The Invisible Man - HG Wells

I've decided to start a book club where you're only allowed to read free kindle books. It's like a simple quality control - if it's been scanned online for free as a classic, it can't suck too much.

Anyway, onto the review. I really enjoyed the Invisible Man, despite its portrayal of scientists as anti-society sociopaths. A man becomes obsessed with the properties of light, makes observations (which he then applies), and takes the final step of experimenting on himself. Unfortunately, he hasn't thought out all of the consequences of his actions, and is somewhat unstable to start with. I like the message of thinking through your actions before you start, and also that one with little chance of reprisal (no societal bonds at all) would take advantage of the system. But the Invisible Man needed society, which was his downfall. I think that the story would be different today - not only because of the prevalent 'superpower' mythology, but because people are 1) less superstitious and 2) more selfish than in the novel. People wouldn't automatically be afraid because someone were invisible. And they would never kill him - they'd capture him, and the government would try as hard as possible to reproduce his work. The man could do the talk show circuit and be an instant celebrity. But even if it wouldn't work out the same today, the message is clear. No matter what your advantage, you should use science for the good and not the ill of your fellow humans.