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When the Sleeper Wakes

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H.G. Wells is perhaps one of the greatest modern writers, and his stunning book "When The Sleeper Wakes" is the embodiment of his incredible prohpetic writing. This is an essential book, if for no other reason than it's frighteningly close-to-home predictions of the future. The story follows a modern day Rumplestiltskin, named Graham, after he sleeps a couple of centuries and wakes up to find himself owner of over half of the earth. The story itself is well-crafted, as Wells demonstrates a strong command of the English language. But this book is not merely a "good read". The most amazing aspect is that H.G. Wells predicted the widespread use of airtravel over a hundred years ago, along with mega-corporations that dominate a single industry, and roadside billboard advertisements. These are just a few of the remarkable, and accurate, predictions H.G. Wells made. It's hard to believe this book was written in the 1890's. The story is engaging as well, even if your not concerned with the social and political warnings of this tale. Only a few of the characters are extensively, namely Ostrog and Graham. But since it's a short story, this doesn't detract from the overall plot. The setting and tone of the story are the most important elements, and these are expertly developed. There is little wrong with this book. It's a little on the short side, but it still makes for an excellent choice.

The Everyman edition is really great, though it has many additional information about H.G. Wells and his time. So if you want to get additional information this book is the right one. John Lawtons introduction gives you a brief overview about H.G. Wells and the book. A listing of historical facts, Wells life and science and art, sort by date, gives the reader the possibility to understand his books better. At the end some critics are collected and suggestions for further reading are made.

The book itself / Summary:
A stranger came to an artist and reported him that he can't sleep. The artist invites him in his house, where the stranger falls asleep in a chair. The artist thinks he died, as he doesn't react anymore, but he just fell into a deep trance. The years passed on and Isbister, the artist, doesn't believe that he will ever wake again.
But long after Isbister's death, Graham, the stranger, wakes in an unknown surrounding and everything seems very strange. From outside he can hear people screaming "Wake" but he doesn't know what this means and soon after his awakening he faints. After he recovers he is told that his trance lasted 203 years. He learns a lot about the new age and there is still the crowd which requires the Sleeper. Because of this, he goes on a balcony where the people can see him, but he is pulled away and a man leads him through a huge building and finally to the council. After a short discussion he is brought into 2 rooms, where he's kept imprisoned. In his room he discovers new things, but he doesn't get new information about the world. After a few days a few people help him to escape and after a chase he lands in a theatre, where the people receive him. But he is very weak and so he's brought into a small room, where Graham is told that he owns nearly the whole world, because his fortune grew steadily. He meets Lincoln, who was Ostrog's brother, who is the leader of the revolution, and an unknown beautiful woman. Graham appears in front of the crowd and tells them to march, because Lincoln told him to do so. Then a fight begins in front of the council house, which Graham watches guarded from the distance, but the enemies chase Graham and so he looses his guards and has to flee. In a lonely street he meets an old man, who tells him the history of the world and that Ostrog just takes advantage of the Sleeper. As Graham reveals himself the old man doesn't want to believe and so Graham goes back to Ostrog's headquarter, where he meets Ostrog for the first time. After watching the decline from the council, they go to the council house and Graham gets a Japanese attendant, whose name is Asano. Graham and Asano go to the top of a wind-vane and later to a high society party, where Graham is told much more about the world. After Graham flew with an Aeropile, an aeroplane, he is so fascinated that he spends his next days with becoming an aeronaut. Then he meets again the unknown woman, which is Helen Woton, a niece of Ostrog, she reports him of the slavery and bad conditions under which the people are living and begs that he should rule. He discusses his knew knowledge with Ostrog, but he tries to convince him that everything is necessary. However Graham, guarded by Asano, goes into the city to see how the people are really living. After watching the middle class and the stations in which children are brought up, he goes to the working places of the poor workers. He's very upset while watching them, but he hears shouts which tell him that the black police is coming. The black police is feared, as they are a cruel specialist unit of Negros, which should bring the people into order. Graham and Asano flee back to the headquarter, where Graham has a quarrel with Ostrog and as a result Ostrog wants to imprison him. However the crowd sees this and they free Graham, but an Aeropile can help Ostrog to escape. Helen comes back and Graham holds a speech to the people to prepare them for a war to prevent the black police from reaching London. They can capture one flight stage out of four, but this is not enough and so Graham decides to take an Aeropile to fight against the aeroplanes, which bring the black police. He's successful and able to dispel and even destroy some ships from the black police. After this large fight, he sees the Aeropile in which Ostrog flees and he starts to fight it but he looses and the earth is coming near.

This was certainly a page turner. A man back in the early years of the victorian age has terrible insomnia and wants to end it all. He finally sleeps, he sleeps on into a new age. only to discover he is the richest man in the world, from here it gets pretty dicey. Its a good short read. Enjoy!

Another of Wells' dark futuristic visions, this novel is about a man who falls into a deep sleep in the Victorian age and wakes up early in the 22nd century. Wells predicts much of the technology that would be invented in the 20th century. This story is not just a fascinating read but a poignant social commentary.

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) is remembered as one of the very pioneers of the genre of science-fiction. He is also remembered for his Leftist politics, including a stint with the Fabian Society and his embracing of "Free Love." This book was written in 1899, and is one of the last science-fiction books he wrote before his turn towards social realism in his writing.

In this dystopian novel, Graham falls into a coma-like sleep, a sleep that he wakes from some 203 years in the future. But times have changed. Due to the wise investments of a board of trustees, Graham's money has compounded into the greatest fortune the world has ever seen, and the trustees have used it to virtually enslave the entire planet. The common people know that those who use "The Master's" money are misusing it, and they pine for a time when the sleeper will wake and set things right. But now that Graham is awake, he finds himself a pawn in a world he little understands.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting book. H.G. Wells made a lot of predictions in the book that have sense come to pass, including airplanes, the rise of trans-national corporations that are not under the control of their nation of origin, the rise of a decadent class of useless, pretty, party-people (Hollywood), and so much more. The one fly in the ointment, however, was Wells' use of race. The leaders use an army of "Negroes" to control the population, "They are fine loyal brutes, with no wash of ideas in their heads..."

But, that said, I did find this to be a fascinating, forward looking book. Mr. Wells is rightly remembered for his near prescience in matters of science, and this book shows how much he knew about the future of economics as well. I highly recommend this book.

Written in the final years of the 19th century by an acknowledged scientific visionary, this book is stunning for its portrayal not just of "modern techological" creations. First and foremost, this book hints at the dramatic societal changes that followed in the 20th century. Most readers will remember Wells' use of the airplane, television, radar, etc. in this novel written in the late 1890s. The conceptualization of these technological wonders for a 19th century inhabitant is remarkable, no doubt. True astonishment, however, arises from Wells' portrayal of societal conflict caused by the awakening of the "Sleeper". We now know, from our vantage point late in the 20th century, that this century will be remembered for pandemic social change, when a majority of mankind (in the many communist, nationalist, and independence movements) moved to a different drumbeat. In the course of these brief one-hundred years, masses have risen and elites fallen in societies on virtually all the continents. We know that redistributions of wealth and the power of mass education have been the historical catalysts. Wells uses the "sleeper" as the agent of change in this wonderfully prophetic novel.

"When The Sleeper Wakes" is not as well known as some of the other works of H.G. Wells. Still, this particular novel is a worthy accomplishment. While some have focused on the vision he presents of the future, it is the vision of class warfare that is ultimately more striking.

On the cusp of the twentieth century, Graham is plagued with insomnia. Finally succumbing to sleep, he does not awaken until the year 2100. He finds life very different in this time. The chapters which Wells devotes specifically to the technology are rather plodding but highlight the changes in the future. Graham also awakens to have found himself to be seen as something of a messiah. By chance, Graham owns much of the world and is thus seen as a master. People have been waiting for him to awaken in the hope that he will end the strife in their life. The conflict ulimately can be reduced to class conflict between the ruling aristocracy and the working class who are plainly referred to as slaves. Graham must decide a resolution to the conflict from his sudden position of power.

Themes of the novel bear strong resonances with basic tenants of Christianity and more contemporary science fictions series such as Star Wars. The social conscience of Wells is often neglected in the scope of his work. However, it shines in this book. For this reason, one can forgive the plot for evolving slowly at times.

Wells has done it again. The prophetic vision of this writer is as spooky as it is acute. Other than lacking a strong ending, this book is superb fiction and even better social critique. A must read.

Before the Wright Bros. flew the first plane, H.G. Wells wrote this novel of Graham, who falls into a deep coma in 19th Century England and who wakes to find himself in the year 2100. Of course the book is filled with futurist innovations, including radio, T.V. and the VCR. Planes are there too, but wildly inaccurate--technologically they're not even up to the level of World War I. And there are other missteps: a base-12 counting system. But what is stunning is the accuracy of the socio-economic predictions of Wells. He lived in a time when the common man was striving for economic equality with the elite. But he predicts a back sliding, so that there is a huge schism between the haves and have-nots. It is this schism that powers the story, with repeated revolts by the masses and hair-raising escapes by Graham, who is not only sucked into the battles but becomes the cause of them. Good guys become bad guys, friends become enemies, and just who can a guy from the past trust?? Be prepared fo

I like reading classics and I thought this book had some amazing insights on human nature that still hold up today but it was just so strange that I'm not sure I "got it".

I recommend reading - just make sure you're not casually reading it because you may need to revisit it.