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jackdziatkowiec's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
adam_vandeusen's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
mschlat's review
2.0
[Note: This is a review of the Project Gutenberg edition, which I can't find on Goodreads. This version is considerably longer than 90 pages.]
I believe this is my first reading of any Wells, and overall I thought he wrote too many of what I call "phenomenon stories" --- that is, tales where Wells describes a fantastical idea (e.g., being drawn up to the fourth dimension, intelligent ants, portals to Mars) but there isn't much if any plot. Some pieces are very good (I particularly liked "Under the Knife"), but I wouldn't strongly recommend this.
And now, since I was reading this at a friend's suggestion, here are the notes I took to send to him when I finished:
I. — THE JILTING OF JANE. A silly domestic tale. Not what I was expecting from Wells.
II. — THE CONE. The equivalent of an EC horror tale --- turgid prose with an ending you can see a mile away.
III. — THE STOLEN BACILLUS. Lighter prose with a good sense of energy, although the plot doesn’t make sense if you put any pressure on it.
IV. — THE FLOWERING OF THE STRANGE ORCHID. A nice tale that works better because of the naivete of the protagonist.
V. — IN THE AVU OBSERVATORY. Not really a story, just a description of a weird encounter.
VI. — AEPYORNIS ISLAND. Man hatches a prehistoric dinosaur egg while on a desert island and ends up killing it. Kinda sad overall. Use of the n-word.
VII. — THE REMARKABLE CASE OF DAVIDSON'S EYES. Less a story and more a description of a phenomenon, but a great description of a fascinating phenomenon.
VIII. — THE LORD OF THE DYNAMOS. Not only use of the n-word, but focus on a “savage” who worships an electric generator and commits murder with it. Solid prose, but not worth the read.
IX. — THE MOTH. Another EC-like tale about hubris coming back to haunt someone. Not bad, and a nice description of academic rivalry.
X. — THE TREASURE IN THE FOREST. Ugh. A treasure sought by two Englishmen protected by three Chinese men, with a good dose of “yellow” prose.
XI. — THE STORY OF THE LATE MR. ELVESHAM. A mind swap story (maybe the ur mind swap story?) of a dying older man taking advantage of a younger man. Completely obvious to a modern reader.
XII. — UNDER THE KNIFE. Amazingly good. A description of a man under anesthesia that is a written version of the opening of the film Contact.
XIII. — THE SEA RAIDERS. Killer squid/octopi. Another story that just describes a phenomenon with no plot.
XIV. — THE OBLITERATED MAN. A fun piece about being taken over by theatre.
XV. — THE PLATTNER STORY. A very strange tale that mixes the concept of the fourth dimension with an afterlife. Mysterious, but doesn’t resolve much.
XVI. — THE RED ROOM. A well told but short ghost story.
XVII. — THE PURPLE PILEUS. If you get high on mushrooms and act uppity with your wife, you gain her respect. Somewhat icky.
XVIII. — A SLIP UNDER THE MICROSCOPE. Issues of student honor. Well told, but feels incomplete.
XIX. — THE CRYSTAL EGG. Another phenomenon tale.
XX. — THE STAR. Is this the first “humanity wiped out due to celestial object” tale? Points for having a global focus.
XXI. — THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES. Kind of a “monkey’s paw” tale, but more focused on science.
XXII. — A VISION OF JUDGMENT. A tale of the afterlife and what it might be like for all your sins to be read aloud.
XXIII. — JIMMY GOGGLES THE GOD. Way too many uses of the n-word and discussions of savages in the midst of a treasure hunt.
XXIV. — MISS WINCHELSEA'S HEART. A “could have had happiness if I wasn’t so snooty” romance.
XXV. — A DREAM OF ARMAGEDDON. A strange “I dreamed the future” tale. I think I am happier when Wells treats these as fantasy (as he does here) instead of science, but the ending here seemed inconclusive.
XXVI. — THE VALLEY OF SPIDERS. Yep, there are a lot of spiders. Why? I don’t know….
XXVII. — THE NEW ACCELERATOR. A very nice “phenomenon” story about hypermetabolism. Much like The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything or some Flash comics.
XXVIII. — THE TRUTH ABOUT PYECRAFT. A monkey’s paw tale with fat-shaming!
XXIX. — THE MAGIC SHOP. Oh, I think I’ve heard of this one before. Very atmospheric….
XXX. — THE EMPIRE OF THE ANTS. There are giant, intelligent, tool-using ants out there.
XXXI. — THE DOOR IN THE WALL. Another story of the fantastic focused on regrets.
XXXII. — THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND. A short story focused on proving the adage wrong and not that impressive.
XXXIII. — THE BEAUTIFUL SUIT. Dreamy and the story most like an Oscar Wilde short story.
I believe this is my first reading of any Wells, and overall I thought he wrote too many of what I call "phenomenon stories" --- that is, tales where Wells describes a fantastical idea (e.g., being drawn up to the fourth dimension, intelligent ants, portals to Mars) but there isn't much if any plot. Some pieces are very good (I particularly liked "Under the Knife"), but I wouldn't strongly recommend this.
And now, since I was reading this at a friend's suggestion, here are the notes I took to send to him when I finished:
I. — THE JILTING OF JANE. A silly domestic tale. Not what I was expecting from Wells.
II. — THE CONE. The equivalent of an EC horror tale --- turgid prose with an ending you can see a mile away.
III. — THE STOLEN BACILLUS. Lighter prose with a good sense of energy, although the plot doesn’t make sense if you put any pressure on it.
IV. — THE FLOWERING OF THE STRANGE ORCHID. A nice tale that works better because of the naivete of the protagonist.
V. — IN THE AVU OBSERVATORY. Not really a story, just a description of a weird encounter.
VI. — AEPYORNIS ISLAND. Man hatches a prehistoric dinosaur egg while on a desert island and ends up killing it. Kinda sad overall. Use of the n-word.
VII. — THE REMARKABLE CASE OF DAVIDSON'S EYES. Less a story and more a description of a phenomenon, but a great description of a fascinating phenomenon.
VIII. — THE LORD OF THE DYNAMOS. Not only use of the n-word, but focus on a “savage” who worships an electric generator and commits murder with it. Solid prose, but not worth the read.
IX. — THE MOTH. Another EC-like tale about hubris coming back to haunt someone. Not bad, and a nice description of academic rivalry.
X. — THE TREASURE IN THE FOREST. Ugh. A treasure sought by two Englishmen protected by three Chinese men, with a good dose of “yellow” prose.
XI. — THE STORY OF THE LATE MR. ELVESHAM. A mind swap story (maybe the ur mind swap story?) of a dying older man taking advantage of a younger man. Completely obvious to a modern reader.
XII. — UNDER THE KNIFE. Amazingly good. A description of a man under anesthesia that is a written version of the opening of the film Contact.
XIII. — THE SEA RAIDERS. Killer squid/octopi. Another story that just describes a phenomenon with no plot.
XIV. — THE OBLITERATED MAN. A fun piece about being taken over by theatre.
XV. — THE PLATTNER STORY. A very strange tale that mixes the concept of the fourth dimension with an afterlife. Mysterious, but doesn’t resolve much.
XVI. — THE RED ROOM. A well told but short ghost story.
XVII. — THE PURPLE PILEUS. If you get high on mushrooms and act uppity with your wife, you gain her respect. Somewhat icky.
XVIII. — A SLIP UNDER THE MICROSCOPE. Issues of student honor. Well told, but feels incomplete.
XIX. — THE CRYSTAL EGG. Another phenomenon tale.
XX. — THE STAR. Is this the first “humanity wiped out due to celestial object” tale? Points for having a global focus.
XXI. — THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES. Kind of a “monkey’s paw” tale, but more focused on science.
XXII. — A VISION OF JUDGMENT. A tale of the afterlife and what it might be like for all your sins to be read aloud.
XXIII. — JIMMY GOGGLES THE GOD. Way too many uses of the n-word and discussions of savages in the midst of a treasure hunt.
XXIV. — MISS WINCHELSEA'S HEART. A “could have had happiness if I wasn’t so snooty” romance.
XXV. — A DREAM OF ARMAGEDDON. A strange “I dreamed the future” tale. I think I am happier when Wells treats these as fantasy (as he does here) instead of science, but the ending here seemed inconclusive.
XXVI. — THE VALLEY OF SPIDERS. Yep, there are a lot of spiders. Why? I don’t know….
XXVII. — THE NEW ACCELERATOR. A very nice “phenomenon” story about hypermetabolism. Much like The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything or some Flash comics.
XXVIII. — THE TRUTH ABOUT PYECRAFT. A monkey’s paw tale with fat-shaming!
XXIX. — THE MAGIC SHOP. Oh, I think I’ve heard of this one before. Very atmospheric….
XXX. — THE EMPIRE OF THE ANTS. There are giant, intelligent, tool-using ants out there.
XXXI. — THE DOOR IN THE WALL. Another story of the fantastic focused on regrets.
XXXII. — THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND. A short story focused on proving the adage wrong and not that impressive.
XXXIII. — THE BEAUTIFUL SUIT. Dreamy and the story most like an Oscar Wilde short story.
sabrinareenan's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
sunflowersarepretty's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
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