Reviews - The Island of Dr. Moreau Annotated

2.71k reviews for:

The Island of Dr. Moreau Annotated

A grim and cautionary tale of unchecked scientific curiosity, and the horrors it can engender. In the style of many classics of the time, this story is a slow burn, with very few 'jump scares', so to speak. Plot points are driven home repeatedly and for paragraphs on end, which can be wearying for the modern reader. It is a solid tale, but not one I'd care to revisit. Even as a (well-produced, though amateur) audiobook, it made me rather impatient. A good case study, nonetheless, of what makes us human, how we respond to loneliness and opportunity, and what bedevilled beasts lurk within us all, waiting only for an opportunity to spring forth.

winterreader40's review against another edition

3.0

Edward has been shipwrecked on an island controlled by Dr. Moreau, a notorious scientist, and there he witnesses the man's experimental horrors.
This is basically an early look at the arguments for and against genetic engineering. While his books all have interesting premises(of the 2 I've read) both have been kind of flat executions for me. He hurries through his telling not really allowing a lot of character development.

emily_bg's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

gasoline_allie's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Better and MUCH creepier than I expected. There are so many trigger warnings that apply and are worth looking into before reading, but I'm glad I went in mostly blind. The concept of exploration and experimentation without ethics remains relevant, as does the question of what it means to be human and how we relate to the natural world. I thought the different ways Prendick and Montgomery interacted with Moreau's creations and Moreau himself was subtly done and interesting.

Content Warnings

myralm's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sunshine42's review against another edition

3.0

“Now they stumbled in the shackles of humanity, lived in a fear that never died, fretted by a law they could not understand; their mock-human existence, begun in an agony, was one long internal struggle [...]"