The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells and Orphan Black

Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 1896
Type: Fiction
Pages: 160
Read: 2/5
Rating: Liked it ♥♡

Orphan Black is one of those series I got totally hooked on. The synopsis on IMDb: A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her. The woman who look just like her is a clone. All of the clones are played by Tatiana Maslany, their names are: Sarah Manning; Alison Hendrix; Cosima Niehaus; Beth Childs (suicide victim); Katja Obinger (shot by Helena); and Helena (has the same birth mother as Sarah). Sarah is kind of the main character. It is a fascinating series. I binge watch because I can’t remember what night its on. Season two is done and I don’t know if there will be a season three, I hope so because so many questions were raised by Season two, which I want to list here but that will produce many more spoilers. Anyway at the end of Season two, we meet the originator of the cloning program, he gives a book to Kira, one of the last scenes Kira climbs into bed with Cosima and asks her to read this book to her, “It’s about a man who makes monsters.” She says this rather gleefully, Cosima looks at the book, “The Island of Dr Moreau”.

So I had to read the book. I mean wouldn’t you? I had an idea of what the book was about, I had either seen a movie or heard about a movie. Like is always the case when I write about a book considered a classic, I have a hard time writing a review. The story starts with the nephew of Edward Prendick telling about his Uncle being lost at sea and found and then later when he died, his nephew found among his papers this account of what happened. This is was a common literary ploy in this time period.

The ship Mr. Prendick was sailing on sank, he escaped on a life raft with two other, who died or killed each other, and he almost died of exposure but was saved, then set adrift again, then saved again. His savior is a man named Montgomery and he has the most unusual attendant, and he is Dr. Moreau’s assistant. Once on the island Prendick is kept in the dark, is stalked by then meets some of the ‘inhabitants’, jumps to the wrong conclusion (which I thought was rather stupid considering what he heard and saw), then is straightened out, then tragedy strikes and he has to survive until he has to escape.

This is a science fiction horror story, the thought crosses my mind that this book exemplifies the saying: Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. The terror that Prendick experiences is conveyed very well by the sparse words and matter of fact of way it’s told. The ethical questions posed by this novel do not detract from a very fine read.