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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of Wells' better works of fiction, 29 Sep 2005
William Leadford is a young London Socialist, leading a life of quiet desperation. Around him, the whole world seems to be unraveling, as capitalist wage war on their own workers, and nation rises up against nation. And through it all, a comet has entered the Solar System, and may indeed be aimed straight at Earth. Can the system that dominates men's lives survive its seeming inevitable destruction? And if the comet should strike the planet, what will be the result? This now largely forgotten work was written by H.G. Wells (1866-1946) in 1906, during his brief sojourn with the Fabian Society. This book is less science fiction than his earlier works, such as the Invisible Man and the War of the Worlds, and is more of a political polemic. In it, we get to see the inevitable destruction of the capitalist system that the antediluvian Socialists predicted. But more, Wells uses the comet as a vehicle to posit a new utopia, where man has awakened from his childhood as a species and puts behind him such things as private ownership of land, nationalism, religion, and so much more. Indeed, this book marks Wells' open advocation of free love, which eroded his popularity among the reading public. Now, as for the book itself, I am of two minds. The book starts out rather slowly, and I found myself rather bored with it. But, as it continued, it began to pick up steam, and became quite an interesting read. This is one of Wells' better works of fiction, being much better (in my opinion) than Tono-Bungay and the Food of the Gods. So, if you are a fan of Edwardian literature, or just like a good story, then you will definitely like this book. I highly recommend it.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of Wells' better works of fiction, 19 May 2005
William Leadford is a young London Socialist, leading a life of quiet desperation. Around him, the whole world seems to be unraveling, as capitalists wage war on their own workers, and nation rises up against nation. And through it all, a comet has entered the Solar System, and may indeed be aimed straight at Earth. Can the system that dominates men's lives survive its seeming inevitable destruction? And if the comet should strike the planet, what will be the result? This now largely forgotten work was written by H.G. Wells (1866-1946) in 1906, during his brief sojourn with the Fabian Society. This book is less science fiction than his earlier works, such as the Invisible Man and the War of the Worlds, and is more of a political polemic. In it, we get to see the inevitable destruction of the capitalist system that the antediluvian Socialists predicted. But more, Wells uses the comet as a vehicle to posit a new utopia, where man has awakened from his childhood as a species and puts behind him such things as private ownership of land, nationalism, religion, and so much more. Indeed, this book marks Wells' open advocation of free love, which eroded his popularity among the reading public. Now, as for the book itself, I am of two minds. The book starts out rather slowly, and I found myself rather bored with it. But, as it continued, it began to pick up steam, and became quite an interesting read. This is one of Wells' better works of fiction, being much better (in my opinion) than Tono-Bungay and the Food of the Gods. So, if you are a fan of Edwardian literature, or just like a good story, then you will definitely like this book. I highly recommend it.
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0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dull,dull,dull!, 6 Mar 2003
This has to be one of the most boring books I've read in years. The Earth passes through the trail of a comet which turns the whole population into nice, reasonable people. The main character (I forget his name) looks back to the time before the comet, incredulous at how mean and stupid everyone, including himself, was. When it was written, it may have been seen as radical and challenging but it now comes across as a bit of ham-fisted social criticism, with which Wells seems to be so pre-occupied that he fails to develop much of storyline. Another problem is the the main character is such a stupid and pathetic individual that it's impossible to identify with him in anyway. This never allows any tension to develop.
I couldn't wait to finish it so I could read something interesting. I'd stick with the more famous of Wells' novels such as The Time Machine and The Invisible Man.
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by H.G. Wells
by H.G. Wells
by H.G. Wells
by H. G. Wells
