http://www.book-blog.com/2009/11/well... ( )

The Time Machine is a short novella detailing the journey of a man who found a way to travel along the 4th dimension. It's a story about the evolution of humankind. And a story about the end of time. But more than all of that with The Time Machine, H. G. Wells managed to redefine what a science fiction story is. The Time Machine is not a classic because of immaculate storytelling. The novel is uneven in pacing and style. It is a classic because the common ideas, themes, and mythos of time-travel and time machines originate within these pages, and have continued to influence and captivated ever since. ( )

(unabridged audiobook read by Ralph Cosham): I was pleased to learn that this brief book is almost nothing like the 2002 movie, since that was horrible. Rather, this is the story of a man simply referred to as The Time Traveller, a native of Victorian England who spends the bulk of the story telling of his adventures in the year 802,701 and beyond. The reader hears things more or less secondhand and after the fact, as opposed to the more suspenseful (and much more common) everything-as-it-happens mode. Despite the extra step of disconnect from the action, this style actually adds to the realism, truly showing the future through the eyes and impressions of the Time Traveller, who can share many theories but few concrete facts. I was fascinated by the description of the world many hundreds of thousands of years hence, and even felt inspired to write my own time travel story, just for fun. Highly recommended. ( )

The classic sci-fi story of a man from the 1800's who invents a time travelling machine, and goes back and forth in time, eventually very far forward in time. Much better than the movie. ( )

I feel as if the term 'Classic' for a book is banded about far too much. In my mind, a classic is a book that really has no equal, one that you feel compelled to read due to its enthralling nature. In all honesty, I fell that if The Time Machine was not written by H.G. Wells and was instead the work of a largely unknown Victorian author, save for the novelty of the subject, it would not be thought of in this terms. Whilst not a total bore to read, it is the very definition of a middling book. When it comes to fiction, there is obviously so much out there that it would be impossible for one to read it all. To that effect, one should seek out the true cream of fiction. The Time Machine to me is an average story, one that does not call out to be re-read in the future as say The Three Musketeers does. And so I wouldn't really recommend it unless you were a completest for Wells, as nothing really stands out as a reason to pick up this book. ( )