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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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:
No
If you haven't read "The Island of Dr. Moreau", go do it! It's a classic and short enough to get through in a day or two. There's a mysterious island, Edward Prendick who always seems to be floating in the right spot at the right time, and the eccentric Dr. Moreau-- a scientist who (without giving spoilers), is quite mad and fond of vivisection.
3 stars, don't get mad at me HG Wells fans, because of the slower pace and odd structure of plot. I think it being published in 1896 also made it a little obscure for me. But still, go read it!
3 stars, don't get mad at me HG Wells fans, because of the slower pace and odd structure of plot. I think it being published in 1896 also made it a little obscure for me. But still, go read it!
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Did not expect that! My Kobo actually chose this book for me, by interpreting an accidental keypress as an invitation to open the book, and then I had to read it lest have the "1% READ" moniker haunt me forever. Next up is, apparently, [b:Ulysses|338798|Ulysses|James Joyce|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327869027s/338798.jpg|2368224], which I might have to skip if I want to get to my reading goal.
Anyway. To the book.
I did not expect it to be as good as it was, nor as dark. Apparently Mr. Wells wrote the main part, where Moreau explains his research, as a short story or article in a magazine, and then decided to work a book around that. It gets confusing at times, there are parts where, say,
It is wholly detached from the movie, at least the Val Kilmer movie, I've seen none other. Really the only relation is "Man visits mysterious island inhabited by a totally psychopathic madman and his assistant."
The resolution may feel a little contrived, however, but the conclusion at least resonates.
The book, it will sit uneasily with you, I guarantee.
Anyway. To the book.
I did not expect it to be as good as it was, nor as dark. Apparently Mr. Wells wrote the main part, where Moreau explains his research, as a short story or article in a magazine, and then decided to work a book around that. It gets confusing at times, there are parts where, say,
Spoiler
Moreau doesn't seem to understand the strange Beast-Law and the fact that they've deified him, and then later Moreau is clearly imposing himself and his Laws as a god.It is wholly detached from the movie, at least the Val Kilmer movie, I've seen none other. Really the only relation is "Man visits mysterious island inhabited by a totally psychopathic madman and his assistant."
The resolution may feel a little contrived, however, but the conclusion at least resonates.
The book, it will sit uneasily with you, I guarantee.
I saw the movie with Marlon Brando when I was in high school. I think it was the first Marlon Brando movie I ever saw, and boy was it weird. The main thing I remember about that movie was thinking that the animal-creatures were SO unrealistic. Uncanny Valley up the wazoo. Fine, special effects in the 90s weren't as good as they've become, but I was sure they were better than that.
And then I read this book, 25 years later, and realized that the movie pretty much nailed the animal-creatures. They were supposed to be Uncanny Valley. I felt like the story in the novel made more sense than the story in the movie, as well, though I have never rewatched it so that might just be bad memory. I really enjoyed it this time around, mainly appreciating the vast swaths of moral ambiguity portrayed in the doctor.
And then I read this book, 25 years later, and realized that the movie pretty much nailed the animal-creatures. They were supposed to be Uncanny Valley. I felt like the story in the novel made more sense than the story in the movie, as well, though I have never rewatched it so that might just be bad memory. I really enjoyed it this time around, mainly appreciating the vast swaths of moral ambiguity portrayed in the doctor.
Of course, it’s a classic for a reason. Also of course his amazing gift to predict the future as if from a splintered mirror
I tried, I really tried. I know that H.G.Wells is considered one of the legendary writers, but boy, the book was really annoying to me. I gave up halfway through.
I was sort of expecting scientific inaccuracies because even today writers can get science right. But the book stank of racism and the main character is an overemotional stupid twerp who fancies himself a scientist. And the main scientist was described as arrogant mf, with obvious signs of obsessiveness and delusions.
In the end, I have to conclude, if book is true to the character of 19 century British, then no wonder the empire collapsed.
I was sort of expecting scientific inaccuracies because even today writers can get science right. But the book stank of racism and the main character is an overemotional stupid twerp who fancies himself a scientist. And the main scientist was described as arrogant mf, with obvious signs of obsessiveness and delusions.
In the end, I have to conclude, if book is true to the character of 19 century British, then no wonder the empire collapsed.
I had read “The Island of Doctor Moreau” years ago, and while I remember the broad strokes of the story, I was fuzzy on the details, as this classic of horror/sci-fi is more of a novella than a novel, I figured it could make a quick book to read during a busy weekend.
A man named Prendick is the sole survivor of a shipwreck, but the boat that rescues him is an odd one: it carries a strange collection of wild animals, in the care of man named Montgomery, who heavily hints at a disgraced past in London. Prendick finds himself stranded with Montgomery and his odd menagerie on a small island, inhabited only by the strange Doctor Moreau, and even stranger creatures that aren’t quite human, but not quite animals either. Prendick soon realizes those creatures are the grotesque results of Moreau’s experiments, and that they struggle not to give in to their most animalistic instincts.
I had completely forgotten how violent and bloody this book is, especially considering it was published in 1896. Anyone who has a hard time reading about violence towards animals should steer clear of this one! While those details made Prendick’s story unpleasant, I found myself frustrated with the book for other reasons.
We never really understand the sinister Doctor’s ultimate goal with his strange vivisection experiments. Is creating those bizarre creatures an end in and of itself, or did he seek to accomplish a bigger end game? We also never really know what the event that caused Montgomery’s downfall actually is, as Victorian quaintness forces Wells to simply hint coyly at events and deed too terrible to speak – yet where is that quaintness when it comes to describing Prendick’s disgust at the sight of the Beast Folk?
I do not plan of doing a deep analysis of the book and the context in which it was written, but it does reek of white colonialist elitism, and of course the violence against animals is atrocious to read. While these elements did not age well, the fundamental idea of the thin line between human and animal remains something we ponder to this day. No to mention the unethical scientific experiments and discovery at the cost of untold suffering… There is a lot to unearth with a book like this one, and in some ways, it is Wells’ nod to “Frankenstein” – as it is a story of scientific curiosity gone terribly wrong.
My biggest issue with this book is actually that it felt rushed: I wanted to know more about Moreau, his past and his terrible work, more about Prendick and the how’s and why’s of him ending up there, more about the Beast Folk and how they came to be organized in that lose social structure they created. An extra hundred pages would have improved this book greatly.
A good, important but gory book.
A man named Prendick is the sole survivor of a shipwreck, but the boat that rescues him is an odd one: it carries a strange collection of wild animals, in the care of man named Montgomery, who heavily hints at a disgraced past in London. Prendick finds himself stranded with Montgomery and his odd menagerie on a small island, inhabited only by the strange Doctor Moreau, and even stranger creatures that aren’t quite human, but not quite animals either. Prendick soon realizes those creatures are the grotesque results of Moreau’s experiments, and that they struggle not to give in to their most animalistic instincts.
I had completely forgotten how violent and bloody this book is, especially considering it was published in 1896. Anyone who has a hard time reading about violence towards animals should steer clear of this one! While those details made Prendick’s story unpleasant, I found myself frustrated with the book for other reasons.
We never really understand the sinister Doctor’s ultimate goal with his strange vivisection experiments. Is creating those bizarre creatures an end in and of itself, or did he seek to accomplish a bigger end game? We also never really know what the event that caused Montgomery’s downfall actually is, as Victorian quaintness forces Wells to simply hint coyly at events and deed too terrible to speak – yet where is that quaintness when it comes to describing Prendick’s disgust at the sight of the Beast Folk?
I do not plan of doing a deep analysis of the book and the context in which it was written, but it does reek of white colonialist elitism, and of course the violence against animals is atrocious to read. While these elements did not age well, the fundamental idea of the thin line between human and animal remains something we ponder to this day. No to mention the unethical scientific experiments and discovery at the cost of untold suffering… There is a lot to unearth with a book like this one, and in some ways, it is Wells’ nod to “Frankenstein” – as it is a story of scientific curiosity gone terribly wrong.
My biggest issue with this book is actually that it felt rushed: I wanted to know more about Moreau, his past and his terrible work, more about Prendick and the how’s and why’s of him ending up there, more about the Beast Folk and how they came to be organized in that lose social structure they created. An extra hundred pages would have improved this book greatly.
A good, important but gory book.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting novella the with a striking fear of science at its core. While Wells is somewhat the godfather of modern science fiction, in this book, he perfectly encapsulates the fear of science within the later Victorian era.