The Time Machine Review

If time travel were possible, would it be a beneficial technological advance? H. G. Wells explores that question in his novel The Time Machine, a book that was full of suspense and adventure.

The theme of this book explores what time travel could result in. The book also hints to the old cliché “be careful what you wish for.” The main character in the book, the Time Traveler, ventures into the future hoping to find a race of humans superior to our own only to discover that the human race is no more. The glorious future he hoped for does not exist. He then finds himself in a jam since he is in a foreign time. The Time Traveler got what he wished for, but not in the right form and it brought only trouble to him.

The Time Machine was written in 1895, so the style of writing is different from that of today’s writers. H. G. Wells used words that I had never heard of, and that made the book harder to read. For some, the hard-to-read language could be a negative point for the book.

H. G. Wells did not include very many physical descriptions of the characters. For example, he did not even give the main character a name. Instead, he is only known as “The Time Traveler”. However, I could clearly feel the Time Traveler’s emotions throughout the book.

The setting of The Time Machine was very confusing for me. This could be because I was not connecting with the book enough, but I could not see what the “future” looked like. Since the main setting, the future, was unknown to me, I didn’t have anything to aid me in visualizing the environment except the author’s words, which didn’t paint a clear picture.

In The Time Machine, a man only known as the Time Traveler discovers a way to transport himself into the future. When he gets there, he discovers that the future is not what he expected. Later, when the Time Traveler decides to return home, he finds his time machine missing. Trouble ensues. What is one to do in a foreign place and time where no one can help?

All in all, The Time Machine was a pretty good book. The novel had a good story, but was hard for me to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes science fiction and is willing to look up unknown words in a dictionary.

83 Pages