About this title: At a dinner party in suburban London, the Time Traveller, known to the reader only as the Eminent Scientist, speaks to his guests about the fourth dimension of space--i.e. time. He states that it is possible to travel through time much as one travels through space. The guests are not persuaded, even after seeing the Eminent Scientist's time ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Aerie Books
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780441009190ISBN:0441009190
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. 2000 Aerie Books paperback. NOT EX LIB! Bright, clean pages with light reading wear, spine is not creased, light edgewear, mild cover scuffing. Glued binding. 120 p. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Troll Communications
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780893753450ISBN:0893753459
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. Watermill Classic. Tanned, chipped edging, crease on front cover. read more
Edition: Illustrated.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Tor Books, New York
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780812505047ISBN:0812505042
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. VG/NW Paper @philabooks: booksellers Some markings. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 144 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
"It is stunning to note that in many ways, science fiction has simply not improved much from its roots, especially from the writings of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Although the characters and writing style in this classic are not particularly stellar, H.G. Wells uses the concept of time travel to emphasize the human condition and explore themes of civilization, progression, and the destiny of mankind.
H.G. Wells approaches this cleanly and simply. No retelling of this story has done justice to the source, and in fact I might go so far as to say that no time travel story has been handled so well. H.G. Wells is not concerned with petty warnings against modern day practices. He's does not dazzle the reader by a future full of 'magical' technology or scientific fantasies. Instead, Wells focuses on humanity, and on precisely the sort of animal that man might be after the eons have passed by.
Like many other science fiction originals, this book needs to be read, just as a reminder of what science fiction is for."
H.G Wells' The Time Machine bored me with its dull, mind-numbing sense of misfortune all throughout. As intriguing as it may have seemed at the beginning of the novel, it soon revealed itself as a tiresome book indeed. With unending sentences, and exhausting words, this book made me want to curl up in a ball and sleep.
One of the things I did not like about The Time Machine was the writers style because his ideas seemed to drag on and on with no end. Granted this may have been the most influential style of writing during the time period of H.G. Wells' writings, but is quite dreary for present readers. Sentences like: "Decaying vegetation may occasionally smolder with the heat of its fermentation, but this rarely results in flame" (pg 65) and "And last of all, that evident confusion in the sunshine, that hasty yet fumbling awkward flight towards dark shadow, and that peculiar carriage of the head while in the light - all reinforced the theory of an extreme sensitiveness of the retina." (pg 43) have a boring, almost textbook-like quality. Indeed The Time Machine has an interesting plot, and H.G. Wells was far ahead of his generation, and for that I give him credit, but the format of his sentences was so lengthy and everlasting, it made me want to be sent to the emptiness of a loony bin.
Another thing about H.G Wells' style of writing was the lengthiness of hiss sentences, which left me wondering: When is it over? It is possible to get a point across without taking up a single page doing so, is it not? For example: "The red eastern sky, the northward blackness, the salt Dead Sea, the stony beach crawling with these foul, slow stirring monsters, air that hurts one's lungs: all contributed to an appalling effect." (pg 75) continues for what seems to be an eternity. The author could have at least broken it into several different detailed sentences, instead of handing all this depressing information to us readers all at once. Which leads me to my next point.
The Time Machine presented a depressing, dismal point of view that provoked me to cry. Sentences such as: "I cannot convey the sense of abominable desolation that hung over the world" (pg 75), "The palpitating grayness grew darker; then--though I was still traveling with prodigious velocity--the blinking succession of day and night, which was usually indicative of a slower pace, returned, and grew more and more marked" (pg 73) , and "After the fatigues, excitements, and terrors of the past days, and in spite of my grief, this seat and the tranquil view, and the warm sunlight were very pleasant" (pg 71) are quite dull and bleak, and therefore create an unpleasant reading experience. I personally thought that reading was meant to take our mind off the sadness of everyday life, and The Time Machine has done just the opposite!
I did not enjoy The Time Machine simply because of its boring format, lengthy sentences, and depressing outlook. I recommend this book for those who like to dwell in unhappiness and a sense of impending doom. I do NOT recommend this book, however, for those who escape to books for pleasant, joyful reading experiences."
"H.G. Wells' The Time Machine shocked me with it weird, but entertaining story. The Time Traveller is the main character. He is a very animated character. He has a wide range of emotions. He ha a huge temper tantrum when an unfortunate event happens. There are two groups of people from the future. They are the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Eloi live above ground, and look more like humans. The Time Traveller spends more time with them, he even learns a little of their language. The Morlocks live underground, the have more ape-like features. The Eloi are very scared of the Morlocks. The story takes place in a village, in the future. The Eloi and Morlocks live in this area. This place where the story takes places has huge buildings, tall columns, and a wooded hill-side. The story reminds me of a show I used to watch when I was younger called The Time Warp Trio. The show was about three kids who would travel through time, and end up in sticky situations. Finally, this book was better than i though. I ended up enjoying the story. I thought I was in for a boring ride. To tell the truth, I would not recommend this book to my friends. This book is the type of book that does not need a recommendation because everyone will have to read it in English class."
"Time travel has been a dream for many people living in this world. The ability to visit anywhere in time whenever a person wanted would be amazing for anybody. In this book, The Time Traveler, the author wisks the reader into a strange new world of creatures and people. H.G. Wells The Time Machine gave me a glimpse of what time travel can be. First, the plot of Time Machine was different that a lot of books I've read where characters go into the future. Most books involve some problem that requires characters to travel back in time. In this book however, there was no problem in time. All the main character was doing was trying to study what the world was in the future. Of course, when his time machine disappears and hes stuck, a problem is created. Even at that he still tries to study this new world hes been trapped in while trying to recover his machine. This plot gave me a real sense of curiosity for the books theme. Second, I was impressed by the life lesson this book can give out. A valuable lesson that I've found out myself is that curiosity can be a good and bad thing. For example, the Time Traveler was able to build a time machine and travel into an unknown world. This turned bad though when his time machine was stolen and he was trapped in a foreign world. To me this shows that curiosity can lead to great things but can also get people into some pretty tight spots in life. Third, this book was able to connect with me in a special way. My biggest fantasy dream is actually to travel in time back to the years of World War 2. Now I know this book went forward in time but to just be able to go and see any event in the history would totally rock my mind. The Time Machine really brings the great adventure of time travel and what might happen to life. Wells is able to show you the world in the future and bring the reader so close to the characters he or she will feel their emotions. I highly recommend this book to any girl or boy who loves sci-fi novels. Even if your not a fan of fiction I would still recommend reading it just for the good read."
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