H. G. WellsMen Like Gods (Collins Classics)

I have been reading more of the "later" Wells books having read the popular and earlier books (of which The Time Machine and The Invisible Man are probably my favourites, although I like the early screen adaptation of Time Machine better than the story itself).Some of the criticisms which I have heard about them a fair, such as their propaganda or didactic character, I really do not find this that much of a spoiler, they are not as didactic as some other truly awful examples I can think of (Ayn Rand's character speeches for instance or The Iron Heel, which as Orwell said in his review features one of the worst examples of a "gramophone socialist). Arguably, this book is didactic, although I really think its very balanced, perhaps reading a little like a debating society proceedings as characters with differing perspectives "hold court" in committee scenes.How balanced it is I can say as it provided a fair account of a "romantic" or "true reactionary" opposition to a rational, planned society decadent, dull or "weak". I have not paid much attention to this line of thinking as I was always aware of the extent to which straightforward misrepresentation/misunderstanding stood in the way of anyone taking those ideas seriously. The "romantic" reactionary thinking is essentially a "case against" even where the objective benefits of a rational, planned society are actually not in doubt.The character who holds forth with this idea is supposedly a characterization of Churchill, thought to be an reckless (over privileged) adventurer type at the time. Their argument is largely that life in world Wells' protagonist and his associates have been drawn from (1921 UK/England) may be "nasty, brutish and short" by comparison with the world they find themselves in, it is more exciting, vital and vigorous. So you may live a desperate life with few moments of happiness but those moments will be the better for it. To be honest, I find that sort of thinking most common among people who only ever have a theoretical idea of deprivations, poverty or tribulations of that sort.The story is one of the protagonist and his associates being snatched from our world to that of an alternative dimension. Its not exactly a fully developed multiverse theory but the narrative makes it clear this is not a straight forward "time travel" to a "future paradise". The "Earthlings" find themselves in a rational planned society whose members communicate via telepathy, all language divides have been transcended, and the "Earthlings" call their new environment "Utopia". There is no real discussion of that in itself, I do think Wells is writing Utopian fiction, the alternative world is a happy one which has perfected many things and exists in conformity with a lot of Wells own progressive/social theories. I have read that Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is a dystopian fiction response to this type of fable/storyline but I kind of think its unfair to Wells' alternative,The "Utopians" exist in a time with a single world community, of much reduced and improved population. Education has largely replaced legal authority and government, the population experiences increased longevity and rapid growth, Wells' has one of his protagonists speak with an 11yr old who is the height as the "earthlings" and has reached a similar intellectual development as Wells' "anti-utopian" associates (I felt this was a kind of comment on maturation from Wells). The "Utopians" are also described as largely naked in appearance, granted this is by some prudish members of the "Earthlings" party but (like William Morris' News From Nowhere) I took this to be a comment on their physical fitness, healthy physique and abilities in controlling their climate.How the story plays out, divided into three sections, the first and third giving many details of life in "Utopia" and the second featuring the "Earthlings" in quarantine/lockdown as they have carried contagions/germs from earth which cause an epidemic of disease. I thought the entire thing was well plotted, not just a propaganda vehicle, I liked reading the story, it is similar to Charlotte Perkins' "Herland" in so far as it is a vehicle for ideas though, I think its on a par with William Morris in this respect, better than Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" and "Equality".There is also an aspect of the literary "Heroes Journey" taking place too, with Wells' character being largely alienated and fed up with his life at the outset, coming full circle following his adventures/ordeals with a refreshed perspective. Personally, I love these types of stories, I think they can be very life affirming and this one definitely is.I think Wells has done a service with this book, even if I do not necessarily share some of his ideas about "desirable depopulation", I think this is a reflection of some enduring elite culture in the anglosphere. At least in this context it is achieve by "mutual agreement" and "prosperity" rather than some kind of "purge" or "great perishing" war or famine or "orchestrated/engineered scarcity". Into the bargain its just a readable book, the style and pace is good, I liked reading it a lot.

For me, this was one of Wells' best books to comment on the possible future of mankind. Not to be compared with "War of the Worlds", or "The Time Machine", with their more action based plots, this nevertheless is a very worth while read. Compared with books of his on a similar vein however, such as "The Sleeper Awakes", or "The Shape of things to come", this by far has the upper hand. This is the story of a Mr Barnstaple, an everyday man, who finds himself propelled into a parallel universe with a group of famous politicians, aristocrats, and their chauffeurs. The world they find themselves in has abolished all disease, and everyone only works at what takes their fancy. The inhabitants of this world speak telepathically, and recognise that the Earth is currently going through a phase akin to a part of their history called "the age of confusion" which happened some 3000 years before. Of course, the planet is how Earth COULD be, (or as Wells hoped the Earth could be). But despite being surrounded by such beauty and elegance, some of the earthlings rebel and attempt to conquer this new world.A delightful book, this shows how the world could be if everyone worked towards the same goal, but at the same time, it shows the problems of humanity, and its darker side.

Its the first HG Wells book I've read. I enjoy sci fi. But like most things they are surpassed by our predecessors imagination. Stick with it and enjoy

Wells's best scientific romances were written in the last years of the nineteenth century, brilliantly pessimistic tales to terrorize readers, with a degree of realism never seen before - and rarely since. No one would have believed, in those early days of his career, that Wells would settle down to write such tame scientific fantasies as In the Days of the Comet and Men Like Gods.Although Men Like Gods is more readable than his 'straight' utopia, A Modern Utopia (from 1905), the plot is hardly gripping; like The Food of the Gods, it begins fairly promisingly but ends rather drably. Here, you are initially interested in how exactly the earthlings of the present/past are going to mess things up; however, the implications of what they eventually do hardly create much excitement for the reader. The overall sense on finishing the book is of Wells wagging his finger and muttering 'I told you so. You damned fools.'That said, I am very glad that Dover have produced this inexpensive and decent-size-print edition.

Another classic if somewhat obscure H G Wells.This novel deserves to be read with his more more famous works.

Could not get into this book at all

A group of motorists from the 1920's is accidently sucked into a parallel world far in the future. Instead of being amazed by the peace, prosperity and learning; many of the humans are scandalised by the lack of religion, the equality of women and the lack of social hierarchies. They stage a disasterous and bloody revolution.It is not quite clear what Wells is trying to achieve with "Men Like Gods". It is too pedestrian to be a SF adventure; not funny enough to be comedy (though it clearly tries to be humorous in parts); and too ethereal to be a presentation of his political ideals. At the same time there are clearly problems with the "Utopia" Wells creates. Not only is it as boring as hell, but the methods of population control, although only hinted at, have a very dark side - "there had been a certain deliberate elimination of ugly, malignant, narrow, stupid and gloomy types ...".The book is not nearly as turgid as some of his later works, and is readable enough, but, for the most part, is pretty uninteresting.

First published in 1923, Men Like Gods is one of H. G. Wells's less well known science fiction novels. It deserves to be better known than it is. The plot concerns two groups of people who unexpectedly find themselves transported to Utopia, a planet in a parallel universe. Utopia, as the name suggests, is a utopian world, inhabited by telepathic people who have become so advanced that they have abolished most forms of private property and who operate without any system of government. We see the consequences, partly comic and partly tragic, that result from the interactions between the people of Utopia and humans from our world. Men Like Gods is very well written, reasonably witty, and much better than one can easily convey in a brief description.

Para mi, HG Wells es un genio. Un hombre muy sabio y capable de ver el futuro. Este librito es como una puerta abierta mostrando un destino posible para el ser humano, la evolucion en positivo (cuando se lee entre las lineas)...al menos que los que estan tratando de destruirnos en estos momentos no logren a hacerlo antes....

This was a good and refreshing read, a great addition and bringing its uniqueness to the sci-fi genre.

H. G. Wells wanted great things for this world. There was some image he held against ours that gave him the impetus to attempt to reform our age and to write of his many works regarding that whole thing. You could say that Men Like Gods encapsulates that image. Indeed, the main character isn't much far off from H. G. Wells himself. Mr. Barnstaple/H.G.Wells feels silly beside himself, like a fish out of water, and in the biblical slaying words of the time, like the apostle Paul, after visiting heaven, he didn't want to return to home and felt that he belonged to a better world that had been longing for, for so long.H. G. Wells shared with us a dream that must have self perpetuated an unhappy state of mind for him that would have been difficult to escape from. On the one hand, H. G. Wells is bombarded by the stark contrasts of man's infinite potential, and what mankind ended up doing with their potential instead.It is in this book that the reader gets a very intimate close look on what he had in mind when it came to securing the future of the homo sapien.He paints a vivid picture of the potential Utopia that could eventually come. Or rather, Mr. Barnstable, the main character, is immersed in the middle of just the beginning of man's leap to the stars.

You end up in a new world - because of magic or hypnosis or some kind of accident. You learn about the native lifestyle and come back to your normal world, wiser, with knowledge to help all mankind.Boring, seen in a hundred other books. But this is slightly different. Slightly more realistic than even some of Mr. Wells' own versions of utopia.Because in this one the Earthlings bring illness and evil ideas to Eden. Yes, the flawed Earthlings bring death and destruction to Utopia and what are the goodie-goodie natives going to do about it?I also love how Wells hints at the fact that while the people of utopia are well meaning and nice, they do seem to treat the Earthlings as lower creatures. After all they ARE Superior. By the end of the book, in fact, only the flawed or the very young show any interest in the main character from Earth. They have moved beyond us, to the point where even some of the ideas they have do not translate, and they see us as early examples of flawed humans. Like we may look at a pet ape.Unlike his work, A Modern Utopia (Forgotten Books), this just feels more realistic and, sometimes, even has a touch of humor. This is just how people would act if they were dropped into a utopia. Sad to say I feel this hits our soul and ideals, or lack of them, right on the nose.Enjoy!