Since The First Men in the Moon, by H.G. Wells, was published in 1901, Mankind has successfully visited the Moon, and explored some of it secrets. Yet we have never been to a place like Wells’ Moon, a place of fantastic jungles and mysterious alien civilizations. Which is why this “science romance” is still well worth visiting, and lending our ears to the tale it tells.
The novel is full of marvelous ideas, from the means with which the Victorian protagonists travel to the Moon, to the setting of the Moon itself. Wells piles them on one after another with a confidence that is intoxicating, and a logic that politely asks the reader to suspend their disbelief. Many of these ideas are based on conjectures that, today, are obviously false - but no matter. These ideas are used as a means to propel the story, and in this effort they are successful.
Perhaps this is why Wells labeled his own work as science romance. The novel is at heart a story about an adventure in a far-off country, while the science provides the means of travel, and explains the workings behind this country’s exotic environment. Change the title of the story, move the destination from the Moon to some mysterious island - a setting earlier used by another well-respected author - and the story will essentially stay the same. Wells employs scientific aspects, but does not depend on them.
In this respect, The First Men in the Moon can be distinguished from the science fiction genre, as the science is not integral to the story. Yes, without the ship that Cavor builds, he and Bedford would not have made it to the Moon. Then again, were it not for their long, dark ships, the Greeks would have never invaded Troy’s shores. It all comes down to a question of accessible technology: what tools are available, to help the characters use to achieve their goals?
When Wells sat down to write this story, he had to ask himself, How do my characters get to the Moon? The solution he eventually came up with is actually quite remarkable, and based upon the manipulation of a force that today eludes our grasp. Cavor’s theory could also be rightly considered a step in the direction of that Grail in the field of physics, the G.U.T.
Is this all not science? Yes it is, but is that enough to make it science fiction? This essay is not going to deal with the greater question of how to define science fiction, but offers the following comparison. The novel Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem, is without question a science fiction novel, in that the it deals with limits of human perception and comprehension in a truly alien environment. Bedford and Cavor also end up in a strange environment that is inhabited by aliens, yet they show little trouble adapting to these events. Rather, they play the part of rugged explorers in an exotic land, peopled by a strange species.
But this is a story about going to the Moon, others may protest. How can that not be science fiction? The answer lies in the very concept itself. Pull a random passerby aside, and ask them, What do you think of traveling to the Moon? Well, they may answer, if they can put a man on the Moon, why can’t they etc, etc. The idea of traveling to the Moon is a dated one today, and in this respect The First Men in the Moon proposes ideas that no longer reside exclusively in the providence of fiction. People have been to the Moon, and they know what’s there - and far the most part, what is not.
Already this digression onto the topic of what makes a novel science fiction has gone further than intended. Perhaps this is because Wells is so readily regarded as one of the first science fiction authors. Yet other than the obvious, fantastic aspects of his writing, little evidence is put forward to support this claim. There is no doubt that Wells was a competent writer: the enduring nature of this work, along with the contemporary success he enjoyed - rare in the writing world - evince this. But once the concepts of aliens and travel to the Moon are commonplace, what is left to keep this novel in the genre of science fiction, other than reflex-action?
Regardless of where this novel resides in a bookstore, it stands as an adventurous, well-written one. (Perhaps that needs to be a section unto itself, with golden shelves and a chorus of angels playing in the background). The prose of the novel is clean, concise, and direct, with just enough attention paid to details to establish its exotic settings, without leading to pages of meandering prose a la Tolkien, or the majority of contemporary authors, for that matter. This book is easy to read because it is well-written; it reads, in fact, like a good story that someone is telling to you.
On this topic, it is worth pointing out that Wells is good at skimming over certain events, while dwelling on others that demand more attention. For example, when Bedford and Cavor first explore the Moon’s surface, the pacing is deliberate, as the narrator recalls what it was like to take everything in. When the two come into conflict with the native population, the description of events is appropriately brisk. In other words, Wells understands that a crucial aspect of narrative is pacing, and furthermore proves his skill in this area.
The narration is similar to that Wells employed in his earlier novel, The War of the Worlds. The story is told as an account, much like a reporter might. The aforementioned novel is told in a more breathless tone, however, to convey the immediacy that one would expect from a hostile invasion of their homeland. In The First Men in the Moon, this account is told from the distance that its narrator now finds themselves from these past events. This distance leaves ample room for the reader to invest their own emotions into what is taking place. Although the emotions of the characters is always apparent, they do not take over the story. Nor is the first person used to dwell in Bedford’s mind for pages on end, weighing one thought after another.
The first-person narrative also lends a sense of realism to the story. Despite present day knowledge of the Moon, it is easy to set aside disbelief and take the story in stride, as if it might in fact be happening. This sense of realism is only further reinforced by the theme of the novel, which will be recognizable to any student of history. This theme is the clash of civilizations caused by the exploration of foreign lands by intrepid exploiters.
Indeed, in this novel, The Moon is treated like a distant territory, much as the New World was for Europeans centuries earlier. Build the proper ship, and this territory will become accessible. Moreover, the two main characters of the novel present the conflicting motives of exploration: one is the intrepid innovator who seeks the destination out of curiosity and scholarship; the other is the industrious, brash businessman who sees an opportunity to reap profit from untouched natural resources.
In light of this theme, much of what follows once Bedford and Cavor reach the Moon is a matter of course. Their exploration of its surface - again, unlike any lunar surface mankind has ever seen - is usual romp that takes place when an explorer thinks they have reached an uninhabited country. The run-in with the natives, and the ensuing conflict, are the result of poor understanding between two cultures that can barely communicate with one another. On the surface, the plot of the novel is an ordinary one.
What makes this story fantastic, in the literal sense of the word, is the mystery that it contains. The plants and fauna that Bedford and Cavor find are unlike any on Earth. The natives, and their society, are only partially explained at first. When the inevitable conflict breaks between these lunar people and the main characters, a grotesque element enters the novel with unexpected force. Some of the scenes that follow would fit comfortably in a horror novel. They are also weird, in the sense that they escape expectation, and fascinate as much as they may repulse.
The novel really takes off into uncharted realms in its latter part, when Cavor gives an account of what the alien society is like. Here, Wells demonstrates a remarkable ability to conceive of an entire race that is absolutely unlike humanity. The aliens that earlier looked vaguely humanoid were only a prelude to something far stranger. The atmosphere of grotesquery is carried further, while the sense of mystery deepens, as every explanation Wells provides leads to more questions. One almost wishes that Wells had continued the story with a sequel of some sort, if only to further explore this bizarre, complicated world inside of the Moon.
In this respect, Wells demonstrates that he understood yet another aspect of storytelling: a good story will leave the listener wanting more. The ending of The First Men in the Moon is abrupt, and in fact violent. The questions that have been raised linger in the background, while the characters hover upon the termination point of the story, their fates decided. The story ends, but the speculations it has raised - what happens next with these aliens? will humanity meet with them again? could it had gone differently? - stay with the reader.
It is no wonder that this novel remains in print today - a feat that is perhaps more remarkable than the story it contains! The novel balances a serious theme with high adventure, and takes its fantastic subject matter seriously, logically defining an imagined world, and all that it contains. This is mature storytelling, skillfully told by an writer who observed the world around him, and saw both wonder, and madness.
