[.ca] In the Days of the Comet (ISBN 0898048427)

Wells' tells why the world should be socialist.:
H.G. Wells was a known socialist for much of his life, although his opinions seemed to have change after the rise of the Stalinist Soviet Union. This book, with the misleading title, is NOT science fiction in the classic sense. However, this 1906 Wells' work is clearly an effort by Wells to show why the world should become socialist. He constantly ridicules the capitalist world by pointing out how capitalism breeds social classes which in turn breeds an unequal lifestyle among human beings. The rich get all the benefits of life, while the poor are left in squalor. Perhaps Wells' best illustration of this comes late in the book when the mother of the main character tells how her daughter died because she couldn't afford to pay the doctors who demanded their fee up front. Wells' also tries to convince the reader that socialism will not mean an end to the family, although it apparantly will mean the end of the single family home, all of which are destroyed in several! English cities by the socialists in this book. In fact, Wells claims people will find true love as a result of socialism because people will no longer think they are better than others. If you are looking for something in the realms of WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE INVISIBLE MAN or THE TIME MACHINE, this book is not for you. If you are a die-hard Wells fan you will probably enjoy this look into Wells' socialist ideas.

Utopia through extra-terrestial influences:
I first read this and saw that it was a Utopian Novel which was much more positive than others I had also read(by Orwell,for instance).However,I can see now that,although highly disguised through the science-fiction and humanity,this was Wells' own Socialist ideas of the world.Wells is an author whose works can be read as either science fiction,human interest or social commentary.

A great introduction to Well's literature.:
While not his earliest or most typical work, In The Days of The Comet is a great introduction to Well's literature for those interested but uninitiated into the mind and writings of this great author. Dramatic, full of suspense and intrigue, with a dose of romance to boot, this story has something for everyone... including a great social lesson. The story is set in Edwardian England and has some of the flavor of Dickens' stories. However, whereas it required the visitation of all three spirits of Christmas to reform Ebeneezer Scrooge, the entire human race gets reformed by the visitation of a single comet in this masterful story by H.G. Wells. Once you've read it, check out "Mr. Britling Sees It Through" for a superb examination of WWI and war in general. Wells was one of the great thinkers of all time and we owe it to ourselves to familiarize ourselves with his works. Many of his ponderings on human nature and problems are applicable even today. His science fiction works are far from being his best, though they are the best-known.