Some Short Stories by H. G. Wells - Including the Invasion of Mars and the Valley of the Spiders (Fantasy and Horror Classics)

By H. G. Wells

H. G. Wells is regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction writers of all time. In this carefully selected collection is contained 'The Father of Science Fiction's greatest science fiction and fantasy writings, including stories such as 'The Invasion from Mars' and 'The Valley of the Spiders'.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781447480433

Reviews for Some Short Stories by H. G. Wells - Including the Invasion of Mars and the Valley of the Spiders (Fantasy and Horror Classics)

[pilgrimjess · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book is a collection of 13 short stories which have largely been forgotten and probably with good reason. Most are around 15 pages long.Now there is a mixture of tales from flesh eating creatures and plants,voodoo type practices and ghosts to name a few which are ideas which have gone on to grace various novels. The title story itself is flesh eating spiders. Three men are in pursuit of a runaway woman and her companions when they come across a valley with a strange mist within it. That mist turns out to be spiders travelling on the wind on spores (which really does happen in nature) attacking and eating that they alight on. Unfortunately it is not overly obvious why the woman ran away or just why the men and in particular the leader is so keen to catch them. Then all the men turn out to be something of cowards with the leader killing one of his companions which makes none of the characters particularily likeable.Spiders are often seen as sinister so it is an easy sell to make the flesh crawl a little and many of the tales are pretty creepy but for me they lacked any real depth and the endings were on the whole fairly predictable to really stick in the memory for very long.For the record my favourite story was probably 'The Inexperienced Ghost' which made me smirk but this book is really only for H.G.Wells most ardent fans.

[stephenbarkley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While in high school I found second hand copies of H. G. Wells' classic works: The Invisible Man, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The War of the Worlds, and The Time Machine. I was completely entranced. Wells' writing is so matter-of-fact, it sounds convincing. I can understand why people panicked when The War of the Worlds was dramatized on radio!The short stories collected in The Valley of Spiders have that same convincing quality, but lack the imagination of his major works. Of the 13 stories, only two stood out:1) "The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham" is a disturbing tale of waking up in someone else's skin. Wells conveys the horror of coming to grasp just what has happened brilliantly.2) "The Door in the Wall" mixes childhood memory and adult disillusionment in one unforgettable package.Besides these two shining lights, the collection falls flat.