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H.G. Wells: The Science Fiction Collection

Written by: H. G. Wells
Narrated by: Hugh Bonneville, Jason Isaacs, Sophie Okonedo, David Tennant, Alexander Vlahos, Eli Roth - introduction
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Publisher's Summary

He’s often been called the father of science fiction. Now, listen to H. G. Wells’ five science fiction novels in one definitive collection. Introduced by film director and H. G. Wells fanboy Eli Roth, the collection features unabridged recordings of the novels performed by Hugh Bonneville, Jason Isaacs, Sophie Okonedo, David Tennant and Alexander Vlahos.

The War of the Worlds narrated by David Tennant

When Earth is invaded by Martians in great mechanical tripods, terror ensues. They are equipped with heat rays and poisonous black gas, intent on wiping out the human race. During the destruction, one man’s story details the monstrous invasion and his struggle to find his wife in the devastation.

The First Men in the Moon narrated by Alexander Vlahos

A chance meeting between penniless businessman Mr Bedford and absentminded scientist Dr Cavor leads the two on a fantastical journey to the moon. However, they are unprepared for what they find: freezing nights, boiling days and sinister alien life. Will they be trapped forever?

The Time Machine narrated by Hugh Bonneville

Transported to the year AD 802,701, the Time Traveller encounters the peaceful Eloi, a beautiful elfin race of childlike adults afraid of the dark, and with good reason. Beneath the earth’s surface live the Morlocks, apish troglodytes who torment the Eloi. When the time machine is stolen, the Time Traveller must enter Morlock territory if he ever hopes to return home.

The Invisible Man narrated by Sophie Okonedo

When a strange man takes shelter at an inn, his skin covered from head to toe in bandages, he causes distrust. Griffin, a scientist, reveals that he has successfully managed to turn himself invisible, but alas without a way of undoing it. Desperate for a cure, his ailment drives him to many sinister actions, including murder. 

The Island of Dr Moreau narrated by Jason Isaacs

Edward Prendick, the single survivor of a shipwreck, is rescued by Montgomery in a vessel carrying a menagerie of savage animals. Taken to an uncharted island, he meets Dr Moreau - a brilliant scientist whose notorious experiments have caused him to abandon the civilised world. It soon becomes clear he has been developing these experiments - with truly horrific results.

Known as ‘The Father of Science Fiction’, Herbert George Wells’ writing career spanned over 60 years. He was a writer of novels, short stories, nonfiction books and articles. As a young man, Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London, sparking his infamous vocation as a science fiction writer. 

Public Domain (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about H.G. Wells: The Science Fiction Collection

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The genius of H.G. Wells

All the books in this science fiction collection are exciting, in particular the last, the Island of Dr Moreau. Jason Isaacs brings the characters vividly to life. Though I had read all the books before, listening to these seven narrations was as if they were new again.

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enjoyed all the stories,

most suprising for me where The Island of Dr. Monroe and the Invisible Man nicely read and easy to get your head into the characters

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3 people found this helpful

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Fantastic stories and great narration overall.

The best narrators I thought were the first "The War of the Worlds" narrated by David Tennant and the last "The Island of Dr Moreau" narrated by Jason Isaacs. I thought these narrators did a brilliant job in bringing Wells' stories to life and will definitely listen to them again. I hated "The Invisible Man" narrated by Sophie Okonedo and most likely will never listen to another to another audiobook narrated by her (unless it's like a BBC ensemble). She took a fascinating story and made it incredibly dull. Bonneville and Vlahos did a good job and I'd listen to them again.
However, I do recommend this collection because out of the 5 stories, I only disliked the 1 (Invisible Man).

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A must-have classic

Don't think twice about choosing this classic collection. In my opinion, they are H.G. Wells' best works. It's astonishing what he envisioned in the late 1800's, well before we actually started to explore space or dabble in biological engineering. The narrators aren't narrators - they are true voice actors and they were amazing.

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great collection

such a great collection preformed beautifully. I was familiar with these stories but hadn't had the time to read them. the various readers did an exceptional job

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You get what it says on the tin

Foundational pieces of genre fiction by an icon of the field read by very talented narrators. David Tennant narrating War of the Worlds was worth the price alone.

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Great!

The science may be out of date but the stories remain classics of their kind. The narration was absolutely excellent. Very enjoyable.

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Great

Gotta love the classics. I never tire of listening to any HG Wells. Great listen and great performances.

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Enjoyed the collection

I enjoyed each story and was amazed with the amount of detail and development of characters there was for short stories

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Very Well Done

The narration is excellent. I see ones and twos of reviews complaining and I can't think of a single instance where the narrator took me out of the story with poor work. I actually often found myself quite happy with the efforts to include inflection or sounds of things like huffing and puffing for someone out of breath.

The writing is outstanding. Especially considering most of it is written about 130 years ago before even the 20th century at the earliest parts of the industrial revolution. So when I see one reviewer complaining about "going on about nothing for some time" I say "Of course!" It was new and the science wasn't even close to being solid enough. He had to imagine what the science could mean. We know argon on the moon wouldn't be breathable. Who cares!? It's a fun sci-fi fantasy.

On that note, it is worth pointing that some language is used VERY differently than it is now over a century later, like people "ejaculating" which means to speak suddenly and quickly in the context of Wells' writing. Also, several characters are the kind of Englishmen who are pompous enough to suggest the English way is the only way and they do use some demeaning words or inferences. Much like in Tom Sawyer, you must understand that's the character as they are written and not a reflection of the man. He in fact was a huge advocate of social sciences and was even someone to push back on the ideas of race in his time. So his particularly anti-communist at all costs character or his "scientist" protagonist with views on "savage" races are in the story, you're not supposed to like them.

Wells wrote WELL ahead of his time and the world is richer for having him. His work is dutifully and skillfully represented and performed by these narrators.

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