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    Invisible Man, The (A Graphic Novel Audio): Illustrated Classics
    Invisible Man, The (A Graphic Novel Audio): Illustrated Classics
    Invisible Man, The (A Graphic Novel Audio): Illustrated Classics
    Audiobook35 minutes

    Invisible Man, The (A Graphic Novel Audio): Illustrated Classics

    Written by H. G. Wells

    Narrated by Saddleback Educational Publishing

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    What would you do if you could become invisible? When a brilliant scientist discovers an invisibility formula, he turns to a life of crime- stealing and terrorizing the public. Read the exciting story of the Invisible Man's destructive deeds and the manhunt to find him!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSaddleback Educational Publishing Audio
    Release dateJan 1, 2006
    ISBN9781612474458
    Invisible Man, The (A Graphic Novel Audio): Illustrated Classics
    Author

    H. G. Wells

    H.G. Wells is considered by many to be the father of science fiction. He was the author of numerous classics such as The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The War of the Worlds, and many more. 

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    Reviews for Invisible Man, The (A Graphic Novel Audio)

    3.5/5

    54 ratings50 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I read The War of the Worlds a long time ago and I don't think I've really read any of Wells' other books until now, despite my intentions. I'm glad I finally got round to it. The Invisible Man isn't so much a story in some ways as an exploration of an idea -- not much happens, really: a man finds out how to make himself invisible but finds it much less convenient than expected, goes on a crime rampage, and is eventually killed. The main character is despicable and thoroughly unlikeable, which does the book no favours as a leisure read, but it's an interesting exploration of the idea. Though, of course, the 'scientific' explanation is laughable from a modern reader's perspective.

      For the little that happens it's quite long and unrewarding, but considering Wells' influence on the genre, it's interesting in that way, too.
    • 4/5
      Disturbing tale of a lunatic who made himself invisible. A quick and engrossing read.
    • 2/5
      All I can say is that I was extremely disappointed with this book after reading it. I came into it with such high expectations, and those expectations fell flat on their face. The idea(s) are there, but the execution tremendously lacked. There is barely any character development, and the story is told like a report in a newspaper. I understand that that may be the point and style of Wells, but I wasn't buying it.
    • 5/5
      The Tragedy of the Invisible Man whose discovery should have gone into top ranking Research Institutions but all his genius is lost along the way.
      The Invisible Man Griffin is an academic who discovers the secret of becoming invisible, this happens and he is able to use it, but alas still struggles with the same struggles he had when he was not invisible, like rejection, loneliness, isolation, this he turns into a Reign of Terror of The Invisible Man on the Village where he lives because DEATH is the only weapon left that has any effect. The Death Weapon turns back on him and in the closing moments the Invisible Man is himself felled and his invisible secrets remain in perpetuity only to be discovered upon the deaths of visible humans.
    • 4/5
      “Every conceivable sort of silly creature that has ever been created has been sent to cross me. If I have much more of it, I shall go wild. I shall start mowing them” says Griffin: the invisible man. H G Well’s character is unsympathetic in the extreme and this is what in the end gives this book a bit of an edge. When we first meet Griffin he does not come across as a mad scientist, but rather an irascible one, albeit with a vicious streak. His paranoia increasingly takes hold of him and he fights back to such an extent that he comes to believe that his natural place is to rule over the visible fools and dolts that try to apprehend him.We first meet Griffin as a mysterious character seeking a place of refuge in a seaside town somewhere in the South of England. He rents a room in a small boarding house where he can lock himself away and work. His curious landlady and fellow guests soon interfere with his plans and he uses his invisibility first to frighten them and then to make his escape. This first section of the book has the feel of a slapstick movie as Wells has great fun describing the antics of those trying to apprehend an invisible man. There are fights, chases, robberies, near murders, until finally the invisible man becomes notorious and must now live on his wits to hide from a nation bent on tracking him down.A wounded Griffin manages to escape and blunders into the house of Mr Kemp an old friend from university days and initially tricks him into giving him some aid. He slowly starts to tell Kemp his story and this is where the novel moves up a gear. Griffin has used himself as a guinea pig to test a chemical that he has invented that can neutralise the colour in skin pigmentation. His aim was to turn himself invisible, so that he could profit from the advantages that this would give him. He had not thought of the problems of being invisible and his first venture out into the streets of London naked in January soon made him feel that he was in a hostile world. Finding shelter and food were soon problematical and Wells description of Griffin in this altogether different environment is both imaginative and exciting. Griffin’s story is told in the first person, which contrasts nicely with the first section of the book which tells of Griffin’s exploits largely in the third person where we see the sometimes comical effects on other people of an aggressive invisible man.Dr Kemp soon realises that his old friend is now nothing more than a brutally selfish individual, whose only thought is how he can use his invisibility for his own gain and his obvious delight in his ability to hurt other people convinces Kemp he is mad and dangerous. The remainder of the book takes on the appearance of a thriller as Griffin is hunted downWells’s novel has plenty of thrills and spills and there is the excitement of the chase, which rounds out the novel nicely. There is also the fantasy of being invisible and Wells brings out this aspect of his story to fire the imagination making it another early entry into the ranks of science fiction. When Wells switches the emphasis from being a mystery adventure story into something more fantastical then the novel started to work for me. Published in 1897; the novel cannot escape it’s British Victorian flavour and so we are not surprised when Doctor Kemp wonders about putting powdered glass on the road to impede the invisible man “It’s cruel I know, it’s unsportsmanlike” For me this adds to the charm and a busy street in London full of Hansom cabs and other horse drawn carriages would be just as dangerous to an invisible person as motor car traffic would be today. A 3.5 star read.
    • 4/5
      Wells' novel was originally serialized in Pearson's Magazine in 1897, and published as a novel the same year. Part ghost story and part science fiction tale, Wells’s The Invisible Man begins with the arrival of a mysterious, shrouded stranger in the small village of Iping. "The stranger came in early February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow,"(p 1)A man heavily clothed with hats, bandages and gloves takes a room at a local inn, and quickly unnerves the townspeople with his strange laboratory experiments and odd behavior. A series of burglaries take place in the village, and with her suspicion aroused, the innkeeper Mrs. Hall confronts the stranger. Removing all of his clothing and bandages, the man reveals that there is nothing underneath and that he is invisible. Terrified, Mrs. Hall flees and the police attempt to catch the man, but he throws off his clothes and thus eludes capture. After running from town to town, breaking into houses and stealing things along the way, the invisible man encounters a former associate, Dr. Kemp. The invisible man, who we finally learn is called Griffin, was a brilliant medical student of Dr. Kemp’s at the university. Griffin theorizes that if a person's refractive index is changed to exactly that of air and his body does not absorb or reflect light, then he will be invisible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself, but cannot become visible again. "The man's become inhuman, I tell you, said Kemp."(p 127) As Griffin grows increasingly unstable, he begins to feel self-delusions of grandeur and invincibility that lead to this tale’s shocking conclusion. The Invisible Man is reminiscent of Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (published a decade earlier) in the creation of an alter ego that quickly goes out of control. That is the interest of this story along with how Wells brilliantly works out the development of the theme if invisibility. If one could become invisible, what then? Certainly I found this aspect appealing when I first read the novel and undoubtedly it has contributed to the continuing popularity of this novel. Whether it is science fiction or rather speculative fiction is a critical concern but does not affect the reader's enjoyment. This novel belongs in a special place along with Wells other great early science fiction works. And if you really enjoy this story the dark side of man is even more evident in his earlier Darwinian arabesque, The Island of Dr. Moreau.
    • 4/5
      This is another book that I loved. I remember watching the movie long, long ago. This is a classic tale of a brilliant scientist who makes a wonderful discovery, and then loses his mind.The book was long in the build up, and did meander a bit. I liked it when the Invisible Man decided that he wanted to create a reign of terror. I would, personally, have loved a little more exploration of the subject at this point. The evil genius, the evil joker, are all subjects that have fascinated me for years. HGW was such a great writer, he would have been brilliant had he delved deeper into the mind of the scientist.
    • 4/5
      The Invisible Man is a tale of the antihero, Griffin, a scientist/student who found a way to make himself invisible which he saw as a means of power. “An invisible man is a man of power”. But there are disadvantages and everything he hoped to accomplish is halted by these difficulties, dogs that sense him, food which shows when ingested. Griffin can take his place beside Frankenstein and Faust as individuals who become more and more destructive as they pursue power. It is also a moral fable; invisibility places Griffen outside of society and alienates him. In the 1001 reference book; the reviewer states that the novel shows the author’s hostility to Nietzschean thought and particularly “superman”. The novel also reminds us that scientific discovery can be used to further evil rather than good. I enjoyed this tale and at first was thinking 3 stars but changed my mind and gave it four.
    • 4/5
      [The Invisible Man] by H. G. Wells First line:~ The stranger came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year, over the down, walking from Bramblehurst railway station, and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand ~I did not enjoy this one as much as [The Island of Doctor Moreau] which I also just read. Once again, I am struck, by the dangers of indiscriminate ‘scientific’ experimentation. This story reminded me of Frankenstein although somewhat different. This time the scientist creates the ‘monster’ in himself and cannot deal with the consequences of his displacement from society. Frankenstein’s monster is the innocent victim in his story and the invisible man is a victim of his own creativity, no innocence there. The evolution of Frankenstein’s monster comes from his lack of acceptance right from the beginning and no experience at all with healthy relationships or an understanding of how to behave socially. Griffin’s situation is a devolution from years of experience relating to society and yet, when he runs into difficulty becomes a homicidal maniac. I cannot help but think that he had those tendencies to start with! (3.5 stars)
    • 4/5
      I was looking for something short to read and came across an old beat-up copy of The Invisible Man on our shelves. It seemed like the perfect book --- a little science fiction, a compact story, something to read while sitting on the roof enjoying a sunny afternoon.Griffin, a scientist, invents a machine that uses optics to make things invisible to the naked eye. He tests his machine, and the procedure, on himself. He completes the process but he doesn’t have time to reverse it before he is kicked out of the inn where he’s conducting his experiments by the people of the town who don’t trust him. With no options, and no desire to explain himself or his work, he leaves the inn in his new invisible state. He steals to get what he needs then enlists a man to assist him in getting his notes back from the inn where he abandoned them. When he, and his invisible state, are reported to the authorities, Griffin flips and goes on a bit of a terror spree wanting to get back at the man who betrayed him.The science fiction aspect of the book is interesting and the explanation believable. Griffin wasn’t a likable character though --- he’s arrogant, mean, and capable of murder. I kept wondering what it was that made him that way because I didn’t believe it could have been the invisibility alone. He does tell his story but it doesn’t do anything to help his cause considering he openly talks of murder, setting fire to a place to hide his work, and robbing people. I’m fine with not liking the main character and here Griffin is really just being used as social commentary anyway so I understood the reasoning for it even if he didn’t appeal to me.Having not read much HG Wells since high school, I was slightly stunned to find I didn’t like this one as much as I thought I would. Don’t misinterpret that, I did like it, just not love it. I’m a person that likes to bond with the main character and here that wasn’t possible. The reader isn’t supposed to like Griffin but even knowing that didn’t help me. For me, he was the cruel scientist bent on revenge not caring about the people he was planning to hurt along the way to get what he wanted. As I’m writing this review I’m beginning to wonder if I’m experiencing an aversion to Wells’s writing and now I’m thinking of going back to re-read The Time Machine to see what I think of that. Interesting how that happens to me sometimes.
    • 3/5
      This was a quick read. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. I was surprised that we didn't get to hear the invisible man's story until so far in. From the perspective and information given, it was like the fact that he was invisible was supposed to eventually strike us as a great surprise, but... it's called "The Invisible Man." Anyway, it did pick up once we finally heard his story.From the beginning, I wanted to like the invisible man, or at least to have some sympathy for him. Oh, maybe he has a reason for not wanting to talk to anybody, I hoped, but he was just a bad-tempered jerk from the start. I feel like the author could have addressed some deeper themes here if the story had been just a little different, but maybe it's just supposed to be more of a fun read.I did find the ideas about how he became invisible interesting-- the real science fiction part of it. I also laughed at one scene where he has a dreadful time trying to convince someone he's invisible, and the end was somewhat exciting.
    • 3/5
      I didn't enjoy this one as much as Wells' two more famous books. I just couldn't get it out of my head that (spoiler alert?) for most of the book the Invisible Man had his Invisible Junk flopping around, making him far less menacing a villain than Wells intended.
    • 3/5
      I have been re-discovering H G Wells in free Kindle downloads, though this is the first time I have read 'The Invisible Man'. The book is fascinating in its concept and of course it spawned almost an industry of adaptations and imitations including the TV series I remember from the 1960s featuring Peter Brady as the title character, though in an entirely different setting and conceit than the original.Here the title character is frustrated physicist Griffin who perfects a way of refracting light which, combined with some treatment of colour pigmentation (all very vaguely 'explained'), allows the character complete invisibility when naked, while retaining the solidity of the original human form. Griffin is initially delighted by his discovery which he imagines is going to give him the key to power and access in the world.He is soon disillusioned: the chapters devoted to Griffin naked on the streets of London trying to feed and clothe himself (having burned all his belongings) while trying to remain undetected are among the most powerful in the book. Griffin's reaction when he realises that his life as the Invisible Man is not going to be the idyll he imagined is a fury which leads to his determination to conduct a Reign of Terror against humanity.The Reign of Terror is shortlived. I won't give away the ending, though it's easier to spot than Griffin starkers. I was somewhat unsatisfied by it as I was by much of the book, though there are some gripping passages. The dialogue, especially in the 'crowd scenes',is clunky and false to the ear. The narrative is fast-paced but sometimes hobbled with clumsy prose. My main problem is with the character of Griffin himself who is portrayed as entirely amoral and thus never really engages the reader's sympathy even during his worst privations. I can understand why Wells chose this characterisation, as it sets up a sort of rationale for Griffin's deluded Reign of Terror, but I can't help feeling there is an opportunity missed by not developing a more rounded character, which could have given us a more mature reflection on the problems and moral dilemmas of Griffin's condition, and a more empathetic protagonist.I was going to end by saying that Griffin is two-dimensional, but I suppose it's more accurate to say he is no-dimensional - at least with his clothes off.
    • 3/5
      My second H.G. Wells novel. Honestly, I didn't enjoy The Invisible Man quite as much as I did The War of the Worlds. The storyline and writing were both top notch, but I just found it hard to REALLY enjoy a novel in which I totally despised the main character. In all actuality, I guess my feelings towards the protagonist/antagonist (yes, both are the same character) would be considered a win for the author, as I feel that Wells didn't intend for the reader to truly like this character. What I find interesting is that as I was reading the novel, I did feel a bit of sympathy for the main character's plight from time to time, but then he would do something so over-the-top or horribly nasty that I would immediately lose any sympathetic feelings and replace them with something more akin to loathing. I did enjoy the novel for the most part though and Wells crafts a wonderful story that keeps the reader interested throughout. I found the science behind his explanation of events to be sufficient to carry the story especially considering the time in which it was written and think that this is another fine example of early Science Fiction before Science Fiction was actually defined as a genre.
    • 4/5
      I always thought my first foray into H.G. Wells would be The War of the Worlds - but actually this made a fantastic starting point! A quick read, The Invisible Man is accessible, vivid and packs quite a punch along the way, and I really enjoyed it. It's about... well, an Invisible Man. Except when he first arrives in the little town of Iping, no one KNOWS he's an Invisible Man. Swathed in bandages, wearing gloves and heavy clothes, and with a hat and goggle-like glasses hiding his features, everyone assumes he's had a terrible accident. It's only when odd things begin to happen and the increasingly volatile gentleman is provoked into revealing his secret that all hell breaks loose. Is he a sympathetic victim or a murderous madman? Will he find someone to help him? How on earth did he reach this point in his life? How DOES a man render himself invisible anyway?What really surprised me, at least earlier on in the book, is how funny it is. The small-town characters are so amusing - Mr Marvel, the tramp, has some particularly good one-liners that made me chuckle - and some of their brilliantly observed little foibles are ones we all recognise even if we'd rather not admit to them! Nearer the end of the book the humour gives way largely to the Invisible Man's eloquently-told story and the melodramatic thrill of the chase, which was interesting but for me, not as enjoyable as the quick wit of the first half. Nevertheless, I'm very glad to have finally read this classic of science fiction writing - and I'm still looking forward to The War of the Worlds!
    • 4/5
      This book is a famous thriller from the author H.G. Wells. All begins when a stranger arrives in the village of Iping, wearing a long coat, gloves and a hat, covered in bandages and hiding his eyes with dark glasses. Nobody knows about him and why his strange behavior. Then, his secret is discovered and begins a dramatic adventure. The story is a bit slow at the beginning, but then it's pretty interesting and exciting.
    • 3/5
      In a time where modern storytelling is discussed in terms of spoiler alerts and twist-endings, it was hard for me to feel enthused about a book which answers its own mystery right in the title. In fact, I had carried around my Walmart published copy of this novel for the past 17 years, always picking it up out of a sense of historical literary obligation, only to put it back down immediately. A story about a man who was invisible. So what? By now it is an idea that has been done to death in both books and movies.So when I decided it was finally time to set my copy free back into the wild from whence it came, I said what the hell and hunkered down with it before we parted. And you know what? It is surprisingly a fun read.Wells is an able storyteller, and although the narrative clunks along a bit around the middle when Griffin explains to his old friend Kemp how he came to be invisible (both the suspiciously convenient arrival of this friend, as well as the overlong explanation of the science behind the invisibility are distancing and distracting) the story is surprisingly engrossing.As a fan-girl of all things British, in particular the Victorian era, I was especially taken with the period details including the narrative voice. To some readers this aspect of the novel will probably be a given, but I expected something more akin to modern science-fiction where the emphasis seems to be on taking a reader out of the commonplace. Here, Wells' third-person narrator sounds more like a peer of his realist counterparts, with great care and attention being placed on describing the mundane village setting of Iping and the insular, nosy life of the people in that community. This kind of subtle satire of small town communities is as lively as it is amusing.I do, however, feel that I have to subtract points for the unnecessarily prolonged reveal of poor Griffin's invisibility. Wells keeps the "surprise" from everyone, even the reader, which seems maddeningly coy, considering he knows that we know what's going on. But the slow build does create tension which plays out satisfyingly when things do start to move.Griffin as an anti-hero comes across as insane enough to be considered dangerous (the things he did to that poor stray cat!), but despondent enough to pity. And in a wonderful turning of the tables near the end (SPOILER ALERT!), when Kemp turns from the hunter to the hunted, we see how a kind of small town small-mindedness is perhaps more dangerous than a man no one can see. For a man does not have to turn himself invisible to be unseen and unloved.
    • 4/5
      Having read three of H. G. Wells‘s best-known novels now, I am not only impressed by the readability and modern appeal of his writing style, but also by his facility with adapting his style and tone to his subject matter. The Time Machine is poetic and melancholy; The War of the Worlds is dark, scary and suspenseful; and The Invisible Man is actually quite comical. At least, it is in the early chapters, as the title character first tries to conceal his invisibility, then tries to escape capture. The hijinks that ensue play like a slapstick movie.But the novel takes a darker turn as the Invisible Man narrates the events that led him to become invisible, and he becomes a more pathetic, and consequently more enraged creature. In trying to become less noticeable, he actually made himself more conspicuous. In trying to fade away, he now stands out and apart from all humanity. In trying to give himself power, he has only made his life more difficult. It is no surprise that insanity follows. The Invisible Man is a horror story — not because the power of invisibility is in itself so frightening, but because of what it wreaks on the man who obtains it.As a side note, in reading the Penguin Classics version of this novel, I was quite prepared to accept Wells’s explanation of invisibility for the purposes of the story. The footnotes ruined this for me by pointing out, in scientific terms, how this method of becoming invisible was physically impossible, making it much more difficult to suspend my disbelief. Sometimes, the footnotes are best avoided, at least until the novel is finished.
    • 4/5
      A young scientist finds a way to make himself invisible, but his success leaves him outcast from society. The Invisible Man is the story of a person who loses his humanity while pursuing an illusive scientific experiment. This famous book is really more of a cautionary tale than a scary story. The main character, Griffin, is not a likeable guy. He’s rude and often cruel. Every choice he makes is driven by his underlying desire to further his own goals and his selfishness leaves him oblivious to the wellbeing of others. The narrative itself is a bit stiff, but that’s to be expected in most Victorian literature. We see the outside world’s view of Griffin long before we learn how this happened to him. By the time he lets his side unfold it’s difficult to connect with his character. It was much more tragic than I expected. It reminded me of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The author blends science with morality to highlight the importance of considering both elements in your life. What is the power to make yourself invisible worth if you lose your soul by doing it?  
    • 4/5
      This book is about a man that finds a way to turn invisible. At first he thinks that it could be fun, but then he finds that it is hard to live being invisible. He wants to find a way to reverse his own invention. Over time the people that are letting him stay at their house start to get suspicius about him being strange. They find out that he is invisible and gets the whole county chasing after him. This was a good book and I think that people that haven't read it should.
    • 4/5
      So I have never heard anyone describe this book, nor have I seen any of the Invisible Man movies. For some reason, I was imagining the invisible man to be a much nicer person than he was in the book. He was an absolute villain in the book.
    • 4/5
      Heard this as an audiobook. A very dark tale, but with a dry sense of humor - at least in the beginning of the novel. Then it descends into madness and terror. One would think that invisibility gives you the upper hand in many situations - however here we have a frightened, freezing and vulnerable man who cannot get shelter, food and sleep. And then he gets very angry!!I like the way Wells presents the novel from different points of view. We are drawn into the tale by guessing who this strange man is - and then The Invisible Man steps unto the scene and tell his own story. How he experience everything. Then you get more sympathy for the guy.
    • 3/5
      If you like stories about mad scientists and descent into madness then this is the one for you. Although to tell you the truth I'm not sure Griffin's morality was screwed on that tightly to begin with.Scientist discovers way to make himself invisible. Scientist discovers being invisible is not the party he thought it would be. Scientist goes slightly more crazy that he was previously. Scientist finds old school chum whilst on the lamb. Old chumb turns him in. Scientist dies while being pursued. The end. Fairly basic premise for this genre. The best part of the book is the insight Wells gives us into the main characters lack of concern for his fellow man.At the end it was all right.
    • 4/5
      The fear of the unknown as the ultimate terror is the premise of H. G. Well's classic novel, The Invisible Man.  This man who is invisible is a deranged, frustrated, and angry would-be scientist,who has discovered a way to make himself invisible so he can take whatever he wants or needs and wreak havoc on those who try to stop him.At first he tries to hide his invisible state by wrapping his head in white bandages, wearing gloves, a hat, and dark glasses, none of which he removes.  He has trunks and cases brought to his rooms where he works secretively behind closed doors.  He has a terrible temper provoked by almost nothing, and he tends to smash furniture in his frustration.  It is when he is invisible, robbing and murdering  innocent citizens, smashing windows, setting fires, and causing near riots among the villagers, that his reputation as a menace builds and spreads across the countryside.  Inadvertently, the invisible man invades the home of a former classmate looking for a place to hide while on the run.  As he reveals himself to this acquaintance, we learn his story and the true extent of his madness.I really enjoyed this book.  The methods used to convey fright and terror seem a little tame by today's standards, but I can  imagine this must have shocked readers in 1899 when it was first published.
    • 4/5
      H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man is a very interesting, but not altogether difficult read. This isn’t to say that it is an easy read, but the plot is very straightforward, with little room for interpretation. However, this is not a bad thing! I really love reading H.G. Wells’ works, and The Invisible Man is no different. I may have been expecting more though, hearing for many years of the book that started a great number of popular culture ideas for television and stories. I was expecting that upon coming to the source I would find a Babel of intrigue. However, while I did not find a wonder, I still found an excellent read. Perhaps what I found most interesting was how the reader sympathized with Griffin at first, a tormented visitor inside of a lonely hotel. All he wishes is for peace, and the nosy innkeepers will not even allow him this! Later however, his own vile hatred of the world and torment of not finding a cure for his invisibility drives the reader to hate him. He becomes a murder, taking what is not his with ease. He turns from a silent possibility of a hero into a raging villain. Also, it is interesting that this book has no true hero. Instead, a community is forced to band together against this menace. Overall, it was a very interesting read, putting new thoughts into my head. While I wish it had been longer or deeper, after I turned the last page I was still wholly satisfied.
    • 2/5
      I enjoyed The Invisible Man a lot better than War of the Worlds, I'm happy to say. I preferred the writing style used in this book and thankfully it wasn't filled with geographical information. Plot-wise, it wasn't what I expected. I sort of expected more experiments, more obvious madness, or at least more of a suspenseful sinister atmosphere throughout the book as the beginning where he was locked in the room talking to himself did seem a bit more dramatic.The Invisible Man himself is very selfish, dominant, disregards others' feelings entirely and generally sees other people as stupid obstacles in his way. Despite this, I did feel sorry for him as being made irreversibly invisible and all the unforeseen consequences of that (being chased, hurt, hunted, ignored, exposure to cold, eating in public) would affect anyone, and so I saw him as a victim of his own foolhardiness. At the same time, he has a terribly short temper and he is a control-freak - demanding rather than asking, never attempting to negotiate, always thinking of his own needs. Meanwhile, the other people are scared of him and try to hold him on account of his breaking the law. They eventually try to play him at his own game and make it difficult for him to move around and steal, which has fatal consequences. I don't think they wanted to hurt him but he had killed brutally once and dreamed of doing more. The book doesn't endear you to any of the characters really, but there is a real sense of empathy for both sides - the Invisible Man, an oddity, who can't turn back and the villagers, who are scared, and taken advantage of and stolen from etc. I'm glad I read this book, and some of the writing is really well done. I really liked this quote from the Invisible Man's monologue, for no other reason than I got such a good sense of the shop that I just knew there was a bell on the door before I read about it:"...a dirty flyblown little shop in a byway near Drury Lane, with a window full of tinsel robes, sham jewels, wigs, slippers, dominoes and theatrical photographs. The shop was old-fashioned and low and dark, and the house rose above it for four storeys, dark and dismal. I peered through the window and, seeing no-one within, entered. The opening of the door set a clanking bell ringing."I enjoyed this book, and especially liked the powerful presence of the Invisible Man by the references to him as the Voice or the Unseen. His suspicious and dominant nature did make him enjoyably formidable.
    • 2/5

      Six out of ten.

      A mysterious stranger wrapped in bandages from head to toe arrives in town, and mysterious, terrible things begin happening. No one knows if he's responsible until he becomes invisible . . . right before their eyes.

    • 3/5
      Haunting tale of man cursed by his own power: he attained invisibility but couldn't enjoy it. Narrative is thrilling, suspenseful and poignent simultaneously. It is difficult to solely hate or sympathize with protagonist. Writing style and word usage are enjoyable experience too.
    • 4/5
      I only really knew the story from the TV series I watched as a kid. This was much darker. It just about stands up as a story rather than historical artefact now, and if you step back a bit you can see how brilliant the idea of an invisible man must have been at the time. It's only short, so well worth an ebook read.
    • 4/5
      A stranger wrapped in bandages comes to a small town. Several strange occurrances start to occur and the people of the town take it upon themselves to discover the stranger's secret. Well's classic tale of an invisible man run amoke carries well into the 21st century. The aspects of mystery and adventure are well told and the writing is crisp and clean. This is a book I would pick up to read to my kids (if I had any) as well as to reread it again for my own entertainment.