H. G. Wells Sci-Fi Omnibus: Four Great Novels

By: H. G. Wells

Narrated by: Greg Wagland

Length: 23 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

H. G. Wells is rightly regarded as one of the founding fathers of the science fiction genre. This compilation of nearly 20 hours' duration comprises four of his finest sci-fi works, and they really need little introduction.

They are, in order: The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The First Men in the Moon and The Island of Doctor Moreau. They are complete and unabridged and narrated by Greg Wagland.

Public Domain (P)2015 Magpie Audio

Critic reviews

From a review of The First Men in the Moon, one of the four novels of this omnibus edition: "This novel may be one of the lesser works by the socially conscious Wells, but that doesn't take away from the impact of this audio production. Much of the credit for that goes to the full-bodied British voice of narrator Greg Wagland... This audiobook illustrates how even an old novel can be given new life on audio." (AudioFile, 2015)

More properly, four fascinating novellas

It is a commonplace now that fiction about other worlds is not really about other worlds, but Wells is quite possibly the originator of this trope through these and others of his stories. These critiques of Western, and particularly English, society from a socialist viewpoint still fascinate for their relevance to the modern world as well as for what they reveal about late nineteenth century life and thought. First Men posits an alternative, utopian society constructed by and for intelligent insects, illustrating the undesirable features of the status quo by contrast. The Time Machine reveals supposed contemporary trends by extrapolation thousands of years into the future, and a bleak, predatory future it is too. War of the Worlds satirises colonialism by envisioning hostile contact with England by a race of vast technical superiority. This is the closest Wells comes to truly affecting literature in this volume - the final, unexpected defeat of the Martians is told in a haunting manner that almost evokes pity for the fallen conquerors. Notable also is the strange absence of names of characters, presumably a device meant to add to the disorienting effect of the invasion. Dr Moreau is the strangest and darkest of the stories, a disturbing meditation on the fineness of the line between man and beast in a post-Darwin world and the possibility that technology could violate it. As for the narrator Greg Wagland, these stories, being mostly first-person recollections with few speaking characters, are not the greatest acting challenge, but his rendering is competent and unobtrusive.

Fascinating perspective on the future

Great books, all four of them fascinating and mind-stretching. Wells clearly put a lot of thought into what may happen in the future given the trajectory of the human condition.

very good

enjoyed the four stories, nice price, we'll read, a must read classic. And one gets 4 for the price of 1

A great way to experience HG Wells

As someone who had never previously read Wells, this is a great selection of his SciFi titles to start with, and is extremely well performed by Greg Wagland. His narration especially helps update the sense of urgency during tense scenes, which is nice for someone reading these in 2018 (they just didn't write suspense the same way back in the day).

Although the scientific ideas underlying these books are comically out of date, these novels are really about the bigger ideas, and in that sense, they have aged extremely well. I was also was very impressed with Wells' sense of pacing given how long ago these were written (excluding War of the Worlds, which I found to be pretty dry). The 3 others were all fantastic pieces that I will definitely revisit as classics, and I would highly recommend this set to anyone looking to try or revisit HG Wells.

excellent rendition

perfect person to read a classic collecting. A must read for all sci-fi and thriller fans