The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells

Experiments in Intercourse.  You've got to tip your hat to a book with a chapter entitled "Experiments in Intercourse."  They don't write 'em like that anymore.  Nowadays we say "attempts to communicate."

The First Men in the Moon is about two men, Cavor and Bedford.  Bedford is a down-on-his-luck businessman who has a chance meeting with Cavor, a brilliant but eccentric scientist and inventor.  By luck Bedford arrives just as Cavor invents Cavorite, a substance that blocks the effects of gravity.  Bedford sees dollar signs, Cavor sees a new form of propulsion and builds an anti-grav spaceship.  He takes Bedford with him to the Moon and there they have some adventures together.

Here's another one from my bucket list.  It has been over a quarter of a century since I last read H.G. Wells.  That time it was the humorous short story "The Truth about Pyecraft".  The First Men in the Moon starts off in a light-hearted tone; but by the time Bedford and Cavor reach the Moon, any hints of joviality are long gone and the story descends into a disturbing amount of violence.  I think Wells wanted to portray humans in the worst light, and Bedford and Cavor duly oblige him.  The last three or four chapters act as a kind of surrogate appendix to the main tale.

Wells know how to tell a tale.  His style is less than florid and the action proceeds at a nice clip.  It's a pity that the dystopian violence in the middle of the story overwhelms the narrative.  Until then there had been a harmonious balance between the narrative and the necessary exposition in the story.  And the appendix-like nature of the final few chapters really lets down what had started off as a bright and interesting tale.  I guess it would be best to remember that Wells was a pioneer of Science Fiction genre.

Publishing details: The Collected Novels of H.G. Wells published by Halcyon Classics (Kindle Edition).  No other details given.  The First Men in the Moon was originally published in 1901.