The First Men in the Moon

It all begins when Mr. Bedford retires to the countryside to write a play, where he befriends the eccentric scientist Mr. Cavor. Mr. Cavor is a physicist and he's currently developing a material he terms Cavorite, which is capable of negating the force of gravity. Then, he miscalculates, and a sheet of his wonder material is produced and negates the forces of gravity acting on it. This makes it shoot off into the atmosphere. This inspires Mr. Cavor to design a ship plated in windows of Cavorite, with which he will travel to the moon. So begins the epic journey as Mr. Cavor and Mr. Bedford build the ship and leave for the moon.

This book is essential H.G. Wells. An imagination of technology leaps and bounds ahead of his time, of feats that eventually become commonplace in the world. And as with all his stories, the essential tale of scientist that is destroyed by his invention.

When Mr. Bedford and Mr. Cavor get to the moon, they discover a lush world dominated by flora, and more interestingly an alien race they term the Selenites. After a brief altercation, Mr. Bedford abandons Mr. Cavor on the moon to captivity and travels back to Earth.

This book could be slow at times, but interesting; H.G. Wells does a wonderful job of imagining the moon as a world that appeals not only to the curious scientist that is Cavor, but the greedy, arrogant businessman that is Bedford. It's not my favorite of his novels, to this day that still remains The War of The Worlds, but it is an excellent story in itself and a great showcase of the talents of the Father of Science Fiction. Highly recommended for fans of his.