H.G. Wells

By Logan Wright

H.G. Wells is heralded by many as “the father of science fiction”. Indeed, by 1901 he had already published stories about then-radical concepts including space travel, alien invasion, time travel, and non-magical invisibility. Several of his stories have since been made into films and have become wildly influential.

In The Invisible Man, a scientist makes himself invisible by changing his refractive index to match that of air. The Time Machine documents the escapade of a daring scientist as he learns the perils of time travel. The War of the Worlds, another groundbreaking work, has hostile aliens with tripod mecha wrecking havoc on England. In addition to being action packed, the novel also succeeded in making a staunch political statement against colonialism and was later adopted by Orson Welles into the most notorious radio play of all time.

Many of the core ideas Wells based his science fiction on have become staples and although he cannot claim to be the creator of any of the concepts, he was generally the first to use them in full-fledged science fiction stories. If he were alive today, he could claim to not only have married his cousin and to have a moon crater named after him, but to be among the most influential science fiction writers of all.

A top title from Wells:
HG Wells, (2005), The War Of The Worlds, Penguin Classics, ISBN-10: 0141441038

This book is available from the Null Bookshop. Just click here to buy (or here to pay in dollars).

Ursula K. Le Guin < Previous | See All | Next > Arthur C. Clarke

Read recent book reviews: