Great Classics

I will write this review in two parts. One being The Time Machine and the second being The Invisible Man.

I have heard for years that I should read H.G. Wells but had never gotten around to doing so. I am so glad I gave this bundle a listen. I really enjoyed The Time Machine and really struggled with The Invisible Man. Why I am glad I tried this in the bundle is that, had I just listened to The Invisible Man, I don't know if I would have ever given Wells another chance. However, I am glad this audiobook started with The Time Machine. It is a great reminder of how we can enjoy some works by authours but not all of their work.

The Time Machine I was sucked in and listened in one sitting. It was a fascinating story. What struck me was how some of it is still very relatable today. Most of this having to do with farming and agriculture. There were strong Victorian-era themes which I really enjoyed, as well as lots of amazing sci-fi. I felt Wells did a fantastic job balancing the two. I love Victorian-era books and always wondered how sci-fi would mesh with it. Wells gave me that answer.

Next up, The Invisible Man. I had a very hard time relating to Dr. Griffin and just found myself getting angry and annoyed with him. There was still Victoria-era issues mixed in but not as much as The Time Machine. I really struggled to get through and finish The Invisible Man. I felt the overall idea was interesting but did not enjoy the characters.

I really hope to read/listen to more of H.G. Wells in the future.

Kevin Theis did a great job with distinct voices. He made The Time Machine even more enjoyable and he helped me make it through The Invisible Man. He gives a very theatrical performance which goes perfectly with the sound effects.

These audiobooks do have sound effects, but I think they are perfectly done. There is enough that it adds to the story, but I feel where the noises are placed were very carefully chosen and done.

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request, and I have voluntarily left this review.

1 person found this helpful

Two of my favorite Wells stories. Great narration

I'm not going to focus on the stories themselves (though I love them), because I'm assuming readers already know these classic Wells stories.

The narrator does a great job bringing them to life, and they're a great listen. Highly recommend!

(I got free codes from the narrator for this, and am voluntarily leaving a review)

Two sci-fi greats

This two-book bundle is an excellent introduction—or reintroduction, especially if you're like me and only knew the movie versions—to these foundational works of science fiction, and a good bargain besides.

The Invisible Man: Within the first minute ("Millie, her lymphatic maid, had been brisked up a bit by a few deftly chosen expressions of contempt"), we taste the flavor of the subtitle, A Grotesque Romance, along with the traditional take on the novel. Here's one of those, quoted from the website of a paper-book publisher: "An atmosphere of ever-increasing suspense begins with the arrival of a mysterious stranger at an English village inn and builds relentlessly to the stark terror of a victim pursued by a maniacal invisible man." Who'd expect that this classic of the quest for knowledge gone wrong—and one of the longest, best chase scenes in literature (not matched until Stephen King sat down at his Wang word processor)—was so rich with wry humor and razor-sharp language?

The Time Machine: This cracking good story dials down the witty and turns up the creepy—way up—while asking big questions that matter for us as much as for Wells’s Victorian audience. (Should we, just because we can?) The recklessly curious Time Traveler, the sweetly fragile Eloi, and the violently nasty Morlocks, and even the Time Machine itself, spring energetically off the page in this audiobook. I don't spook easily, but I was listening while walking after dark and had to pause it when the Morlocks started scrabbling around my, er, the Time Traveler's feet while I, er, he was fumbling for a match to light my, er, his way.

Kevin Theis's confident and clever performance, supported by well-chosen sound effects, powerfully presents both the light side and the dark of Wells’s vision. Download and enjoy!