In the Days of the Comet

By: H. G. Wells

Narrated by: Walter Covell

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

A comet speeds toward earth, a deadly, glowing orb that soon fills the sky and promises doom. But mankind is too consumed with greed and violence to care. As luminous green trails of cosmic dust and vapor stream across the heavens, blood flows beneath: nations wage all-out war, bitter strikes erupt, and jealous lovers plot revenge and murder. The Earth slips past the comet by the narrowest of margins, but all succumb to the gases in its tail. When mankind wakes up, everyone is completely and profoundly different. In the Days of the Comet is H. G. Wells' classic tale of the last days of the old Earth and the extraterrestrial change that becomes the salvation of the human race.

©2003 Brian J. Killavey (P)2003 Brian J. Killavey; 16 9; 1982 Jimcin Recordings

In the Days of the Comet--avoid

I agree with Mike of Baton Rouge. This was a very long, very boring audiobook. Probably the worst I have ever listened to. I really wanted to like this story. A comet passes by the earth covering it in a green gas that makes everyone fall asleep. When they wake up, no one has an evil, jealous, war-like thought in their heads. Good concept, poor execution. Three hours into this novel and we are still slogging through the life of the main character who comes off as a young, wannabe socialist. If you are expecting science fiction in the vein of "War of the Worlds" or "The Time Machine" this is not the novel for you. "In the Days of the Comet" will turn off anyone except the most die hard fan of Edwardian fiction. 104 years after the publication of this book and we still have the same human failings that author Wells rails against.

A most tiresome read

I expected more from Wells. This story is a long, tiresome read from the diary of the main character; a poorly developed, self-absorbed, self-depricating pitiful waste of human life. It contrasts his life before and after "the change" brought on by the Comet's arrival which brings on a cliche, impractical utopia in the human race.

The story is paced mindnumbingly slowly with more than one sudden climax coming out of nowhere. Just when you think it's over, there's yet more meandering and mucking around in this character's very uninteresting head. You keep waiting for the author "to get on with it" but he seems to come up with more and more meaningless dribble just to fill space.

The reading is monotone and could have easily been read by computer. It is completely without the passion the story was supposed to be invoking in the reader. Perhaps this was the most important reason why it failed to elict in me any sympathy or joy in the reading of the character's angst and salvation.