Two short(ish) stories make for a nicely sized novel, with similar themes in both stories. A quick and easy, but thought-provoking, read. ( )

I can see why both of these are classics. I preferred the Time Machine to the Invisible Man, for its deeper meaning, but both were exciting stories. I objected to some of the (seeming) hyperbole about Wells in the Introduction and Afterword, but the stories themselves stand the test of time. ( )

I've been on a tiny Invisible Man streak, "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" and then Wells' version. I enjoyed the former much more than the latter - just find it difficult to get into Wells era's mindset. Nevertheless, it was interesting to look at the perils and contrasts between the two stories. In Memoirs, the protagonist has invisibility thrust upon him, whereas Wells' main character achieves invisibility through his own efforts. Both protagonists have big problems with their new-found "power", much of which follows from trying to remain undetected. Interesting to contemplate the practical difficulties (food, shelter, etc.) that come along with invisibility. It still feels like there are many more possible takes on this mini-genre. ( )

I tend to be scared away from a lot of stuff written pre-1900 due to the style that most writers used. It’s generally just hard to adjust from my modern idioms. That was certainly the case with The Time Machine. It’s still readable, but parts grated on me.

The Invisible Man is a much better story. Here, Wells even gives his characters names. He matured a lot as a writer in the couple of years between The Time Machine and this book.

(Full review at my blog) ( )

Most children think of invisibility as a super power, so this book’s protagonist being both invisible and hobbled was an ingenious idea. Invisibility is only a superpower if one can become visible again at will. Then the parallels to subjective invisibility are also easy to come to…
It was also interesting that Wells "protagonist" has no redeeming qualities. If Wells had a point to make I can’t help but wonder how he was accomplishing it with an angry, crazy main character. ( )