In the Days of the Comet

The novel illuminates a classic fear which existed into the 20th century, that if the earth passed near or through the tail of a comet, strange phenomena might occur, or the tail might carry diseases or poisons. Wells bases this novel on the ability of the comet to change men's minds. It unfolds in a world buried in misery and bent on its own destruction, but after the earth passes through the comet's tail, suffering, pettiness, and injustice melt away. Mankind becomes able to see themselves and their world in a dramatically new way.