I went on a bit of a classic sci fi spree this autumn—although with limited success, since I didn’t greatly like The Invisible Man or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! I think that may be why I kept reading them—I wanted to find one I liked! I heard good things about The Time Machine by H. G. Wells…and I am happy to report a successful conclusion to the quest, as it was a huge improvement on the previous two!

The Time Machine begins with a kind of frame story, with the unnamed Time Traveller telling his friends about his theory of time as a fourth dimension man might move through. This is a bit dull for a chapter or two—but then the friends come in for another dinner, and are surprised to see the bedraggled Time Traveller come staggering in. He then begins an extended story about his travels 800,000 years into the future, about the child-like Eloi and the hideous, subterranean-dwelling Morlocks.

This is a huge improvement on my previous two forays into classic sci fi because, apart from the first couple chapters, we’re firmly grounded in the main character’s point of view! In fact, all three books share the similarity of coming from an outside perspective, with the main character eventually telling his story—except probably 80% of The Time Machine is occupied by the Time Traveller’s story, rather than maybe 25% of The Invisible Man, and even less of Jekyll and Hyde. Continue reading “Book Review: The Time Machine” →

After not enjoying The Invisible Man, it may seem a little odd that I went on to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I think I’m determined to find some piece of classic sci-fi/horror that I can like!  And it’s the right time of year, with R.I.P. going on.  Jekyll and Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson, and I always have trouble keeping that in mind—it feels like such a completely different book than Treasure Island. It feels much more like it ought to be part of the canon of H. G. Wells. Unfortunately, that includes some of Wells’ issues!

Jekyll and Hyde is fascinating to read from a historical perspective–because I think it’s a book that’s been ruined by its own success. Do I even have to say “spoiler alert” before mentioning that Jekyll and Hyde are one person? Everyone knows that—and unfortunately that’s the one big mystery of the book! Continue reading “Book Review: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” →

If you’re around here a lot, you may have noticed that I have a thing for stories about people who are rejected, not for their deeds, but because they are somehow different.  The Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the Creature of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

I can’t remember the last time I read Frankenstein…college, maybe?  Not as an assignment, just around that time.  My chief memory was that I enjoyed the book, but I hated Victor.  I recently reread the book, and…yeah.  Really good book.  Hated Victor.

Victor Frankenstein, already a dying man as the story opens, imparts to the reader the tale of what laid him low.  After an idyllic childhood in his native Geneva, he went off to college and pursued an obsession with the “natural sciences.”  This culminated in an experiment in which he successfully gave life to a creature he fashioned.  Victor is horrified by the Creature’s ugliness the moment he comes to life, and flees the laboratory.  The Creature disappears and Victor, with a shudder, goes about his life–until his young brother is murdered, and Victor realizes the Creature is to blame.  More tragedies later, Creature and creator confront one another at last, and in an extended story-within-the-story, the Creature relates his experiences.  (Unlike the movie version, he’s extremely eloquent.)  He sought acceptance and instead was met with rejection, until at last he turned with rage upon his creator.  And from there we enter what could almost be a Shakespearean tragedy, with the body count rising and the “hero” falling apart in mind and body. Continue reading “Book Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley” →