"In 1899, a playwright named Bedford runs into an eccentric scientist named Cavor on the coast of England. Cavor has been working on a metal alloy that will block gravity waves, and builds a spherical craft with shutters made of this material that can be open and shut, with the effect of making the craft alternately impervious and responsive to gravity. The two men pilot the craft to the moon, where they explore in the very thin atmosphere and much lighter gravitational conditions, but run afoul of some insect-like creatures who live below the surface, raise and eat giant "mooncalves" measuring 80 feet around and 200 feet in length, and vary a lot in their own shapes and capabilities. Gold and other valuable minerals are also in evidence, but taken prisoner, can the two men escape and return to Earth? Wells's story is reasonably engaging, although the basic story ends about 4/5 of the way through, with a coda that reads a bit like sociocultural history and scientific reports."
David Loftus, Resident H.G. Wells Scholar
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Overall Review
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Plot
Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence - 20% planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20% Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story
Yes
Plotlets:
- exploring a wondrous planet or phenomena
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
- an entire race
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Setting
Terrain
- Domed/Underground City
Which planet?
- Earth's Moon
Earth setting:
- 19th century
Spaceship setting:
- primative (present, near future) human spaceship
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Takes place in spaceship?
Yes
Not Earth, in Solar System?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 1st
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- a moderate amount of scientific explanation
- a fair amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue?
- significantly more descript than dialog
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