Title: The Time Machine
Author: H. G. Wells
Series: No
Released: 1898
A golden oldie! The Time Machine is one of the earliest, if not the earliest works of sciencefiction, and definitely the first about time travel (although, according to my teacher, you probably find something about time travel in the corners of the nineteenth century, but definitely not as well pulled of as this one). H. G. Wells, I'm sure you've heard of War of the Worlds, is notorious for his numerous scifi works. We read this for one of my courses on utopian imagination, and I really liked it. It's not an easy story. I thought that especially at first, it's quite difficult. Timetravel is usually complicated and although I've seen my share of theories (and I still think Doctor Who does it the best), another one is always hard, especially when your mind doesn't do abstract things. It's a problem. But eitherway, once you get into the story (and it's not really long so you really should try), it gets better. It's a very interesting story; it's not an utopia, but far from it. The Time Traveller travels to a world where the surface is inhabited by the Eloi who are afraid of the dark, and under the ground live the Murlocks, who only come out at dark. The Time Traveller guesses several things about their relationship but he's wrong every time. I'm not going to spoil what is their true relationship, but it's far from ideal. Very dystopian. But the strange thing is that the story doesn't feel dystopian. If anything, it feels utopian. When the Time Traveller first arrives in the future (at the same place as he left, because he travels in time, not in space), his experiences are pretty much like a dream. Everything is hazy, misty, and it's pretty great. I mean, he complains, but then he calls it unpleasant. It's the only outing of any discomfort at all.
But the best thing about this story is realizing that it's the first in its kind, and Wells just put so much thought into it. The entire concept that he travels in time and not in space shows that. His time machine is moved in the future, and when he returns, he doesn't come back at exactly the same spot; after all, his machine moved in space, so he can't return at his departing spot. It's strange to see that this is the first story about this and everything has been put so well.
Yes, you should read it. It's short; I finished it within an hour. It's the first story about time travel by the author who pretty much invented science fiction; you're obligated too. And in that spirit, I'm reading Brave New World soon, and I ordered Ender's Game and Dune. If I'm going to read scifi classics I should probably include those.
So, now I'm off to watching the new Walking Dead.
Ps. I also read the Perks of Being a Wallflower today. I bought it at the station because I wanted to read it for a long time and a friend said it was an easy and quick read so I read it on my way back home and finished it at home. I'm not going to do a review because that book is too good for its own good. It's so accurate it hurts. Literally. If you want to know; read it.
Author: H. G. Wells
Series: No
Released: 1898
A golden oldie! The Time Machine is one of the earliest, if not the earliest works of sciencefiction, and definitely the first about time travel (although, according to my teacher, you probably find something about time travel in the corners of the nineteenth century, but definitely not as well pulled of as this one). H. G. Wells, I'm sure you've heard of War of the Worlds, is notorious for his numerous scifi works. We read this for one of my courses on utopian imagination, and I really liked it. It's not an easy story. I thought that especially at first, it's quite difficult. Timetravel is usually complicated and although I've seen my share of theories (and I still think Doctor Who does it the best), another one is always hard, especially when your mind doesn't do abstract things. It's a problem. But eitherway, once you get into the story (and it's not really long so you really should try), it gets better. It's a very interesting story; it's not an utopia, but far from it. The Time Traveller travels to a world where the surface is inhabited by the Eloi who are afraid of the dark, and under the ground live the Murlocks, who only come out at dark. The Time Traveller guesses several things about their relationship but he's wrong every time. I'm not going to spoil what is their true relationship, but it's far from ideal. Very dystopian. But the strange thing is that the story doesn't feel dystopian. If anything, it feels utopian. When the Time Traveller first arrives in the future (at the same place as he left, because he travels in time, not in space), his experiences are pretty much like a dream. Everything is hazy, misty, and it's pretty great. I mean, he complains, but then he calls it unpleasant. It's the only outing of any discomfort at all.
But the best thing about this story is realizing that it's the first in its kind, and Wells just put so much thought into it. The entire concept that he travels in time and not in space shows that. His time machine is moved in the future, and when he returns, he doesn't come back at exactly the same spot; after all, his machine moved in space, so he can't return at his departing spot. It's strange to see that this is the first story about this and everything has been put so well.
Yes, you should read it. It's short; I finished it within an hour. It's the first story about time travel by the author who pretty much invented science fiction; you're obligated too. And in that spirit, I'm reading Brave New World soon, and I ordered Ender's Game and Dune. If I'm going to read scifi classics I should probably include those.
So, now I'm off to watching the new Walking Dead.
Ps. I also read the Perks of Being a Wallflower today. I bought it at the station because I wanted to read it for a long time and a friend said it was an easy and quick read so I read it on my way back home and finished it at home. I'm not going to do a review because that book is too good for its own good. It's so accurate it hurts. Literally. If you want to know; read it.