The Time Machine and The Invisible Man (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

This is a poor edition of these books

I recently bought two B&N Classics editions. The other was Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray." Both books have the same problems, but it seems worse in the Wells edition.

Both begin with an introduction that I feel should not be read first if you've never read these books. If B&N truly wants to include these opinions, they should be in the back of the book.

More irritating is the constant need to define words. In the first chapter of Time Machine, I believe 6 words were given a * with clarification in the footnotes.

Dorian Gray had this, too, but it was mostly to clear up antiquated local knowledge points. That is useful.

What is not useful is breaking up the reading flow to offer a definition of a normal - not even obscure - English word. For example, in Chapter 1, the term "sleight of hand" was defined in this manner. Odds are, if you're reading this book, you already know that term.

I wanted these books in my house, and the price looked great, but next time I'll buy a more pure edition. The constant notations in this edition are the literary equivalent of pop-ups on a website.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

BACK TO THE FUTURE -1

The Time Machine was one of H.G. Wells' greatest books. I liked this book because his theories are convincing, like that we could travel through time, as our minds do, and this book shows that when life becomes perfect life will still be imperfect. This story tells us about the fall of man as intelligence degrades, and cannibalism comes forth. Although the ending is sad, I recommend this book to anyone who understands H.G Wells' style of writing

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I loved the way wells rights he puts in details that put you in the amazing worlds he travels to. Well worth your time

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sci Fi Classic Must list

This is the foundation and origin of science fiction as we know it. Easy read. You will enjoy this book.

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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Classic Sci-Fi

The Time Machine is a great, if short, story giving a glimpse into human nature, society, and an author's vision going so far into the future it's awe inspiring.

The Invisible Man is a horror story at the core, and excellent display of desire and loss of control.

Great Classic Book!!

The Invisible Man is a great classic book... HG Wells is a master at creating suspense and leaving you wanting more. This is the 3rd book i read from him and he still has yet to disappoint ! Recommend you read this soon !!

A great combination of two of my favorite HG Wells books!

This book has a lot going for it. Not only do you get two of the most compulsively readable Wells novels but you also get a lot of extras. One of the more interesting extras is the "Based on..." section that goes into the rather interesting history of the movies, TV shows, and other fiction inspired by and based on these two books. Highly recommended!

Captivating, but Mildly Underwhelming

The Time Machine: I found this short work to be rather enjoyable and interesting. The plot was captivating, albeit due to its basis in the fantastical realm of literature, but rather underdeveloped. While the ending is rather fitting, I felt the story-line gave in too quickly and left me aching for a larger, more epic work of science fiction literature. Had Wells continued with and elaborated on his completely brilliant story, it could very well be the best piece of pure science fiction ever written. Regrettably, that is not the case.

The Invisible Man: Intriguing from beginning to end. This made up for and surpassed, by far, The Time Machine. The story in its entirety is not that long, but extremely well developed. Deep psychological issues are dealt with, in addition to several, diverse conflicts involving right and wrong and complicated ethics issues. The only advisory I would give, though I had no problem with it personally, was that some scenes are violent.

The Time Machine was underwhelming due to a seemingly blaring lack of completion of a superb plot. Conversely, The Invisible Man was immaculate in context and pristine in delivery with an outstanding plot. Overall this book is a good read and a library staple, if given ample consideration for its shortcomings.

This is a timeless classic.

I read this book a long time ago, in grade school. I purchased this copy, because I wanted to read it immediately preceding Stephen Baxter's Time Ships, which is said to be the sequel to Well's Time Machine.

A very entertaining read.

I am continued to be blown away by H.G. Wells. Everyone one of his stories brings something new to the science fiction genre and never lets down his true fans' expectations.

The time machine seemed more thought out, but I cant put my foot on which story I enjoyed more.

Anyways, If you are looking for a book to keep you glued to the couch for a couple of hours, then I recommend this.

Historical must read

H.G. Wells is one of those writers where I find that I am more interested in him than I am in his writing. Does that make me hopeless? I liked the Time Machine and the Invisible Man, but I don't love them. They are interesting as early speculative fiction and certainly interesting in the social perspective that they uncover. But interesting is not the same as moving for me, somehow.
Of the two novels, I liked the Time Machine the best. Justly famous both for being an ancestor of modern speculative fiction and for its social message about classes, it is a strong piece of writing. The Morlocks, the Eloi, the decaying world-- Wells paints a compelling picture, and I understand and appreciate the work.
The Invisible Man seemed much less developed to me. I like the way that the main character's invisibility both led to and stemmed from his questioning of moral certainty. Unfortunately the idea seemed much more developed than the story itself-- as though Wells had been bored with carrying things through.
I think that the next Wells that I pick up would be his Experiment in Autobiography. I suspect that given how much more I like his ideas than his fiction skills I may be better off with non-fiction and letters.
Both these short novels are still must-reads by virtue of their influence and historical significance. Recommended for readers of all ages. In fact, they might have gone down better with me when I was younger.

Great read

B&N Classics has given us two original sci-fi series that go above and beyond what few others have done. H. G. Well's ability to present a personally political and moral view into such tales is incredible. He mends his philosophies and politics into proper characters and situations to creat wonderful books. Not only are they clever, but thrilling and engaging. The stories move fast yet have so much detail and attention that nothing feels slacked off. They stimulate your thinking and knowledge even long after you're done with the book. Plus the 'introduction' pages give you an in-depth understanding of the author and his stories.

interesting title

cannot give a review..I bought it as a gift to my cousin

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Time Machine

Much suspense and action! Classic that is anjoyed and will be loved by readers for many centuries. Probably one of H.G. Well's best written books.

Just pure genius

Got this book couple of month's ago before new years. I just got up to chapter 3 of Time Machine. and I can tell this a great book You can't put it down unless you have to. this One H.G wells greatest work If you enjoy this you should buy some of his other works. If I had to describe this book in word it would be genius.

Fantastic adventure

To think this classic is still on bookshelves makes clear that H. G. Wells was and still is absolutely phenomenal. Great character discriptions. Outstanding story and plot. Another MUST READ sci-fi story for the history books. I hope to find this book again in my next life.

Sweetness review

The book was good i really liked it although there were some boring parts in the beginning of 'The Time Machine.'

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

a reviewer

The book The Time Machine was an okay book. It was very confusing at times because of the unusual words the auther uses. I didn't think it was very interesting because he had so many details you really didn't need to know. It was also a very slow book and didn't get to the pont right away he would put confusing details which made it hard to understand. Overall, the book was fine but i would not recommend it to anyone.

What is the Nature of Time?

The 'Time Machine' is a wonderful little novel. Its plot is very straightforward, interesting, and well-written, but more than that the ideas that it arouses are very special. I love books about the nature of time, and this is a good starting place to search for its meaning.