Masterpieces Of Science Fiction

As a child, and even as a young man, I had never read H.G. Wells --- but like most of us, I knew his stories well. That is, I knew his science-fiction stories. Although Wells was successful as a writer of romance, history, social and political issues, and many other subjects (he wrote over 100 books in his lifetime), it is his tales of the fantastic for which he is best known, and about which we all knew long before we knew the man behind them. I was introduced to The Time Machine on Saturday afternoons when the local TV station aired the classic movie starring Rod Taylor. Having long been fascinated by Mars, and having devoured all the books the local library had to offer about their canals and the possibility of life, I happily found War of The Worlds in many places: the classic radio show from 1938 which terrified America, the George Pal classic movie, comic books where I found not only a relatively faithful adaptation of Well's novel, but a fascinating series where the war continued unabated month-after-month. Not long ago I stumbled on a version that is not only well-done, but which makes me chuckle each time I think of the outrageous War of The Worlds - The Musical. The Invisible Man was another Saturday afternoon movie, as was First Men in The Moon --- it seemed that H.G. Wells could have made a fortune had he been fortunate enough to live deeper into the age of popular films. I even found H.G. Wells himself in the movies, chasing after Jack The Ripper in the 1979 cult classic film Time After Time. Only later in life did I seek out the originals, curious as to whether the various retellings were at all faithful to his work. Some were, to a great degree, others not at all. The books are products of their time. Originally magazine serials later published in book form, they have that episodic feel; they were as much about the ethics, morals, and prejudices of the day (particularly in England) as they were the fantastic ideas we know them for; and the were intricately detailed stories, created in a day when readers took in every word, every nuance - far different from the 20-second sound bite world of the 21st Century. Mostly what fascinates me the most, as a writer myself, is that H.G. Well wrote these masterpieces longhand. It is unlikely my writing production will ever approach his in volume (and I would not presume to think it would equal his in quality), and I have the benefit of technology that even H.G. Wells might not have fully conceived. I leave it to the reader to learn more about these tales, and their author, if he or she chooses. For the most part, I am happy to bring you this new edition, and let them speak for themselves.