This short novella was published in 1895 but it still feels fresh and relevant reading it today in the current political climate. The plot is essentially quite simple – a scientist invites a group of men to dinner, he arrives late to this dinner in a dishevelled state with a story about travel on the time machine he has invented.
His machine travels strictly in time and not space, unlike our modern day doctor who. When he arrives in the future his laboratory is gone but his machine is in exactly the same place in the world. The world he finds in divided between a peaceful race above land and a viscious nocturnal race below the surface of the earth. This is a post-intellectual world, where humanity has reverted back to survivalist instincts. The time traveller thought his industrial intellectual world would have been ever lasting, but it is not. I think this is why the book is surface interesting to read now in a modern technologised world, change can only happen so rapiday before it is held back and reversed.
This book is also highly enjoyable to read without an agenda, it is an adventure story at heart and the social commentary is secondary. I recommend it if you want a quick fast paced read, or something to make you think.
Overall rating: 4/5
