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ajsilver's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
krehh5's review against another edition
dark
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? No
rancidslopshop's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
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
4.5
ethant's review against another edition
dark
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Body horror
postcordillera's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I didn't know anything about the book before going in. I had no idea that the experiments were animal to human instead of the reverse and somehow that makes it worse. The disturbing conclusion is that humanity vs beast aren't binary categories but rather the ends of a spectrum that individuals move between , and it's unsettling to not know who or what they are at that point in time.
steyn0's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
indigoblue777's review against another edition
4.0
Read this for my Modern British Literature class.
beckychristina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
The sole survivor of a shipwreck finds himself stranded on a mysterious island populated by strange creatures, a mysterious doctor and his assistant.
I remembered liking the book during university, but enjoyed it all the more so for having the time to return to it leisurely. I always enjoy the adventure tale quality early sci-fi holds, and this book combines that with mystery in a way that really suits my tastes.
This books is a great and easy introduction to H.G. Wells’ work. It’s short, but has a depth to it, and it’s always fun to read the source of anything much referenced.
I remembered liking the book during university, but enjoyed it all the more so for having the time to return to it leisurely. I always enjoy the adventure tale quality early sci-fi holds, and this book combines that with mystery in a way that really suits my tastes.
This books is a great and easy introduction to H.G. Wells’ work. It’s short, but has a depth to it, and it’s always fun to read the source of anything much referenced.
wildweasel105's review against another edition
4.0
In 1896, H.G. Wells shocked the public with one of his science fiction novels dealing with man's intervention with nature. He speculated what would happen if man, the superior creature, happened to physically alter animals in order to bring their intelligence and behavior closer to man's? Would they be a hybrid of qualities between the two, forever changing the destiny of evolution? Or would these altered animals degrade back to their former selves, unfit to exist along side mankind except as pets, or beasts of burden?
This whole debate is played out in Wells' story of a shipwrecked sailor rescued and brought to a remote Pacific island populated by a race of mutated beings: half-animal, half-human. The island is the laboratory for Dr. Moreau, who was banished from the London medical society some ten years previous because of his physiology experiments (read, vivisection) on animals.
The sailor, named Mr. Prendick, faces a harrowing existence on this island, observing the results of Dr. Moreau's bizarre experiments, and like the reader, must contemplate whether or not man has the philosophical if not the technological right to alter the natural order of living creatures.
Wells took on Darwinism, medical research, and the ethical protection of animals all in one fell swoop, but did so in an intelligent manner so typical of him. Considering the date of publishing, one has to wonder how brilliant Wells was in speculating the possible future as we NOW know the extent of genetic and stem cell research.
This whole debate is played out in Wells' story of a shipwrecked sailor rescued and brought to a remote Pacific island populated by a race of mutated beings: half-animal, half-human. The island is the laboratory for Dr. Moreau, who was banished from the London medical society some ten years previous because of his physiology experiments (read, vivisection) on animals.
The sailor, named Mr. Prendick, faces a harrowing existence on this island, observing the results of Dr. Moreau's bizarre experiments, and like the reader, must contemplate whether or not man has the philosophical if not the technological right to alter the natural order of living creatures.
Wells took on Darwinism, medical research, and the ethical protection of animals all in one fell swoop, but did so in an intelligent manner so typical of him. Considering the date of publishing, one has to wonder how brilliant Wells was in speculating the possible future as we NOW know the extent of genetic and stem cell research.