Synopses & Reviews
A lonely island in the Pacific. The sinister scientist who rules it. And the strange beings who dwell there
This is the scenario for H. G. Wellss haunting classic, one of his most intriguing and visionary novels. Living in the late nineteenth century and facing the impact of Darwins theory of evolution, Wells wrote this chilling masterpiece about the characteristics of beasts blurring as the animals turn into men. Dr. Moreau, a scientist expelled from his homeland for his cruel vivisection experiments, finds a deserted island that gives him the freedom to continue torturous transplantations and create hideous creatures with manlike intelligence. But as the brutally enforced order on Moreaus island dissolves, the true consequences of his experiments emerge, and his creations revert to beasts more shocking than nature could devise.
A genius of his time, H. G. Wells foresaw the use of what he called the atom bomb,” the practice of gene-splicing, and men landing on the moon. Now, when these have become part of everyday life, his dark fable serves as a compelling reminder of the horrors that reckless experiments with nature can produce.
With a New Introduction by Nita A. Farahany and an Afterword by Dr. John L. Flynn
Synopsis
A cautionary tale of the horrors that can ensue when man experiments with nature, from the father of science fiction, H.G. Wells. A lonely island in the Pacific. The sinister scientist who rules it. And the strange beings who dwell there...
This is the scenario for H. G. Wells's haunting classic, one of his most intriguing and visionary novels. Living in the late nineteenth century and facing the impact of Darwin's theory of evolution, Wells wrote this chilling masterpiece about the characteristics of beasts blurring as the animals turn into men. Dr. Moreau, a scientist expelled from his homeland for his cruel vivisection experiments, finds a deserted island that gives him the freedom to continue torturous transplantations and create hideous creatures with manlike intelligence. But as the brutally enforced order on Moreau's island dissolves, the true consequences of his experiments emerge, and his creations revert to beasts more shocking than nature could devise.
A genius of his time, H. G. Wells foresaw the use of what he called the "atom bomb," the practice of gene-splicing, and men landing on the moon. Now, when these have become part of everyday life, his dark fable serves as a compelling reminder of the horrors that reckless experiments with nature can produce.
With an Introduction by Nita A. Farahany
and an Afterword by Dr. John L. Flynn
Synopsis
Two classic science fiction novels in one handsome volume.
Here are two masterpieces of irony and imaginative vision from the father of science fiction. The Time Machine propels the Time Traveller into a distant, dismal, Darwinian future. The Invisible Man tells of a brash young scientist who becomes invisible, then insane.
Synopsis
Dr. Moreau, a scientist expelled from his homeland for cruel experiments, finds a deserted island where he can create hideous creatures with manlike intelligence. But as the rigid order on Moreau's island dissolves, the consequences of his experiments emerge-and his creations revert to beasts more shocking than nature could devise.
About the Author
Herbert George Wells (18661946) left school at thirteen to become a drapers apprentice (a life he detested); he later won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London, where he studied with the famous T. H. Huxley. He began to sell articles and short stories regularly in 1893. His immediately successful novel
The Time Machine (1895) rescued him from poverty. His other scientific romances”
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896),
The Invisible Man (1897),
The War of the Worlds (1898), and
The First Men in the Moon (1901)made him the father of science fiction.
Nita A. Farahany is the Director of Science and Society at the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, Professor of Law and Philosophy, and Professor of Genome Sciences and Policy at Duke University. Her research focuses on the legal, philosophical, and social issues arising from developments in the biosciences, particularly behavioral genetics and neuroscience. She has presented her work on bioethics, neuroethics, criminal law, and behavioral health law and policy to wide-ranging audiences including the Second and Ninth Circuit Judicial Conferences, the National Judicial College, the Global Womens Forum, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy.
Dr. John L. Flynn is a three-time Hugo-nominated author and longtime science fiction fan and critic who has written ten books, numerous short stories, articles, reviews, and a screenplay. A professor at Towson University in Towson, Maryland, he teaches both graduate and undergraduate writing courses, including a course on Writing Science Fiction. He holds two PhDs, in literature and psychology.