The Time Machine (AD Classic Illustrated)

By H. G. Wells and Frank R. Paul

Testing his time machine for the first time, a Victorian scientist finds himself in the year 802,701 ad. Encountering a childlike people called the Eloi, who live in futuristic buildings and have no need of work, the Time Traveller speculates that the human race has evolved to live in a peaceful utopian society. But when his time machine is stolen by a brutish subterranean people called the Morlock, the Time Traveller must enter their realm in order to continue his journey through time. H. G. Wells is credited with the popularisation of time travel, and introduced the idea of time being the "fourth dimension" a decade before the publication of Einstein's first Relativity papers. The Time Machine also reflects on Wells' views on the antagonism between social classes resulting from different economic and social interests, and the evolution of the human condition. Included is The Grey Man, which was originally written as chapter 11 to The Time Machine, but was removed before publication, and later published as a short story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Engage Books
• Release date: Jun 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781927970768

H. G. Wells

H.G. Wells is considered by many to be the father of science fiction. He was the author of numerous classics such as The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The War of the Worlds, and many more. 

Book preview

The Time Traveller and the Eloi

1927 illustration by Frank R. Paul for Amazing Stories magazine

A Division of

Engage Books

www.engagebooks.ca

AD Classic®, BC Classic® and SF Classic® are imprints of Engage Books

www.adclassicbooks.com

First Published by William Heinemann in 1895

This edition published by AD Classic in 2011

Stephen Baxter quoted from a February 4, 1996 paper for Picocon 13, Imperial College

Wild Extravagant Theories: The Science of The Time Machine

Cover art by FrenchToast © 2010

Cover design by A.R. Roumanis © 2011

Original text illustration by Frank R. Paul in 1927

Proofread by Jesmine Cham

Typeset by A.R. Roumanis

Text set in 10.7/13 Minion Pro

Chapter headings set in 10/20 News Gothic Standard

ISBN: 978-0-9809210-8-3

NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

Engage Books

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H. G. Wells

The Time Machine

1895

Time Machine deserves its current popularity because it exhibits unusual imagination... Time Machine is exciting, powerful, and imaginative.

– AMERICAN REVIEW OF REVIEWS 1895 AD

Engage Books / AD Classic / Vancouver

Signed photograph of H. G. Wells

Contents

The Time Machine

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

The Grey Man

Chapter Eleven as Published in the New Review in 1895

The War of the Worlds

The Coming of the Martians

Coming through the bushes by the white sphinx, were the heads and shoulders of men running."

1895 New York edition

CHAPTER ONE

The Time Traveller (for so it will be convenient to speak of him) was expounding a recondite matter to us. His grey eyes shone and twinkled, and his usually pale face was flushed and animated. The fire burned brightly, and the soft radiance of the incandescent lights in the lilies of silver caught the bubbles that flashed and passed in our glasses. Our chairs, being his patents, embraced and caressed us rather than submitted to be sat upon, and there was that luxurious after-dinner atmosphere when thought roams gracefully free of the trammels of precision. And he put it to us in this way - marking the points with a lean forefinger - as we sat and lazily admired his earnestness over this new paradox (as we thought it) and his fecundity.

You must follow me carefully. I shall have to controvert one or two ideas that are almost universally accepted. The geometry, for instance, they taught you at school is founded on a misconception.

Is not that rather a large thing to expect us to begin upon? said Filby, an argumentative person with red hair.

I do not mean to ask you to accept anything without reasonable ground for it. You will soon admit as much as I need from you. You know of course that a mathematical line, a line of thickness nil, has no real existence. They taught you that? Neither has a mathematical plane. These things are mere abstractions.

That is all right, said the Psychologist.

Nor, having only length, breadth, and thickness, can a cube have a real existence.

There I object, said Filby. Of course a solid body may exist. All real things –

So most people think. But wait a moment. Can an instantaneous cube exist?

Don’t follow you, said Filby.

Can a cube that does not last for any time at all, have a real existence?

Filby became pensive. Clearly, the Time Traveller proceeded, any real body must have extension in four directions: it must have Length, Breadth, Thickness, and - Duration. But through a natural infirmity of the flesh, which I will explain to you in a moment, we incline to overlook this fact. There are really four dimensions, three which we call the three planes of Space, and a fourth, Time. There is, however, a tendency to draw an unreal distinction between the former three dimensions and the latter, because it happens that our consciousness moves intermittently in one direction along the latter from the beginning to the end of our lives.

That, said a very young man, making spasmodic efforts to relight his cigar over the lamp; that . . . very clear indeed.

Now, it is very remarkable that this is so extensively overlooked, continued the Time Traveller, with a slight accession of cheerfulness. Really this is what is meant by the Fourth Dimension, though some people who talk about the Fourth Dimension do not know they mean it. It is only another way of looking at Time. There is no difference between time and any of the three dimensions of space except that our consciousness moves along it. But some foolish people have got hold of the wrong side of that idea. You have all heard what they have to say about this Fourth Dimension?

I have not, said the Provincial Mayor.

It is simply this. That Space, as our mathematicians have it, is spoken of as having three dimensions, which one may call Length, Breadth, and Thickness, and is always definable by reference to three planes, each at right angles to the others. But some philosophical people have been asking why three dimensions particularly - why not another direction at right angles to the other three? - and have even tried to construct a Four-Dimension geometry. Professor Simon Newcomb was expounding this to the New York Mathematical Society only a month or so ago. You know how on a flat surface, which has only two dimensions, we can represent a figure of a three-dimensional solid, and similarly they think that by models of thee dimensions they could represent one of four - if they could master the perspective of the thing. See?

I think so, murmured the Provincial Mayor; and, knitting his brows, he lapsed into an introspective state, his lips moving as one who repeats mystic words. Yes, I think I see it now, he said after some time, brightening in a quite transitory manner.

"Well, I do not mind telling you I have been at work upon this geometry of Four Dimensions for some time. Some of my results are curious. For instance, here is a portrait of a man at eight years old, another at fifteen, another at seventeen, another at twenty-three, and so on. All these are evidently sections, as it were, Three-Dimensional representations of his Four-Dimensioned being, which is a fixed and unalterable thing.

Scientific people, proceeded the Time Traveller, after the pause required for the proper assimilation of this, know very well that Time is only a kind of Space. Here is a popular scientific diagram, a weather record. This line I trace with my finger shows the movement of the barometer. Yesterday it was so high, yesterday night it fell, then this morning it rose again, and so gently upward to here. Surely the mercury did not trace this line in any of the dimensions of Space generally recognized? But certainly it traced such a line, and that line, therefore, we must conclude was along the Time-Dimension.

But, said the Medical Man, staring hard at a coal in the fire, if Time is really only a fourth dimension of Space, why is it, and why has it always been, regarded as something different? And why cannot we move in Time as we move about in the other dimensions of Space?

The Time Traveller smiled. Are you sure we can move freely in Space? Right and left we can go, backward and forward freely enough, and men always have done so. I admit we move freely in two dimensions. But how about up and down? Gravitation limits us there.

Not exactly, said the Medical Man. There are balloons.

But before the balloons, save for spasmodic jumping and the inequalities of the surface, man had no freedom of vertical movement. Still they could move a little up and down, said the Medical Man.

Easier, far easier down than up.

And you cannot move at all in Time, you cannot get away from the present moment.

My dear sir, that is just where you are wrong. That is just where the whole world has gone wrong. We are always getting away from the present movement. Our mental existences, which are immaterial and have no dimensions, are passing along the Time-Dimension with a uniform velocity from the cradle to the grave. Just as we should travel down if we began our existence fifty miles above the earth’s surface.

But the great difficulty is this, interrupted the Psychologist. You can move about in all directions of Space, but you cannot move about in Time.

That is the germ of my great discovery. But you are wrong to say that we cannot move about in Time. For instance, if I am recalling an incident very vividly I go back to the instant of its occurrence: I become absent-minded, as you say. I jump back for a moment. Of course we have no means of staying back for any length of Time, any more than a savage or an animal has of staying six feet above the ground. But a civilized man is better off than the savage in this respect. He can go up against gravitation in a balloon, and why should he not hope that ultimately he may be able to stop or accelerate his drift along the Time-Dimension, or even turn about and travel the other way?

Oh, this, began Filby, is all –

Why not? said the Time Traveller.

It’s against reason, said Filby.

What reason? said the Time Traveller.

You can show black is white by argument, said Filby, but you will never convince me.

Possibly not, said the Time Traveller. But now you begin to see the object of my investigations into the geometry of Four Dimensions. Long ago I had a vague inkling of a machine –

To travel through Time! exclaimed the Very Young Man.

That shall travel indifferently in any direction of Space and Time, as the driver determines.

Filby contented himself with laughter.

But I have experimental verification, said the Time Traveller.

It would be remarkably convenient for the historian, the Psychologist suggested. One might travel back and verify the accepted account of the Battle of Hastings, for instance!

Don’t you think you would attract attention? said the Medical Man. Our ancestors had no great tolerance for anachronisms.

One might get one’s Greek from the very lips of Homer and Plato, the Very Young Man thought.

In which case they would certainly plough you for the Little-go. The German scholars have improved Greek so much.

Then there is the future, said the Very Young Man. "Just think! One might invest all one’s money, leave it to accumulate

Reviews for The Time Machine (AD Classic Illustrated)

[tess_schoolmarm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a novella about a time-traveller who firstly embarks to about 8270 AD (?) to the world of flesh eating Morlocks and peace-loving Eloi. I liked this book much better than The War of the Worlds as I think it has withstood the test of time a little better. I loved the vocabulary of Wells, much larger than today's writers and I even had to look up a few words to add to my word journal. Sci-fi is really not my genre at all (I usually despise it), but due to the writing and the short length of this book, it kept by rapt attention and I read it in one sitting. 88 pages

[jonfaith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Regina Spektor was on NPR today speaking with Terry Gross. The NPR interviewer accomplished no favors. She asked woefully stupid questions about the Soviet Union and its relationship to WWII. this originated when Spektor noted that growing up in the USSR she always felt that the Great Patriotic War had happened recently, given its absorption into the collective consciousness. Emigrating to the Bronx, she was struck that such wasn't a universal condition. Such made me think of The Time Machine.

As with most archetypes of speculative fiction, the premise had been closeted in my brainpan before opening the book, yet, this one succeeded, especially as a treatise on species within or over time. I'm curious what Spengler thought of this?

[coach_of_alva · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think this must have been one of the first novels to warn that the future might not be a Utopia. I found convincing because the unhappy future wasn’t caused by the establishment of an evil dictatorship or the destruction from a catastrophe. No, it came about as the logical climax of certain social trends, trends that are continuing in our time.What I have learned listening to audio versions of Wells’ classic science fiction novels, which I read when I was young, is that he not only an idea man but also a good novelist, with much skill at scene setting, world building, sharp characterizations, and sheer story telling.Scott Brick portrays the Time Traveler as an upper-class adventurer with a sneer in his voice that his terrible experiences do nothing to remove.

[branimal · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A brilliant inventor creates the world’s first time machine. After explaining its inner-workings to guests of his weekly dinner parties, he arranges for a follow up meeting about a week later. When the group convenes, they find the scientist exhausted and weathered. After cleaning up and consuming a well deserved meal, he sits down to tell of his journey over 800,000 years into the future.

Damn, this book is old. In fact, I’m certain it is the oldest novel I've yet to read clocking in at one hundred and twenty one years since initial publication. Wells seemingly went to great lengths to explain to the reader how a theoretical time machine would operate and I often wondered if Wells had built one himself based on how detailed his explanations and theories were. It would certainly explain the theory that the author himself is the main character.

That isn't to say it’s too philosophical and technical, there is quite a bit of action and danger. The events in the future carried with it a constant sense of urgency. Whether the traveler is trying to understand his surroundings, avoid capture or trying to find his missing time machine, the action moved at a brisk pace. In fact, a memorable moment had the traveler racing forward in time, worrying that a pillar or some kind of concrete structure may now be erected in the spot he occupied when he initially began his journey. Would he become a part of the object when he slammed on the brakes or would his machine and body simply explode? The story would be a hell of a lot shorter if he ended up like Han Solo encased in carbonite.

While I enjoyed the world building and the spectacle of time travel, I found myself re-reading passages over and over again as I struggled with Wells’ writing. I’m sure prose like this was probably commonplace back in the late 1800s but it was a major hurdle for me in 2013. However, you probably don’t need my endorsement or recommendation, this book is certainly a classic that inspired generations of sci-fi writers - it’s just not something I think I’ll find myself picking up again.

Cross Posted @ Every Read Thing

[themythbookshelf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Time Machine proved to be a lovely, albeit short, read, even for someone who isn't that much of a science fiction enthusiast, but that's probably because I haven't read much of the genre. First published first in 1895, this powerful little book shattered literary ground with a single man, the anonymous Time Traveller, and his "squat, ugly, and askew" machine of "brass, ebony, ivory and translucent glimmering quartz" (110). The tale is told from the perspective of one of the man's acquaintances, who is invited to dinner to hear of his adventure upon his return. Naturally, the Time Traveller's account dominates most of the book, though I found that these two contrasting perspectives complemented each other nicely.The adventure of the Time Traveller consists more of him running around to recover his stolen time machine than anything else. The descriptions of the "post-human humans" he meets are, for this reason, limited, and so is the depth to which the landscape is explored. This read reminded me of two other works, both classics in their own right--Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies. The former vaguely resembles this work in prose and descriptive style, while the latter, in its representation of the Eloi race. The Time Traveller describes the Eloi people, who we are the ancestors of, as innocent, pure, and child-like race, having degenerated into ignorance as a result of privilege and laziness. As the traveller reflects, "there is no intelligence where there is no change and no need of change" and they serve as a wonderful representation of this (97). A dangerously similar description is found in Bartolomé de las Casas' anthropological account of the natives, which is recounted from the perspective of a European missionary. (The difference, however, is that de las Casas enthusiastically viewed them as perfect receptors of the Christian religion, while here such qualities ignite the total opposite reaction).Furthermore, as this is the first of Wells' works that I read, I'm not sure if this is his natural prose — it was elegant but a little too verbose for my taste. Nevertheless, it was acceptable because it suits the character of the Time Traveller rather perfectly. All in all, you do not have to be a sci-fi fan to appreciate this book, though I'm sure it would help.

[aspirit-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like this book but had to force myself to finish it out of a feeling of obligation. How can I consider myself a science fiction fan without having read Wells' The Time Machine?

My biggest issue with the story is that the only moments that felt realistic were within the narrator's home, in which too much was spent trying to hype up the time adventure.

Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more 15 years earlier in my own timeline.

[lovinglit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The main man holds court in his parlour in late 1800s England with a story of his incredible travels through time. His chums are advised to listen carefully and to not interrupt. The story begins with conversation on the possibility of time travel itself, and continues with the event having happened. Time travel, in this case, means going forward a lot of centuries to an improbably futuristic year of 800,000 and something. Humans have evolved into two separate sub-species, one placid pleasant lot living above ground and a light-hating flesh-ripping lot who dwell in subterranean darkness. The time machine itself goes AWOL and our man is understandably in a panic about getting it, and himself, back. A rollicking and gripping story which surprised and delighted me.

[auntieclio · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a seminal work of science fiction, and as such blazed the trail for the genre as a whole. Reading it over 100 years after initial publication, gives me a sense of understanding science fiction. While taking this into consideration, as well as being a product of the Victorian era, I still found The Time Traveler to be more than a little overwrought in this tale. One surprising thing I learned was that Kodak did indeed have a camera available in 1895 and HG Wells must have been very well informed.

[ninelarks-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Time Traveler looks you in the eye and tells you a fantastical tale of the future. And why shouldn't time travel be possible, the book proposes, if it is just another dimension? We listen to his story of another world where mankind has evolved or perhaps devolved, we see his future. Or is it our future?

I haven't read anything by H.G. Wells until now, even though I profess to love science fiction. And I'm glad I finally read this - not because I particularly love the story, but for the way I can see how it has influenced recent books I love. I can see why it is classic, almost timeless, in the way it uses thoughts on human nature and the potential of human progress in this story.

I appreciate how it doesn't try to utilize science to make time travel plausible, but rather takes it on literary faith using two mysterious levers and the time travel machine.

The plot is fairly straight-forward, the discovery and slow reveal of the new world and the Time Traveler's hypothesis on how things came to be.It was straight-forward, but interesting. Not exactly engaging because I found myself putting it down intermittently, but definitely interesting. Thought-provoking.

It's not a difficult read. And the themes are now common in tv shows and other scifi books. But still... this book is worth reading, or at least worth a skim.

2.5 stars because it was good, but not great. It was interesting and thought-provoking, but not mind-blowing. It's just another perspective into how science fiction has been influenced.
Recommended for people who like science fiction and wonder where the thoughts of time travel came about. If you liked a Wrinkle in Time and you've grown up a bit, you'll want to read this.

[ejp1082_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure that this is a great novel in its own right, or that it's held up well over time (pun intended, har har).The most interesting aspect to me was the fact that Wells devoted a good portion of the books opening to explaining the idea of time travel itself. Not how the time machine itself worked - Wells skillfully avoids any attempt to explain that, to his credit. But rather, he presumably felt that "time travel" would be so alien a concept to his readers that it warranted a lengthy exposition. This more than anything illustrates just how groundbreaking the novel was. But while interesting on a meta level, it's a bit dull for a modern reader to plow through.It was also interesting on this level: all science fiction is inherently about the present, and in this case, it said a lot about late 19th century London. Wells took Darwin's (then still new-ish) ideas about evolution, and invented a fictitious time traveler so he could take them to a logical conclusion and use the story as a warning and bit of social commentary. Again, to the modern reader it seems a bit ho hum, but it's fascinating on a meta level.We're all familiar with the basic elements of the story. The time machine, the Eloi, the Morlocks. But surprisingly, that's about all there is to the novel - he makes a trip to the future where he discovers them (spurred by his machine being stolen), and there's little else in terms of story. Wells offers very vivid and captivating descriptions of the world, but there's not that much action. Further, the narrator seems kind of detached from it all, despite living through the experiences. There's no exploration of some of the implications of time travel, only this thinly veiled warning about the future.In short, if one is interested in a science fiction classic, it's a worthwhile read. But as a novel in of itself, it falls fairly flat.

[m2campanella · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When reading a book, if you know how the book ends before you reach it, it is only the quality of the keeps you going. Unfortunately, if writing is, as Nabakov says, all in the quality of writing then this one seems rather thin. it is the idea, more than anything else, that caries it. And whilst the idea was brilliant when it came out, now it is worn and worn again. Getting to the end was something of an ordeal. Interesting note that no one mentions is Wells' socialistic view of how society divides into Morlocks and Elois.

[brittlandess · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Time Machine begins with an unnamed narrator speaking of how he met the Time Traveler whose name is not given. He tells of how he and a group of other people came to hear about what the Time Traveler thinks of time travel and the fourth dimension. This is then followed by the Time Traveler showing a miniature version of the time machine and tells of how it disappears as well as telling them his plans. A week passes before the narrator tells of how the group came back and waited for the Time Traveler as he had specified. When the Time Traveler comes into the room they are waiting in, they find him a mess and, after eating, learn of where the man had been and what had happened. The story from then on is continuous dialogue, save for the end and some actions by the Time Traveler, as the Time Traveler tells his story. The Time Traveler tells of how the trip through time was and what the land he saw upon arrival was like. He told of the creatures that were our descendants and how they acted. The Time Traveler described how humanity had changed and how Earth had also changed. Later on the night he arrives, the Time Traveler find that his time machine had been stolen. The Time Traveler speaks of his panic and tells of how he had spent that first night in the future. The day after the Time Traveler arrives, he tries to talk to the people in an attempt to find the time machine. He talks about Weena, a girl with whom he becomes friends with after saving her from drowning. The Time Traveler and Weena gain a deep friendship. Later, the Time Traveler catches the first glimpse of the Morlocks, a race that has also descended from humanity and those that stole the Time Traveler’s time machine. Living underground with great eyesight in the dark, the Time Traveler decides one day to go down a deep hole to where he had seen one climb. He describes how terrible this was for him after they had started to poke and touch him. The Time Traveler had run and started to realize that the darkness in which the Morlocks lived in was what terrified the “Eloi”, the race that the Time Traveler had become familiar with. The Time Traveler, also afraid of the Morlocks by this time, decides to go to a place he had seen earlier to try to take shelter during the new moon. Going to what he dubs the Palace of Green Porcelain, the Time Traveler finds out that this place is actually a museum which has various things that the Time Traveler knew of from his time as well as some newer things. This gave the Time Traveler a chance to get a weapon and some more matches, something that he had used to ward the Morlocks off when they came too close. On the way back to where Weena lived, the Time Traveler and Weena were attacked by the Morlocks while they set up camp in a forest at night and, unfortunately, left the fire unattended long enough for it to go out. The Time Traveler ends up running out of the forest as well as setting fire to it, leaving Weena who, if she wasn’t eaten by the Morlocks, to burn. As the Time Traveler returns to where the Eloi had mostly been, he sees a door which had been previously locked open. He heads down, thinking that if the Morlocks are down there, he would use the matches to ward them off. This backfires when he is unable to light a match and, luckily, clambers onto the time machine and goes further into the future. This results in the Time Traveler seeing the sun become large and create a constant sunset. The Time Traveler is nearly attacked again by large crablike creatures before he decides to go back to his own time finally. The tale ends with him arriving the week after he had previously talked with the group. When the Time Traveler finishes his story, many of the people do not believe this account while the narrator is curious. The day after this, the narrator goes to the Time Traveler who has decided to go to the future and take pictures as proof. After this happens, the Time Traveler is never seen again.Reading a book such as the Time Machine was different. The way the Time Traveler remained nameless is certainly interesting. How many of the characters remained nameless was actually very interesting. I like how H. G. Wells wrote the book. It was somewhat confusing at first since I was unable to tell from what sort of view I was reading from. I liked the way that the story was told through the narrator’s point of view but also had the Time Traveler tell of what the experience was like for him. The description of the Eloi and the Morlocks was incredible. The way that the Time Traveler described the future made it seem like a believable account of time traveling. The story is definitely great and understandably a sort of classic.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This very short novel is the classic birth of science fiction writing. The backdrop of time travel is used to discuss the ideas of how mankind and different economic classes of people will develop and play off of one another. The Time Traveler guesses that over time, the aristocrats or Eloi had become so used to living off the hard work of the working class Morlocks that they became complacent and lazy. In the end, they lost all drive and purpose and were fearful of the Morlocks who could only come out in the dark and would kidnap the Eloi to eat then. I found the story to be fascinating and I could not put it down until I finished. Wells was way ahead of his 19th century world and I really cannot wait to read another of his stories.

[andyray_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wells was the first time-traveller, from his mind onto the pages of this marvelous book! I must have read this at least three or four times over the years, and it doesn't change for anything but the better.

[robert.zimmermann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Second time reading it, and I think I enjoyed it even more this time around. I'm a big Wells fan and thoroughly enjoyed this story. It's short, but there's a great adventure within its pages with some commentary on man, as well. I wouldn't be opposed to reading it some time in the future, again.

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A group of Englishmen sit around theorizing about the (im)possibility of a fourth dimension and time travel. One of them claims he has built a time machine. They all meet again another day, with the time traveler entering the room looking disheveled before embarking on a long story about his adventures travelling into the future.So I was very much looking forward to reading this book, as I had never read anything by H.G. Wells before and this book is considered a science fiction classic (perhaps even arguably the science fiction classic). Unfortunately, I found myself rather disappointed with it. For starters, I just didn't find it that interesting; it didn't really hold my attention. It took an embarrassingly long time for me to get through this slim book because I couldn't focus on it for long. Mostly I couldn't get past how it was VERY much a "tell" rather than a "show" book, with 90 percent of the story being one long narrative from the time traveler. I prefer books that paint a picture rather than simply being talked at by one rather bland character with little personality. Also, maybe because I've read a decent amount of more recent science fiction, this one didn't have the usual appeal of using a speculative idea to talk about the very real issues of today. I think that Wells was trying for that, but I struggled with the transition from "arcane class system" to "thousands of years in the future, cannibalism!" The logical leap just wasn't there. Although I was trying to appreciate its place in science fiction history, this book fell flat for me. I wish I had better things to say about it, but I'd much, much, much rather read anything by Margaret Atwood or Ursula Le Guin for something compelling and thought-provoking -- and would recommend those authors' books over this one.

[nielspeterqm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As much time travel as futurist dystopia – 800 000 years from now! – this is one of the first "real" sf novels & it reads as fluidly & thoughtfully as ever.

[booklove2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm trying to read some of the books that have such an influential impact, and I figure this might be one of them. If you already have a vague idea of a book because pop culture has mentioned it so much, then yes, it's probably influential. Maybe it was the unique yet diverse ideas that Wells had for each of his early books that made them influential. Also, Wells as a scientist probably made these books important, influencing his ideas and giving him the motivation to write them. I liked 'The Time Machine' much better than I thought. I never knew there was more than the Morlocks in the plot before reading. I loved all of the time traveler's ruminations on what might have happened to the earth and human beings through time. I especially loved the visions while the time traveler is in the time machine. The book reminded me of 'At the Mountains of Madness' by Lovecraft. And it also seems like the yin to the yang of Journey to the Center of the Earth' by Jules Verne but I don't want to spoil the plots by saying why. I love all three of these books... they should all be on the shelf side by side.

[df6b_laurene · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was a well-written book about time travel. In this story the main character goes on a trip to the future. When he arrives, he meets the Morlocks and the Eloi. The Eloi are the good, lighter side of this world. The Morlocks on the other hand are the evil, darker side of this world, they live down below the earth and capture and kill the Eloi. He meets many friendly Eloi, especially one named Weena. She's his little buddy.

[phaga_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved Wells' vision of the future of humanity. Looking at society today it's easy to see how Wells came to his conclusions. This book seems even more relevant today, and I think Wells knew that. He knew we would continue our quest for contentedness and thus wrote a book that will remain timeless so long as we remain clueless.

[running501 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of the Time Traveler, primarily in the year 802,701 A.D. as he learns how humans have evolved into two separate, struggling "classes".A very quick classic read. While the style of writing is quite different from modern fiction, it is easy to follow and the story is interesting enough that I didn't mind the style.What I found most intriguing about this book was the expression of Wells's views at the end of the Nineteenth Century. Looking at the book in it's context shows some of the angst over industrialization and fear of where society might be headed.

[breakerfallen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm giving this a three mainly because of its place in literary history. As a story, I didn't like any of the characters' personalities or the social commentary imbedded in the Time Traveller's descriptions. It's still a great plot and an interesting read, though.

[coffeehag · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This story is well told. I enjoyed the nineteenth-century atmosphere of the Time Traveler's gatherings with his friends and Well's description of how the dim light of the smoking room illuminated the people within it. Wells pays attention to detail without spilling over into tedium, and the main story, which tells of the protagonist's travels forward into the future, was gripping, so that I didn't want to put the book down.

[neverstoptrying · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Before I actually read this book, I assumed that I had read it as a child, but now I am less sure. Perhaps I only saw the movie and knew the story line because the story line is that well known. Not certain. There were certainly ways in which it felt like a new read. At any rate, given how long ago it was written and given that I did know the story line, I assumed I would not enjoy the read all that much. I was wrong.To begin with, my copy is a Penguin, which means it had a readable and helpful Introduction and useful footnotes. The Introduction grounded me in Wells' context: His visions of our technical future, many details of which have proven true, although not those in this story, as yet, predate both radio and the airplane. So his imagination was impressive. On the other hand, he lived well into the 20th Century, so he was not so "pre-historic" as I thought of him being. Acutely, he saw future history as being "a race between education and catastrophe". Finally, there were many ways he was truly a man of his time, as well, grappling, as so many of his time did, with the moral and ethical implications of Darwin's recently published Origin of Species.I am in some ways an unforgiving or narrow-minded reader of fiction: I look for character development, plot and emotional grab. These attributes are not what make this book important. In my reading of the text itself, I found that the narrative contains more intellectual speculation than dramatic action, no character development and little or no depiction of meaningful relationships. For a whole novel, that would have been a bit much; for a novella, it did not bother me, especially as I was reading for historical interest and not, primarily, for fun. The language is mildly Victorian-verbose, but not too badly so. I also found that knowing the story line ahead of time freed me to appreciate the process of reading it. I found the ideas complex enough that I would consider re-reading it sometime.The rating is in context of its being a classic, not in comparison with contemporary R&R reads.

[thefallingalice · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Der ZeitreisendeDie Erzählung beginnt zum Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts, wo es dem Protagonisten des Buches gelingt eine Maschine zu bauen, die ihn durch die vierte Dimension tragen soll: Die Zeit.Und das soll sein einziger Name werden: Der Zeitreisende. Von Euphorie erfüllt berichtet einer Versammlung ungläubiger Freunde und Bekannter von seiner Erfindung. Doch niemand nimmt sein Gerede wirklich ernst. Zeitreisen?Ihre Meinung soll sich jedoch ändern, als er eines Tages völlig zerkratzt und verschmutzt auftaucht. Noch aufgeregt berichtet er von seinem Abenteuer:Die Zeitmaschine brachte ihn ins Jahr 802.701. Kaum hatte er sich vom Schreck und von den Unannehmlichkeiten der Reise erholt, kam es auch schon zum Erstkontakt mit den Bewohnern. Was ihm berichtet wird, fasziniert ihn vollkommen. Die Erde wird von lediglich zwei Schichten bevölkert wird: Den Eloi und den Mordocks.Die Eloi bevölkern die Erdoberfläche. Sie scheinen glückliche und zufriedene Wesen zu sein, die ihrem Alltag fröhlich und naiv entgegensehen. Ihnen scheint es an nichts zu mangeln, sie müssen sich keine Sorgen machen. Nur die Angst vor der Dunkelheit lässt sie des Nachts nicht ruhig schlafen.Denn unterirdisch leben die Morlocks. Sie kommen nur in der Dunkelheit an die Oberfläche. Sie verbreiten Angst und Schrecken. Dort, wo sie herkommen gibt es keine Nahrung und oft verschleppen sie die unschuldigen Elois. Sie sind bösartig und grausam. So glaubt der Zeitreisende.Science Fiction als GesellschaftskritikWells´ Roman gilt als Pionierroman der Science Fiction insbesondere im Gebiet des Zeitreisens. Diesen Roman ordnet er selbst zu seinen „scientific romances“, die die ersten drei Romane seines Schaffens umfassen und heute in das Genre der Science Fiction eingeordnet werden können.In seinem Roman versucht Wells eine zukünftige Welt zu beschreiben, die zunächst als eine Art Utopie erscheint. Doch so oberflächlich der Zeitreisende im Roman zunächst das Jahr 802.701 betrachtet, muss auch er später feststellen, dass seine Vermutungen und die Schilderungen der Eloi nur wenig Wahrheit beinhalten.Denn geht man tiefer und nähert sich der eigentlichen Wahrheit, muss man feststellen, dass die Welt, die der Zeitreisende dort betreten hat, einem Schlachthaus ähnelt. Was früher Menschen waren, sind heute nur noch verschrumpelte Wesen. Die zu Zeiten des Zeitreisenden noch viel gelobte Technik und die ausgefeilte Sprache als Mittel zur Kommunikation sind verkümmert. All das entstand aus der immer größer werdenden Schere zwischen Arm und Reich. Die einen schwingen sich Herrschern über die anderen auf. Damit kritisiert der Autor auch zu seine Lebzeiten gesellschaftlichen britischen Verhältnisse.Jedoch hat seine Mahnung auch heute nicht viel an seiner Aktualität verloren.Ein zeitloser RomanDie Zeitmaschine ist ein durchaus zeitloser Roman.Wells wählte für seine Erzählung ein weit entferntes Jahr. Er verzichtet auf Beschreibungen von möglicher technischer Geräte in der Zukunft, die einen Roman oft unglaubwürdig machen – spätestens wenn seine Jahreszahl für die Menschen zur Wirklichkeit geworden ist.So schafft er es – nicht letztendlich auch durch eine großartige Sprache – die Glaubwürdigkeit des Romans auch über Jahrzehnte und Jahrhunderte aufrecht zu erhalten. Die Geschichte passt in jede Zeit, kann von jeder neuen Generation mit dem größten Vergnügen verschlungen werden und verliert nichts von seinem Charme und seiner Aktualität.So kann der Autor sich auf das konzentrieren, was wirklich im Vordergrund stehen soll: Der gesellschaftliche Wandel und die Probleme die damit einhergehen können. Und dadurch, dass der Autor nicht mit seiner Kritik spart und immer wieder Menschen zum Nachdenken anregen kann, gibt es vielleicht ein kleines Fünkchen Hoffnung auf eine bessere und verantwortungsvollere Zukunft. Aber nur vielleicht.

[polarbear123_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable and easy to read, this is also relevant today. The haves and the have nots stand out in our society and wells has predicted this. As with some of his other predictions will he be accurate about our ultimate fate?

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Victorian gentleman-scientist known only as the "Time Traveler" builds a machine that can transport him far into the future or back into the past. The machine takes the Time Traveler all the way to 802,701 A.D., where he finds that humanity has split into two separate species: the attractive but intellectually-limited Eloi, who dwell above ground in empty-minded happiness, and the brutish Morlocks, who live underground and fear light. The symbolism isn't very subtle; when the Time Traveler returns to the present day he tells his friends that he believes the dim Eloi are the descendants of the British upper crust, while the uncouth Morlocks' ancestry goes back to the country's working classes. He conjectures that the relative ease of Eloi lives caused the species' moral, physical and intellectual deterioration over the centuries. The Morlocks are still subservient to the Eloi in some respects, but after thousands of years, the underground creatures have found a shocking way to take advantage of the surface-dwellers' fragility.In Wells' pessimistic vision, the forces of natural selection have led not to the improvement of humanity, as is commonly supposed, but to its decline. Despite the novella's age and familiarity (there are several adaptations and movie versions), I was surprised at how engrossing this work still is. I highly recommend it.

[justabookreader · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After settling in with The Time Machine, I soon realized I didn’t really remember much about this book. Or, at least my memories were fuzzy. I decided about half way through that I had a very big dislike of the Time Traveller. He was arrogant, uncaring, and prejudice. I get the arrogance, he wouldn’t have invented time travel without it, but the rest I could have done without.We begin with a lecture of sorts where the Time Traveller shows his guests a small device that he claims can travel in time. He also claims to have built a larger functioning device that he plans to use to travel in time. Which he apparently does, meeting with two vastly different groups of humans --- the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Eloi are a group of people so simple that he can’t believe this is what has become of the human race. In this same time, he also comes in contact with the Morlocks; a species that lives underground in dark tunnels. He does his best to categorize the humans he’s met but is disgusted when he figures out the relationship between the Eloi and Morlocks. When he’s able to escape and travels to his own place in time, he regales his contemporaries with stories of his travels.There are so many fascinating aspects to this story. Time travel! But, Wells drove me crazy with his ideas of the human race. The pervasive idea that the Time Traveller was so much smarter, better shall we say, than the people he encountered was repulsive. It ruined this book for me. I can dislike a character and still enjoy a book but not in this case. I tried to become fascinated by the time travel but I was too far gone to get any enjoyment out of it.

[readafew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Time Machine is a pretty short story but still very gripping. I thought it was thought provoking and an interesting lecture on class decadence. The Time Traveler invites some acquaintances over for dinner and drops a big surprise on them. He has discovered how to travel through time and tries to convince them with a model he makes disappear that it is possible. A few days later there is another dinner party and The Time Traveler shows up late to his own dinner and looks like he has been in a fight and begs leave to clean himself up. After which he eats and then tells them all a fantastic story.

[trilliams · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

You're all Morlocks.