Today is September 25. It is the birthday of Herbert George Wells (1866-1946).
Wells should need no introduction to anyone reading this blog. War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and The Invisible Man are familiar to almsot everyone, even if they haven’t actually read those books.
Wells wrote a lot more than that, though. He wrote a number of short stories. His two best-kmown short stories are probably “The Country of the Blind” and “The Red Room”.
His influence on t he field fo science fiction cannot be overstated.
But does anyone really red him anymore? Or is he one of those authors, like some of the ones taught in English classes, that people are familiar with but don’t really read unless they are forced to.
Personally, Wells is someone I would like to read more of. (Too manyt books, too little timem.)
I got one of those big annotated books with “The Time Machine” and “The Invisible Man” when I was in Grade School. Wells was one of the only authors whose name I looked for or paid attention to. Read “The Truth About Pyecraft” in “Alfred Hitchcock’s Ghostly Gallery” in Jnr. High and found a collection of Wells’ stories in the High School Library. (Decades later I bought a copy!) I’ll recommend his short fiction, like “The Man Who Could Work Miracles,” “The New Accelerator,” “The Star,” “The Inexperienced Ghost” and of course “The Truth About Pyecraft.” There’s a lot of the short sci-fi/fantasy/horror stuff as well as short-stories that are “slices of real life.” You’re sure to find something that tickles your fancy, stirs your emotions, makes you smile or terrifies you!
I’ve got a huge collection of his short fiction. I just haven’t worked it into the schedule yet.