The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

Source: Tantor Audio
Length: 4 hours
Reader: Scott Brick

The book: In one of the great classics of science fiction, an English gentleman-scientist introduces into science fiction canon a scientific means for traveling through time: by moving freely through the fourth dimension. After telling his friends and performing a test-run with a model, the time traveler proceeds to journey into the future. He expects technological marvels and enlightened humans, but finds something much different.

H.G. Wells shows himself to have an astute understanding not only of physics, but also of both sociology and biology. In a time when Progress and Eugenics were the watchwords, Wells was able to see the opposite side of these ideas. He knew that technological advance meant better lives for some, but not always for those at the lower end of the class structure. He understood that evolution has great power to change humanity, but that it is not progress to a more perfect being, but a process that reacts to the pressures of the environment. Forgive the pun, but Wells was ahead of his time.

Rating: 9 /10

The reader: Scott Brick is a professional reader and one of the best in the business. He reads this story with a cultured English accent, appropriate for the frame story narrator's position. The voice of the Time Traveler is performed with a weary dreaminess, similar to Gene Wilder's performance in the 1971 film Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.

This book is being provided for free for a limited time by Tantor Media. Click the link to Tantor above, and sign up for a free account. You'll need a valid email address, but you will not need a credit card and you will not have to cancel any membership. The offer lasts until May 31, 2010.

Entered in Cym Lowell's Book Review Wednesday. Follow the link for book reviews from other bloggers.