5 Greatest Books by H. G. Wells

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H. G. Wells was one of the first science fiction authors I read when I was young. His work helped me fall in love with the genre, so I thought about creating a post about his greatest works. I also decided to continue this series after writing about the greatest books by Ray Bradbury.

If you aren’t familiar with H. G. Wells and his work, Wells lived from 1866 to 1946. He is best known for his science fiction and is also called “the Father of Science Fiction.” A social critic as well as a futurist, he wrote several utopian works and included concepts such as alien invasions and time travel in his stories. He also received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times.

Check out my ranking of his five greatest works below!

The First Men in the Moon

Published in 1901, The First Men in the Moon follows a man named Bedford who befriends a physicist out in the English countryside. The physicist discovered a new material that reverses the effects of gravity. After developing a spaceship made of the material, called cavorite, Bedford and the physicist reach the Moon with the prospect of mining it. There they discover a range of strange creatures as well as a race known as the Selenites.

This might be one of Wells’s lesser-known works, but it was incredibly innovative for its time. Its depiction of space travel and zero-gravity environments came long before man actually made it to the Moon in 1969. The book also had a profound impact on C. S. Lewis and his “Space” Trilogy!

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The War of the Worlds

You might know about this book from its many (some good, some bad) film adaptations. However, this book, published in 1896, stands on its own. The plot follows an unnamed narrator who lives in England. One day, a mysterious object thought to be a meteor crashes into the countryside, and a Martian appears. It turns out that the Martians left their home planet to colonize Earth because of dwindling resources on Mars. The narrator then traverses the country in a bid to survive.

The book is notable for being one of the first books about alien invasions, making it an important sci-fi book in its own right. However, it also tackles, through allegory, themes of European imperialism and the theory of evolution. I read this book a few months ago and also did a book review on it, so you can read my thoughts on it there!

The Invisible Man

Another early work by Wells, published in 1897, this is one of my personal favorites. The book follows a man named Griffin who turns up in a village in West Sussex. Bandages completely cover his face, aside from a prosthetic nose. After taking shelter in an inn, Griffin spends his time working with chemicals in his room. The residents try to figure out where he came from, but eventually, Griffin reveals the truth. He is actually completely invisible.

Like I said, I really enjoyed this book when I read it. From a writing standpoint, I loved the imagery. There’s a bit where Griffin explains how he used the chemicals he had been working with on a cat. The cat turned invisible, and I loved the description of how the cat’s eyes remained visible at all times. I highly recommend this one, especially if you just started reading Wells’s work.

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The Island of Doctor Moreau

Number two on the list is also one of Wells’s earlier works. This guy just put out amazing stuff right out of the gate, to be honest. Published in 1896, the book follows Edward Prendick, who becomes shipwrecked in the South Pacific. He finds rescue, however, from another ship, which carries a man named Montgomery and his manservant M’Ling. Prendick learns that the ship also carries a range of different animals. The ship eventually reaches an island, where the captain of the ship forces Prendick to leave with Montgomery. Prendick learns that the island belongs to a mysterious Dr. Moreau.

I read this book a long time ago, but everything from the premise to the writing to the action stuck with me. I honestly need to read it again. However, despite all that, this book comes to number two in my ranking. The number one spot had to be left to my absolute favorite Wells book of all time.

The Time Machine

Finally, we get to the number one spot on this list! This also happens to be Wells’s very first work. The Time Machine, a novella published in 1895, follows an unnamed scientist who builds a time machine. He travels hundreds of thousands of years in the future using this machine. When he arrives in this new landscape, he encounters a race of beings that were once human called the Eloi. He spends more time with them, studying them, before learning about another race of beings, the Morlocks, who live in the dark.

The book examines the growing class divides plaguing England at the time, while also being one of the earliest books to use time travel as a literary device. This story also acts as one of the first examples of the “dying Earth” subgenre. Needless to say, the book remains extremely influential. I don’t remember when I read this book (probably around thirteen?), but it had a huge impact on me. I fell in love with science fiction after reading it, and I knew I wanted to read more of Wells’s work afterward.

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Thanks so much for reading! Stay tuned next week for another post. Luckily, now that I’m back in the UK for school, I should have more time to write regularly. Happy reading!

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