The Island of Dr. Moreau

really truly irredeemably racist. also only a man could have written this. that said, it’s a terribly interesting concept that i’m FASCINATED by & can see myself returning to again and again.

I did a really fun multimedia mashup project at UCLA that re-imagined The Island of Dr. Moreau as played by Ludwig von Drake.

traumatico

3.5 Stars H.G. Wells did a lot for the genre of Science Fiction. The Island of Dr. Moreau may not be as widely known today, but it is easy to see how many modern stories had roots in this book. The Island of Dr. Moreau is the story of Edward Prendick who ends up shipwrecked on an island inhabited by a mad scientist, Dr. Moreau. Prendick quickly realizes that there is more happening on the island than simple scientific experiments. He finds out that Dr. Moreau was banned from reputable science forums for his extreme scientific experiments which revolve around vivisection and splicing animals together to create humanoid creatures. It was gruesome and chilling even if the science was a bit sketchy. Wells really was ahead of his time. The Island of Dr. Moreau was published in 1896, not too long after DNA was first discovered, but it would be decades more before its role in determining genetic inheritance would be demonstrated. Yet Wells was toying with ideas about genetic manipulation as well as controversial ideas of evolution versus divine creation. The moral themes were reminiscent of Frankenstein. Although the science in this story definitely does not hold up to modern knowledge, it was a creative idea given the information available at the time it was written. Nevertheless, some aspects of Moreau’s humanoid creatures didn’t entirely make sense like how splicing together two random animals would create a humanoid creature capable of limited speech and reasoning or why the creatures reverted back to their animal instincts if maintenance vivisections were not regularly preformed. But it did explore themes of humanity and bestial natures as well as consequences and responsibility of scientific experimentation. The story itself is told in narrative form by Prendick. He is retelling his experiences as a warning; parts of that reminded me of Heart of Darkness (but The Island of Dr. Moreau was published first). The narrative is fast-paced but seems locked into one speed only. It doesn’t have the varying pace needed to really rack up the tension. It was also lacking in character development since the story focused on events and the ideas behind them, but there is not much focus on the characters themselves. At least it is a short book; if this had been longer, it definitely would have gotten monotonous. One of the most annoying things about this book was the dialogue which has an annoying parroty structure. The creatures tend to repeat the same things over and over, either repeating their mantras or repeating the things the human characters say. It was tedious to read the dialogue, and that was the weakest part of the story even if it perhaps was done intentionally to emphasis the creatures’ mental capacity. I would recommend The Island of Dr. Moreau to big SciFi fans who like to know the roots of popular SciFi ideas. But I don’t see this book appealing to most modern-day audiences. It is short and easy to read though. And though the science may seem corny at times, it is true that over a hundred years later topics of genetic experimentation are still relevant and controversial. It shows how far we’ve come yet also stayed the same. Does art reflect life, or does life reflect art? RATING FACTORS: Ease of Reading: 4 Stars Writing Style: 3 Stars Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars Level of Captivation: 4 Stars Originality: 5 Stars

Did not like this one as much as Wells's The Time Machine, but it was still striking in its prose drenched in decadence.

As an Anatomy and Biology teacher I was especially intrigued by this book. It was filled with adventure, thrills, mystery, murder and intrigue. It also gets you thinking about morality, especially scientific morality and ethics. Where is the line in the sand drawn and do we dare cross it?

A marvelous satire on society.

3 1/2

2,5/5

Dark subjects. Important thoughts. Witty writing.

Another classic H.G. Wells novel. It has all the taste of him: bizarre circumstances and a smattering of science to make it on the edge of possibility. I enjoy his books, but I always feel like I've been left wanting. They just seem so short and like so much more detail could have been put in. Still, it was an enjoyable, short read.

Weird and gruesome - exactly how I like it.