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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was the best Wells book I've read so far. I picked it up, was immediately hooked, and finished it in less than a day. It dragged a bit towards the end, but I'm okay with that. For the most part it was a tense and mysterious thriller.
It was really inventive for the time period especially. Because of when it was written, it's hard to tell if Wells is critiquing the racism and colonialism of his day, or if those are just part of the story. I'd have to read more about it to know.
It was really inventive for the time period especially. Because of when it was written, it's hard to tell if Wells is critiquing the racism and colonialism of his day, or if those are just part of the story. I'd have to read more about it to know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror
Moderate: Racism, Torture
Minor: Alcoholism
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is just as great as I remember it being when I read it back in middle school.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I can't decide if this is progressive within the confines and views of the time period it was written, or incredibly racist. Or maybe a bit of both. I get the feeling that this story is meant to be a message about colonialism and how the white man treats the natives of the countries he visits. But I don't know if that was the message or if it was just an incredibly racist book.
Because of that, this only gets three stars.
The second half was much better than the first, but even still I wouldn't consider this a favourite. It's certainly thought-provoking. And well-written, to a certain extent. I didn't appreciate having to look up the meanings of so many of the words.
Anyway, the second half of the book made up for the very slow first half and it ended up being quite pacey and action-packed towards the end. I'm glad I read it, I guess. Another classic ticked off my imaginary list.
Because of that, this only gets three stars.
The second half was much better than the first, but even still I wouldn't consider this a favourite. It's certainly thought-provoking. And well-written, to a certain extent. I didn't appreciate having to look up the meanings of so many of the words.
Anyway, the second half of the book made up for the very slow first half and it ended up being quite pacey and action-packed towards the end. I'm glad I read it, I guess. Another classic ticked off my imaginary list.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“I must confess that I lost faith in the sanity of the world when I saw it suffering the painful disorder of this island.”
H.G. Wells’ "The Island of Doctor Moreau" is a curious and unsettling tale that doesn’t quite rise to the level of his finest work, but still manages to leave a lingering impression. Published in 1896, the novel mixes science fiction with elements of horror and philosophical speculation, offering a cautionary look at what happens when scientific curiosity is divorced from morality.
The story follows Edward Prendick, a shipwreck survivor who finds himself on a remote island where the eccentric and ominous Dr. Moreau is engaged in gruesome experiments. Using vivisection, Moreau transforms animals into semi-human creatures, attempting to impose human traits and social structures on them. The result is a nightmarish society of “Beast Folk,” whose tragic struggle between their instincts and their imposed humanity speaks to deeper questions about identity, nature, and control.
Dr. Moreau himself is the novel’s most striking element, cold, detached, and disturbingly rational. Wells presents him not as a madman, but as a man who has shed all ethical boundaries in pursuit of pure scientific inquiry. In this way, Moreau becomes a symbol, a warning of what science might become when it is unmoored from compassion and conscience. His work is methodical and intellectual, but devoid of empathy, and the resulting chaos on the island is a stark indictment of unchecked experimentation.
While the themes are provocative, the novel’s pacing can be uneven, and some of the emotional depth found in Wells’ later works is missing here. The Beast Folk are compelling creations, but they’re sometimes treated more as allegorical props than as fully realized characters. Likewise, Prendick is a relatively passive protagonist, often overwhelmed by the events rather than driving them.
Still, "The Island of Doctor Moreau" deserves recognition for the questions it raises. It may not have the elegance of "The Time Machine" or the thrilling momentum of "The War of the Worlds", but it remains a disturbing, thoughtful exploration of scientific hubris and what happens when progress forgets to ask, “Should we?” as often as it asks, “Can we?”
In short: not a masterpiece, but a memorable moral parable dressed in early sci-fi horror.