You know, people sometimes ask what I reckon are H.G. Wells’ best books. And honestly, I didn’t get into his stuff by seeking out “the best.” It was more like, I stumbled into his world by accident, or maybe because I didn’t have much else to do at one point.
There was this one time, I was pretty much off the grid for a bit. No fancy streaming, not much to do. Just me and a pile of old paperbacks someone had left behind. And guess what? A whole stack of Wells was in there. So, I just started reading, one after the other, pretty much because they were there.
First Impressions, Stuck in Time (Literally)
First one I grabbed was The Time Machine. Seemed like a good place to start, right? And boy, it wasn’t just some adventure story. It really got me thinking, especially since I felt a bit stuck in my own “time” back then. His ideas about where humanity might be heading, that stuff stuck with me. It was my proper introduction, and I wasn’t expecting it to be so… weighty.
Digging Through the Pile
After that, I just kept going through the stack. Found The Island of Doctor Moreau next. Now, that one was a bit much. All those weird animal-human things. Made my skin crawl, thinking about folks playing God like that. Definitely not a feel-good read. Then there was The Invisible Man. You always think being invisible would be awesome, like some cool party trick. But Wells, he shows you how it’d probably drive you bonkers and turn you into a right menace. Yeah, made me rethink that fantasy pretty quick.
Then Came the Martians…
The one I’d actually heard a lot about was The War of the Worlds. So when I finally got to it in that pile, I was curious. And it lived up to the hype, but not in a “yay, spaceships!” kind of way. It was more about how utterly outclassed humans were. Wells hammers home this idea that these Martians, they’re like, way more evolved, super smart, with all their destructive tech. Makes you feel small, you know? They were the big bad invaders, supposed to be superior in every way. But then, even their advanced evolution and technology couldn’t save them from the smallest things on Earth. Kind of an ironic twist, that.
So, What’s the Deal with Wells?
So yeah, that was my “practice,” just working my way through a random pile of H.G. Wells. Wasn’t a planned literary study, just reading what was in front of me. But his books, they’re not just old stories. They make you chew on some big ideas. Pretty amazing that stuff written over a century ago can still give you a good mental workout. If you find yourself with a quiet spell and some of his books lying around, give ’em a go. That’s my two cents, anyway.
