Western science fiction has a long and colorful history, and its roots can be traced back to some speculative works of ancient Greece and Rome. But, as a modern genre, it largely began with two simultaneous revolutions in the late 18th century: the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. One of the consequences of these revolutions was the revival and change of utopian traditions, from spatial to temporal, from the depiction of some imaginary ideal society on Earth to the contemplation of better social models, with the expectation that political change would be realized in the society in which it lived. Science fiction is born at such a moment. In the form of imaginary fiction, it thinks about the transformation of society, about its future, and the role that science and technology may play in this change. Wells's science fiction reflects this epochal change.
H.G. Wells (1866-1946) was a famous British science fiction writer, and some people called him and the French writer Jules Verne the father of science fiction. Wells came from a poor background, his father worked as a gardener in his early years, then opened a small shop, and soon went bankrupt, and his mother had to go to someone else's house to work as a servant and housekeeper. In order to raise her family to the middle class, she asked Wells to apprentice in the cloth shop like his brother. In 1883, Wells went to Midhurst to work as a teacher at an elementary school. Later, he received a scholarship from the London Normal School to study biology under T.H. Huxley. Huxley was an advocate of Darwinian evolution and scientific humanism and had a major influence on Wells. He went on to teach, earning his degree through self-study and writing two textbooks (published in 1893) while working for the university's correspondence college. He was an avid scientific press, publishing his first article, The Rediscovery of Uniqueness, in 1891. In 1893, he began to write a number of articles and short stories on a regular basis.
His most important early article was The Man of a Million Years. In this essay, he boldly depicts what the natural sciences will eventually change: man becomes a strange life, with a huge head and eyes, a smaller body, very delicate hands, forever immersed in nutrient solutions, and forced to retreat below the earth's surface after the sun cools. Other early articles include The Appearance of The Flying Man, Travel to the Sun (a cosmology of solar system storms and electromagnetic waves), The Possible Living Thing (which talks about the possibility of silicon-based life), and The Disappearance of Man. These imaginative works were later included in H.G. Wells's Selected Early Scientific and Science Fiction Works. His early stories didn't have much adventure, and mostly depicted encounters between humans and bizarre life forms, such as "The Thief's Bacillus" and "Strange Orchid Opening".
The Stubborn Yargu Hero was a series of articles he wrote for The School of Science magazine in 1888, on which his seminal work Time Machine was later based.
The Time Machine outlines the evolution of life on Earth in the future: humans are divided into the weak Eroys and the beastly Morroc; both eventually disappear, and all known life decays as the sun cools. As with all classics, one can always interpret new meanings from them. Some believe that "The Time Machine" reflects the decaying life of the British class and the tragic situation in which the working class was forced to work underground, others think that it reflects Darwin's theory of evolution, others think that it expresses the desire to pursue justice, eliminate social prejudice and hypocrisy, and some people today associate it with ecological problems. In any case, one thing is certain: Wells science fiction is primarily concerned with social issues. This is probably the main reason why his work is called social science fiction.
Legends of Time is made up of five interesting stories. In these stories, Wells uses science fiction as a medium to try to explore the eternal truths of human nature. The story takes place in the prehistoric past, through centuries of the future. Wells, with his unique sensitivity to the Victorian period, painted a profound picture of the future, often so delicate that even in omitted places, it contained the meaning that certain events would eventually appear, and people had to participate in it. Therefore, some people say that this book is a must-read for readers, especially science fiction fans.
Dr. Moro Island tells the story in a documentary way. Prendick survived a shipwreck and landed on an unnamed island. The island is controlled by Dr. Morrow, and the whole island is shrouded in a mysterious atmosphere. Dr. Moro uses cutting-edge vivisection techniques to create human-like species from animals: hyena pig people, leopard people, half-human, half-animal orangutans, pig women, dog people... Dr. Moro later dies while chasing the mountain lion, and the out-of-control orcs return to their original bestiality. The novel is generally considered to be an elaborate horror story, but it actually contains more and deeper things. Dr. Moro's experiments are interrelated with the philosophical framework of the novel, and the author maintains a delicate balance between the animality and humanity of the orcs: when they are most human, they show bestiality; when they are most animalistic, they show humanity. Dr. Moro Island shows that Wells is trying to synthesize evolutionary and religious ideas to present a new myth of the new century: that the beasts of the past instinctively adapted to their environment and lived freely; now they are struggling with the shackles of mankind, full of fear, never at peace, tormented by incomprehensible laws. This is clearly a symbol of modern capitalism.
"Invisible Man" is another classic of Wells. The invisible man was fanatical in his pursuit of scientific inventions, but because he was poor, he stole and robbed, and even caused his father to commit suicide; in order to gain power, he used invisibility to kill people; in order to get revenge, he lost his life. In a sense, it is a work about the destruction of the arrogance of science. Therefore, its basic theme is the question of the role of science in society. While admiring the power of science, Wells showed that the development of science does not necessarily promote social progress, and that the use of science—for the benefit of mankind or for the harm of mankind—is essentially a political question. Today, the issue of modernity, which is of great concern to the academic community, also involves the relationship between scientific development and social development.
Wells's depictions of social issues are more prominently reflected in his Star Wars. Strange martians invade The Earth, and with the help of a gigantic machine, they rampage and kill all of them with hot light, poison gas, and rockets. Villages and towns were destroyed, and London was doomed. They live by sucking the blood of other animals and people, tired and sleepy, and have no gender. Martians conquer humans and become masters of the world, forcing them to survive like animals. However, due to their lack of immunity to germs, they eventually died all at once, and humans continued to survive because they were able to adapt to the earth's environment.
Star Wars was undoubtedly influenced by evolutionary and scientific humanism. If viewed from the perspective of today's cultural studies, it can also be said that it reflects the relationship between imperialism and colonies. The Martians symbolized the colonialists, who relied on the guns of the ship to run amok in Africa and Asia, but were eventually deported. In fact, at the time of the publication of the novel, the British Empire launched a war of aggression in South Africa to plunder resources. The novel is set in London and is clearly ironic. The novel was adapted into a radio drama in the United States in 1938 and became popular for a time; in 1953 it was adapted into a film (the background was changed to Los Angeles), which was hailed as george Parr's most successful film; and in 1988-1990, it was adapted into a television series, which also won a large audience.
In Journey to the Moon, Wells's imagination soars through the air again. The novel depicts scientist Cavour developing a substance that can block gravitational attraction, and using it to create a flying ball, and traveling to the moon with his friend Bedford. After landing on the moon, the two were hunted by the moonmen, and Bedford fled back to Earth; Cavour was unfortunately arrested and imprisoned in the underground world of the moon. Later, Cavour sent a message back to Earth depicting the body and social structure of the lunar people. According to their respective social responsibilities, lunar people use biological agents to stimulate the development of certain organ deformities, such as mathematicians with large heads but atrophied limbs, muscular policemen, slender legs and feet of postmen, and so on. These strangely shaped lunar people, mirroring modern people in various occupations, attack the alienation of human beings caused by the division of labor in capitalist society. The novel's thrilling chase scenes, rigorous logical reasoning, and magnificent lunar scenery have attracted a large number of readers.
Overall, Wells was an imaginative writer, and his imagination, based on biological and historical possibilities, elevated whimsical events to the realm of art. Therefore, it is believed that his best work is the model that science fiction should pursue. Although his desire to become a mainstream famous writer restrained his bold imagination for a time, he is still considered the father of British science fiction and a genius in the science fiction world. The late World Science Fiction Association President Brian Ordis once said, "He was the Shakespeare of science fiction. Indeed, he had a major influence on the development of later science fiction, especially American science fiction.
The works selected here can be called novels abroad, and in terms of word count, there may be some longer novellas in China, but in any case, they are the best of Wells's science fiction works and reflect the main characteristics of Wells's works. Today, with the development of science and technology, science fiction is rising in the mainland, and it is believed that these classic works of Wells will provide useful reference for the creation and development of science fiction in the mainland.
Science fiction is a work full of imagination and fantasy, so reading science fiction can not adopt conventional methods, but should fully mobilize their imagination and gallop their fantasy ideas, only in this way can they appreciate the fun.
Collection of Essays by Famous Foreign Writers Wells Volume
Star Wars
Time Machine Legends
Journey to the Moon
"Dr. Moro Island"
The Invisible Man
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