Review: The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just read (or most probably reread) the invisible man. It is considered to be an early science fiction/horror story. These elements are definitely there, to some extent, by in my opinion it is an early superhero story. It predates Superman by about 40 years and it has a completely different take on the superhero concept. The foundational principles are the same: A person obtains a super power. The person aims to use the power to some effect. The person considers it essential to hide their identity lest they be persecuted for being different.

The differences to the modern superhero narrative are striking and in my opinion are what make this story so fascinating. First of all, the main character does not wish to use his power for good. Quite the opposite.That makes him the first super villain as well as the first super hero. Then it is also the fact that the super power is also a super weakness. The inventor of invisibility dreams of all the advantages his invention will grant him, but upon achieving his goal he quickly becomes cognizant of all the disadvantages it carries. We observe the standard super villain character - a self-centered, narcissistic sociopath - become and increasingly irate and irrational as a combination his personal failings and the shortcomings of his invention increasingly marginalize him.

The structure of the story is masterful. In the first part, we observe the effects of invisibility from those perceiving it. In the second part, we get the perspective of the invisible person himself. It provides an interesting Gedankenexperiment in the concept of invisibility in general, albeit, in my opinion incomplete. The third part is the dramatic resolution and catharsis. It even paves the ground for a sequel that, as far as I know, never materialized in a memorable way.



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