The Island Of Dr Moreau

I found The Island of Dr Moreau to be a much better read than H.G. Wells's prior attempt, The Time Traveler. This is most likely due to two main reasons, the first of which is that the urgency that strikes the lead character in this work is actually portrayed very well to the reader, whilst in The Time Traveler, no matter what events face the protagonist, it never really seems that he is in mortal danger. The second reason is that I found the story of a lot more interest - being left on an island full of beast men versus going to the future and discovering that humanity has split into a bunch of weedy cattle and underground dwelling cannibals.

I found this book to be a perfectly readable novel, it was never a struggle to get through where I found I needed to rest after a certain number of pages. Whilst not as gripping as Dr No, to give a recent example, it is still a compelling story that makes you want to turn each page to discover the secrets of the island and what happens to its inhabitants. The character of Dr Moreau himself is also fascinating, as we know little about him and his motivations. I was reading an article online that discussed the film versions that have been made from this book, and how they often seek to clarify Moreau's reasoning for his experiments as being a mad scientist or trying to take over the world. I think it is infinitely more chilling that he is doing it just because he can.