The Invisible Man

By H. G. Wells

A brilliant scientist’s experiment leads him into a life of crime in this classic tale—the inspiration for the suspenseful film starring Elisabeth Moss.


On a frigid night in a remote English village, a visitor inquires about a room. The innkeeper welcomes him, filling the hearth with a roaring fire, but no matter how warm the room becomes, the traveler will not remove his coat or the scarf that hides his face. If he did, he would disappear.
 
The invisible man is Griffin, a brilliant scientist who tested a new invention on himself and found that it worked far too well. When his lab was destroyed in a fire, Griffin was forced out onto the streets of London, where he turned to theft to survive. He came to the English countryside in a last-ditch attempt to return himself to normal, but he will soon be driven back into the night—and to the very edge of madness—in this original science fiction novel that inspired the psychological horror film starring Elisabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.
 
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• Language: English
• Publisher: MysteriousPress.com Open Road
• Release date: Nov 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781497691186

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

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Reviews for The Invisible Man

[benkaboo-51322 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Summary: In a small english village an invisible man causes havoc when he starts to terrorise the locals

Things I liked:

Style: The author used a sort of epistological style as if he was recreating the story based on the hearsay and reports of people that
had been around at the time.

Short: I always appreciate a book that manages to deliver something in less than 300 pages that other take 900 to do.

Things I thought could be improved:

Number of characters: In some scenes, especially involving physical conflict, the author throws in a bunch of bystanders which makes the scene hard to follow in text. More work could have been put into differentiating or developing the characters; or it might have been better to just remake the
scene and leave them out.


Highlight:

Funnily enough I think I most enjoyed the 'tell me the whole plan' section where the invisible man reveals the events that occured beforehe arrived. I found them the most tense and scary. Maybe the story should have been that one.

[tomdonaghey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Invisible Man (1897) by H.G. Wells. This is the science fiction classic that has given rise to many many spin-off stories and film adaptations. H.G. Wells was in his writing prime when he penned this brilliant book. The moral that I came up for this tale is never become invisible unless you can undo the effect. Or something like that.Griffin is a scientist deeply interested in physics. When he manages to create a method of making a body's refractive index to that of air so that it neither absorbs nor reflects light and thus becomes invisible, he does it to himself but only after having figured out how to undo the effect. But he loses the paper that has the undo formula on it.Threatened with eviction by his landlord, Griffin disrobes and sets forth to destroy the man, only to end up destroying the building and his research. Naked, he steals food and clothing. The latter items necessary when he realizes the food he consumes can be seen within him, appearing to others as floating bits.And so “The Stranger” gets rooms at an inn and attempts to create the missing formula from memory, to no avail. He becomes increasingly crazed at his inability to be seen again and to resume a “normal” life. The locals become increasingly disturbed by this temperamental shut-in and his terrible manners leading to his fits of temper. As days pass the locals become more suspicious of this person who hides his identity behind heavy clothing and facial bandage wraps.When things come to a head, Griffin reveals his true identity and fights his way out of the inn and into a cold day outside, leaving his experiments behind as well as his precious notebooks.The book chronicles the further adventures of Griffin in his attempt to fight both the elements and his fellow man. Increasing desperate at his plight, lacking clothes against the weather, the ability to procure either food or lodging in his naked state, and finding the entire countryside turned against this invisible menace, he turns a chance encounter with an old acquaintance into a temporary reprieve from his torments. But soon his faith in the fellow is betrayed, leading to an untimely death.There are many psychological insights to be drawn from this tale but at heart it is a cautionary story about science and going too far. The Invisible Man is both a hero in his field of physics and a demon in his relationship with mankind. And despite the terrible power that

[sriddell_8 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like it. I try not to judge classics by modern reading and entertainment tastes. But this book was super slow and boring.

It had a lot of atmosphere. For a book originally published long before radio or movies or TV, I can see the value in long passages full of description.

The premise of the story was pretty straight-forward, in a science fiction sort of way. The main character turns himself invisible with somewhat nefarious intentions. He learns that being invisible isn't very easy and gets mad at the world.

I bumped up to 3 stars since it's a classic and one of the first ever modern works of science fiction.

[yarb_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't expecting the first third of this to be a slapstick comedy, but that's how Wells plays it, with Mr Invisible tripping, slapping and pilfering from a variety of gormless villagers. It's tedious, and the action scenes are flat and one-paced.There's an intermezzo where we get to the backstory and Wells explores, though insufficiently, the interesting practical and philosophical ramifications of invisibility. Then it's back to the narrative as the title character decisively rejects an offer of rehabilitation and goes on one last rampage as the dragnet of solid Victorian citizens closes in on him.A decent enough mad scientist tale but not as deep as The Time Machine or as lurid as Dr Moreau. My favourite Wells is still Mr Polly.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“An invisible man is a man of power.”A curious, and somewhat rude, stranger arrives in the village of Iping, covered up from head to toe. Turns out, he has turned himself invisible! And it's not all as wonderful as he thought it would be! In fact, when he tells his backstory, it seems he has made a grave mistake. And he quickly descends into madness...A classic that actually was better than I'd thought it would be! I used to think it would be awesome to be invisible, but as this book plainly illustrates, it's not. For one thing, food shows after he eats, so he has to hide after a meal! I hadn't thought of that! It's a good read, even though I didn't understand the science parts at all. Good ending too! I'm glad I finally read this!

[dzejncrvena · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you are looking for stories with mad scientists, this is your go-to. The narration captured my attention from the first chapter to the last one. For a book written in the old times, it is not too boring for me. (The number of words is enough to keep me going.) I finished it in one sitting.
A classic worth recommending.

[fence_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One wintry day in a small, quiet English village, a stranger appears. He takes a room at the inn and keeps himself to himself. But his intense privacy, the bandages he wears, and the way he never eats around other people all arouse the suspicion of the locals. They aren’t quite sure what he is, or what he has done, but they are positive he has done something, and the speculation and rumours grow and spread. None of them, however, come close to the truth. He is invisible!

H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man is a story the basics of which are known to many people. A scientist meddles and experiments, and succeeds in turning himself invisible. He thinks it will lead to all sorts of advantages for him. Of course he soon discovers that there are more disadvantages that advantages, and he is unable to turn himself visible.

It is a story of selfishness and madness.

And it is one of the founding books for the “mad scientist” trope. Frankenstein may have created a monster, but he wasn’t insane, just irresponsible. Dr. Moreau & Griffen, H. G. Wells’ characters are selfish and think of nothing but themselves. They are not the mad cackling men of popular culture, but they are still, to my mind, mad in that they pay no mind to society and other people. They think only of themselves and what they can get out of a situation. I’d be tempted to say that they probably come out of a conservative view of the world, in that they suggest that men are inherently inclined towards evil, and only society’s pressures and rules keeps people on the straight and narrow. I’m not sure I agree with that, but it certainly explains these books.

And although the central story here shares some similarities with The Island of Doctor Moreau the tone is utterly different. There the horror and the craziness was visible from the outset; here it is a much more restrained horror. It reads almost like a cosy mystery, with the strangeness being all the stranger because it occurs in the known and the usual, it happens in England, not in some foreign exotic island.

It is a solid read, and very entertaining, and I am glad I read it. I’m not sure if I’ll ever reread it though.

[merlucito · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very funny and easy to read classic!

[mstrust · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A man takes a room at an inn and proceeds to make life hell for the innkeepers. He's rude and demanding and also tends to smash their things when he goes into a rage, which is often. They have no idea who he is as he has refused to give a name and keeps himself bundled up to the eyeballs. When the innkeeper has finally had enough, the man literally disappears, but not before doing as much bodily injury as possible to everyone in the vicinity.Funny that I'd missed this cornerstone of horror until now. First published in 1897, it has a modern feel to it, probably because the main character displays a schizophrenic level of violence, attacking old men and women and trampling children. It must have been terrifying to an audience of 120 years ago and still plays well today as the invisible man lacks any conscience.

[niquetteb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story is from so long ago, yet it remains a compelling and interesting read. The violence is rather stark and not something I care for. I enjoyed looking up words with which I was unfamiliar.

[matke-261098 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don’t know how I missed H G Wells when I was young. His work is fun but I would have appreciated it more back then.This one shows that Wells has a sense of humor, and yet it’s a dark story. A brilliant physicist concocts a set of devices that enable him to become invisible. Then he loses his notebooks and equipment, so he’s stuck in a condition that isn’t quite what he had hoped it would be. While the story is entertaining and, in the last few pages, exciting, the character’s motivations are obscure. His rage seems to be an inherent part of his character.Recommended for late childhood and early teens, or if you want an easy but distracting read.

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

Seriously, this novel would've been far more enjoyable if the protagonist hadn't been such a jerk. Of course, the question what happens if someone who considers himself the peak of brilliance has the opportunity to remove himself from all social conventions, but the answer given here - that social conventions are the only thing that keeps a conscience in place, and that without it and the power to act on one's whims, a person nearly inevitably becomes a monster - is too simple for my tastes.I would like to read the same story from Griffin's perspective.

[p_s_patrick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Probably one of HG Well’s more well-known novels, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Time Machine as it was not as clever scientifically, or as convincing a story. It stooped to mediocre slapstick comedy for quite a stretch in the middle, and just did not feel compelling. However, it did get better towards the end when it was more serious.

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As far as I can recall, this is my first reading of this story. I enjoyed Mr. Wells' attention to the daily challenges (as well as the broader implications) of being invisible. I enjoyed his ability to blend humour with tragedy. A short, enjoyable read.

[viragoreads · 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.

[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.

[jonfaith · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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

[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.

[rdra1962 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Don't ask -ugh!

[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.

[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.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells is a classic science-fiction story originally published in 1897. This tale verges on horror as a student of science, Griffin involves himself into research in optics and invents a way to render the body invisible. At first gleeful with his transformation, he becomes more and more angry when he realizes he cannot find a way to reverse the invisibility.There is very little to like about Griffin who appeared to be a selfish, self-centered individual. He is described as a man of random temper given to bouts of heedless violence. His altered condition was extremely difficult to live with and this only made him more angry, more violent and a threat to all that he met.I quite enjoyed this story. Although it was a little dated, I liked the angle the author took, showing how terrible and isolating this condition could be. This dark tale didn’t hesitate to show the mental instability of the main character whose revenge driven cruelty and fury toward others made it very difficult to feel any sympathy towards him. The Invisible Man is a classic sci-fi morality tale that holds up well.

[joe73-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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

[dasam-5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Still a great read.

[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.

[thefallingalice · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ein seltsamer GastIn Iping, einem kleinen englischen Dorf, kehrt ein seltsamer Gast in den Wirtshof ein. Völlig vermummt unter Bandagen und mürrisch bezieht die Gestalt ein Zimmer und lässt sich nur selten blicken. Da ist es weniger verwunderlich, dass sofort die Spekulationen unter den anderen Gästen und Bewohnern beginnen: Was hat dieser Mann zu verbergen? Was befindet sich unter der Vermummung?Je länger der Gast dort bleibt, desto seltsamer finden ihn die Menschen. Dann geschieht in dem Dorf ein rätselhafter Raub. Natürlich ergreifen die Bewohner die Initiative und wollen den Fremden zur Rede stellen. Denn wer, denn nicht er, soll diesen Raub verübt haben. Doch als dieser die Bandagen endlich löst, ergreift sie Entsetzen. Denn darunter befindet sich…. Nichts.Vom Helden zum AntiheldenH. G. Wells beschreibt hier die Geschichte des Chemikers Griffin. Zeit seines Lebens beschäftigt wer sich mit außergewöhnlichen Experimenten. Nach einigen gescheiterten Versuchen ist es ihm schlussendlich gelungen, das Unmögliche möglich zu machen: Er wird unsichtbar.Doch was ihm zunächst als großer Vorteil erscheint, wird ihm schnell zum Verhängnis. Die Menschen haben Angst vor ihm. Denn so etwas können und wollen sie nicht verstehen.Auch Griffin tut sein Eigenes dazu, denn er ist nicht gerade das, was man als einfachen Zeitgenossen schildern würde. Er wird oft von Zornesanfällen übermannt und ist ansonsten auch sehr impulsiv, wenn nicht gar wahnsinnig veranlagt.So erlebt der Leser hier einen agierenden Protagonisten, den er zwar grundsätzlich versteht, dem er aber keine Sympathie entgegen bringen kann. Und fehlt die Sympathie, bleibt auch das Mitgefühl aus. So wird der Protagonist, der für den Leser eigentlich ein Held sein soll, zum klassischen Antihelden. Und trotzdem bleibt man gefesselt, denn Wells ist ein großartiger Geschichtenerzähler. Einfach und klar ist seine Sprache. Denn obwohl der Roman bereits 1897 erschien, hat die Sprache auch für den heutigen Leser nichts an seiner Modernität verloren.A scientific romancesDer Unsichtbare zählt zu den frühen Werken des Autors. Dieser selbst ordnet diesen in seiner Schaffenszeit zu den „scientific romances“, also Romane die man heute als Science Fiction Romane bezeichnen würde.Wells zeigt hier auf, dass der Traum von der Unsichtbarkeit nicht immer ein positiver sein muss. Denn was die Menschen nicht verstehen, macht ihnen Angst und was ihnen Angst macht, das jagen sie.Ein wirklich empfehlenswerter und kurzweiliger Roman von einem großartigen Autor.

[themulhern · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lively and bizarrely humorous. There are numerous comic English characters. H. G. Wells was not all that impressed by his countrymen. This book is very different from "The Island of Dr. Moreau", the only one of Wells' other books that I have read. The reading was excellent. There is some inherent humor in a story in which the protagonist is necessarily naked or stealing the clothes off other people's bodies; the fact that this was a Victorian novel makes it somehow a bit more funny.

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maybe even 4.5 stars -- this is the best H.G. Wells book that I have read so far. I found the prose flowed easily and didn't seem dated (though I think that some of the science is) unlike that in "The Time Machine" or "The Island of Dr. Moreau".

One complaint - Griffin is shown by the end to be mad - to use modern terminology, a sociopath incapable of empathy or sympathy. I would have liked to have heard a little about his background and whether he had demonstrated signs of this condition when growing up in the epilogue. Also, when he reappeared at the end, he is albino - was he born albino? Is this lack of pigmentation what drew his interest to that area of research?

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

May contain spoilers. Though, given the title, I'm not sure there's much to worry about there. Anyway, on we go!The story seems best designed to illustrate the dangers of “lone wolf” science. If Griffin had been part of a team of researchers, or at least needed the stamp of approval from an oversight committee before proceeding with his project, he never would have wound up in the mess he did. Some member of the team, less blinded by dreams of unfettered larceny and licentiousness, would surely have realized that permanent invisibility, requiring permanent nakedness, would soon lose any charm it might initially have promised. Especially in a non-tropical environment. But, heck, even in the tropics one might like the option of a sun hat and sandals. Anyway, Griffin fails to look before he leaps, and the story fails to be tragic, or at least pathetic, only because he so richly deserves what he gets.The first half or so of The Invisible Man is pretty slow going. Wells milks the country-bumpkin dialect of the villagers in Iping for all it's worth, and then quite a bit more. When we finally get out of the village, though, things do pick up, and there is actually some pretty funny stuff. The department store scenes, in particular, are really amusing (I kept being reminded of the children's picture book, Corduroy. Only with a naked psychotic instead of a fluffy little bear.) – I particularly liked Griffin's observation that he had never before seen clerks looking as lively and enthusiastic as they did on leaving the store at closing time. Griffin never becomes even remotely sympathetic, though. He reminded me a bit of a Poe character. Utterly self-absorbed, nasty, and increasingly unhinged.On a more positive note, I took away from this a new appreciation for how nicely Sauron (the evilest villain in Tolkien's Middle Earth) designed his invisibility ring. When you put on Sauron's ring of power, not only do you disappear, but your clothes, sword, books, backpack, and all-the-loot-you-can-carry disappears with you. As long as you hold on to it, it's yours. A much more convenient system than Griffin's, where you need a porter (who may be reluctant) to carry even a credit card. A further Tolkien connection appears when Griffin is, several times, nearly located and caught because he's caught cold and can't stop sneezing, just as Bilbo does in Lake-town, in The Hobbit. Unlike Bilbo, though, Griffin can't carry tissues or a handkerchief. Heck, he doesn't even have sleeves. Eeew. It really doesn't bear thinking about. Philosophically speaking (like Griffin, I'm recklessly leaping in where angels fear to tread!), Wells, it seems to me, isn't, at least not much. That is, he may be making a point about science – “don't make yourself a guinea pig without properly thinking things through” – but he's not really saying anything about the corrupting action of the power to act without social restraints, the way you might expect him to given the similarities to Plato's story of the Ring of Gyges. The power conferred by Griffin's invisibility can't be seen to corrupt him much, if only because he was such a horrible person to start with (If his dream of standing by his father's grave is supposed to indicate nagging conscience, I found it totally inadequate.). His plans for life with his “superpower” seem to have involved crime from the get-go. Feeling no remorse for sending his father to an early grave, kicking off his project with catnapping and arson, his only question is what sort of criminal career will best suit his condition. When it turns out that murder appears more practical than theft or blackmail he is not troubled in the slightest. So, moral degradation isn't really an issue. I guess that does put him in the same category with Plato's shepherd, with the only check on human depravity being societal restraints. A depressing thought, and much less interesting than a moral struggle would have been.

[ssimon2000-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read as part of the BIG BUDDY READ, 2015 EDITION!

4 stars.

H.G. Wells’ “The Invisible Man” (1897) is the account of a scientist condemned to invisibility because of an ill-advised decision to consume a concoction that hadn’t been fully tested. After conducting secret experiments for four years while living in London, the scientist, “Mr. Griffin”, sees invisibility as a means to escape from poverty and obscurity, being motivated by is a desire for power and a wish “to transcend magic.” Griffin relates, “I beheld, unclouded by doubt, a magnificent vision of all that invisibility might mean to a man: the mystery, the power, the freedom. The drawbacks I saw none.” Of course, H.G. Wells dwells on the drawbacks of invisibility and scientific investigation that completely discounts consequences.

Ironically, Griffin is already “invisible” to society by the time he literally becomes invisible. Wells buttresses this idea, with Griffin’s backstory emerging later. With a reckless desire for “his magnificent vision,” Griffin profoundly alienates himself from society, with his poverty becoming repugnant to himself; this is what he is striving to abandon through his scientific labors. His words at his father’s funeral bring attention to this broad material and emotional disconnect: “I remember the funeral, the cheap hearse, the scant ceremony, the windy frost-bitten hillside, and the old college friend of his who read the service over him--a shabby, black, bent old man with a sniveling cold.” His literal invisibility leads to further alienation, which precipitates violence. Wells reveals a very astute picture of the pathology of violence.

Wells’ construction of the book reveals his own fascination with science, as well as a suspicion of its applications. His explanations of scientific experiments are ingenious and terrifying. Griffin develops a process to discolor his blood vessels and remove his pigmentation, but this pursuit lacks any fundamental merit, suggesting that when science exceeds the limits of nature, danger and insanity always follow.

Well’s accounts of Griffin’s predicament are a strength of the book. Practical challenges that Griffin faces are described vividly. For example, to be fully invisible Griffin must be completely naked, since only his body is invisible. This is especially entertaining because Wells withholds describing Griffin’s physical attributes from the reader. The reader, like the characters, must imagine the antagonist in order to know (and understand) who he is.

In the final chapters, Mr. Griffin assumes the role of the most feared agents in contemporary times: a terrorist, unseen in the midst of civil society, he strikes with a vengeance, using his invisibility as a weapon. Griffin makes his presence felt and feared: “That invisible man must now establish a reign of terror... He must issue orders. He can do that in a thousand ways...” Written almost 120 years ago, The Invisible Man is surprisingly relevant in discussions of social invisibility, science, and violence.

Highly recommended simply for the fact that it changed the face of science fiction for decades, impacting many of the grand masters.