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The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
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The Time Machine (original 1895; edition 1931)

by H. G. Wells, W. A. Dwiggins (Illustrator)

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17,575336286 (3.73)818
Classic science fiction. This is the first American edition, handsomely illustrated and in excellent shape, considering it's 24 years older than I am. First read this edition from the Library, then tracked down my own used copy--long before there was an Internet. Think I paid 10 dollars for it. Added a home made dust jacket, made from an illustration at the front of the book. ( )
  unclebob53703 | Jan 24, 2015 |
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Wells at his finest ahead of his time and going well beyond our time. The name is of course familiar but the creativity and vision is amazing--especially when trying to read him as if you are of his time trying to grasp these ideas for the first time. Remarkably unsettling with a great ending--moving right on to another of his books. Some time later I am still thinking about the ending--a nice feat for a book written over a hundred years ago. Feels tossed off, but keeps creeping back into my mind that he didn't time travel again because he couldn't resist it, but chose to time travel again because he could no longer live in his current time. Not a choice, but his only option. ( )
  KurtWombat | Feb 3, 2024 |
This was a 2023 Santathing Book, and it was the perfect size and topic for an easy read for after Christmas. I wasn't expecting much, I've seen one or two movies based on this book, and wasn't interested in a basic adventure story. However, I was very wrong about this book. It is most definitely a product of its time, with Industrial Revolution being taken to non-nonsensical ends, but I was surprised with the humanity found in this. The narrator is definitely a product of his time, but he fought it, basically trying to understand the Morlocks, getting past his revulsion for them. ( )
  TheDivineOomba | Jan 21, 2024 |
Thoroughly enjoyed the book. However, would not recommend for people who do not like Philosophy. The main character presents his experience very conceptually, making hypotheses to explain his surroundings. Though this may not appeal to many people, I found this approach clever, scientific, and humble.
A quick read. ( )
  MXMLLN | Jan 12, 2024 |
An entertaining proto-sci-fi story from the Victorian era. Steampunk when there was no other sort of future. The story itself is a bit weak. It's pretty short, though, so it's worth reading. ( )
  cmayes | Dec 21, 2023 |
Meh. I don't really have much to say on this as I'm pretty disappointed. Like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it's one of those brilliant ideas for a novel that ended up very poorly written. I read that Wells rushed this one because he needed the money. I think it's the TIME in which he wrote it that made it so marvelous---because, nowadays, I can't see this even getting published without some major filling in of the story. ( )
  classyhomemaker | Dec 11, 2023 |
This was just meh. It was too short to really get into anything of interest. I didn't care for the mode of storytelling, either - Wells has the Time Traveler telling of his travels in his own words as one big monologue. This book felt... shallow? With too much telling, not enough showing, maybe? I'm not really sure how to articulate it, but I just didn't care for it.

There were a couple of quotes that I liked:

"... my interpretation was something in this way. (Afterwards I found I had got only a half-truth - or only a glimpse of one facet of the truth.)" (p 28)

"Very simple was my explanation, and plausible enough - as most wrong theories are!" (p 41) ( )
  RachelRachelRachel | Nov 21, 2023 |
I wanted to like this a hell of a lot more than I did. The story is a lot more politically polemical than most adaptations everyone's already seen make it out to be. The two tiered society it tries to paint is just not very engaging, and incredibly dated to the views of the society he was part of more than a century ago. ( )
  A.Godhelm | Oct 20, 2023 |
It’s been over a decade since I read The Time Machine, and I picked it up again - curious if my thoughts on it have evolved as I’ve grown and changed. Turns out - nope! I still consider it a good time travel novella but I’m no better for having reread it. ( )
  dinahmine | Oct 4, 2023 |
I can't recall what happened in Wells' book, but I do remember reading it with zest. ( )
  mykl-s | Aug 12, 2023 |
This was the first book I ever read by Wells and I immediately became a fan, both of his writing style (minus his “tumultuous" Achilles heel) and of his wide range of original science fiction concepts.

I recently lent this book to a friend and so, after receiving it back, decided to give it a 2nd read.
It is laid out in a most curious manner, the book being from the point of view of a guest at the Time Traveller's home who is invited over (along with several others) to see a demonstration of the theory of time travel. The book soon changes perspectives as the time traveler tells the story of his wonderings to a very distant date in the future.
It is a curious vision in which Wells explores the concept of a lesser humanity, a downgrade from society at the time.
The future scene suggests the gradual dividing of the human race into two very different species whose physical and mental being are brought about by the natural habits of their class. The more upper class society (Eloi) have lessened in intelligence, living a fairly simple and oblivious life of ecstasy among the ruins of the former world while the evolved working class (Morlocks) have become the more threatening species, allowing for the survival of the Eloi but also using them as a means of food and all the while keeping to the shadows and maintaining various pieces of machinery under the earth.

The book is only 90 pages but makes an interesting read and is one of the first books to explore the concept of time travel using a machine/device.
I have very little issue with this book and was very tempted to give it a 5; though since I think it could have been a bit longer and allowed for more detail I have settled on a 4.5. ( )
  TheScribblingMan | Jul 29, 2023 |
I had to read this book for my science fiction literature class. While I'm not a big scifi buff, I somewhat enjoyed this book. It probably helped that I watched the movie years ago, since this book has a tendency to be rushed and have a lack of descriptions of people and places.

This book is a retelling of a man's travels into the future. His recount, however, is very quick. I suppose in a way, it makes it that much more realistic and believable, since who would give a very in depth and detailed retelling of something that happened over a few weeks. This is what makes the book seem so rushed.

The readers never get a clear description of the people and creatures the scientist encounters, beyond something simple like "blonde hair, pale skin".

Meh. Didn't really like this book, but it wasn't the worse I've ever read! ( )
  Lairien | Jul 26, 2023 |
I was expecting more from this classic. It started well but then I felt it dragged on (even though it is actually quite a short book). It is interesting to consider mankind not evolving to be better but society becoming even further segregated. I am glad I've read the book but I won't be rushing back to re-read it. ( )
  gianouts | Jul 5, 2023 |
Read this for National Science Fiction Day (Jan. 2). I'm not a science fiction fan, but this was good. ( )
  RRabas | Jun 16, 2023 |
Not bad, a book with good ideas and surely for that time (1895), it was brilliant. However I was a bit underwhelmed. ( )
  ilsevr1977 | Apr 24, 2023 |
Well that was a fascinating little novel!

After the first few pages I was deeply concerned that this was going to be more of a mathsy/sciencey paper than an actual novel. Thankfully it quickly progressed into the time travel story I had been expecting. I thought the observations about the two future races of people was a fascinating commentary on views held by people from the period this book was written in. A surprisingly engaging story! ( )
  Mrs_Tapsell_Bookzone | Feb 14, 2023 |
I had high expectations for The Time Machine after reading a different H.G. Wells book earlier this year, but I find myself somewhat underwhelmed. Maybe I'm missing something. There were some interesting ideas about humanity, what drives us, what hones intelligence, but I didn't really agree with the Time Traveler's conclusions, and I didn't like him as a protagonist. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be liked. I don't know. It's an interesting thought. I guess the good thing is, because I feel like I should have gotten more out of it, I'll probably be thinking about it for a while. I still like his writing, but I liked the other book I read, The History of Mr. Polly, more. ( )
  Harks | Dec 17, 2022 |
Great old time travel story. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
You can't go wrong with this fascinating tale of a man who builds a time machine and then travels to both the past and the future. ( )
  RikkiH | Nov 27, 2022 |
How will the Earth look like 800,000 years in the future? That's a question everyone can only attempt to find an answer to, while H.G. Wells was one of the first writers who tackled the topic of time-travelling and painted a rather convincing picture of the future.

Published in 1895, the book introduces a scientist who uses a Time Machine to be transferred into the age of a slowly dying earth. Humans have been separated by time, genetics, wars and change of their habitats into two different races, the Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks. At only about 100 pages, Wells manages to delve into a lot of different topics, among which can be found the ambiguity of human natures, the mutual effects of humans on our planet and our planet on humans, as well as a profound look into what defines humanity itself.

As a dystopian story, this tale has probably been rather ground-breaking back when it was published, and some might even consider it to be the father of all time-travel romance stories. Unlike more recent publications, however, Wells doesn't lose the point of his story in describing romantic affairs and dramatic love stories, but rather delivers a fast-paced narration coated with a prose not unlike most other writing styles from the Victorian era. Since the author builds up his story from some scientific background (the inclusion of which I highly appreciated because Wells didn't leave things unexplained), it is not easy to get into it, but once the narrative gains speed, you will digest this book in the course of a few hours.

For me, the engaging writing and the adventurous atmosphere contributed a huge part to my enjoyment of the novella. His descriptions of the dying earth were fascinating and very memorable, as was the ending which surprised and depressed me simultaneously. Much has already been said about Wells' book and its contents, so I will conclude my review by saying that readers who are not afraid to read important dystopian classics should give this one a try. ( )
  Councillor3004 | Sep 1, 2022 |
i read war of the worlds a couple of years ago, for the very first time, and was shocked at how good it was, but also at how intense the story is when entirely lacking in any sort of modern conveniences. i had grown up with the story, and all of its permutations and adaptations, so the original surprised me with its simplicity and effectiveness.

this surprised me in a different way, as i realized that i am more familiar with other stories that were spawned from this book, or the general ideas herein -- ray bradbury and malcom macdowell pop to mind -- so when i started reading i was startled to discover that i had no idea what would happen next.
( )
  J.Flux | Aug 13, 2022 |
The Time Machine seems very anti-climatic when viewed from the perspective of current-day science fiction, but one must realize how innovative and unusual a story it was in 1895. Without Wells, science fiction might not even exist, since he was the inspiration for so many of the early contributors, such as Ray Bradbury.

The story is very Victorian in nature and moves at a slower pace with less action than we have become accustomed; however, it is a good story that does pull you in and make you want to know the outcome. Of course, it is also a story about the fate of mankind. “We should strive to welcome change and challenges, because they are what help us grow. Without them we grow weak like the Eloi in comfort and security. We need to constantly be challenging ourselves in order to strengthen our character and increase our intelligence."

I cannot say this is a favorite read for me, but I do think it is an important one. Another that I am glad to have ticked off the TBR list. From morlocks to wookies might be a very short jump. ( )
  mattorsara | Aug 11, 2022 |
After finishing the text of The Time Machine (1895) (or in its alternative original title “The Chronic Argonauts”, which I like a lot), I've noticed how my mind was highly influenced during its reading by David Lindsay's A Voyage to Arcturus (1920) and the Miller brothers' Myst. On the one hand, I welcome the attempt by Wells to give the story a semi-scientific background in The Time Machine as opposed to space travel by magical/paranormal means in David Lindsay's text but, on the other hand, I find it quite difficult to empathize with the characterization of the varities of future humans, the Eloi and the Morlocks, which suffers from its hyperbolic message of class critique. In this aspect I prefer the characterization of Tormance's humanoid inhabitants, Joiwind and Panawe, and their balanced relationship with the rest of the planet's living beings (even though their prevailing notion of "purity" sounds very murky). I am also of the opinion that it would have been better as a series of novels with backward and forward time travel rather than as a single text with the account of only one journey to a future constructed to subtly introduce the reader to the socio-economic debate. Nevertheless, since the text is fairly short, I will reread it before closing its review. ( )
  c12marin | May 6, 2022 |
Marvellous. If only modern novels were able to pack as much wonder and intelligence into so few pages. ( )
  whatmeworry | Apr 9, 2022 |
Classic. ( )
  donhazelwood | Mar 12, 2022 |
A wonderful short story that you can read over and over. Didn't make 5 stars because there needs to be more of it, if that's fair because it is a short story. ( )
  Sarahbrarian | Feb 3, 2022 |
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Penguin Australia

4 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0141439971, 0141028955, 0143566431, 0141199342

Coffeetown Press

An edition of this book was published by Coffeetown Press.

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Tantor Media

2 editions of this book were published by Tantor Media.

Editions: 1400100771, 1400109094

Recorded Books

An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

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Urban Romantics

An edition of this book was published by Urban Romantics.

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