sologdin

It's pleasant to read on occasion a book with virtually no editorial paratext, and this one includes solely the nartratives of the five most well-known Wells tales, all of which are very good in themselves, and hold up well, despite the passage of over 100 years (except maybe *The First Men in the Moon*, which, while fun, is perhaps hopelessly overcome by events).

All of them are bizarre first person narrations--typically, a first person narrator who recounts the exploits without any understanding of the pertinent science. This is a slick technique that allows Wells to develop his "scientific romance" without actually presenting a bunch of Star Trekky scibabble.

All five of the narratives are memorable, and to some extent embody archetypes of speculative fiction.

Definitely recommended for readers into nerdly stuff, the Victorian period, and leftwing politics (Wells' own socialist preferences are evident for an attentive reader--but never tendentious: e.g., the Martian heat ray is described as "an invisble hand, as it were," and the "monsters manufactured" of *The Island of Doctor Moreau* seem a likely influence on Mieville.)