they are a people of small men, calm, gentle, living in a dreamlike landscape where they only eat fruit and idleness is the norm. But after the disappearance of his machine, the explorer quickly realizes that not everything is as idyllic as it seems.
It is very interesting to read a novel that is the origin of what we have seen and read subsequently. It is well written and the book appears both as a forecast of humanity and as a critique of capitalist society where the extreme would be that the working classes become reclusive and end up living underground. However, H. G. Wells had a particular idea of evolution…
The novel is short but suspenseful, making us want to know more about the evolution of the Earth, its population, and how we reached this stage. But Wells lets the doubt linger, allowing readers to guess, creating their own story.
The Island of Doctor Moreau
After being saved from a shipwreck by Montgomery, Prendick finds himself on an island in the Indian Ocean. Paradise? Not really, on the very first night, he is startled awake by screams of atrocious suffering that the strange Doctor Moreau inflicts on animals… Quickly horrified by what is happening in the house of pain, Prendick flees while trying to understand what is going on between the monsters living on the island and Doctor Moreau. But where to go when all around the horizon is nothing but water..?
What a terrible story! This one, very well written, presents a much more terrifying suspense than in “The Time Machine.” We are in a truly horrifying story where we accompany the main character in his macabre discoveries. We are completely immersed in this separate world, on this island totally removed from everything, with a desire both to uncover the secret of Doctor Moreau and to escape as far as possible. It was a truly intense and captivating read that hasn’t aged at all.
