Reviews

The Invisible Man by Malvina G. Vogel, H.G. Wells

ojtheviking's review against another edition

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4.0

Having not only reached but surpassed my reading goal for this year, I was almost about to settle for a total of 34 books read in 2023, mainly because I had just returned to Norway after a trip to the US, and was feeling exhausted from the trip (I had started book number 34 while in the US, and finished it when I came back home).

However, since 34 isn't a round number, my slight OCD tendencies made me want to go by the “increments of five” rule, and read a 35th book this year. I wanted this final read of the year to be something short, and the choice fell on this sci-fi/horror(ish) classic.

I was familiar with the story since I have seen all the old Universal Classic Monsters line-up, but I usually find it interesting to go back to the source material whenever I have seen the movie adaptation before reading the original novel.

Simply put, it was a short and fun read. It had its flaws (maybe especially according to today's standards), but nothing I wasn't able to disregard, and taking into consideration that this is a story from 1897, it's pretty innovative for its time.

Wells' writing has enough attention to detail and makes enough use of scientific terminology to give the scenario a certain plausibility. One nice little touch is the concept that recently consumed food is still visible for a moment until fully digested. (Incidentally, this made me think of a scene from the movie adaptation of another novel, H. F. Saint's Memoirs of an Invisible Man)

The narration style is also interesting. Not fully epistolary, but more of a retelling based on what information the narrator has gathered from various sources. As such, it's not necessarily an omniscient narrator, but rather one that has tried to piece together everything in a logical order.

In terms of suspense, I'd say the book can be divided into two parts, where the first half feels more like a mystery, while the Invisible Man is staying at the inn at Iping. The more horror-esque elements emerge later on, as his more sinister intentions are the main drive of the remaining plot.

Definitely recommended, and it makes me want to explore more of H. G. Wells' stories!

the_fang_kid's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Ahead of its time and well thought out, though to a modern reader it might feel a bit cliche as it originated quite a few science fiction tropes

nzagalo's review against another edition

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4.0

Não sendo uma grande obra literária, é uma obra que recorre ao mais puro imaginário especulativo-científico, partindo do sempre interessante artifício "E se...", neste caso, "um homem pudesse ficar invisível?". É um belíssimo conto de FC com suspense e acção, e que ao fim destes anos todos me leva a creditar que funciona melhor no livro, do que em todos os filmes que já vi daqui adaptados, essencialmente porque somos obrigados a imaginar esse ser invisível, ao contrário do cinema que se vê sempre obrigado a mostrar a invisibilidade de alguma forma.

Tal como "The Time Machine", também do Wells, ou "Frankenstein" de Shelley, o livro tem de obrigatoriamente ser lido à luz de 1897, para se poder enquadrar o âmbito e alcance da imaginação.

booksandaudities's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 ⭐️’s

rissasreading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-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

3.25

3.3 - Before reading this I had only seen the Invisible Man movie remake from 2020, I always wanted to see the original film but I actually didn't know it was based on a book for a long time. I got an illustrated copy of this book and I found it really enjoyable to have some pictures to go along with this, especially to really visualize what he would've looked like. Overall though, I'm a bit let down by this tale. It does do a good job of showcasing the benefits and the problems with being invisible (especially being nude in the winter lol) but it never felt like it really progressed story wise. It ended how I thought it would because how long can you realistically stay invisible for without some consequences, but this novel was just rather flat to me. I much preferred this Invisible Man figure being a depiction of stalking/abuse such as in the 2020 film.

jacklath's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.0

jeraven's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What makes the invisible man good is the people's reaction to the invisible man. 

He is basically anonymous, he can do whatever he wants and becomes somewhat corrupted because of it. This is to this day quite realistic.

His bodily appearance was also a interesting factor in his scientific quest.

tamandua's review against another edition

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3.0

this is about toxic masculinity and male entitlement you can’t convince me otherwise 

chloe_green090's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

bethanysimm110's review against another edition

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4.0

I grew up watching all of the old black-and-white movies based on H.G. Wells's novels. It is rather sad that I'm just now beginning to read them.

The Invisible Man is one of the Sci-Fi classics that really kick-started the genre. It details the story of an English scientist who renders himself invisible. Wells then allows us to analyze the emotional and mental strain such a life would impose on an invisible man.

This was a fun read. It's short and fast-paced. If this novel was written more recently, it would have received a 3-star rating. However, the language used in this novel is far more modern than that used in Well's time, allowing this book to be a very accessible classic. I also rated more generously because of the significance this book and author have had to the Sci-Fi genre, both in the literary and cinematic world.

I recommend this novel to those who enjoy cult-classic movies, horror, mystery, and thrillers.