Another classic book in the can as I try to get the most out of the years I spent learning how to read. I thought this book would be a nice departure from some of the serious reading that have been doing, and since I’m not always doing science fiction reading (I do a lot of watching), this was a nice change of pace. H.G. Wells provides us a cool story about time travel.
The story revolves around a turn of the century scientist who accidentally gets lost in time. A long part of the story has him in a mysterious portion of the future where human evolution has rendered those that live above ground are idiots and those that live underground are completely ruthless by comparison. The top half are vegetarian the bottom half are carnivores. The whole process of telling this story really made me think that the time traveler really invented a space ship, rather than a time machine. The descriptions of the Eloi people and their counterparts were more of alien forms to my understanding, but apparently they aren’t. They are highly evolved humans. Trapped in this time frame, he gets his Time Machine stolen and he has to go and recover it, only to go into another state of the future, one where the Earth is dying and in harsh conditions. A place where the Sun isn’t shining as much, and just a grim portrayal of our Earth; something that Al Gore probably got inspiration from for doing his little presentation.
The contrast of this story is quite cool, in my opinion, Wells creates a dinner party of guests that are waiting impatiently for the scientist and upon seeing him show up all dusty and weary, things take off. This dynamic leaves you with a place to get back to in the midst of the travels of our hero and main character. After these journeys, the Scientist’s story comes full circle and the people that are waiting for him want proof now, and so he tells them he’s going to go on another voyage and bring something back to prove it…and well, we’re going to just stop giving away the story.
H.G. Well’s book is an easy read. It’s required reading for some, and for others it’s a stepping stone to other great science fiction stories. The idea of time travel is not an old idea, and people are still fascinated with the whole theory of time travel. I don’t really care for time travel, unless Marty McFly is involved, in which case I’m always down for that. The books is good, and it’s “light” reading at some points. The movies do an ok job of translating this book to visual, but nothing beats the original. Since 1895 this book is a gem for science fiction fans, and for me; an easy read. I recommend H.G. Well’s The Time Machine, but only if you haven’t read it before and you’re looking for something semi-light without lowering yourself to reading a romance novel. It’s only like 3.95 if you order online and it’s not half bad.
