AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells, Jim Killavey ISBN: 0-7861-0583-6 Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks Pub. Date: December, 1986 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $32.95

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 4.16 (25 reviews)

Rating: 2
Summary: Not as good as I'd hoped, I'd prefer a 2.5
Comment: I've been catching up on Wells' work lately, and up to this point, I've been fairly impressed. His best work, written at the turn of the century, holds up fairly well: it's entertaining and thought-provoking (The Time Machine, War of the Worlds).

I wasn't very impressed with this book, however. It doesn't read like his other works. The story probably could have been told in 20 or so pages, definitely a short-story candidate. I was amazed that Wells stretched this out to its present length, as the middle 40-odd pages were quite dull and really didn't go anywhere.

The science behind the story (while iffy, of course), is fascinating. Griffin is a great character, but more could have been done with him, besides his spending so much time having to convince people that he IS, in fact, invisible ("I am invisible. I really am an invisible man", etc, etc). It gets mind-numbing after a while. I guess the biggest let-down of the book is the fact that the title gives everything away. Once you've seen the cover, you pretty much have it; no real surprises. Yep, he's invisible, and there ya go.

Rating: 5
Summary: humor and horror
Comment: Okay, so Wells didn't load the book with the violence seen in the recent movie Hollow Man. Consider when the book was written, and what was comparable at the time. I, for one, was engrossed in the book and read it in about three sittings.

Wells excellently portrayed Griffin (Invisible Man) as a man crossing back and forth from sanity to madness. You may catch yourself considering how you would overcome his difficulties, or how you might abuse his power.

What really stood out for me was the tongue-in-cheek undertones Wells incorporated into the story, such as the cockney dialect and rustic behavior of the people of Iping. Also, consider Wells' narration during intense moments, such as the fight between Griffin and the people of Iping...
"...[Huxter's] shin was caught in some mysterious fashion, and he was no longer running, but flying with inconceivable rapidity through the air. He saw the ground suddenly close to his face. The world seemed to splash into a million whirling specks of light, and subsequent proceedings interested him no more."
Later elaboration of the events included the terrifying realization that Griffin was "smiting and overthrowing, for the mere satisfaction of hurting."

If you find the book difficult to follow, try the version adapted by Malvina Vogel, complete with illustrations by Pablo Marcos. It's not as powerful, but easier to understand.

Rating: 3
Summary: Impeccable plot, Lots of Action but little character depth
Comment: Wells' writing style is easy to read and enjoyable - it's clear that he had fun writing The Invisible Man. The plot is truly impeccable, there is a great deal of action and the pace never slows. The only weakness here is character development. It is difficult to really care about any of the characters, even those that are hurt or killed by the Invisible Griffin.

The story begins when the bandaged invisible man comes to Iping to rent a room. Though at first overjoyed to get a renter in the off season who doesn't quibble about the rates, Mr. & Mrs. Hall soon have their fill of their rude and truculent guest. When his suspicious behaviour begins to garner the attention of the rural citizens of Iping, the invisible man's rash and impudent reactions to them bring on a whirl of actions and reactions that ends up with the the Invisible man on the run and several of the citizens of Iping requiring medical attention.

Events continue to escalate out of control when he runs into an acquaintence from school, Dr. Kemp, who knew the invisible man as Mr. Griffin. As Griffin explains how the story began, we lose all sympathy with our villain as we hear his callous treatment of his first victims prior to Iping. He then comes to the idea that his only method of 'escape' from his troubles is to bring about a reign of terror and declares the city of Port Burdock to be under his reign and not that of the Queen. By this time we are wholly ready for the resolution which speedily ensues.

This story is not particularly scary although it had potential with the reign of terror bit. Good character development would have enabled this to cross the science fiction genre a bit more but you can't argue with results. As it is it will definitely be an enduring story and is well worth the read.