The Invisible Man (AD Classic)

By H G Wells

When a mysterious stranger arrives at a local inn with his face hidden behind bandages, he soon becomes the talk of the village. Locking himself in his room, he spends most of his time mixing chemicals, desperately trying to reverse the affects of invisibility. But when his money runs out, the invisible man soon discovers that he is ill-equipped on his own, and that he must place his trust in others if he is to survive. H. G. Wells is credited with the popularisation of time travel in 1895 with The Time Machine, introducing the idea of time being the “fourth dimension” a decade before the publication of Einstein’s first Relativity papers. In 1896, he imagined a mad scientist creating human-like beings from animals in The Island of Doctor Moreau, which created a growing interest in animal welfare throughout Europe. In 1897 with The Invisible Man, Wells shows how a formula could render one invisible, recognizing that an invisible eye would not be able to focus, thus rendering the invisible man blind. With The War of the Worlds in 1898, Wells established the idea that an advanced civilization could live on Mars, popularising the term ‘martian’ and the idea that aliens could invade Earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Engage Books
• Release date: Jun 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781927970836

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. 

Reviews for The Invisible Man (AD Classic)

[jonfaith · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Misanthropic and bereft of philosophy, it begins as farce and concludes in a homicidal froth. Pity.

[danielstj · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A disappointing read. H.G Wells has much better tales. I would not recommend wasting your time on this one.

[virago77 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The Invisible Man was a jerk who was mean to people and tortured a cat. This pissed me off and has left my mentally incapable of leaving a more detailed review. I expected better.

[the_hibernator · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In H. G. Wells' classic novel, a scientist turns himself invisible and wreaks havoc in rural England. This book is a versatile classic because it could be read by someone who is young or who simply wants to read fluff, but it can also be appreciated by more careful readers who are looking for undercurrents of meaning. It's a tragi-farcical romp in 19th century England, but it's also a warning about what people might do simply because they can get away with it. This is a classic that anyone interested in science fiction should read.

[tommi180744 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An inventive & exciting story by one of the foremost Science Fiction authors of his era, whose literary fame encompasses Histories & Philosophy. Created from the serialized tale published in 1897 in a UK magazine, Pearson's Weekly, The Invisible Man as the title suggests has a main character Griffin who becomes invisible. Wells examines the good aspects & pitfalls of such a transformation with the emphasis on the downside as Griffin becomes increasingly erratic - no spoiler here - read it for the dramatic events and conclusion.

[joe73-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great read. Man.........this guy is a jerk. But I guess karma comes full circle.

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

Het gegeven is natuurlijk fascinerend, maar de uitwerking valt tegen: traag en gebroken ritme. Lectuur opgegeven na 120 blz

[msaucier818 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

*Spoilerish type reivew* This was a decent book by Wells, but my least favorite of the books I have read by him. This one obviously is a short novel about a man who is invisible. I thought the idea had a great deal of potential, but I never felt like the story ever took off for me. The Invisible Man is simply grumpy and perhaps a lunatic and the story turns into more of a chase down the bad guy plot. Not a bad read, but certainly not one to remember.

[booklove2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Surprisingly more action than I thought the novel would have (after reading the disappointing Jekyll & Hyde last year, anyway). The Invisible Man seems to be a bad dude. Definitely not a misunderstood villain, just because he is invisible, which is what I was expecting. This invisible man could have written the book on terrorism. I thought the plot kept its pace and was the perfect length. The writing itself wasn't as great as I wished though.

[maxernst11 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Het gegeven is natuurlijk fascinerend, maar de uitwerking valt tegen: traag en gebroken ritme. Lectuur opgegeven na 120 blz

[ed0jones · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A classic that probably should be read. Story of a man with awesome power who is corrupted quickly and completely.

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

My first Wells book, and I must read more of his now. Much better than I had even guessed it would be.

[greeniezona · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am such a geek. My favorite part of this book is the Invisible Man's brief lecture on how light and invisibility work, midway through the book. For a day, in the background of my brain I was designing camp curriculum's around it.

So, H.G. Wells has a reputation for a reason. This book is compulsively readable, if a tad old-fashioned. It does suffer the problem of being a book in which the main character is impossible to like. Though it does serve as a rather thorough argument that invisibility is not a fantastic superpower to have, and that it certainly does not free you of your dependence on other human beings. If anything, it makes that dependency sharper. Also, how much of our trust of people hinges on being able to see their face?

More pulp than psychological thriller, but I'm okay with that.

[sjpluvsms · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book! by my favorite auther, Hubert George Wells (who has sadly been dead for a very long time)for sci-fi fans, you'll love this!

[lara335 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is such a famous novel that I was expecting a far better read. The opening chapter, as a muffled mysterious stranger comes to an inn, asking for a room and to not be disturbed is full of promise. But the rest of the story was tedious, as the invisible man loses his temper, and seems only to want to revenge himself on others. What is fascinating is the title which captures the imagination. But Wells strangely concentrates on the downside of invisibility - having to be naked in cold weather, being unable to eat invisibly, having others bump into you, without having some fun plus side moments.So, a great idea, and I'm sure this is why the novel is 'a classic' - but none of the characters were particularly interesting, the invisible man himself plain peculiar, and what he gets up to bizarre and slow-moving.

[dasam-5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Still a great read.

[ldvoorberg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent! A classic thriller.

[infjsarah · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was OK. But it felt insubstantial. How did he get to this point and why was he so power mad?

[squeakychu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's not easy being invisible! Griffin, a minor scientist in England, discovers how to make things invisible. His experiments with living things only left the back of a white cat's eyes, but he was able to make himself totally invisible. That's when his troubles began. How does an invisible man eat (especially if partially digested food is still visible), clothe himself (especially if "walking clothing" scare others, or get and carry money without creating "floating money" (especially before the days of "virtual money"? In addition, how does an invisible man refrain from performing acts of mischief that are so enticing?This classic novel answers the above questions and provides for an interesting play-by-play of this scientist's adventures, including his ability to find someone (Mr. Marvel, the tramp) who scams him and, by chance, to discover someone who could help him (Dr. Kent). Both funny and sad, this story is well written, almost believable, very imaginative, and a most enjoyable read.

[rrainer-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've actually never read this before, and was surprised both by how detailed the science of the transformation was (though I probably shouldn't have been, because this era was big on the science in science fiction) and how unsympathetic the protagonist was. Enjoyed very much!

[rbeffa_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When this story began I was rather sympathetic to the Invisible Man, and enjoyed the story which was written in 1897. Stories this old are apt to improve one's vocabulary and bring back expressions probably heard from my grandparents. The tale took an unexpected twist for me, and my sympathy for a scientist who perhaps didn't realize the consequences of his actions was dashed. Instead we find we have a story of a sociopath, a man who seems to have been mad at the world from his college years. We can distill this down to "mad scientist" I believe.

[carolynsuarez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

great fast read. didn't see it coming until the teddy bear.

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

Excellent story with lots of suspense and a slowly building plot. Could be a bit of a dry read at times, but overall very good.

[kraysaulis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book has all of the characteristics of good science fiction: science is simultaneously man's great power and his outdoing.

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent story. Truly liked the imaginative thought processes of the supposition of invisibility. Highly recommend the book.

[yougotamber · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I would probably give this book a 3.5 but since that isn't possible, I rounded up. I enjoyed this book and thought it to have many thought invoking ideas. The creativity and thought put into what it would be like to become invisible is great and it really made me think. I may have given this a higher rating if I had read it back in the day when it came out. Knowing the story over the years without having read the book has ruined it a little for me. As always though I love H.G. Wells writing and amazing originality for his time.

[mickenimell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lacked a protagonist for most of the story, especially the first half.
Good plot that felt both fleshed out and fast paced.
3.5 stars

[versor-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An intricate work, with several twists and turns. Certainly engaging on the question of human psychology, specifically on the potential corruption that the power of invisibility might bestow upon a man, but overall, a less compelling story than others of H. G. Wells' works. Perhaps this was due to my increasing distaste for the Invisible Man (the character) as time went on, and the final twist in the tale came too late to win me back fully.

Even so, a good read, and a classic. Well worth the time spent.

[blake.rosser · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This probably would have worked better as a short story given that there are no major sympathetic characters. But still, Wells' exploration of egomania and the practical aspects of invisibility are captivating enough that the 200-odd pages go just as fast. The climax is as taut and suspenseful as anything out of Grisham or King. And even if the writing is sometimes stilted and the action handled clumsily, the book is well worth the read and has undoubtably earned its status as a classic.

[oswinssouffle · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

In all honestly, I would have expected an Scientist to be capable of performing this thing called "critical thinking" but reading this book, I know I expected to much.