The Island of Dr. Moreau

Most of the books that I read I actually listen to as audiobooks and so when I came across an H.G. Wells five novel sci-fi collection on Audible, each narrated by a different notable British actor, I jumped at it. Included were War of the Worlds read by David Tennant, First Men in the Moon read by Alexander Vlahos, The Time Machine read by Hugh Bonneville, The Invisible Man read by Sophie Okonedo and The Island of Dr. Moreau read by Jason Isaacs.

Although the only Wells I had read up to this point were War of the Worlds when I was younger and The Time Machine more recently (which is why I skipped it this time), I was looking forward to David Tennant reading of the alien invasion classic as he is my favorite Doctor Who. But my favorite book of the collection ended up being The Island of Dr. Moreau. Even as I had never read it, I was familiar enough with the core concept but that detracted nothing from my enjoyment. 125 years after it was first published, I find the the philosophical ruminations still poignant, from the ethics of science to the nature of pain to "What makes a man a man?"