The Space Machine by Christopher Priest
The year is 1893, and a young commercial traveller’s daily routine is livened up by his lady friend when she takes him to Sir William Reynolds’ lab, where he is creating a time machine. A series of experiences that lead to a violent showdown with the universe’s most vicious mind are just the first modest step into the future.
The Space Machine by Christopher Priest
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The Space Machine is a parody of HG Wells. A scientific romance similar to what HG Wells would have written about 1896 was penned by Priest in 1976. He combines the themes of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds in a very clever and powerful way. His youthful protagonist and heroine meet the time machine’s creator, ride in it, and learn that it can also transport them through space in addition to time. When they arrive, the Martians are getting ready to invade Earth from Mars.
By sneaking on one of the Martian cylinders and landing at the start of The War of the Worlds, they make their way back to England. Although I haven’t read it in a long, they do end up flying about on a bedstead and throwing bombs into the turrets of Martian war vehicles. It’s a ton of fun. It has a lot of page-turning.
It is war! Martian versus. Martian is just the beginning; there is much, much more. A brilliantly innovative science fiction narrative; a really enjoyable adventure story; and a unique rearrangement of two classics, The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. This Christopher Priest book is simply too good to be true; it’s a fantastical mashup of Anthony Trollope and H.C. Wells, a must-read for any fan of Victorian literature or science fiction, and it stars the two main characters listed below, along with some of the most memorable moments from their incredible saga:
Amelia Fitzgibbon: This picture of Keira Knightley, who plays Sir William Reynolds’ assistant in the book, perfectly captures the essence of the book’s lovely and clever heroine.
Amelia convinces her new acquaintance, a proper young Victorian gentleman, to go with her on a test run of Sir William’s most amazing invention—the time machine—shortly after the inventor departs for London.
Robert Turnbull: Young Edward has no idea what adventures are in store for him or how frequently he will be required to play the hero a la Indiana Jones. But throughout it all, Edward maintains his Victorian gentlemanly demeanour. And yes, there is a romance in this book as Edward and Amelia fall head over heels in love.
The Time-Space Machine When Edward realizes Amelia is in danger while travelling across the future on Sir William’s amazing invention, disaster strikes. Edward instantly kicks out, pushing a mechanism that causes the machine to travel across space as well as time. Oh, my! – zoom, zoom, zoom, and then the machine suddenly stops. “Edward, where do you believe we are?” To which our Victorian guy responds, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” or words to that effect.
