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The Food of the Gods

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When the scientists Bensington and Redwood create a new compound which turns growth in all living things from a series of bursts and intermission into a constant, they have no idea how it will affect the world. Indeed, when this new "Food of the Gods" gets loose, it begins to grow giant plants and animals...and giant people. But, is the world big enough to hold an aging race of pygmies and a young race of giants?

This now largely forgotten work was written by H.G. Wells (1866-1946) in 1904, during his brief sojourn with the Fabian Society. Mr. Wells did not write his science fiction to tell entertaining stories; instead, he used his stories as vehicles for social commentary. In this particular book, Wells introduces a new race of mankind, large and capable - born outsiders who can not possibly fit into the social constructs that surround them, much less understand them.

Now, unlike War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man, why did this book fade into obscurity? Overall, I would say that Wells critique of Edwardian society is not deep enough to allow this story to transcend that setting. Also, while the story is quite good, it is not great, unlike those other stories.

So, am I saying that you should skip this book? Definitely not! H.G. Wells was a tremendous storyteller, and this story is quite entertaining. 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.

Ever the visionary, H.G. Wells here presents the reader with a study of the classic conflict between Science and Man. I could never really figure out where Wells stands on this issue in these pages, and perhaps he sits on the fence, providing convincing arguments on both sides of the struggle. Interestingly, the book begins with a number of biting, satirical remarks about science and scientists; they are called men of "obvious littlenesses" who cannot see outside the bounds of the narrow world they live in; their "greatness" only inspires dislike among their peers and translates not at all to the masses. I was in fact rather shocked to see Wells characterize men of science in such a forcible way. In terms of the story, two scientists discover the recipe for a growth agent which they see as a great benefit for the future life of man on earth--food sources can be grown in exceedingly abundant numbers, thus providing for the welfare of all men. They set out to experiment by purchasing a small farm and feeding the new food, spontaneously dubbed Food of the Gods, to a number of hens. Unfortunately, the pair hired to see after the farm are quite inefficient, and the food finds it way to a number of unfortunate locations. Huge wasps appear to terrify the local community; the hens eventually escape and run amuck, gigantic creeping plants begin to take over various areas of land, and then gigantic rats torment the local population. The farm and its creations are forcibly cleaned up, but the story by no means ends there.

The two scientists continue work on the food with the intent of controlling its use, but a neighboring doctor forces his way into their lives and launches a public campaign for their product. This, plus the fact that the food continues to find its way to different places (with the resulting consequences of huge new pests and pestilences) contributes to a growing public reaction against the food, a movement that will eventually place a "giant-killer" in political control of the country. Meanwhile, for reasons I never really understood, the sons of the scientists (as well as a few more children) are given the food and eventually grow in excess of forty feet tall. The story actually becomes quite powerful when describing the lives of these young giants. While some are totally isolated and, for a time, "controlled," others actually attempt to do things for the "pygmies," such as building houses, creating reservoirs, generating electrical power. In every case they are chastised by the people, who complain about property rights, zoning laws, and other things that the giants simply don't understand. The giants look at the population and see homelessness, perpetual drunkenness, poverty, and other social ills, and they want to help; sadly, every attempt to serve is met with more consternation and increased restraints on their movements. Eventually, the anti-giants league takes power and sets out to rid their world of the giants through either exile or war. Their first victim is a poor young giant who tired of the perpetual work he was compelled to perform and set out to see the life he had been hidden from. He cannot understand humanity at all, and his questions about normal life are ignored; his end is tragic and frankly a sad indictment on mankind. The novel does not end very satisfactorily--the lines have been drawn, but the ultimate outcome of the struggle is left unanswered. To have continued the story would have required Wells to take a stand on the issue, and I don't think he was confident enough in his own opinions to do so.

The novel begins in an almost humorous tone but ends quite seriously and tragically. Both sides of the scientific argument are given a full say in matters, and the great tragedy is that no one wins in this story. The most innocent victims are the giants themselves; they alone seem to recognize society's ills and make an effort to improve the lives of their fellow men despite the harsh treatment they receive for their efforts.

You'll be left wondering if science is going too far after reading this H.G. Wells' classic. This novella tells the story of how science is able to make food, people, and animals bigger and stronger. Huge wasps, rats and giant men run about in this book due to the work of science. Of course people have gotten bigger in the 20th century, due primarily to better nutrition, health care, excercise, etc., but we are hardly the 40 foot giants Wells' talks about. I found it easy to associate Wells' fears with the fears many of today's people have over cloaning. When does science go too far? This story is fairly short and you won't want to put it down. Best of all, this Wells' classic will get you thinking!

H.G.Wells wrote a special novel,with science fiction(which is getting closer and closer to fact every day),definite characters(the scientists and the townfolk are definite personalities),social commentary(can 6-foot people and 40-foot people accept one another?)and human feelings(the tragedies of Bensington and Caddles are truly touching).

The novel is one of the lesser known ones by Wells. It is about the discovery of a food that makes living creatures grow to a size that's many times larger than normal. The "food" is spread from its laboratory context and escapes into the countryside. After a number of years, this gigantism is a part of life in England with a number of people being on the food from birth.

The book does not focus on the scientific side of it at all, except in the first few chapters. Most of the rhetoric is about society and it's lack of acceptance of the giants. They just don't fit in with, say, the "proper" notion of life in an English village where ignorance and hypocricy rule. As a result, there is a much-provoked retaliation by the giants.

At its finest, the book describes the giants as symbolic of a new, grand mentality as opposed to the pettiness of the general populace. As such (especially as it uses the literal difference of size to symbolise more profound things) The Food of the Gods is in the tradition of satires such as Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel. In fact, one of the giants is given the nickname Pantagruel as a child. The book highlights intolerance and hatred as the line of distinction between ordinary people and giants is drawn across communities and families.

The novel is entertaining and inspiring. Wells is known for his grandiose visions of society's potential and this book is a great example. He inspires a revolution - but not an economic or violent one - but something that's in the next step in the evolution of ideas. Read this book!

>Of course people have gotten bigger in the 20th century, due primarily to better nutrition, health care, excercise, etc., but we are hardly the 40 foot giants Wells' talks about.

Look up "nutrition" in a dictionary: It means "food". In particular people have gotten RADICALLY taller in the last fifteen years of the twentieth-century--a remarkably short span of time--due to what's being put INTO food (chemicals--I'm not talking about vitamins here): not "bigger", TALLER. Taller, thinner, less muscular, more stretched out, in a word, misshapen, disfigured.

This book can be taken as a parable or an adventure story, and so on, but to a remarkable extent it happens to be a DEAD-ON prophecy.

A novel of science gone awry. Wells is quite scathing of scientists, in general, throughout this story. A process has been invented that can increase the size of organics. This goes everywhere from plant life and crops through animals, and eventually all the way through humans. Lots of over large products cause problems, and over large humans are put to work because of the abilities their superior size gives them. Such exploitation and differences lead to conflict.

Many of H.G. Wells books deal with what we call science fiction. Such as The War of The Worlds, The Time Machine or the Invisible Man he likes to write about wonders brought about by new technology or alien ways. He loved a good What-if-this-happened? Yet there was also a social scientist within him. With such novels as The Island Of Dr. Moreau and The Food Of The Gods he also explored the human condition and how fixed or flexible it could become.

In the Food Of The Gods two men, Mr. Bensington and Professor Redwood put their knowledge together to make a chemical that allows an animal or plant continuous growth without need for it to stop to build up energy or material.

Soon mankind is dealing with giant wasps, chickens, grass and all kinds of harmless or very dangerous creatures. And soon babies are given the BoomFood to make them into giants. What should mankind do with the giants? Employee them? Bar them from the rest of civilization? Kill them?

The novel is full of humor, mostly pointed at the class system, scientists, the common man and society in general. There is even a slight hint that each new generation THINKS of itself as giants, as big minds with big ideas.

The funny part was the slow change of the characters' impressions on me, as I started to think of the normal sized humans as pigmies near the end and the giants as the normal sized humans. This was done mostly by allowing them to become the major characters, shifting the point of view, so we started to see more of the giants, their way of life, their problems and less of the normal humans. Also, the normal humans seemed to whine a lot.

Clearly this novel has effected many other books and many, many sci-fi B-movies. THEM just to name one. Get it used or new.

There's that catchy line in Jurassic Park where Ian Malcolm says that Hammond's scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could genetically reproduce dinosaurs that they never considered whether they should do it--H.G. Wells gets the distinction of illustrating the dilemma. Here is a humorous look at the stereotypical scientists and the hot-headed public confronted with change. Wells pokes fun at academics, politics, and the theoretical vs. practical aspects of science.

This book is way better than one may suspect. Sure, it's very British, but some of the absurd scenes--such as giant rats attacking a carriage--are wonderfully described. There was an awful movie a while back that bastardized this fine novel and should be avoided, but do yourself a favor and pick up this novel. Sci-Fi comes in all shapes and forms, and this is a hilarious, thought-provoking sample.

Everyone knows that H. G. Wells wrote some great books that are classics not only of speculative fiction but of literature itself. However, anyone who has delved deeper into his canon knows that he also wrote many of far lesser quality. The Food of the Gods begins quite slowly and awkwardly, and I initially thought it would be one of his lesser books, but it thankfully became more interesting and fascinating. Wells' prose style, merely functional at the best of times, is particularly awkward and trying at the start of this book. It does, however, improve much as the story continues. Even if you find this slow going at first, my advice is to stick with it; the last fifty pages or so are classic Wells, finding him at his most poetic and striking. The Food of the Gods is Wells in the social commentary mode that he tended to feature in novels after the turn of the twentieth century; if his position is not as abundantly clear as in some of his other works, it nonetheless makes for fine reading. This is not a first-class Wells novel by any means, and though you should read at least a handful of his books before this, you will eventually want to pick it up if you are a fan.