The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi | 2013; originally published 1895 | Penguin Random House Audio | Audiobook $38.00
When the Time Traveller courageously stepped out of his machine for the first time, he found himself in the year 802,700 — and everything has changed. In another, more utopian age, creatures seemed to dwell together in perfect harmony. The Time Traveller thought he could study these marvelous beings — unearth their secret and then retum to his own time — until he discovered that his invention, his only avenue of escape, had been stolen.
I actually listened to this one a few months ago, on a road trip to a conference. Since it’s taken me so dang long to post about it, I’m afraid I don’t remember in any detail what my thoughts about it were at the time. I just remember that the book did a good job of keeping me awake and mentally engaged during the long drive.
I already knew the basic storyline, and that it was one of the earliest popular science fiction stories ever published. But it’s not just a Victorian version of what we now think of as “portal” fiction. Part of the appeal of sci-fi media, for a lot of people, is the social commentary — the use of futuristic settings and plots to make observations about current events or ideas. And The Time Machine is VERY much about this, to the point that it gets a little heavy-handed. There are no unexpected plot twists and surprisingly little character-building, but there’s more than enough political argument to go around.
Of course, I’m only saying that from my point of view as a regular SFF fan over a century after the writing of this book; but after all, y Classics Club experiment is partly meant to help me get an idea of the sparks and the traditions that have lead up to the contemporary books and shows I love.
Links:
- “The Many Futuristic Predictions of H.G. Wells That Came True” at the Smithsonian Magazine
- “H.G. Wells’s Ghost” at The New Yorker
- “Science Journals: The Worlds of H. G. Wells” at Nature Journal
Publication information: Wells, H.G. The time machine. New York: Penguin Random House Audio, 2013. Audiobook.
Source: Public library, via Overdrive.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
