H. G. Wells

Library Journal

When movie characters travel through time, make themselves invisible, or grow unexpectedly huge, the plot can usually be traced back to Wells, who, as Renzi says, ``formulated or touched on nearly all the major themes of 20th-century science fiction.'' In this study, Renzi focuses on six film versions of Wells's works, ranging from the classic The Invisible Man (1933) to the schlocky Food of the Gods (1976), to see how the screenwriters and directors handled the challenge of adapting a literary work to the screen. Renzi's dry writing style and a slight tendency to overanalyze small details will deter casual readers, but serious students of Wells, the film genre, or screenwriting in general will find useful information and intelligent commentary in this work. For academic and large public library collections.-- David C. Tucker, Brookhaven Lib., Atlanta