Have you heard of H.G. Wells? Well, it would be a shame if you haven’t. Herbert George Wells is considered the father of science fiction along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback. Jules Verne is another brilliant writer, but we’ll get to know him and his books another time. Now, September 21 this year was the 150th birth anniversary of Wells. It isn’t that we forgot, but we were kind of busy fighting off Morlocks and Martians that we lost track of time . Next thing we know, we’re in November! Where has the time gone?! Well, let’s not waste any more, and get down to reading some of Wells’ first-rate science fiction.
The Time Machine
All that references to time made you wonder where it was going, didn’t it? The Time Traveller in the book hopes to undertake an amazing journey through time — to see how the human race has evolved and what technological marvels awaited in the future of A.D. 802,701 (that’s a long way ahead!). He encounters the Eloi and the Morlocks, but what he thought was going to be enlightening joyride turns into a run for survival. Grab this book to know what happens to the Time Traveller.
The First Men in the Moon
This story was published 60 years before it was possible for us to put men on the moon. Quite perceptive, I’d say! Two men, Bedford, a businessman, and Cavor, a physicist, strike an unlikely friendship, and resolve to embark on a journey to the moon — thanks to a new material that Cavor had developed called cavorite, which helps one “shoot off to space”. They land on the moon, but come across dangerous extra-terrestrial beings, and are captured. Will both Bedford and Cavor make it back home alive?
The Invisible Man
This was the first H.G. Wells book that I read, introducing me to the world of science fiction. And it did not disappoint. The oddities of a reclusive guest at the local inn has people taking — who is this guest who locks himself up inside his room all day, and covers his face in bandages, and a large hat? When the bandages are unwrapped, so is the truth. The invisible man needs to be stopped before he goes on his reign of terror. But how do you stop something that you can’t see?
The War of the Worlds
No one expected an attack. And a Martian attack was the last thing the human race was anticipating. Monstrous creatures with tentacles and mechanical tripods threaten humanity, and a fierce battle between the aliens and humans ensues. The world continues to plunge in chaos, and the only way to know if all ends well is for you to read the book.
