legna
03-08-2002, 08:48 PM
The Time Machine by HG Wells
It is very difficult for any person to review any book, or movie for that matter, without taking in their own preferences and predjuces. A person cannot watch a horror movie and enjoy it, if they hate horror. That said, I have to state for the record that I am not an enjoyer of Science Fiction. And by that I mean the true sense of Science Fiction. Books like Lord of the Rings or the Shanarra Series or books about Alien Abductions. And unfortunately, The Time machine falls into this category.
Now I am not saying I didn’t enjoy this book- because I did.
This book has the power of being a trend setter. Of being one of those books that forever changes the way books are read and written. And for that reason alone, the book became enjoyable to me. No matter how weak the plot, or how many problems, the book will endure because of what it did, not what it is.
What annoyed me about this book was the complete lack of character development. In fact, most people didn’t even have NAMES for pity’s sake. There is no way to emphasize with a character if you don’t know anything about them. The Time Travelers irrational fear of the underground creatures is hardly explained and leaves you wondering if his fear was really justified. None of the theories he presents about the Murdock’s eating the Eali are never backed up with proof and lack believability.
The language was long and difficult to struggle through. In many cases, the longest words possible were used, sometimes I think to throw off the reader. There was a lot of philosophy, that in the end lends nothing to the story.
All in all I was rather disappointed by the book in itself. I did however enjoy the lasting effects this book has had on this genre and all genre. For that I read the book in a different light and could see why it had the impact it had, based upon other books of that era.
As a side note the book released in conjunction with the movie contains a brilliant forward. Definitely one you want to read.
rating
5 starts out of 10
View the Book (http://www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pagegen/vstoremovies/filimhobbit/page.html?mode=itempage&file=/page/itempagev4/itempage.spl&prodID=475595&catID=26307)
It is very difficult for any person to review any book, or movie for that matter, without taking in their own preferences and predjuces. A person cannot watch a horror movie and enjoy it, if they hate horror. That said, I have to state for the record that I am not an enjoyer of Science Fiction. And by that I mean the true sense of Science Fiction. Books like Lord of the Rings or the Shanarra Series or books about Alien Abductions. And unfortunately, The Time machine falls into this category.
Now I am not saying I didn’t enjoy this book- because I did.
This book has the power of being a trend setter. Of being one of those books that forever changes the way books are read and written. And for that reason alone, the book became enjoyable to me. No matter how weak the plot, or how many problems, the book will endure because of what it did, not what it is.
What annoyed me about this book was the complete lack of character development. In fact, most people didn’t even have NAMES for pity’s sake. There is no way to emphasize with a character if you don’t know anything about them. The Time Travelers irrational fear of the underground creatures is hardly explained and leaves you wondering if his fear was really justified. None of the theories he presents about the Murdock’s eating the Eali are never backed up with proof and lack believability.
The language was long and difficult to struggle through. In many cases, the longest words possible were used, sometimes I think to throw off the reader. There was a lot of philosophy, that in the end lends nothing to the story.
All in all I was rather disappointed by the book in itself. I did however enjoy the lasting effects this book has had on this genre and all genre. For that I read the book in a different light and could see why it had the impact it had, based upon other books of that era.
As a side note the book released in conjunction with the movie contains a brilliant forward. Definitely one you want to read.
rating
5 starts out of 10
View the Book (http://www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pagegen/vstoremovies/filimhobbit/page.html?mode=itempage&file=/page/itempagev4/itempage.spl&prodID=475595&catID=26307)