The Island of Dr. Moreau
by H. G. Wells · first published 1896
39% recommend61% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, unsettling Victorian science fiction about a scientist who alters animals into human-like forms on a remote island; an early look at the ethical dangers of such research and a good pick for new Wells readers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Ranked among the classic novels of the English language and the inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early work of H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest from reviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted to know more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in his first book, The Time Machine, not its potential for misuse and terror. In The Island of Dr. Moreau, a shipwrecked gentleman named Edward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by the notorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures, and a reason to run
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…pop into my head, in fragments, from time to time when I'm thinking about the modern world and the humans in it. Also, if you're wondering where things like genome editing lead us, they lead us to The Island of Dr. Moreau [2] (H.G. Wells, 1896). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?” ↗Yes, the island of Dr. Moreau. Wells was hardly a member of the great unwashed masses, yet he perceived the dangers of this particular line of research over a century ago. It might be worth a read - scientists are often not the best…
on “Scientists “humanise” Foxp2 gene in mice to probe origins of human language” ↗If you want to know what science fiction thought of this kind of thing in 1896, read the Island of Dr Moreau -- an eccentric scientist in exile modifies animals into more human forms.
on “Scientists grow bigger monkey brains using human genes, replicating evolution” ↗Definitely do Time Machine first, then his other "classics for a reason" the War of the Worlds, the Invisible Man, the Island of Dr Moreau, and IMO the Food of the Gods. His work tends to have a sort of bipartite structure where the second half diverges quite a bit from the first or there is a major thematic shift partway, usually as a consequence…
on “Henry James and H.G. Wells (1958)” ↗…used to be optimistic and utopian, like Planet of the Apes, Brave New World, Frankenstein, 1984, Earth Abides, The Martian Chronicles, A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Time Machine, War of the Worlds, and Island of Dr Moreau, We, Farenheit 451 ...
on “Starbase, LA” ↗Great to see Island of Dr Moreau mentioned, people often forget about that but its one of my favourite books
on “Starbase, LA” ↗Me too. "The Island of Dr. Moreau".
on “First human-monkey chimera raises concern among scientists” ↗…stories. Some great stuff. The movie Arrival is based on the title short story, Story of Your Life. Honorable Mentions (from things I've read in the past year): "Meddling Kids" by Edgar Cantero "The Island of Dr. Moreau" by H.G. Wells "Furiously Happy" by Jenny Lawson I could keep listing books, but this is probably already excessive.
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗…(and of what kind?) to merely repeat the implications of the Wells story of the Time Machine from 1895? No additional evidence is adduced. It remains to be seen how prophetic H.G Wells' story of the 'Island of Dr. Moreau' turns out to be.
on “Human species 'may split in two'” ↗An early intimation of this is in The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/159 [ The story's narrator ] ... 'is left on the island home of Doctor Moreau, a mad scientist who creates human-like hybrid beings from animals via vivisection.…
The Lord Tensens gave me a new referent for what I normally think of as a mountain range: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tian_Shan Vegetative cloning sounds almost like a shout-out to the The Island of Dr Moreau (1896)? I'm aware of the other applications, but as I got to quantales by discovering what other people called the structure I'd gotten to via forcing distribution on informatics-friendly semantics*,…
on “Who can claim Aristotle?” ↗…Gutenberg texts to practise touch-typing. There's something about writing out a book that hits differently to reading it. You skip less, odd parts stick with you. I think the last one I tried was The Island of Dr Moreau.
on “Project Gutenberg – keeps getting better” ↗…often more timely than the classics. I love many of the classics in literature, but you will find few of them dealing with the issues raised by Artificial Intelligence (not none, Frankenstein and The Island Of Dr. Moreau are at least close, but very few). So, I agree with you, but I think you are glossing over the very important factors of improved technology and timeliness of subject matter.
on “Dear Videogame Industry, Please Stop Making Games” ↗Makes me think more of The Island of Dr Moreau (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau) but yeah. Sounds useful, but ghoulish.
on “Team Builds the First Living Robots” ↗Before epigenetics we had Lamarckism[0] and in The Island of Dr. Moreau visisection is used to create humanoid beings from animals[1] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamarckism [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau
on “Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Tolkien Elves” ↗