From a Martian assault on suburban England to a hillside overrun by voracious arachnids, here is a gathering of H. G. Wells at his most inventive, imaginative, and quietly terrifying.
H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946), often called the father of modern science fiction, wrote short fiction as boldly as he wrote his novels. This collection brings together several of his most memorable shorter tales including:
The Valley of the Spiders, a military expedition faces terrifying giant arachnids airborne on webs. The Crystal Egg offers a haunting glimpse into the alien world of Mars through a mysterious antique relic, while The Invasion from Mars brings the impending terror of interplanetary conflict directly to earth.
Fans of time travel will discover The Chronic Argonauts (including The Chronic Argo) Wells's seminal, precursor tale that directly inspired The Time Machine. Rounding out the collection, The Presence by the Fire delivers a somber, eerie exploration of grief, memory, and supernatural haunting.
Composed around the turn of the twentieth century, when Wells was at the height of his powers, these stories helped define the imaginative territory that later writers would spend a hundred years exploring.