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The Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Troll Communications (1993-09)
ISBN: 0893754153
EAN: 9780893754150
Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
SKU: 7036
Condition: Good
Comments: Binding: Softcover. Condition: Good.
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Editorial Reviews
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Book Description
"At last only the dead tips of the fingernails remained, pallid and white, and the brown stain of some acid upon my fingers. I was almost invisible..." In this horrific tale of man's toying with science and nature, an obscure scientist invents a formula that renders his flesh invisible. Now he can go anywhere, and do anything-except that can no longer render himself visible again-and he has gone murderously insane. When he enters the village pub on a wintery day, wrapped from head to foot, the invisible man at first presents a comic image. But as the villagers discover the truth, they turn on him in horror, as his malice and invisibilty prove a lethal combination. Only in death can he become visible-and harmless-once again. First published by in 1897, H. G. Wells's imaginative insights into human psychology enabled him to evoke in this novel perhaps the ultimate alienation that can befall a human being.
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Customer Reviews
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The Invisible Man
Rating  (5)
Date: 2006-07-12
ISBN 0590440160 - Other reviews have left me utterly confused as to what they were reviewing... This is in part Amazon's fault, because I'm looking at a Scholastic paperback listing and seeing reviews for an audiobook, for example. Because of that, I'm including the ISBN of the book I'm actually reviewing, hoping to keep things clear.
A strange man appears in Iping, taking a room at the Coach and Horses owned by Mr and Mrs Hall. He doesn't make a fuss about the price, but does make odd requests from the first. Thrilled to have a paying guest, Mrs Hall is more than happy to oblige, especially since her guest was obviously the victim of a terrible accident. Covered from head to toe, other than the very tip of his nose, he gives no name and no answers to her prying questions. Money talks, though, and she accepts quite a bit in the way of strange and bad behavior. When money is stolen from a neighbor, things begin to come together for the people of Iping and they realize there's an invisible man in their midst. Chased from town and forced into hiding, he runs. While fleeing, he meets with Dr Kemp, who was his fellow student at University College, and tells him his story. He identifies himself as Griffin and the story he tells removes all doubt for the reader about pitying the poor misunderstood invisible man - he's most definitely an unfeeling monster.
I couldn't help but wonder what to make of some of it. The sentence "Sounds like throwing the tablecloth about" made me wonder exactly what that sounds like - mine, thrown about, makes no noise. Also, Griffin says he made a rag invisible, as well as a cat. Of the cat, he says " ...giving drugs to a cat is no joke...". Does this mean he gave drugs to a rag? How is that possible? My pickiness aside, it's a very good book and a classic that everyone ought to read at least once. This edition is supposed to be for kids ages 9-13, but some might actually find it gives them bad dreams so I'd recommend it for the 9 year old who actually likes scary tales. It's not overly frightening, but a sensitive kid with a vivid imagination can scare himself silly fairly easily. Words like Strychnine and paleolithic appear through the book, so a dictionary to hand might help the younger ones.
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Impeccable plot, Lots of Action but little character depth
Rating  (3)
Date: 2004-02-09
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.
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Fun!
Rating  (4)
Date: 2003-01-22
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
What a great idea to assemble scifi icons from Star Trek to perform various H.G. Wells's classics! Of the works they've performed are: The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, The First Men in the Moon, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. This audio recording of The Invisible Man was easy listening, and fun too. It's definitely worth a listen. I'm going to have to check out the others! One side note, obviously the original work was abridged and adapted for audio drama. You'll still want to read the classic.
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The Invisible Man
Rating (3)
Date: 2002-10-22
2 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a good book thou it is hard to folow. You don't care if you put it down or not, it doesn't hold your attention. Maybe if it had more action it would hold your attention, but since it quickly goes by days with little action it is no fun to read. When there is some action it really isn't that long so it doesn't hook you on to the book.
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Cut off from Humanity!
Rating (3)
Date: 2002-09-13
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Several rural villages in England are stalked by a new evil--an invisible man with no morals, who claims he has been forced by circumstances to institute his personal reign of terror.
Cloaked in a costume of sorts to hide his self-inflicted invisible status (when it suits him), this "lone wolf genius" creates fear and havoc in his depredations of the unsuspecting countryside. Nasty pranks, then theft culminate in murder and egomaniacal threats--dark traces of his personal journey to depravity, in this classic cautionary tale of genius run amock. The author presents this absurd hypothesis in such scientific terms that it Almost seems within the realm of possibility. Thirty-year-old Griffin, an albino, spent his post graduate years working secretly on a formula which would render living organisms invisible to the eye. Prematurely forced out into the world which he schemes to dominate without well-laid plans or adequate resources, he turns viciously bitter. Trusting no one--until he reveals the sordid details of his social and chemical
trials to a former university colleague, Dr. Kemp--the Invisible Man suffers the pangs of hell as he finds himself cursed and conspired against. Yet he brought it all on himself, by his callous disregard for human feelings and customs. Griffin ultimately becomes the object of an intense manhunt by the people he scored as naive and helpless sheep. HG Wells moves us to both despise and pity the wretch, as all humanity is ill at ease at this mockery of creation. A man needs a body, a shadow and a reflection in order not to arouse suspicion in a
relatively balanced world. Fantasy or Sci Fi, this novel continues to catch the attention of readers who speculate on the role of the individual in society. A fast-paced, quick read with serious undertones for all ages.
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