Allreaders.com
Author H.G. Wells booklist (click here)

Book Review By David Fletcher
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

The Island of Dr. Moreau begins with three men afloat aboard a dingy after the sinking of the Lady Vain. Two struggle and fall overboard in the throes of madness leaving only the narrator, Edward Prendick. Nearly dead when found, he is picked up by the captain and crew of the vessel Ipecacuanha. Prendick, a doctor, is then nursed to health by Mr. Montgomery, who is a passenger aboard the ship, accompanied by a strange looking black-faced man and a menagerie of animals. When Montgomery is ready to disembark at a mysterious and nameless island, the captain and crew want Prendick off the ship as well.

He is not wanted on shore nor on board the boat. Prendick is cast adrift in the dingy he was found in before being pitied by Montgomery and his crew, who then tow him to the island. He is fascinated by the ugliness of the men assisting with the supplies and animals. They are wrapped in cloth over every inch of their bodies save for their faces. Their torsos are disproportionately long, legs bones queerly twisted, and faces are comprised of ghastly and misshaped features. At last they reach land and Prendick is told he is at a biological station but is not introduced to the large white haired “biologist” who speaks to him. Montgomery warns him to watch where he goes and is shown around the walled compound. He hears the name Moreau and struggles to recall how he knows it.

Soon he remembers Moreau as a notorious vivisectionist run out of London many years prior and is curious about the goings on at the compound. He leaves his room due to the unending wails of the tortured puma in the next room and explores the surrounding forest. He is tracked by something or someone as he wanders, then sees a mutilated rabbit and a small group of further inhuman-looking humans. He meets the unique animal-turned human population: the Leopard Man, the Hyena-Swine, the Swine Folk, the Ape Man, Bull Men, Horse-Rhinoceros, Wolf-Bear, Ocelot Man, Dog Man and the Monkey Man. He learns of the Law and the House of Pain that are used to keep the beast people fearful and subjugated. The remainder of his time on the island is spent fleeing from Dr. Moreau and the beast people that he is creating and setting loose upon the island.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book - scarey (primal ax-wielding fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Lifeform altered? Yes
Kind of alteration:
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 30 %
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 %
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20 %

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a lot
How sensitive is this character?
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
Terrain
Earth setting: - 19th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - very explicit references to deaths and torture
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Back To Main Menu