The Crystal Egg [short story]
by H. G. Wells
On This Page
Description
There was, until a year ago, a little and very grimy-looking shop near Seven Dials, over which, in weatherworn yellow lettering, the name of C. Cave, Naturalist and Dealer in Antiquities, was inscribed. The contents of its window were curiously variegated. They comprised some elephant tusks and an imperfect set of chessmen, beads and weapons, a box of eyes, two skulls of tigers and one human, several moth-eaten stuffed monkeys (one holding a lamp), an old-fashioned cabinet, a fly-blown show more ostrich egg or so, some fishing-tackle, and an extraordinarily dirty, empty glass fish-tank. There was also, at the moment the story begins, a mass of crystal, worked into the shape of an egg... show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
An unofficial prequel to “The War of the Worlds”!
“…one of the earliest examples of modern stories depicting extraterrestrials…”!
The part about Mr. Cave telling Mr. Wave what he saw within the crystal, and Mr. Wave writing it down, reminded me of the way the Book of Mormon was written.
Peering into the crystal, Mr. Cave was viewing Mars and its inhabitants! Some were winged, some hopped, and some were clumsy bipeds. Insect-like, suggestive of apes, and tentacled.
But, were the Martians also viewing us? And did this crystal, and what they saw within it, convince them to invade, as they do in “The War of the Worlds”? Interesting... It's almost like the crystal was Facetime between the two planets! An interesting, and thought show more provoking read! show less
“…one of the earliest examples of modern stories depicting extraterrestrials…”!
The part about Mr. Cave telling Mr. Wave what he saw within the crystal, and Mr. Wave writing it down, reminded me of the way the Book of Mormon was written.
Peering into the crystal, Mr. Cave was viewing Mars and its inhabitants! Some were winged, some hopped, and some were clumsy bipeds. Insect-like, suggestive of apes, and tentacled.
But, were the Martians also viewing us? And did this crystal, and what they saw within it, convince them to invade, as they do in “The War of the Worlds”? Interesting... It's almost like the crystal was Facetime between the two planets! An interesting, and thought show more provoking read! show less
An antiques dealer named Mr. Cave acquires a crystal egg that emits a glow visible only to him. What's more, when he turns the sphere at certain angles, he is treated to views of a strange land populated by bizarre but intelligent creatures. The shopkeeper confides his experiences in his friend Mr. Wace, a local scientist who concludes that the crystal egg is a remote viewing device to the planet Mars.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
87 works; 4 members
Talk Discussions
Past Discussions
THE DEEP ONES: "The Crystal Egg" by H. G. Wells in The Weird Tradition (October 2022)
Author Information
1,555+ Works 109,100 Members
H. G. Wells was born in Bromley, England on September 21, 1866. After a limited education, he was apprenticed to a draper, but soon found he wanted something more out of life. He read widely and got a position as a student assistant in a secondary school, eventually winning a scholarship to the Royal College of Science in South Kensington, where show more he studied biology. He graduated from London University in 1888 and became a science teacher. He also wrote for magazines. When his stories began to sell, he left teaching to write full time. He became an author best known for science fiction novels and comic novels. His science fiction novels include The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Wonderful Visit, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man, The First Men in the Moon, and The Food of the Gods. His comic novels include Love and Mr. Lewisham, Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul, The History of Mr. Polly, and Tono-Bungay. He also wrote several short story collections including The Stolen Bacillus, The Plattner Story, and Tales of Space and Time. He died on August 13, 1946 at the age of 79. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Ullstein Buch (20252)
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Crystal Egg [short story]
- Original publication date
- 1897
- People/Characters
- Cave; Jacoby Wace
- Important places
- London, England, UK; Mars
- Related movies
- Things 3: Old Things (1998 | IMDb)
- Disambiguation notice
- A single short story. Do not combine with anthologies of the same or similar name.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 39
- Popularity
- 748,599
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.23)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 7
