Customer Reviews

The Invisible Man (Dover Thrift Editions)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a classic tale about a researcher who, while he was the equivalent of a graduate student in physics, discovers a treatment for making himself invisible (using chemicals and mathematical expressions containing four dimensions). He quickly discovers how dependent he is on others and that he doesn't have the power he thought he would. I had always thought, based on what I had heard about the film based on this book, that the invisibility process made the researcher (Griffin) mad. However, upon reading the novel, I find that Griffin is morally and ethically bankrupt long before he takes the treatment. His initial reasons for becoming invisible is to avoid paying his rent (as he sneaks out of the building, he sets it on fire as a "lesson" for his landlord). All he thinks about is himself and to have power over others. He steals from his father who, since it wasn't his money, commits suicide. Griffin goes to the funeral simply because it is expected of him; but, he feels no remorse. He is a man who feels that the end (his power) justifies the means. Wells clearly has Griffin as the villian.

When a strange man, wearing bandages and dark glasses comes into town, the city of Iping, tongues begin to wag. But, when strange things begin to happen, the town soon finds itself facing a nightmare in the form of an invisible man. Mr. Griffin was never filled with the milk of human kindness, and when a scientific experiment leaves him invisible, he decides that the mores of the common people no longer apply to him. And now, now that he feels threatened by the entire world, he decides that the entire world will feel his wrath.

This book is one of the crowning examples of nineteenth century fantastic fiction. It is an early work of science fiction, but it is much more than that. Mr. Wells wrote this story as something of a lesson about scientists playing God, and placing themselves above normal people. So, if you are interested in early science fiction, or in a rousing good story with a thoughtful lesson, then I highly recommend this book to you!

I have read most of the popular works of H.G. Wells (The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The First Men in the Moon, and The Island of Dr. Moreau) and this was my favorite. The Invisible Man is an entertaining book, but what it really makes you think about is WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING? Is man inherently EVIL, and simply obeys the constraints of society because he is afraid of getting caught, or is man inherently good? This is the question that Wells tries to answer in this book, and you'll find the book well worth the time. I recommend this book to all lovers of good science fiction; enjoy!

This novel is another story of a scientist. Here, a man named griffin
has invented a substance that can turn him invisible. This is a tale
exploring alienation and a man's role in society, and some of the
English class structure.

Griffin decides to use his new found ability to gain power and
wealth. However, his isolation due to his invisibility leads to severe
problems with his mental state. Super powers ain't all great.

Awesome sci-fi action and horror novel.

Recently a scientist named Griffin has found a way to turn skin, blood, and tissue invisible. Griffin has checked into a hotel in a small town in Iping. He is a tall man with a shiny pink nose. His head is wrapped in bandages, and he wears a pair of glaring blue glasses. In his room he sits in his chair, smokes his pipe, talks to himself, and does strange experiments. As soon as this man comes to town, weird things begin happening like floating furniture and unexplained robberies. What is this man doing in this small town? Citicens in this town start to hear voices and see doors and windows unlock themselves. Could this man be the cause of the occurrences? This book has many plot twists and surprises. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. While reading this book you want to know what happens next. This book will captivate all readers. The Invisible Man is an extremely exciting book that must be read!

Better than mediocre, but not quite as good as four stars, this book is worth reading, if for no other reason than to give one a feel for the origins of the science-fiction genre. Granted, Wells is not the originator or the genre; that title probably belongs to Jules Verne, but Wells is one of the earliest contributors to the development of science fiction. "The War Of The Worlds", "The Time Machine", and "The Invisible Man" are all among the earliest treatments of seminal concepts that later become standards of the genre, and are all reasonably interesting treatments of basic ideas, treatments which are later surpassed as subsequent writers build upon the basic idea and try novel variations upon them.

As a story in its own right, this book is interesting, but has a few flaws: the explanation offered for why the main character chose NOT to use theatrical makeup to "pass" when he needed to seem normal was unconvincing (it would take too long to remove if he needed to suddenly be invisible; not nearly a sufficiently compelling consideration to offset the obvious advantages of being able to pass in normal society). Further, since he mentions that his earliest test of his procedure turned a piece of cloth invisible, it seems silly that he didn't make himself invisible clothes to avoid the rather obvious disadvantage of needing to be naked in order to be properly invisible, during an English winter (which is when he made his experiment.) Nor does it make any sense that he would become visible once dead; if his flesh was invisible, it should have remained so.

Still, in spite of all these quibbles, it is a very interesting book, and well worth the reading.

The book is clearly a classic. The story was very entertaining and captivating. The style of writing was very British and sometimes a bit difficult to understand. All in all I would recommend it as a good read.

I grew up on all the invisible man movies and still think of him as Claude Rains. I was surprised in the similarities and differences the book has to the movie. The scenes are rearranged from the book to make visual (or invisible) sense as a movie script.

A man all warped up in bandages except for his large pink nose requires a room at the inn and pays well. Slowly the Innkeeper and her companions suspect there is more to his than just a man with bandages. Everyone in a while they glimpse light where there should not be. And the stranger is so cranky that the money may not be worth the trouble of keeping him. Soon there are strange happenings and the cat is out of the bag sort of speaking.

The trail leads to murderer and a possible reign of terror. Read more to find out where the secret is reviled and how a man named Griffin got in this situation.

If I had read this story a year ago I would have said it was a fairly well put together sci-fi story. I would just enjoy the writing and wonder how H.G. came up with the idea. However now after reading much of H.G.'s political writings I see that this is a thinly veiled social commentary. We find that unlike the movie where Griffin goes mad in the invisibility process, that in the book Griffin was always amoral and anything stressful could set him off. Also, somewhere out there is a couple of floating eyes that belong to a cat.

Now one habit that .G. has in most of his tales is that just when you think he is finished on the subject, he will go off in another direction with some sub plot he has slipped in earlier. Therefore, what should have been a short story becomes a novel. Another good example of his witting style can be found in "The Food of the Gods."

Imagine if you were invisible and could come and go as you pleased, with nobody able to see you. Cool, right? Well, not really. H.G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" has the sci-fi master exploring what would happen if a person took an invisibility elixir, and discovered too late that invisibility has some definite downsides. It's possibly Wells' funniest novel, but it also has some wonderfully chilling moments.

A strange man arrives at a hotel in Iping, wrapped up in goggles, bandages, scarves, and heavy clothes. He spends most of his time hidden away in his room, doing odd scientific experiments, and avoiding contact with other people -- while still keeping everything except his nose hidden. Meanwhile, the local vicar and his wife are robbed by a mysterious thief... who is completely invisible.

Well, you can guess what's up with the stranger -- he's an invisible man, and after a blowup with his landlady he reveals his true.... um, lack of appearance to the entire town. After a series of disastrous encounters, the Invisible Man encounters Dr. Kemp, an old friend to whom he reveals how he became invisible, and what he's done since then... as well as his malevolent plans for the future.

H.G. Wells isn't really known for being a funny writer, but the first part of "The Invisible Man" is actually mildly hilarious. He writes the first third or so of the book in a fairly light, humorous style, and there are some fun scenes speckled through the story, like a homeless man dealing with the Invisible Man ("Not a bit of you visible--except-- You 'aven't been eatin' bread and cheese?").

But things get much darker after Mr. Kemp enters the scene, and we find out that the Invisible Man is... well, kind of malevolent and crazy. Very crazy.

And as the plot grows darker and grimmer, Wells also inserts a clever (if far-fetched even by Victorian standards) explanation for how a person could become invisible, using a mix of science and fantasy. The plot hurtles through wild chase scenes and the occasional riot, and some moments of bleak tension ("When dawn came to mingle its pallor with the lamp-light and cigar smoke of the dining-room, Kemp was still pacing...")

The Invisible Man himself (aka Griffin) is a pretty mysterious character for most of the story, since all we know about him is that he's invisible.... and also kind of a jerk. I mean, the guy constantly flies off the handle and even robs a nice little old vicar. And the more we find out about him, the more malignant and insane he turns out to be.

Even if you had a way to become invisible, "The Invisible Man" would be a pretty effective way of dissuading people from using it. A deserving classic.

What would you do if you were invisible? That's exactly what the main character thinks in this book.Prepare for another
sci-fi thriller written by none other than H.G. Wells. In this book the main character turns himself invisible thinking he can get away with anything. But he soon finds out ther's more than meets the eye.
This book was very interesting but wasn't a book I could't put down.The diffucult and old-style wording does get in the way but this is a great sci-fi book and for .85 cents, what have you got to lose,huh?