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H.G. Wells: The Science Fiction Collection

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H.G. Wells: The Science Fiction Collection

By: H. G. Wells
Narrated by: Hugh Bonneville, Jason Isaacs, Sophie Okonedo, David Tennant, Alexander Vlahos, Eli Roth - introduction
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About this listen

He’s often been called the father of science fiction. Now, listen to H. G. Wells’ five science fiction novels in one definitive collection. Introduced by film director and H. G. Wells fanboy Eli Roth, the collection features unabridged recordings of the novels performed by Hugh Bonneville, Jason Isaacs, Sophie Okonedo, David Tennant and Alexander Vlahos.

The War of the Worlds narrated by David Tennant

When Earth is invaded by Martians in great mechanical tripods, terror ensues. They are equipped with heat rays and poisonous black gas, intent on wiping out the human race. During the destruction, one man’s story details the monstrous invasion and his struggle to find his wife in the devastation.

The First Men in the Moon narrated by Alexander Vlahos

A chance meeting between penniless businessman Mr Bedford and absentminded scientist Dr Cavor leads the two on a fantastical journey to the moon. However, they are unprepared for what they find: freezing nights, boiling days and sinister alien life. Will they be trapped forever?

The Time Machine narrated by Hugh Bonneville

Transported to the year AD 802,701, the Time Traveller encounters the peaceful Eloi, a beautiful elfin race of childlike adults afraid of the dark, and with good reason. Beneath the earth’s surface live the Morlocks, apish troglodytes who torment the Eloi. When the time machine is stolen, the Time Traveller must enter Morlock territory if he ever hopes to return home.

The Invisible Man narrated by Sophie Okonedo

When a strange man takes shelter at an inn, his skin covered from head to toe in bandages, he causes distrust. Griffin, a scientist, reveals that he has successfully managed to turn himself invisible, but alas without a way of undoing it. Desperate for a cure, his ailment drives him to many sinister actions, including murder.

The Island of Dr Moreau narrated by Jason Isaacs

Edward Prendick, the single survivor of a shipwreck, is rescued by Montgomery in a vessel carrying a menagerie of savage animals. Taken to an uncharted island, he meets Dr Moreau - a brilliant scientist whose notorious experiments have caused him to abandon the civilised world. It soon becomes clear he has been developing these experiments - with truly horrific results.

Known as ‘The Father of Science Fiction’, Herbert George Wells’ writing career spanned over 60 years. He was a writer of novels, short stories, nonfiction books and articles. As a young man, Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London, sparking his infamous vocation as a science fiction writer.

Public Domain (P)2019 Audible, Ltd
Fiction Science Fiction Time Travel Funny Scary Suspenseful Classics Short Stories Classics Literature Collection
"Wells was a genius: a prolific author who predicted the future, a visionary artist with a flair for big ideas and popcorn entertainment, and a master storyteller who laid the groundwork for science-fiction as a genre." – Eli Roth, film director and actor.

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About the Performer

One of Scotland's greatest ever actors, David Tennant has won almost universal acclaim from audiences, critics and fellow professionals for his outstanding and award-winning performances on stage and screen. He is most well known for playing The Doctor in Doctor Who, his lead role in the ITV series Broadchurch and for his numerous wonderful stage performances with the RSC.

He is no stranger to audio work having created a rich and wide ranging back catalogue of audio narration work.

About the Performer

Hugh has been a member of the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, his most recent stage appearances being at Chichester Festival Theatre in Enemy of the People and Shadowlands.

His film credits include Notting Hill, Iris, The Monuments Men, Viceroy’s House, Paddington 1 & 2, The Corrupted and Downton Abbey. His many television projects include Daniel Deronda, Mr Stink, Twenty Twelve, W1A and Downton Abbey. He has made documentaries on A Midsummer Night’s Dream and on the last days of Jesus, Countdown to Calvary.

About the Performer

Jason Isaacs is a star of both stage and screen with BAFTA, Emmy, and Golden Globe–nominations to his name. He is best known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series. His sci-fi work includes playing Dr. Hunter Aloysius 'Hap' Percy in the Netflix supernatural series The OA, Captain Gabriel Lorca, the commanding officer of the USS Discovery in the first season of Star Trek: Discovery and also provided the voice of The Inquisitor, Sentinel, in Star Wars Rebels, the animated television series. He is a seasoned audio narrator.

About the Performer

Tony Award winning and Academy Award nominated actress Sophie Okonedo was born in London and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Sophie has worked in a variety of media including film, television, theatre, and audio drama. She received an OBE in 2010 and a CBE in 2019. Her recent performance as Cleopatra in the National Theatre’s Anthony and Cleopatra saw Sophie win Best Actress at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, What’s On Stage Awards and Critics Circle Awards, as well as being a current nominee for ‘Best Actress’ at the 2019 Olivier Awards

About the Performer

Alexander is well known for his lead role in Versailles and in BBC’s Merlin. Other TV credits include Barbarians Rising, Privates and Indian Doctor.

His theatre credits include; Richard III/Romeo & Juliet (Shakespeare's Rose Theatre, York); La Ronde (The Bunker); Fortune's Fool (Old Vic); Macbeth (Park Avenue Armory, New York & Manchester International Festival); Britannicus (Wilton’s Music Hall);Emperor and Galilean (National Theatre); Hamlet (Sheffield Crucible); Cardiff Assembly (National Theatre Wales).

About Eli Roth

Eli Roth, burst onto the film scene in 2002 with his directorial debut Cabin Fever, Lionsgate’s highest grossing film that year. Roth’s follow-up film, Hostel which he wrote, produced and directed, earned him critical praise and was a massive worldwide hit, spawning a successful sequel, Hostel Part II, also written and directed by Roth.

As an actor, Roth has appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s “Death Proof” segment of Grindhouse and Inglorious Basterds. He also appeared in Nicolas Lopez’s Aftershock, an earthquake thriller which he also co-wrote and produced. He is a lifelong HG Wells fan.

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Behind the scenes with the performers

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All stars
Most relevant
Chapter 1 - Intro (Eli Roth)
Chapter 2 - War of the Worlds
Chapter 29 - First Men in the Moon
Chapter 55 - The Time Machine
Chapter 68 - The Invisible Man
Chapter 97 - The Island of Dr Moreau

Hope that's helpful.

For my part, I found War of the Worlds a very easy listen - only showing its age from how little we knew about space in 1897! Really looking forward to the rest.

Chapters where books start

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If you love science fiction, you will of course be familiar with HG Wells who is considered by many to be the father of science fiction literature. In this connection we have five of his most well-known novels and they are all chapter marked so you can navigate through the book easily find the book you want to read. Although I am familiar with all of this, I felt that the acting talent left a good deal to be desired especially with the invisible man which is read by somebody who really does not put much store by accents or indeed give any of the characters a Voice of their own, she sounds monotonous and tiresome to listen to. It’s a pity as the invisible man alongside the war of the worlds are my favourite books. A good collection if you don’t already have these elsewhere but there’s nothing new here so if you’ve bought these books previously by different narrators, save your credit.

At last, science-fiction at its best!

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Sci-Fi classics from HG Wells, these stories have inspired so many films and other writers it is great to hear them again unchanged. The performances are excellent, only let down by some "incontinent" editing!

Grandfather of Sci-Fi brought to life

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Triffids especially took me right back to my teens as we actually lived 1/2 mile from Ottershaw, so it was very real to me.

Great Collection, with a great set of voices.

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have never read the books before but have seen a few of the movies from them. the books are better.

better than the movies

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Some excellent talent involved in narrating these books. The books however are so bizarre, all have a basis in possibility especially when you take the context of being written in late 19th century. These are classics, and although I struggled in parts they are still very much worth listening to them all

Great varied narration

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Every story, wonderful.
Funny,relevant, insightful, poignant, classic.
Drift off to another time.
Blissful, relaxing and yet thought provoking.

Brilliant

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some were better narrated than others, time less classics. Will listen again as there is so much depth to the stories and I'm sure I will find more details I missed first time round

great collection of stories

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I really enjoyed the performances of these books great productions highly recommended to all listeners

A great collection

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Really well read.
Always good stories.
Nice to hear the originals.
HG Wells is fantastic. I wonder what he would be writing if he were about today

brilliant.

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