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Post by richardburton on Aug 30, 2007 13:50:11 GMT 1
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Post by Lensman on May 6, 2008 23:41:48 GMT 1
I've read "Miracles". It's not a long short story, and altho I won't say it's a bad story, I can't say I found it very memorable, either.
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Post by silverlocusts on Jun 5, 2008 16:14:45 GMT 1
Have read a few of these stories in the past.
The Plattner story stands out as it is one of the creepiest stories. Basically the character is stranded in another dimension as a result of an accident with a science experiment but the horror is he can see into his own normal world.
The New Accelerator is another which comes to mind.
From experience would say that there are some gems in that collection.
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Post by Lensman on Jun 6, 2008 1:29:36 GMT 1
I believe I read "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" online at a Project Gutenberg site. (Wells' writings are in the public domain in the USA, unlike the UK.) But I don't think I've read "The New Accelerator". I ought to, tho, as I enjoy Victorian science fiction!
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Post by silverlocusts on Jun 6, 2008 7:46:39 GMT 1
The New Accelerator has the same humorous tone as Man Who Could Work Miracles and was ( allegedly ) the inspiration for the movie " Jumpers", sure I came across this reference recently on IMDB.
The Truth About Pyecraft is another I vaguely recall.
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Post by Scifishocks on Jun 7, 2008 1:17:39 GMT 1
Wells wrote a lot of shorts, I know that as much as many of you.
I have a fair few in a tatty old book and I find them endlessly fascinating.
Maybe some of it is because I know what turmoil the great man went through in his life.
But his work still draws me in.
The political/moral issues aside (and those are a whole new issue... and personal, too), he wrote interesting tales.
When he got preachy, though, REALLY preachy, he lost me a little.
Anyone see the docu-drama on the BBC about the time Wells went to Russia?
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Post by Lensman on Jun 7, 2008 4:29:01 GMT 1
Okay, I just read "The New Accelerator". As SilverLocusts says, it's similar in tone to "The Man Who Could Work Miracles". But it's almost entirely verbose description, very little action. I can see the humor there but it doesn't do much for me. At least I did appreciate the humor in "Miracles".
I recently re-read The Time Machine. Now *there* is a great story! I just don't think Wells had much to say in the two short stories under discussion. Actually the idea at the heart of "The New Accelerator" might have made an interesting novel, or much longer short story. The bit at the end about marketing the stuff despite the obvious potential for crime and mischief hints at true science fiction-- that is, showing how an invention might make a profound change in society.
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