Book Details
“The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells | The Time Traveler’s Almanac collection
Editors: Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer
Total Pages in the collection: 960
Published: March 18, 2014 by Tor Books
My Review
Happy Thanksgiving!
Now, let’s get to it.
I was really looking forward to reading The Time Machine (excerpt) by H.G. Wells because it’s a classic (one, I admit, I have yet to read in its entirety). However, the excerpt delivered up in this anthology left me wanting more.
I DID like the fluid and highly imaginative description of traveling through time. There’s no doubt this was done very well. However, just when we get to the “good part,” the excerpt ends and leaves me hanging.
I suppose my critique isn’t about the story or style of the story itself–I just thought that the excerpt could have been a bit longer or at least not end in such a weird place. I’ve seen and heard the pop culture references to The Time Machine, so it was disappointing to get one of the most recognizable/iconic scenes for the excerpt–I was looking for something I hadn’t seen or heard. But, I suppose, this is my motivation for actually grabbing the story in its entirety and enjoying it for myself.
My Rating:
3 out of 5
About The Time Traveler’s Almanac
The Time Traveler’s Almanac is the largest and most definitive collection of time travel stories ever assembled. Gathered into one volume by intrepid chrononauts and world-renowned anthologists Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, this book compiles more than a century’s worth of literary travels into the past and the future that will serve to reacquaint readers with beloved classics of the time travel genre and introduce them to thrilling contemporary innovations.
This marvelous volume includes nearly seventy journeys through time from authors such as Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, H. G. Wells, and Connie Willis, as well as helpful non-fiction articles original to this volume (such as Charles Yu’s “Top Ten Tips For Time Travelers”).
The Time Traveler’s Almanac Review Group
This review is part of an on-going review series. We’re trying to review a short story per week from The Time Traveler’s Almanac. Please join us and share your thoughts! My partners in crime on this reading adventure includes the following authors and bloggers. Check out their reviews as well:
For what we were given to read, I thought everything about the excerpt was amazing. However, that ending left me like, “That’s all we get to read?” It would have be nice to continue reading more, but it did feel like a perfect place to stop before another series of events is started up again. I can only assume that were we to continue reading past that point, there would have been no good stopping point.
I am very curious though, as to how far in the book our except started?
Agreed – it was the best place to stop unless you just wanted the whole book reproduced. This was chapter three of the book.
Agreed. I know it was a good stopping point, but I wanted more!