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Loading... The Island of Doctor Moreauby H. G. Wells
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. H.G. Wells “scientific romances” have remained popular for over 100 years for a very good reason. They are exciting adventures that also give the reader something to think about and The Island of Dr. Moreau is one of the better ones. In some ways it reads like a horror version of Robinson Crusoe with a touch of Gulliver’s Travels thrown in for good measure. In other ways it reveals the effects of the hubris of a scientist who goes beyond even Dr. Frankenstein in his quest to become a god creating his own life forms. This is a ripping good tale in a small volume that provides plenty of suspense and horror in addition to some moral issues to think about. Highly recommended I found this a rather compelling novella-length story. If you suspend judgments about 19th century biological theories, it's an exciting adventure story with a lot more atmosphere than I expected. There is also a great deal of social commentary. I can't help but wonder how the Victorian readers reacted to the body shots on the effects of a class system, the unflattering parodies of religion, and the warnings about equating pure scientific advances with true progress. The issues he touched upon are, perhaps, even more pertinent today than they were then. I think this would make a fascinating Book Club read—quick, yet raising questions ranging from colonialism to cloning. The book develops well, the main character uncovers clues as to whats going on, jumps to reasonable, but invalid, conclusions, and the reader is drawn in. Everything seems reasonable and develops properly. As events unfold, the tone becomes suspenseful and perhaps a bit of horror. The book plays with mans dominance over nature and some of the morals, Dr. Moreau was outcast for his work, and finds his own way to continue, with consequences. This is adventure story by H.G.Wells.The main character traveled Doctro Moreau's island. I thought that this story is difficult to imagine for me.But the vocabulary level is normal,I think. no reviews | add a review
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(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:57 -0400)
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| 67/23 |
This is a over-the-top gothic horror, with Well's usual blunt-force moralising, and the creepiest scientist-gone-mad-with-power ever to grace fiction.
Enjoy it? Absolutely.
Something about Victorian adventures, they're just awfully good fun. Usually I baulk at the whole mad scientist character (something about having a science background myself, it just makes me feel picked-upon), but I really enjoyed hissing and booing at this particular villain. And this book also had a nice frisson of horror at the end. (