Thirty Strange Stories, an anthology of H.G. Wells’s weird fiction, collects many of the stories that he wrote for popular journals of the day, prior to penning his groundbreaking science fiction novels. They are our first glimpses of his fertile imagination, and, for the most part, they do not disappoint. Though, to modern readers, the stories mostly hover about the low end on the weirdness scale, these are tightly-written little gems from the earliest efforts of one of giants of the genre. It must be noted that some stories have racist language, with a few exhibiting some truly virulent and awful racism.

Throughout the stories, which contain elements of the supernatural, science fiction, horror, and fantasy, readers will note Wells’s meticulous attention to light and color as tools to highlight and shade his scenes. In particular, he clearly demonstrates a fascination with both the scientific and purely aesthetic qualities of phosphorescence, its unique light and color flecked across many of the tales.

The Strange Orchid - You might well be able to guess the gist of the story just from the title. Yes, Wells employs a plot line that, after many iterations over the decades, now seems hackneyed and predictable, but it’s quite possible that it originated here. This was likely an intriguing tale for an unsuspecting late Victorian audience, though Wells does telegraph the ending almost immediately. Nevertheless, his lighthearted touch makes this a most appealing opening to the anthology.
Æpyornis Island - With a nod to Robinson Crusoe, Wells unspools a tale of the discovery of a strange egg of a long-extinct species. “He was a nice friendly little chap, at first...“ Contains racist language.
The Plattner Story - The curious case of Gottfried Plattner’s mysterious disappearance and his subsequent return with the right and left sides of his anatomy transposed. Wells may have been influenced by Robert Louis Stevenson’s iconic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (written ten years earlier, in 1886) as both stories involve physical transformation and both have the same structure, with the eyewitness facts of the case presented first followed by the protagonist’s version of events. There ends the similarity. A somewhat engaging and atmospheric tale, but certainly not one of Wells’s best.
The Argonauts of the Air - After expending five years and nearly his entire fortune trying to master the air with his petroleum-powered flying-machine, and with the public decrying the effort as folly, Monson’s hope and patience wear thin, as he attempts one wild last-gasp flight over a succession of London landmarks. Great fun as Wells evokes the era’s wonder and excitement in the years leading to the advent of aviation.
The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham - Edward George Eden, a medical student with the vestiges of his small inheritance shrinking, encounters a strange old man who proposes to make him his heir. Such deals, of course, come with conditions and ramifications. The outcome is again one that has been used many times subsequently in both literature and film, and Wells offers some obvious clues as to where the story is heading, but the crafting of this little gem is superb.
The Stolen Bacillus - A bacteriologist gives chase when he suspects an anarchist has run off with a vial of live cholera bacteria, capable of contaminating the city’s water supply. A mere trifle this one.
The Red Room - A man, skeptical of the existence of ghosts, agrees to spend the night in a purportedly haunted room. A classic gothic ghost story.
A Moth (Genus Unknown) - An entomological feud between W.T. Hadley and Professor Pawkins escalates with unexpected consequences. This taut psychological study could well be Wells’s variation on Poe’s classic The Tell-Tale Heart.
In the Abyss - In a naval experiment, a huge steel globe, with Elstead aboard, is lowered to the bottom of the ocean. He returns to the surface and tells the ship’s crew that he has discovered a new world populated with fantastical creatures. Quite similar to The Time Machinein tone, inventiveness, and story structure.
Under the Knife - “What if I die under it?”... A man with an undisclosed illness ponders that question as he about to undergo a medical procedure. Dark ruminations ensue, followed by an intense out-of-body experience, which at first mimics the wild ride of the flying-machine in The Argonauts of the Air, and then soars to staggering astronomical and theological heights.
The Reconciliation - Five years after a falling out, Temple and Findlay meet with a chance at reconciling their differences. Nothing supernatural in this one, though Wells delivers a dollop of irony with the central presence of a bulla, a whale’s ear bone, an object which some cultures use in healing rituals.
A Slip Under the Microscope - Another story of personal rivalry, here being two science students, Hill versus Wedderburn, competing for the attention of a female student. A controversy wrapped in a moral dilemma and a questionable application of justice arises in their final academic contest. A tedious story with little payoff, this is one of the few misfires in the collection.
In the Avu Observatory - At a remote observatory in Borneo, a strange creature unexpectedly attacks Woodhouse, the assistant observer on duty. It’s a modest payoff in this otherwise effective tale of suspense, but the exotic locale heightens the the sense of otherworldliness and foreboding.
The Triumphs of a Taxidermist - A thankfully brief throwaway story in which a taxidermist shares the secrets of his creativity. Further marred by racist language and allusions to horrific racist acts.
A Deal in Ostriches - The taxidermist relates another trifling tale about greed in which an ostrich swallows a diamond.
The Rajah’s Treasure - Legend has it that the Rajah of Mindapore, on the slopes of the Himalayan mountains, has accumulated a fantastic treasure, assiduously accumulated over the years. After a revolution in which the Rajah is killed, the new regime struggles to get at the tightly-secured wealth and wonders what might comprise this long sought treasure. A tale of palace intrigue with a surprise twist at the end.
The Story of Davidson’s Eyes - in the midst of a thunderstorm, Sidney Davidson, working in a laboratory at college in London, suddenly has the vision of his surroundings obscured and replaced by the sight of a ship, the sea, and an island. Is it merely a hallucination? Or is there something more at play here? An excellent story, the type tailor-made for adaptation to the old television series of the paranormal,One Step Beyond.
The Cone - Horrocks, manager of the Jeddah Company Blast Furnaces, overhears his wife speaking with Raut, a visiting artist who has come to study the aesthetics of the ironworks, and correctly concludes that they are having an affair. In this sublime horror story of revenge, Wells uses the artistic theme to great advantage, painting the pictures of the industrial landscapes in apt morbid tones. A surprising turn for Wells: unexpectedly graphic and gory, it’s tone far closer to modern horror than the more staid Victorian style. One of the clear high point of this anthology.
The Purple Pileus - After a heated row with his wife, Mr. Coombes storms out of the house, retreating with thoughts of suicide to a nearby forest. He partakes of a strange alluring fungi, fairly certain that it is poison and will release him from the misery of his bad marriage. But it is not poisonous, and it alters the trajectory of his life in an unexpected way.
A Catastrophe - Winslow’s business is failing, his funds are low, and a major supplier will soon request payment that cannot possibly be met. How can his business survive? A story one could imagine O. Henry writing were he in a most dark and cynical mood.
Le Mari Terrible - No clue. Read it twice. I am at a loss to summarize, explain, or decipher this one. Its intent is simply beyond me.
The Apple - Mr. Hinchcliff has just matriculated at London University and is en route via carriage to be junior assistant (a prestigious position) at the Holmwood Grammar School. Another man in the carriage offers him the Apple of the Tree of Knowledge. A fable within a fable, Wells masterfully builds the reader’s expectations and then provides an unanticipated conclusion.
The Sad Story of a Dramatic Critic - Egbert Craddock Cummins tells his tale of woe. Alas! A tale of the dreaded affliction he has suffered in his new line of work, necessitating repeated exposure to the theatre. Wells playfully skewers the dramatic arts with surgical precision. Brilliant.
The Jilting of Jane Not sure how this story, sort of a class-themed Dickensian episode, was included in this anthology. That’s the only thing strange about it.
The Lost Inheritance The man with the glass eye tells the sad circumstances of the lost Inheritance.
Pollock and the Porroh Man Wells offers another take on the “tell-tale heart“ theme, this one a gruesome and very effective horror story of murder, revenge, and perhaps some dark magic. Regrettably, it also includes some racist language.
The Sea Raiders - This is a compelling tale of the rare Haploteuthis ferox species, as a shoal of these giant squid-like creatures makes a most unwelcome appearance off the coast of Sidmouth.
In the Modern Vein - Aubrey Vair (a Byronic poet of minor renown), married to a sweet and gentle woman, nonetheless becomes infatuated with another. Subtitled “An Unsympathetic Love Story,” Wells takes a few jabs at the poet’s longings with some deft sexual innuendo. An interesting side of Wells displayed here, though misplaced in this volume.
The Lord of the Dynamos - The trajectory of this morbid tale is evident from the start, but an unexpected turn at the end subverts all that the reader has supposed. Unfortunate that the story seems to hinge on its overt racism.
The Treasure in the Forest A routine tale of buried treasure, ruined by the most horrific streak of racism in the entire anthology. ( )

This is an anthology using Wells's weaker and some unpublished stories. It doesn't reflect his greatness. One wonderss if the word "strange" of the title means the stories themselves or the fact that H. G. probably wouldn't have wanted some of them published at all. Most pleasurable were "The Argonauts of the Air," "In the Abyss," "The Rajah's Treasure," "tHE sTORY OF dAVIDSON'S eYES," "tHE sEA rAIDERS," AND "The Treasure in the Forest." ( )

This anthology contains the following stories:

The Strange Orchid
Æpyornis Island
The Plattner Story
The Argonauts of the Air
The Story of the Late Mr Elvesham
The Stolen Bacillus
The Red Room
A Moth (Genus Unknown)
In the Abyssb
Under the Knife
The Reconciliation
A Slip Under the Microscope
In the Avu Observatory
The Triumphs of a Taxidermist
A Deal in Ostriches
The Rajah’s Treasure
The Story of Davidson’s Eyes
The Cone
The Purple Pileus
A Catastrophe
Le Mari Terrible
The Apple
The Sad Story of a Dramatic Critic
The Jilting of Jane
The Lost Inheritance
Pollock and the Porroh Man
The Sea Raiders
In the Modern Vein
The Lord of the Dynamos
The Treasure in the Forest

The title of this anthology would suggest that the stories are all "strange" but it's not entirely true - There are all sorts of themes, spanning the grotesque to the mundane - Horror, science, political/social commentary, mysticism, slice-of-life, etc. There seems to be an attempt to cluster similar themes, so the progression feels logical if you read the anthology cover to cover.

It's difficult to know how to review a book of so many short stories - Some obviously stood out more than others and many of them had me thinking hard about complicated concepts. Looking at my notes, my favorites fell into distinct categories:

EXCELLENT STORIES, ALL AROUND: The Strange Orchid is an old, well used plot - It offered little surprise - And yet, I found myself horrified and enthralled all the same. Under the Knife should get a review of it's own - It was unusual, profound, and it may be the most unique story in the collection. A Moth is a tale of the same nature as The Telltale Heart - A story I have always loved and can never get enough of, even retold (with a slightly different twist) by someone else. The Apple is a new twist on an old moral tale - I never tire of exploring morality. The Lost Inheritance also covers morality, with a creepy twist.

SURPRISINGLY GROTESQUE: I thought these were all *very* good but found them surprisingly gory and they left me a bit creeped out... The Triumphs of a Taxidermist, Pollock and the Porrah Man, The Sea Raiders, Lord of the Dynamos.

The rest of this review contains SPOILERS.

STORIES THAT MADE ME THINK: These all warrant much more detailed reviews as they all had underlying concepts in them that really got me thinking hard:

The Plattner Story: This may be my favorite story in the collection. Wells seems fascinated with this concept of "dual vision" - Of existing on two planes at once, our bodies split between them - Half of us here, half of us there. We see it again in the story, Davidson's Eyes (with a slightly more scientific focus, but the concept is essentially the same.) I find the idea fascinating, and Wells' telling of it unique. Perhaps if I read more in this genre it wouldn't be so revolutionary... I also enjoyed the story's ultimate message, which was again about morality. The narrator sums up the strange tale of Plattner's visit to the plane inhabited by the lingering spirits of mortal Earth by saying, "It may be - indeed to my mind it seems just - that, when our life has closed, when evil or good in no longer a choice for us, we may still have to witness the working out of the train of consequences we have laid." I thought this story was complex, evocative, and gorgeously written.

Aepyornis Island: While I'm not particularly interested in stories of this type, I *was* really struck by an idea - That the thing I love about Wells' speculative/science fiction writing is that he will take what he knows as a scientific fact (in his time) and run ahead with it. What you see more often in science fiction writing is an author taking an *idea*, a *possible* technology, science or political idea, and observing it as a reality in the future. Wells, on the other hand, will take a scientific *fact* and apply known scientific methods to it and evolve the idea into the future. Which has interesting results... As illustrated by this story. Wells takes some really cutting edge science of his day and makes some really sound projections based on the knowledge of his time. Unfortunately, a key element in his formula seems a bit silly to us *now* and undermines the otherwise *brilliant* science in his story. It hardly seems to matter - bravo for the effort. We see this again in The Abyss...

In the Abyss: Another bold, interesting scientific adventure. This time, to the bottom of the sea and with a bit more of a horror edge to it... I found the sea men terrifying and menacing (as Wells no doubt intended.) Again, loving the science based on science of the time, not an abstract idea/possibility.

The Cone: You have to wonder what was going on in his life at this time... Is this a manifestation of Fatal Attraction Syndrome? I find it vaguely hilarious, if yes... That men of 100 years ago had the same paranoid hang-ups as the men of today. Excellent horror story with a rather dark, dismal environmental message backdrop.

In the Modern Vein: This one was a bit shocking if you know much about Wells' actual life... I don't know what's more shocking - The detailed depiction of an extra-marital affair, the man's pathetic actions and lack of responsibility to his lover (especially if this is Wells depicting himself,) or the fact that the woman actually tells him to take a hike, she's better than that... Maybe this is the *strangest* story in the book...? :-)

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