H G Wells First Men In The Moon The Cd: Alien Voices Series (Alien Voices)

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THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON by H. G. Wells, 2007-11-02
The book is over a hundred years old, so you'll forgive a few spoilers. There are actually two related stories here: br / br /First, there's Mr. Bedford, who has no scientific training and mooches a ride to the moon with Mr. Cavor, where he plots all his business ideas and bludgeons scores of moon people to death with a solid gold crowbar. He goes home, a stupid little kid accidentally flies off in the Cavorite sphere, and that's that. Good times. Convenient how he, against the extremely long odds mentioned by the narrator, not only gets back to earth, but back to England. br / br /Next, there's Mr. Cavor, who gets left on the moon more or less out of necessity, and perhaps by his own choice. The Selenites track him down, and begin to communicate with him. How inconsiderate of Mr. Cavor to make them all learn English instead of him learning their language, especially since they only have one language globally. Here we get into the book's social commentary, which Wells was always big on but which posterity has forgotten in favor of his science fiction elements. Is it truly by accident that Cavor mentions that he's the only way humans can get back to the moon, and that he fails to send earth his formula for Cavorite? Or is he conveniently trying to keep the indigenous peoples from being trampled down by the earth's world powers? Plus we have the Selenites' interesting social structure, like communism, to the extreme. br / br /Reading this book for the first time in the twenty-first century, one's thoughts go like this: "Hey, Wells made some pretty decent predictions about helium and the moon...well, except for the moon plants...and the giant moon cows...and the moon ant people. Never mind." br / br /Wells was a great writer, though, and this story is engaging and, early on, humorous. Seems like he was trying to outdo Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon and its sequel. The First Men in the Moon is over the top in this day and age, maybe, but in 1900 nobody knew any better. Well done, sir. br / br /RECOMMENDED

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Social commentary and great adventure!, 2007-08-05
Mr Bedford, a recently bankrupt Victorian gentleman has retired to the English countryside to recover his spirit and write a play. He meets Dr Cavor, an eccentric, quaintly comical scientific genius researching the preparation of a compound he calls "Cavorite" that will be opaque to all radiation including gravity. When a laboratory error results in the wildly successful early completion of the Cavorite project, Bedord and Cavor use it to create a sphere that is capable of travel to the moon. br / br /The science in HG Wells' "First Men in the Moon" is now known to be wildly off the mark - anti-gravity; a lunar atmosphere that freezes during the frigid lunar night and sublimates into a rarified but breathable air during the warmer day; an extraordinarily fecund flora that seeds itself, germinates, grows, blooms and completes its life cycle during the brief sunlight hours; and a civilized but strictly class structured lunar insect-like people living under the moon's surface that Bedord and Cavor called "Selenites". br / br /Despite its failings in the light of current scientific knowledge, "First Men in the Moon" is still an enjoyable adventure written in typical late Victorian style that gives us an early taste of 20th century science fiction space opera to follow. Just as he did in his better known novel "The Time Machine", Wells successfully uses his protagonists, Bedord and Cavor, as tools to discuss, satirize and critique deeply and dearly held British notions of class and imperialism. br / br /Suspending your belief and accepting the science in terms of what was known and understood at the turn of the century will allow you to whisk yourself away on a space-faring adventure for an enlightening, enjoyable few hours. Recommended. br / br /Paul Weiss br /

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Starblaze Classics Edition, 2007-02-15
Bob Eggleton's wonderful illustrations are in the Starblaze Edition of The First Men in the Moon. Collectors of science fiction art and of Eggleton will want to buy this edition.

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My favorite HG Wells book, 2007-02-10
This is by far my favorite HG Wells. It's the first one I read and the one I keep rereading. I've read it three times now and have enjoyed it every time. This is science fiction at its best, with convincing descriptions of the lunar landscape and inhabitants, as well as human interest and complex character development. br / br /Like all science fiction, it requires suspension of disbelief to appreciate fully. Don't expect Wells to write like a scientist, and you'll be fine. br / br /I love this book! Oh, and if it helps inform, I have a master's degree in physics.

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Cavorite: Opaque to Gravity, 2006-07-19