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ankh_hpl
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. WellsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was expecting more horror and less philosophy from this one, but was actually fascinated to see how deep into the human condition Wells goes while telling his suspenseful tale. The Island of Dr. Moreau covers a lot of ground in a very economical number of pages, and quite a few of its observations age well. The anti-vivisection argument is over (it may have been aided by this novel), but the question of how Law is made and who gets to make it -- for whose benefit -- is still with us.
On the science fiction side of things, this is a very early "uplift" story, dealing with the unexpected consequences of forcing humanity on animals by brutal means. And, like Mary Shelley's over-ambitious protagonist, Moreau doesn't know when to quit.
One caution to modern readers: this novel was first published in 1896. Keep that in mind, and you'll have more sympathy for its protagonist (or at least I did).
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