[Review] The Island of Doctor Moreau - H.G. Wells

Title of Book: The Island of Doctor Moreau
Author: H.G. Wells
Publisher: Gollancz
Publication Year: 2017
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 186

Edward Prendick is shipwrecked and finds himself stranded on an island in the Pacific. Here he meets the sinister Dr Moreau, a vivisectionist driven out of Britain in disgrace. And soon strange events cause Prendick to uncover the full horror of Dr Moreau's activities on the island.
The Island of Doctor Moreau mixes discussion on the divide between humans and the animal kingdom and chilling macabre horror in an unrivaled fashion. Its question on how far science should go is one that rings true today as it did when it was first published.

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The Island of Doctor Moreau is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. The book is narrated by Edward Prendick, a man who survived a shipwreck and being rescued by a passenger of a passing ship. Yet, the captain refused to take Prendick and left him with Montgomery, the man who saved Prendick, on an island. Later Prendick discovered that the island was inhabited by a physician called Doctor Moreau who had been doing vivisection on animals. Montgomery was Doctor Moreau’s assistant. Having nowhere to go, Prendick tried to live on the island alongside the doctor, the assistant, and their creations.

I first know about this book because it’s referenced a lot in a TV series called Orphan Black which revolves around the ethic of scientific experiment; cloning, to be specific. The Island of Doctor Moreau is similar in a way that it also discusses the ethic of scientific experiment. First, there is the question of the ethic of a scientific experiment on animal. Moreau seems to insist on modifying the animals, without anesthetics judging from the cry heard by Prendick, for what purpose? Mere curiosity? What’s the limit? While I understand that it’s often this curiosity is what led to great inventions, where do we draw the line? When do we decide that it's gone too far?

Then there is the Law that the Beast-Folk (Moreau’s modified animals) must abide. Moreau used the Law to control the beast and prevent them to revert back. The Beast-Folk seemed to fear him and worship him, one would assume that the Beast-Folk must have seen Moreau as some kind of deity. Moreau used a whip to keep the beast-folk in check and threaten to bring them to his lab which he dubbed as House of Pain. These sound so perverse to me somehow.

The Island of Doctor Moreau is not the first H.G. Wells book that I’ve read. Each time I pick up his book, I always seem to forget that his books were written in the 1940s the latest. The technology was not as advanced as in the year that I read the books. Yet, his writing seems credible considering that its written decades ago. Although for this book, the science is not plausible. Still, his books are often way ahead of its time. All in all, if you’re a fan of science fiction books, or want to try to read some science fiction books, you could start by reading Wells’s books.

I wanted – it was the only thing I wanted – to find out the extreme limit of plasticity in a living space