The Island of Doctor Moreau [NOOK Book]

Very enjoyable

A very nice effort by H.G. Wells. This is a quick read that would be ideal for boys ages 13 and up. The tale is about Dr. Moreau, a scientist, who has been forced out of England for his strange experiments. His experiments consist of taking animals and through surgical processes giving them human like intelligence and form. However, his creations are imperfect and it is these imperfections that help cause his downfall. Fast paced and full of action. Also, on a deeper level it makes you think if there are places science should not travel. Moreau played God. Are we doing the same today with cloning, for example? These connections make the book very current.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Big words and boring

Originally, I was going to read "The War of the Worlds" by the same author, but my school library was all out of copies. So I went to the WEL shelves and chose the first H.G. Wells book I laid my eyes on. When my mom first saw that I was reading this book she laughed out loud and told me that the movie wasn't any good. So I started this book expecting to find some poorly written story that H.G. Wells wrote before he perfected his writing skill and wrote "The War of the Worlds." That is still pretty much how I feel. It wasn't poorly written in the sense that it described what was happening very thoroughly,I just couldn't understand all of it. It used words like "vivisection" and "propitiatory" that I could only guess the meanings of and sometimes I had to look up in the dictionary. However, to a more intelligent person with a larger vocabulary this would be a fun, little read. That is if that intelligent person doesn't mind a poorly written plot. Because for me, the plot was very predictable, un-original and a little boring. Predictable in the sense that it followed the "get stranded, find a problem, solve the problem, get rescued" type of outline really closely. Un-original in that I have heard of many stories that start with a shipwreck, take place on a mysterious island, and then the characters are eventually saved. Boring in that there were long stretches of reading to do between major scenes, mostly of Prendick (the main character) thinking about the island. For example, the book could have actually ended about 30 pages before it did, and in those 30 pages it just dragged on until something finally happened. This made for a very slow read, which I did not like. Several times I caught myself falling asleep becasue I was so bored. The characters, however, were a little interesting, and very different. Montgomery is a drunken assistant who is all brawn and almost no brains. Edward Prendick is all brains and no brawn and makes every situation seem worse than it really is. Dr. Moreau is a crazy mad scientist who (I think) desperately needs to drop his obsession for torturing animals, which, by the way, is really shocking. I felt pretty disturbed when Dr. Moreau explained his scientific studies, when animal screames were heard from within the labratory, or when gruesome details of hideous animals were described. When I finally finished the book, I felt really nervous and insecure. The bottom line is that if you have a big vocabulary, like island mysteries and think you can handle a little more horror than usual, try this book out. It will definately make you wonder if the scientific experiments in the book are actually possible. But if you are the type of person that loves animals, has a smaller vocabulary, or just plain does not like horror, you don't need to waste your time with this book. All it will do is make you cry, confuse you, or make you way too scared to go anywhere without someone else with you.

3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Interesting Take On Genetic Engineering

A very interesting take on genetic engineering. A pretty good read overall. I reccomend this short book to all.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is awful.

It consists of lots of naturalist and religionist hodge-podge and relates the fear of such terrible things as vivisection and grafting which at the turn of the century (when Wells was writing) were viewed as unacceptable, but are now better tolerated and uncommon, respectively. (A healthy nodding session for technophobians everywhere.)

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Science Fiction That Lives as Scientific Moralizing

Pity the poor science fiction writer. She or he builds on the scientific knowledge of the day to extrapolate into the future . . . only to be undermined by shifts in scientific understanding. As a result, the careful development of science fiction becomes irrelevant in light of more advanced knowledge. Those writers who do this best, like H.G. Wells, are able to capture some more important theme that remains compelling . . . and the modern reader doesn¿t mind all of the incorrect science in the book. The Island of Dr. Moreau is a very thoughtful consideration of what a human is . . . and isn¿t. This question is considered at the level of physiology, emotions, thinking, psychology, and behavior. If that were not enough, H.G. Wells was among the first to raise the important question of what the limits should be of animal experimentation. As I read this novel, I was reminded of Dr. Jane Goodall¿s writing about the conditions of chimpanzees in some scientific laboratories. At its most ethereal level, H.G. Wells also focuses our attention on what the foundations of human happiness are. The inhumanity that recurs in the book may seem hard to take. Be patient. What may upset you in the beginning turns out to have importance in developing the book¿s major ideas and plot. Those who are upset by reading about violence or cruelty should probably think twice before reading this book. I found myself musing about why English authors in the 19th century were so fond of putting their stories onto uncharted or unfrequented South Sea islands. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had no problem putting on a full scheme of horrors into London for Sherlock Holmes to deal with. Why were others reluctant to do the same? Donald Mitchell, co-author of The 2,000 Percent Solution and The Irresistible Growth Enterprise

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The book of adventure

The novel that I read was The Island of Dr. Moreau and let me tell you that if you read this book, wear a seatbelt because your going to be on the edge of your seat! This juicy novel is an excellent story of adventure, treachery and action-filled exciting thrills. My favorite thing in the book was how well they explained what was going on, and I like books like that. I would say that The Island of Dr. Moreau is one of the best books I've ever read. That's why I recommend you read it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Switch's Review

This is a must read book. If you are into sci-fi and like books that keep you on the edge, read the Island of Dr. Moreau. You won't want to put this down until you finish.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A bit disappointed with this particular publication of the book

A bit disappointed with this particular publication of the book only because the description is very deceiving in that it mentions appended footnotes, annotations, and seven appendecies none of which appear in this volume.  I'm a collector of books who enjoys when a publisher makes an effort of providing a volume with footnotes, annotations and an appendix or two explaining the text and background of the writing providing insights that might otherwise be missed.  Having purchased this particular edition for this, based on the description, it was, to say the least, a bit of a let down to discover none of this was part and parcel of the work.  All this aside, the book is nicely printed, the fonts and layout are visually very pleasing to the eye making this a nicely produced piece of literature.  

:D luv it

Favorite book in da world!!!!!!!!! Creepy to (at first)

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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