The Time Machine Review
What does a book expert think: Get a comprehensive overview of the reception and review of The Time Machine.
Article written by Israel Njoku
Degree in M.C.M with focus on Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
‘The Time Machine’ is a science fiction thriller which details the life and story of a brilliant scientist and craftsman whose love for scientific adventure led him to a breakthrough that empowered him to travel far into the future and see humanity at its most trying moments, and beyond, and then back in time to tell his experience to his friends. The story of The Time Machine hits top gear with a breakthrough that enables the time traveller to build a time machine. With this invention, he finds himself, finally, a vehicle within which he can explore time – a concept that has always fascinated him. So he embarks on this trip of a lifetime through time but realizes that the future is nothing like what he had envisaged or hoped for. He struggles to understand how there are so many anomalies in the future. For instance, he finds that man has evolved into two distinct species – the Eloi and Morlocks – and that the latter is literally eating the former up for dinner. He observes that man has given up on technology and is now operating a sort of mono-gender society. Still, he notices a lot of other changes here and there but finds a way to luckily absorb the shock. He tries to get himself attuned to the environment but unlike the peace-loving Eloi race with who he’s been able to bond, a savage race of Morlocks are on his trail, carefully brewing his destruction as well as that of his friends – the Eloi. He discovers that these hostiles have drawn the first blood by stealing and hiding his time machine to trap him long enough to wipe him out. He must get it back and disappear from this godforsaken place with his life in one piece.
Key Facts about The Time Machine
- Title: The Time Machine
- When Written: H.G. Wells wrote the book between 1894-1895
- When/Where Written: H.G. Wells wrote The Time Machine while in England
- Published: The Time Machine was published in 1895 as a serial novel
- Literary Period: Victorian Period
- Point of View: H.G. Wells deploys a first-person narrator called Hillyer. However, the story is almost entirely told by the time traveller as a first-person account of his trip to the future.
- Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller
- Setting: Victorian-era England in the year 802,701
- Climax: When the time traveller escapes the Morlocks by taking the time machine into the future
- Antagonist: The Morlocks
H.G. Wells and The Time Machine
H.G. Wells literary experiment with time trips and travels may have lapped well in his remarkable book The Time Machine, but it’s of little knowledge to all that the entire concept is an adaptation from ‘The Chronic Argonauts’ – one of the short stories he wrote well into the year 1880s as a college student. Wells likes to be thought of as a strange, unusual bloke even among his contemporaries and he sure as anything reflects that mentality in all his books, particularly with ‘The Time Machine’ which was in fact his first real book. For Wells, the story of ‘The Time Machine’ goes beyond being a mere literary aesthetics but also accommodates a gentleman’s warning to the 1890s Victorian English peoples of his generation.
Books Related to The Time Machine
science fiction and the first in the time travel subgenre and reading through the book’s richness, one couldn’t agree more. Although he was one of the earliest people, if not the first, who started experimenting with the concept of time travel as an author of scientific nonreality, his time as a student under T. H. Huxley the great certainly sharpened his mind towards the discipline. Following the popularity and the accompanying standards set by Wells’ time machine, several other authors started putting out fine pieces related to time travel, trips to the future, and through time. Some of the books bearing striking resemblance to ‘The Time Machine’ in terms of concept and theme include – ‘Here And Now And Then‘ by Mike Chen, ‘Back To You‘ by Steve Bates, and ‘Quantum Time (Quantum #3)‘ by Douglas Phillips, and there is still an endless list.
The Lasting Impact of The Time Machine
After it was published in 1895, Wells’ book ‘The Time Machine’ became an instant influence on its generation, as it was immediately designated one of the best earliest works of the science fiction genre and the first of its kind in the time travel subgenre. Aside from garnering a handful of accolades, the book became a major talk of society as it was now a trendsetter forcing itself – and the reality of the idea of time travel – into people’s thinking.
Wells is known to instil rich and powerful storylines in his works and one time it appeared to have caused mass unrest as one of his works broadcast on the radio left its audience (who, at the time, didn’t know it was a fictional book) petrified for their lives. Through the years, ‘The Time Machine’ has proved a sturdy book, beating off criticism from stakeholders both in the science community and from ordinary blokes who think the piece may have been too daring.
The Time Machine Quotes
The words that resonate: Find memorable quotes from The Time Machine that capture its essence of the book.
The Time Machine Themes and Analysis
Unlock the hidden meanings: Dive deeper into the central themes and symbolism, and analysis of The Time Machine.
The Time Machine Historical Context
Setting the scene for The Time Machine: Understand the time and place that inspired its creation and relevance.
The Time Machine Character List
Get to know the characters: Understand the characters in The Time Machine.
The Time Machine Summary
The Time Machine in a nutshell: A quick overview of the essential plot points, characters, and ideas.
About Israel Njoku
Degree in M.C.M with focus on Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.