H.G. Wells Collector’s Book of Science Fiction
Now that Steven Spielberg’s WAR OF THE WORLDS remake has hit DVD, you might be inspired to read (or reread) the H.G. Wells novel on which it was based. While there are more scholarly editions out there, you won’t find one more fun than Castle Books’ new collection, H.G. WELLS COLLECTOR’S BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION.
Bargain-priced, this 500+ page hardback reprints WAR as it first appeared when serialized in Pearson’s Magazine in the late 1800s. In other words, that means each page of the book is taken directly from the magazines – type, illustrations and all. The illustrations are lovingly done, true to the period and terrific, truly complementing the story.
But that’s not all. The COLLECTOR’S BOOK also includes two other complete Wells novels – THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON and WHEN THE SLEEPER WAKES – as well as a dozen short stories, including “The Empire of the Ants,” “The Valley of the Spiders,” “In the Abyss” and the rare “Stories of the Stone Age,” all taken from the pages of The Strand, The Idler and others. While not every tale as the lasting resonance as WAR does today, this is a fine collection nonetheless. I know Castle has given the Sherlock Holmes stories this treatment, but I’d like to see even more books issued for other classic authors of the 19th century.
[...] Did you pick “d”? Too bad, because the answer is “c”; we here at BOOKGASM love the sexy bosoms. And so do you, judging from the usual wealth of lovely lady searches. But giving unclothed actresses a run for their residual money is ol’ King Kong. That big, dumb ape made quite the showing this month – no surprise, given he’s got a new movie out. Too bad not everyone is as crazy about it as they are Googling him. Oh, and to answer the guy who wants to know how to cite H.G. Wells’ THE WAR OF THE WORLDS? Verrrry carefully. [...]
[...] Being totally intrigued by reviews that have compared VOIDFARER to a mix of H.G. Wells and Alexandre Dumas, I was willing to give it the ol’ college try. But in the very first paragraph on page 1, I was confronted with a litany of made-up names that I had to read a few times just to keep them all straight. (This is a pet peeve of mine in the fantasy genre.) By page 2, I was confronted with a talking cat. (This is another pet peeve of mine in the fantasy genre. Actually, it’s a pet peeve of mine in any genre.) [...]
[...] Spurred on by America’s brief, Cruise-induced love affair with all things WAR OF THE WORLDS last summer, Marvel Comics released ESSENTIAL KILLRAVEN: VOL. 1, a collection of a series which began as a sequel to H.G. Wells’ classic novel, but quickly devolved into something with little connection. [...]