Tuesday, September 04, 2007

The First Men in the Moon

In my quest to finish Seven Science Fiction Novels of H.G. Wells, I have now completed The First Men in the Moon. Like The Invisible Man, I can say it started slow. It opens with a man--the narrator, Mr. Bedford--renting a bungalow so he can spend his days writing a play. He's not really writing because he's a writer. He's "writing" because he hopes it will be a way of making some money. It is all about $$$ for our narrator. Which is why when Mr. Cavor interrupts Bedford's routine with his nightly walks--he is prone to humming--he quickly abandons his work to join with Mr. Cavor in his scientific experiments. Cavor is out to invent something new. Something breakthrough. Something amazing. Something gravity-defying. After some experimentation--not without accidents I might add--the thing is invented. Soon the two hatch a new plan. A plan to journey into outerspace. A plan to journey to the moon. But if you know anything about Wells, you can imagine that this adventure is not going to be complete without some danger, some risks, some unforseen consequences. He likes to show how hasty, how ambitious, how greedy men are. I won't say much of what happens on the moon--boom, boom, boom, being the only hint I'll give. But I will say that it did pick up and become more interesting. I did not find The First Men in the Moon to be as exciting as War of the Worlds. But it certainly was an enjoyable enough read.

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