A Classical Science Fiction Story – NOT MY BOOK
I did not read this edition but the one which you may download for free from Amazon.
This classical fiction narrates how a host entertains his guests, twice, in fact, with a week in between. On the first ...
I did not read this edition but the one which you may download for free from Amazon.
This classical fiction narrates how a host entertains his guests, twice, in fact, with a week in between. On the first event, some theoretical discussion develops on how to define an object. The host insists upon the existence of FOUR dimensions rather than three: „any real body must have extension in four directions: it must have Length, Breadth, Thickness, and – Duration.“ p 2 Soon the guests learn he developped a Time Machine and are given a demonstration with a model version.
On the second dinner party, the host will be late, then deliver the account of a journey he just accomplished – he travelled ahead in time.
I most likely lack the genes required for science fiction, and fantasy, but wanted to leave my comfort zone, so I opted for this classical science fiction story which has only a little over 100 pages (and may be downloaded for free from Amazon – no risk…I had thought). I got into the story pretty well with the funny feeling of entering the Chris de Burgh song “A Spaceman Came Travelling“ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIhF2AY8uLs and the very traditional setting of a host entertaining his guests with food and stories, very similar to the final scene of Sherlock Holmes, or Hercule Poirot, or the story-telling in “Out of Africa“ – familiar ground. When the Time Traveller (capitals all taken from the story, not my idea) arrives in 802,701 A.D. (p 32), he will be greated by small friendly creatures.
Honestly, that was where it started to be a torture for me. At least now I understand some movies hinting at this story as I know now who Eloi and Morlock are, but what the heck. ANY fiction has been made up, but mostly with the idea to appear plausible to the reader, so I am sorry, the concept of Science Fiction is lost to me (I was the kid that found Pippi Longstocking pointless – no child can lift horses). And more, those Eloi can only speak two-word-sentences, no abstracts, and the Morlock are hostile, so where should the Time Traveller have picked up the names for those species? At least I found the pages plausible where he tried to walk around and find weapons and a possibility to light a fire. Then the trip to a future even further away – urgh.
The style of narration did not make it easier: the book starts with a first-person narrator (we never learn his name), then it shifts to the first-person narration from the Time Traveller, back to the original narrator for short, Time Traveller, original narrator finally. I do not need direct speech normally, but here I really missed it a lot.
Zeitgeist: „Conceive the tale of London which a negro, fresh from Central Africa, would take back to his tribe!“ p 48 – yes, sure, they are all stupid unless in Britain. A nice conclusion on the reason for the development in the future: “There is no intelligence where there is no change and no need to change. Only those animals partake of intelligence that have to meet a huge variety of needs and dangers.“ p 94
Not my book. Not the book’s fault it is not my genre. Implausible in itself. 2 stars.