The Island of Dr. Moreau

Written in 1896, The Island of Dr. Moreau was an instant sensation that went on to inspire a series of movies. It was meant as a commentary on Darwins recently published theory of evolution, which had riveted the world of science and therefore, of science fiction. While gene-splicing and bioengineering are common practices today, readers are still amazed by Wellss haunting vision and the ethical questions he raised a century before our time. Shipwrecked on a Pacific island, gentleman naturalist Edward Prendick finds Dr. Moreau, a scientist expelled from his homeland for performing cruel vivisection experiments. Here Moreau has found the freedom to continue his work, and Prendick soon becomes involved. Dr. Moreaus project is to humanize animals by torturous surgical transplant, creating hideous creatures with manlike intelligence. But as the cruelly-enforced order on Moreaus island dissolves, the true consequences of his meddling emerge.