The First Men in the Moon - (Modern Library Classics) by H G Wells (Paperback)

About the Book

An accident in a lab produces a strange substance that seems to defy gravity. Seizing upon this, a businessman and an eccentric genius immediately build a rocket and become the first interstellar travelers, but only one of the men returns to tell the tale.

Book Synopsis

"Why do people read science fiction? In hopes of receiving such writing as this--a ravishingly accurate vision of things unseen; an utterly unexpected yet necessary beauty." So says Ursula K. Le Guin in her Introduction to The First Men in the Moon, H. G. Wells's 1901 tale of space travel. Heavily criticized upon publication for its fantastic ideas, it is now justly considered a science fiction classic.

Cavor, a brilliant scientist who accidentally produces a gravity-defying substance, builds a spaceship and, along with the materialistic Bedford, travels to the moon. The coldly intellectual Cavor seeks knowledge, while Bedford seeks fortune. Instead of insight and gold they encounter the Selenites, a horrifying race of biologically engineered creatures who viciously, and successfully, defend their home.

Review Quotes

"Written with astonishing animation and lucidity." --G. K. Chesterton

About the Author

Ursula K. Le Guin is one of the greatest living writers of science fiction. Author of the bestselling Earthsea series, she lives in Oregon.