Reviews - The Invisible Man Illustrated

3.5k reviews for:

The Invisible Man Illustrated

H.G. Wells

3.39 AVERAGE

fs2's review against another edition

4.0

mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It's shit, but i like it idc

canoner's review against another edition

1.0

mysterious medium-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

Maybe interesting for its time, but this was garbage. Focused entirely on the physical and literal instead of the human story. Could’ve said a lot about isolation and loneliness but instead spent the majority of the book describing the way a chair would appear to float in the air or how footprints were being tracked due to mud on a clean floor.

aurely's review against another edition

4.0

funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kieransd23's review against another edition

4.0

I would’ve been a way better invisible man.

kay_reads9's review against another edition

4.75

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: Yes

booksnbits's review against another edition

3.75

I have no doubt in my mind that with The Invisible Man, H.G. Wells created a great premise to examine the story's central conceit; that our humanity unravels if we're not perceived.

The story starts so well. We effectively see the Invisible Man through a pub landlady's eyes. There are hints at an uncanniness and altered state – growling dogs, sudden appearances, but it’s not confirmed until a dramatic anger-induced reveal. Here, the careful pacing gave way to a frenzied sequence of events that I expect was to mirror the Invisible Man’s state of mind, but I felt resulted in a narrative that lurched rather than flowed.

There were elements that I enjoyed – Marvel’s unwilling cooperation, fearful escape and eventual machinations was a lovely arc for a side character in the short novel. The other characters offered fewer hooks to hang off. And the central character is unlikeable with on-page bigotry. I’m reading this in 2025 and some of the language was difficult.

But despite the themes, this isn’t really a character study. It’s a plot-driven story that races toward its inevitable climax. I’m glad that to have read this book at last and the idea is reason enough for this to be a classic, but the execution didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped.