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woweewhoa's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcoholism, Slavery, and Medical content
immabehazzie's review against another edition
2.0
For such a short book it took me a while to read it. I think I’ve come to the realization that science fiction isn’t really a genre I like all that much.
The book itself I imagine would be a good read for someone who enjoys science fiction. It moves fast and the plot is very secretive. I don’t actually have much to say on this book other than I probably won’t think about it again after I put it back on the shelf.
The book itself I imagine would be a good read for someone who enjoys science fiction. It moves fast and the plot is very secretive. I don’t actually have much to say on this book other than I probably won’t think about it again after I put it back on the shelf.
petunitea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
thomasina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
michyisreading's review against another edition
5.0
I first read this in high school as part of an omnibus of H.G. Wells' stories that my mother had gifted to me. It became one of my favorites, and Wells remained a writer whose work I read and reread.
whybeereads's review against another edition
4.0
Ok, let's get this out of the way first. Yes, there are some extremely problematic bits that feel exceptionally racist to a modern reader. I won't shout 'Product of its time!' at you about it, the words on the page do matter and it will likely impact your reading experience. That being said, the object of horror is to make you uncomfortable and in this the whole novel succeeds spectacularly.
I almost bailed at 'The Cries of the Puma.' I'm an animal lover and the way such horrible abuse and torture was depicted made me physically sick to my stomach. I pushed through because, again, the aim of horror is to horrify and truly it does that with flying colors.
The novel was written at a time when animal experimentation and vivisection was a hot button issue, and the novel shows the unflinching reality of the horrible pain and degradation such practices truly inflict on living creatures all for the amusements and satisfaction of mankind. The pointlessness of the cruel experimentation is an important factor in this story. Dr. Moreau isn't making terrible but necessary sacrifices in order to advance medical research and cure cancer, all he wants is to make some abominations just to see if he can.
Do the themes hold up? Absolutely. I mean, how many living, breathing, suffering creatures spent their whole lives caged and in torment to bring that newest glittery eyeshadow to the market? But hey, this eyeshadow is 10% more water resistant. Totally worth it, right?
I almost bailed at 'The Cries of the Puma.' I'm an animal lover and the way such horrible abuse and torture was depicted made me physically sick to my stomach. I pushed through because, again, the aim of horror is to horrify and truly it does that with flying colors.
The novel was written at a time when animal experimentation and vivisection was a hot button issue, and the novel shows the unflinching reality of the horrible pain and degradation such practices truly inflict on living creatures all for the amusements and satisfaction of mankind. The pointlessness of the cruel experimentation is an important factor in this story. Dr. Moreau isn't making terrible but necessary sacrifices in order to advance medical research and cure cancer, all he wants is to make some abominations just to see if he can.
Do the themes hold up? Absolutely. I mean, how many living, breathing, suffering creatures spent their whole lives caged and in torment to bring that newest glittery eyeshadow to the market? But hey, this eyeshadow is 10% more water resistant. Totally worth it, right?
vulcanthropy's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Didn't expect to love this as much as I did. The two Wells' I've read before (TTM and WotW) I loved, but I read them when I was at university and very easily impressed. I was curious whether I'd still enjoy Wells and anticipated finding him drier than I hoped, but he did not disappoint! This is my favourite so far. The prose are alive and his descriptions are wonderful and enthralling, the narrative is energetic, and the meditations on science, humanity, and inhumanity are endlessly fascinating to me. The influence of racist pseudoscience is an uncomfortable and unfortunately inseparable part of the fabric of the time, however.