The Invisible Man by H.G Wells - Book Review

Maybe one of Wells’ best books. The story follows Griffin, who after turning himself invisible through some secret means and then burning down his lab and all trace of his work, shows up at an inn. He can’t pay, so he’s chased out after showing off his invisibility.

Griffin then goes on an adventure of trying to survive, but he’s not very good at it because he’s invisible and has no money. Someone steals his books with the secrets to his formula in them, then Griffin gets shot and ends up at a doctor’s house – who sells Griffin out to the authorities.

After escaping, Griffin tries to get revenge on the doctor, and none of it works out very well for the invisible man. It’s short and sweet. The message has more to do with greed maybe, or maybe there is no message at all. It’s just about an invisible man who isn’t very good at being invisible. 

There are no hidden meanings here. The Invisible Man is just one guy who figured out how to turn himself invisible, then mucked it all up. It’s a little silly actually because if someone was invisible in the time that this book was written, you would think they’d have no problem stealing stuff and running away.

Griffin seemed kind of stupid to me. He could have gotten away with anything he wanted, but just got angry and had himself hunted down by the townsfolk. It’s a good book, and one of the first very cool science fiction books.

Wells writes awesomely, like always. The story is sound, and there is a fun bit at the end – kind of a cliff hanger. I will give it 10/10 because it was a great book. I suppose it’s a story about greed more than anything. In any case, it does deliver.