Mad scientist runs amok.

Thematically along the lines of Shelley's Frankenstein, Wells has the brilliant scientist who loses his humanity to discovery and pushing the boundaries. Conceptually not unique, but an interesting timepiece. I haven't read this since 6th grade and it was more violent then I recalled, but then again we were also reading "The Most Dangerous Game" and "The Lottery". Which is fascinating now that I think of it, male authors writing about how the lone rogue is a menace to society and Jackson writing how society was oppressive and violent--speaks to each's relative power within the society.

Reeling myself back in from a lovely little rathole I could run down and explore--yes, 11-12 years-old and all I remembered, except liking the story, was the fireplace. Strange? Not really because I was spending a couple days painting a large backdrop and trying to figure out shading on the bricks in Mrs. Adams classroom after finishing my work.

From London to West Sussex, and the scenes of the Invisible Man running along the countryside makes sense with The Downs. It's not a short jaunt. Griffin before the science accident and becoming the Invisible Man was not a mainstream person and Wells makes his appearance as distorted and extraordinary as his mind. In fact, Wells portrayal of everyone in the story except the rational scientist, Kemp, is more caricature than characterization.

Anyway, decided to reread this after seeing it in my feed--pretty sure it was Tim.

Ποια είναι θέση ενός αόρατου ανθρώπου σε έναν ορατό κόσμο; Πόσο μπορεί να επηρεάσει η αορατότητα τον χαρακτήρα ενός ανθρώπου, τον οδηγεί προς το μονοπάτι της ωρίμανσης ή της έπαρσης;
Εξαιρετικό μυθιστόρημα από τον H. G. Wells που κυκλοφόρησε το 1-8-9-7 και δεν έχει να ζηλέψει τίποτα από πρόσφατα βιβλία φαντασίας. Ο επίλογος θα ικανοποιήσει κάθε αναγνώστη, ακόμη και τον πιο απαιτητικό. Aκόμη και τον πιο ρεαλιστή!

Now I really enjoy classic sci-fi and have always enjoyed H G Wells’ books as they tend to be set around south western London and Surrey where I grew up, so I have an affinity for them. This however I did not enjoy as much as I’d hoped. I have read it before in the dim and distant past but remembered little of the tragedy that was to unfold.
Enjoyable, yes (ish) but now I know why I didn’t remember much because memorable it isn’t , shame.

Dear Iron Invisible Man,

I have recently been informed of your actions in regards to invisibility. Let me just tell you- there are some great advantages to being invisible and with that comes a great responsibility. I am absolutely appalled at your behavior and I intend to dictate some rules and boundaries for you. The Minister for Magic has summoned me and requested that I write you a letter.

This letter is intended to set you to rights. Here are your guidelines for you to keep in mind while you’re invisible.

What you shouldn’t do: You should not experiment on animals. Animals are not meant to be treated thusly.Do you realize what happened the last time someone gave Invisibility Potion to a cat?



What you should do: We must be kind and nurturing to our Magical Creatures. Try setting free an innocent baby dragon that a certain caretaker has recently come in possession of instead!

What you shouldn’t do: You should NOT break into people’s houses and then demand things of them and then be disgruntled when they do not react the way you want them to. You should remember that when you are randomly opening doors you don’t know what you’ll find.



What you should do: You could try sneaking into a library to find out useful information that could aid you in turning yourself visible again. OR at the very least- use your manners.


And lastly,
What you shouldn’t do: You should not kill people. That’s just rude.

What you should do: Embrace your foes. Kill them with kindness.



(Don’t actually kill them.)

Yours truly,
Harry James Potter


A most excellent buddy read with far too many people to list. (Please check out Anne or Delee’s review for a list of other readers.)

n  n    “I went over the heads of the things a man reckons desirable. No doubt invisibility made it possible to get them, but it made it impossible to enjoy them when they are got.”n  n

Now having finished my third foray into H.G. Wells territory after The Time Machine and the highly entertaining The Island of Dr. Moreau, I am beginning to slowly consider him one of my personal favorite creative writers of the sci-fi genre. His impact on the early roots of the genre cannot be dismissed and has proven integral to countless subsequent works. The four central works of Wells' career are each framed by fantastic premises with almost immeasurable amounts of potential concentrated within them; all of them having inspired countless adaptations or re-imaginations and becoming integral to pop-culture of the sci-fi genre. Wells' stories are so well-known at this point that you only have to read the story's title to already have a distinct outline of the story in your mind even if you have never actually read the book itself before.

James Whale's wonderful and underrated 1933 adaptation of H.G. Wells' story was what caught my attention initially. The incredible implementation of special effects, many of which push modern examples of sci-fi film into the shadows, elevated what went astray during the adaptation process from H.G. Wells' writing to the film. At more than eighty-five years of age, not even once does the film make you feel like the special effects are from a very different time - maybe because the story is so timeless. But this review shouldn't be about that film, and rather about the book that inspired it (go watch it anyway if you haven't yet).

Like with the other two Wells novels I have read, I feel like much of its impact has been lost in the widespread commercialization of the story. The Invisible Man has been adapted and toyed around with numerous times - James Whale, Paul Verhoeven, John Carpenter and, most recently, Leigh Whannell being the most famous examples - and the story feels so familiar that nothing about Wells' writing appears to be particularly outstanding anymore. Still, I enjoyed my time tremendously and found myself engaged and captivated by the story. The premise is more fantastic than anything else about the novel, but some of its insights into human nature and the effects of isolation and reclusion feel wonderfully embedded, never disrupting the natural flow of the story.

Ultimately, it's an interesting psychological exploration of human nature clouded in a highly entertaining piece of storytelling.

Review to come.

This book was highly entertaining, much more than I had anticipated. I never know what to expect, when picking up one of the classics, and I knew next to nothing of this one. I didn’t bother to read the synopsis, and I’ve learned the hard way to never, ever read the introduction prior to the story. Especially on these older works, where it’s common practice to spoil major plot points assuming everyone already knows the story. That’s so annoying.

Anyhow, going into this story with fresh eyes was probably beneficial. For example, I’ve noticed many people have shelved this as horror, and although I’d imagine it may have been quite shocking to those Victorian readers, to the modern reader it really is quite tame. Even the Reign of Terror was fairly light-hearted. To me, the story read more like a great farce, with The Invisible Man bumbling his way from one disaster to the next. So, if I was expecting a horror story, I’m sure I would have been disappointed.

The Invisible Man is basically a story about a man who loses his humanity. Initially, Griffin assumed invisibly would be a great advantage, but he learned rather quickly what a horrible burden it can become, especially troubling during those late winter months.





Oh but for some invisible shoes!


Mr. Wells did an admirable job of laying out all the disadvantages, many of which I hadn’t considered. The longer Griffin remained invisible, the more it began to wear on his psyche. Since he was an asshole with a superiority complex long before his little experiment, the end result could only ever be a complete disaster. The more he began to lose touch with humanity, the deeper he spiraled into madness.

The pseudo-science was well thought out, and several basic concepts were accurately described. There were discussions of light refraction, the physical properties of materials, and even some minor physics. And, except a few short sections where Wells dropped into a nearly incomprehensible rural dialect, the language was easily approachable—which is always a big concern with classics.

So, in summary, if you approach this book expecting a horror story, you’re bound to be a little disappointed, but if you go in with an open mind, I bet you’ll enjoy the ride. Sure, Griffin was an asshole with a superiority complex, but those townsfolk were a bunch of nosey morons in need of a good braining!

Oh but for a proper Reign of Terror!

♫Instant Karma's gonna get you
Gonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together
Pretty soon you're gonna be dead♫

Read as part of Non-Crunchy Cool Classic Buddy Read.

For fun, I decided to revisit this classic to see how it holds up.

The story is about a brilliant but troubled molecular physicist named Griffin who discovers a way to make himself invisible. Griffin then goes on a crime spree, at first just stealing things he needs, like food, clothes, etc. However Griffin's mental health quickly deteriorates, and he becomes a full blown sociopath.

There are some funny parts at the beginning of the book, when Griffin takes a room in a small rural boarding house to continue his experiments. The nosy townsfolk are naturally curious about this man who's all bandaged up and mysterious, so they spy on him, gossip about him, and so on.



Things soon take a dark turn though, when Griffin becomes violent.

At one point Griffin explains his method of becoming invisible to a doctor, a complex rigmarole involving the reflection and refraction of light.



One big fly in the ointment...food Griffin eats is visible until it's digested. (That would be a frightening sight to see. Food meandering down the invisible alimentary tract!!)

Of course Griffin can't wear any clothes if he wants to be completely unseen and this part is very unrealistic. Griffin has to run around completely starkers, without shoes or anything, and I think his privates jostling around would be a problem (among other things). Still, invisibility is a fun idea. The thing to make invisibility REALLY work would be to make anything you hold or wear invisible also.

This story has spawned a whole array of TV series and movies - ranging from serious films to comedies.....and they just keep coming!

In which it is demonstrated that invisibility, like wealth, looks, talent, etc doesn't count for much if the possessor remains an asshole.


For this much-anticipated buddy read with Ann, Jeff, Delee,
Tadiana, Stephany, Evgeny, Jess, Auntie J, Licha... sorry, other readers, I've run out of steam on the hyperlinking, maybe later...
I used the Modern Library Classics edition subtitled "A Grotesque Romance." To my great disappointment, the library refused to lend me the one subtitled "a fantastic sensation."

I used to think the world was divided into rich and poor, north and south, and other polar opposites. Then, I read The Invisible Man. Now, the world is divided into the visible and invisible and those who wish to be other than what they are.

The invisible man was not born that way but chooses invisibility over what makes him stand out since birth. He isn't, strictly speaking, disabled. There are problems, though, which come with his fate. He can't go unnoticed. No anonymity for him. He can't blend. He is conspicuous without doing a thing.

Beauty is similar. It draws notice. Honking cars. Shouts. Business cards thrust into your hand or an umbrella held over your head by a stranger who asks you out for coffee as you thank him. No, you're married. Sometimes, going unnoticed would be nice. Or just easier. Ask those who have wished they could cover themselves from head to toe, put a paper bag over their heads, or worse, slash their fine profile. They'd like at times to be invisible.

They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. So is what people hate or fear. The man at the centre of this story provokes fear, hate, and aversion whether he's invisible or visible. And that is what fascinates this reader.

"You don't understand . . . who I am or what I am," the invisible man cries. Oh, I do. I understand, I want to say. To be seen or not seen is the question these pages raise.

I won't deny the fact that at one point in my childhood, I wanted to become invisible. It wasn't the top priority in my list of "I hope one day I'd suddenly have this super power", but it was still there, probably at number 6 lagging behind Wolverine's Claws, flying, super strength, teleportation, and Johnny Storm's powers. I haven't thought of the consequences of being invisible then because I didn't contemplate on things that much when I was a child. I mean, who would do that?

Take note that I read this with a lot of people, and that this is my very first buddy read. Check out Anne's review for the full list.

This 160 or so page novel by Wells was a mixture of contemporary, sci-fi, and crime. Some of my favorite genres mixed up to form this not so bad classic. I'm not sure what Wells wanted to portray in this novel other than being invisible has a lot of consequences. Or maybe that doing evil experiments on yourself would only bring harm to oneself. I was expecting to hate this, because I've recently put aside some classics because they were so damn boring. Im sure it's all on the reading slump, but I'm a bit shocked that I didn't have problems with the writing.

The Invisible Man was a novel about an invisible man's struggle to live in a world of transparency. It was hard because people weren't open minded then, so anything out of the ordinary would mean extermination. He wanted to become invisible, so he had to live with the consequences. There were a lot of cool things Wells tacked on. Like how the food that he eats are visible unless digested completely, and when he smoked the cigar it was also visible. He could've pulled off a bank heist with only a bit of difficulty, but staying truly invisible was still a pain in the ass.

I didn't like much of the characters in the first part of the novel. Mr. Marvel was annoying, and so were the landlord and Halls. Kemp was a lot better though, and the main character himself was not that bad. I would say though that the plot was better than the characters. They were just right, but none amazed me, unfortunately.

It would be redundant for me to keep reminding everyone why it took me 5 days to finish this really short novel. I know i'm probably the last one to finish this, but I'm glad it didn't take me a week to do so. I might not be a quick buddy reader for the next few months(another advance notice), but I'm one to finish something that i started. I will be faster in December, but January onwards would mean the second semester, so the turtle shall prevail once again.

3.5/5 stars. One of the few classics that I enjoyed, but I can suggest better ones. I will be reading more from Wells in the future, but for now let's see what my buddy readers will choose for next month's read.

" You don't understand." he said." who I am or what I am. I'll show you. By Heavens! I'll show you." Then he put his open palm over his face and withdrew it. The center of his face became a black cavity."

If you get a chance to hug someone, and you are given two choices, first a ghost, and second an invisible man, whom would you like to embrace? Assume, Just their names are different, but their existence same, and their subsistence same, which means both are alike in all respect. Finally, they upkeep themselves in the same way. And the way is..... that they don’t like to be seen!

Whom would you prefer?

I will go for the ghost, as after reading this book I have truly caught on to the fact that there are chances that a ghost can give you an unshapely cuddle or an empty fondle, in such an embrace, without you feeling anything (I have not yet forgotten the friendly Canterville ghost of Oscar Wilde), but an invisible man can kick you hard on your rump if he is not in the mood, and you won't be able to protect yourself!

I read H G Wells for the first time. Very interesting book, short, funny, entertaining, suspenseful, scientific, and horrific too! It can create a tempestuous ruckus inside your head! I was too overwrought when I was listening to the revelation of this man turning invisible scientifically and struggling for his own existence before creating life hell for others, in his own word! I was all agog! That was the best part of this novel. The man telling his own story, how he became invisible. It was written in clever language maintaining the particularity and exactness of the case.