There can’t be too many books about a time-travelling serial killer, who murders women in different decades of the 20th century, but here’s one of them. Part sci-fi, part horror, part crime fiction, the books tells the story of Harper Curtis, a monster of a man who discovers a house which allows him to move through time. He goes to see his future murder victims (his shining girls) when they are children, and then comes back when they are adults and murders them. Kirby is one of his victims who actually survives his attack and determines to track down the man who almost killed her.
A week after finishing this book and I am still not sure what to make of it. I sort of enjoyed it, but in parts it was slow and seemed repetitive. I liked Kirby’s character although I did think she was slightly cliched. Harper was irredeemable, horrible, and had not one tiny bit of anything remotely good about him. As bizarre as the idea is, it’s quite appealing in some ways, and I think if the book had been about 100 pages shorter, I would have enjoyed it more. It’s not really the kind of book I ordinarily got for though, so I may not be the best person to ask for an opinion.
A word of warning if you are thinking of reading this – some of the murder scenes are particularly gruesome and there is a scene of animal cruelty, which had I known about beforehand would probably have put me off reading it altogether.
Between the Pages 
‘The Time Machine’ by H.G. Wells
Posted in Book Reviews, tagged classic, future, mankind, sci-fi, social commentary, time travel on September 28, 2008| Leave a Comment »
This is a very short book (91 pages) which I read in one sitting, and which is perfect for a lazy afternoon (which was when I read it). The book tells the story of a man, who is always referred to simply as The Time Traveler, who invents a time machine, which takes him to the year 802,701. There, he finds that the human race has evolved into two species’ – the Eloi and the Morlocks. On the face of it, the Eloi seem to live a wonderful existence, filled with pleasure. However, the time traveler discovers that, as they want for nothing, and therefore have nothing to strive for, the Eloi have also seemingly lost the ability for intelligent thought. (Without goals, there is no need for strategy and forethought). However, there is a darker reality lurking underneath the surface (both literally and figuratively), in the Morlocks – a species who only come out in the darkness, and who inspire fear in the Eloi.
To say more would be to give away too much of the plot, although it is at this point that the story really began to take root. Suffice to say that I ended up feeling more sympathy with the Morlocks than the Eloi; I have no idea if that is what the author originally intended.
However, I do believe that this book may have revealed Well’s fears for the future; if the upper classes never have to do anything for themselves, they will not be able to look after themselves, and therefore must rely on the lower classes to provide everything they need.But in return, they must give something back to the providers…as demonstrated in quite a clear fashion in this story.
It’s hard to describe how I felt about this book. It is of course a classic, and with good reason. Yet, I found it very difficult to engage with any of the characters. However, I did enjoy it and would definitely recommend it to others. It is one that I have kept, and will almost certainly reread at some point in the future, as I think it could well be a book that becomes more enjoyable with each reading. It definitely made me consider reading more books by the same author. It’s certainly clear that Wells had a vivid and intelligent imagination.
(For more information about the author, please click here.)
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