Science Fiction

The Sleeper Awakes

The Sleeper Awakes

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  • Create Date：2021-09-19 09:56:30
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：H.G. Wells
  • ISBN：0141441062
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Summary

A troubled insomniac in 1890s England falls suddenly into a sleep-like trance， from which he does not awake for over two hundred years。 During his centuries of slumber， however， investments are made that make him the richest and most powerful man on earth。 But when he comes out of his trance he is horrified to discover that the money accumulated in his name is being used to maintain a hierarchical society in which most people are poor and enslaved。 Oppressed and uneducated， the masses cling desperately to one dream - that the sleeper will awake， and lead them all to freedom。

Wildly imaginative and compelling， The Sleeper Awakes is a fascinating and prescient account of a future dominated by capitalist greed and mechanical force。 Part of a brand-new Penguin series of H。 G。 Wells's works， this edition includes a newly established text， a full biographical essay on Wells， a further reading list and detailed notes。 The introduction， by Patrick Parrinder， outlines the development of Wells's political philosophy。

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Reviews

Marsha Ronquist ，

Not a fan I'm not sure why I bought this book。 I'm not a fan of science fiction。 Not a fan of H G Wells。 I found the story rather boring。 For Wells fans， it will probably be enjoyable。 Not a fan I'm not sure why I bought this book。 I'm not a fan of science fiction。 Not a fan of H G Wells。 I found the story rather boring。 For Wells fans， it will probably be enjoyable。 。。。more

Justyna Szydloch ，

3。7

Yosef Shapiro ，

This book is foundational， as far as contemporary sci fi is concerned。 The idea of someone sleeping for 2oo years， and waking up in the distant future， has influenced quite a few sci fi works over the last 100 years。 I do realize that this book is a product of the late Victorian Era。 But， some of Well's views are very racist。 This issue aside， the book is a good， but not great story。 The ending is rather abrupt and should have been a bit better developed。 I much prefer his Time Machine book。 This book is foundational， as far as contemporary sci fi is concerned。 The idea of someone sleeping for 2oo years， and waking up in the distant future， has influenced quite a few sci fi works over the last 100 years。 I do realize that this book is a product of the late Victorian Era。 But， some of Well's views are very racist。 This issue aside， the book is a good， but not great story。 The ending is rather abrupt and should have been a bit better developed。 I much prefer his Time Machine book。 。。。more

F。C。 Shultz ，

I think there’s a reason this isn’t one of Wells’ more popular books。 I bet the detailed flying scenes would be way cooler if we weren’t able to livestream the inside of a rocket launching。 Also， pun intended， some parts didn’t age well。

Teresa Cervera ，

Unfortunately outdated

Andrew Mossberg ，

Classic but very dated dystopian novel from HG Wells notable for both how it influenced other writers of dystopian novels but also its undisguised racism and clumsy predictions。 It would be hard to argue that it is not an important work for those interested in dystopian novels or HG Wells， but equally hard to recommend it to any modern reader。

Two Envelopes and a Phone ，

Two stars off the rating， mainly because of the racist crud in this book originally from 1899 - which even survived revisions of 1910。 Well， I also didn't like tripping over the word 'tumult' seemingly every few pages。 But， mainly， the racism tied to the conclusion of this novel， is tough to put up with。There's some great SF content here; the enclosed mega-city - even the streets have a roof - the use of wind power， the independent women， Wells's version of TV and aerial combat before such thing Two stars off the rating， mainly because of the racist crud in this book originally from 1899 - which even survived revisions of 1910。 Well， I also didn't like tripping over the word 'tumult' seemingly every few pages。 But， mainly， the racism tied to the conclusion of this novel， is tough to put up with。There's some great SF content here; the enclosed mega-city - even the streets have a roof - the use of wind power， the independent women， Wells's version of TV and aerial combat before such things existed - this is more great， visionary stuff from one of SF's start-up geniuses。 it's just， the book is kind of。。。lousy at times。 Part of me suggests to you to skip it， and not be any worse off - get to The Time Machine， The War of the Worlds， and my faves from the author， which are The First Men in the Moon， The Invisible Man， and especially The Island of Dr。 Moreau。 Heck， I'm more comfortable suggesting Men Like Gods to you， a much later Wells SF effort that I only just read lately， and enjoyed a lot more than The Sleeper Wakes。 Ugh， that bitter aftertaste。 And， y'know， there's not a lot of plot here; not that much actually happens in the first hundred pages。 It does pick up as it goes along。。。and then gets kind of yick as Graham - Master of a world two hundred years past the world he knew， and fell asleep out of - our awoken （but definitely not woke） sleeper， rallies against the self-entitled capitalist elite only when black people are gonna invade。 It's strange - I。。。yeah。I liked things about it。 Other things put me in the position of "it's this weird 3 star book that I'm not inclined to recommend。。。"。 I mean， read The History of Mr。 Polly， some non-SF from Wells， instead of this。 I gave that five stars！ 。。。more

Phillip Marsh ，

Not great。 A few exciting chase scenes and an interesting and disturbingly accurate view of aspects of a capitalist future。 However， it’s generally dull with large portions given to describing inconsequential matters （that some people wore togas is not worthy of a few pages of text）。 It’s also fiercely racist and misogynistic， in a manner central to the plot。

Leslie Ferrari ，

Not my preferred genre， but well written。

Katriona ，

3，5

Sare Seren ，

Çok güzeldi， ama sonunu böyle beklemiyordum， final bir miktar canımı sıktı。。。

Clete ，

Perhaps the predecessor to all modern day YA dystopian regimes。 It’s clear why it’s not one of his more popular books， though。 Got a little weighed down in descriptions of the new society， as well as antiquated ideas about certain cultures and peoples， but otherwise quite entertaining。

DziwakLiteracki ，

Zarówno o Wellsie， jak i o jego twórczości， zwykło się mówić w samych superlatywach。 I nic dziwnego， bowiem był on nie tylko zwyczajnie utalentowanym powieściopisarzem， ale także wielkim wizjonerem， wybitnym fantastą oraz prekursorem gatunku。 Dzieła Brytyjczyka przedstawiają śmiałe fantazje dotyczące dalekiej przyszłości， która choć rozwinięta pod wieloma możliwymi względami （głównie technologii， nauki， industrializacji， urbanizacji）， nadal walczy z problemami natury egzystencjalnej。 Ten charakt Zarówno o Wellsie， jak i o jego twórczości， zwykło się mówić w samych superlatywach。 I nic dziwnego， bowiem był on nie tylko zwyczajnie utalentowanym powieściopisarzem， ale także wielkim wizjonerem， wybitnym fantastą oraz prekursorem gatunku。 Dzieła Brytyjczyka przedstawiają śmiałe fantazje dotyczące dalekiej przyszłości， która choć rozwinięta pod wieloma możliwymi względami （głównie technologii， nauki， industrializacji， urbanizacji）， nadal walczy z problemami natury egzystencjalnej。 Ten charakterystyczny motyw przyciągnął rzesze czytelników z całego świata， a ，，Wehikuł czasu’’， ，，Niewidzialny człowiek’’， ，，Wojna światów’’ czy nawet ，，Wyspa doktora Moreau’’， po dziś dzień zaliczane są do kanonu klasyki literatury ponadczasowej i absolutnie uniwersalnej。 Jednak w dorobku Herberta George'a Wellsa znaleźć można jeszcze jeden tytuł wart szczególnej uwagi。 ，，Śpiący przebudzony''， bo to o nim właśnie mowa， ukazał się pod koniec kwietnia nakładem wydawnictwa Vesper - tym razem w odświeżonym tłumaczeniu wzbogaconym o klimatyczne ilustracje oraz posłowie Mirosława Gołuńskiego。 A o czym opowiada？ Ano o mężczyźnie， który na wskutek pewnych okoliczności zapada w długoletni sen。 Budzi się po ponad dwóch wiekach （！） i odkrywa， że świat wcale nie stanął w miejscu， przeciwnie - nabrał rozpędu， ruszył naprzód pozostawiając go daleko w tyle， niczym relikt zamierzchłych czasów。Mnogość dziwacznych zasad， niezrozumiały sposób funkcjonowania współczesnego społeczeństwa， skrajnie przemysłowy charakter wielkich miast。。。 To zbyt wiele dla człowieka uwięzionego w czasie。Mimo to Graham będzie zmuszony zmierzyć się z czymś więcej niż nagły rozwój technologiczny; stanie do walki z czymś， co choć doskonale mu znane z poprzedniego życia， w roku 2100 przybierze zupełnie inną formę。，，Śpiący przebudzony’’ wyróżnia się na tle pozostałych Wellsowskich dzieł。 Nie jak można by przypuszczać ze względu na oryginalny zamysł fabularny lub nietuzinkową konstrukcję， ale… przez objętość。 Tak， proza H。G。 bogata w język i hipnotyzująca obrazowością słowa， jest jednocześnie utrzymana w bardzo zwięzłej formie – jedno konkretne wydarzenie stanowi główną oś powieści， a wybory dokonane przez bohaterów postawionych w kontrze do ponurej rzeczywistości są oczywistym pretekstem， by historię zakończyć zdecydowanym akcentem。 Tymczasem ‘Śpiący’ przedstawia zupełnie odwrotny koncept – jest historią ‘pełną’， satysfakcjonującą， zaś według mnie – totalnie pasjonującą。 Bo ta powieść， zdecydowanie ma w sobie coś; jakąś inność， odrębność， może nawet pewien rodzaj magnetyzmu。 Z jednej strony bazuje na dobrze znanym fanom autora schemacie （bohater vs。 nagły postęp）， jednak z drugiej… Wciąga tak， że oderwanie się od lektury choć na moment graniczy z cudem。 。。。more

Bobby ，

ZzzzzzzNot one of his better stories， thus is seldom talked about。 A real trial to muddle through and it never really caught my attention。 My be fine reading for someone else but not me！

Supriyo Chaudhuri ，

Beautiful writing and a rather prescient view of the future made me stay with the story。 But this has not aged well， as the whole idea of world revolution seemed to be triggered by a racist outrage。 It seemed that the tech has moved but the ideas did not - seems true but left me confused about what to think of the book。

Leo Robertson ，

The edition I picked up said "H G Wells published this serially through a magazine at first， then later as a complete novel。 Fearing he had rushed its writing to meet deadlines， he later edited it and released it again as 'The Sleeper Awakes。'"Hm， interesting， I thought。Then it continued。 "This is 'When the Sleeper Wakes'， the original version published throughout the magazines。"Uh， okay。 Why？Probably gets a star knocked off just for that！ It's the first time I've read of a writer acknowledging The edition I picked up said "H G Wells published this serially through a magazine at first， then later as a complete novel。 Fearing he had rushed its writing to meet deadlines， he later edited it and released it again as 'The Sleeper Awakes。'"Hm， interesting， I thought。Then it continued。 "This is 'When the Sleeper Wakes'， the original version published throughout the magazines。"Uh， okay。 Why？Probably gets a star knocked off just for that！ It's the first time I've read of a writer acknowledging the detriment done to their work by the serial magazine release format。 It's surely done to countless other supposed classics that I would love to see cut down。 Edited version always， please！ In this case we were lucky enough to have one but the publishers of the version I picked up chose not to use it？ Wtf？As for the book itself。。。 Yeah it's baggy。 Not so many ideas about the future for its length neither。 There are lots of wind vanes and cool helicopters that look like dragonflies—but other than that it's a pretty basic "take back the kingdom"-style thing—you can miss it :） 。。。more

Ibrahim Niftiyev ，

It was truly thrilling reading and I absolutely enjoy reading dystopia。 However， "When the Sleeper Wakes" is really a funny example。 On one hand， you have a guy who wakes up and becomes the most powerful and influential person in the world， on the other hand， he is a toy under political power。 Basically， the guy becomes the richest person in the world by sleeping？ Really？ Well， the answer is yes。 But how？ I guess to clarify it you have to read the book that hides a small detail about it。 Further It was truly thrilling reading and I absolutely enjoy reading dystopia。 However， "When the Sleeper Wakes" is really a funny example。 On one hand， you have a guy who wakes up and becomes the most powerful and influential person in the world， on the other hand， he is a toy under political power。 Basically， the guy becomes the richest person in the world by sleeping？ Really？ Well， the answer is yes。 But how？ I guess to clarify it you have to read the book that hides a small detail about it。 Furthermore， there is a clear and very compelling vision of the future conceptualized by the writer。 However， the book had a steep ending。 As soon as I approached the ending， I realized that everything moves very fast， plus without any solid signs of a proper ending。 That made me disappointed。 In fact， the ending was weird and out of expectation。 One last thing that I did not enjoy was racism。 The writer was a racist and socialist in real life。 This combination is dangerous。 So， the reflections via this book also made me assured about this one more time。 Sorry to know that H。G。 Wells was racist enough to incorporate his racism into his books。 Well， every beauty has ugliness in it。 But I tried to evaluate the book because of its excitement， instead of mixed ideological background and improper ending。 。。。more

Grips ，

The sad irony with this book， and Mr。 Well's ideological work in general， is that it misses its own point。 The sad irony with this book， and Mr。 Well's ideological work in general， is that it misses its own point。 。。。more

Elijah Kinch Spector ，

Starts off pretty good， then gets SO RACIST （yes， even for 1899） that I skimmed the last third while grimacing。

Lloyd ，

Tumult。

Sarah ，

Really fun ideas about the "future。" But the story is really disjointed。 Really fun ideas about the "future。" But the story is really disjointed。 。。。more

Adam Maoz ，

I do appreciate good science fiction， and especially Wells， but this one was way way off and anachronistic in my opinion。 It's interesting at first to see how someone imagined the future and how it actually turned out， and the huge difference seems cute， at first， but eventually it just seems pathetic and generally grows tedious。 I do appreciate good science fiction， and especially Wells， but this one was way way off and anachronistic in my opinion。 It's interesting at first to see how someone imagined the future and how it actually turned out， and the huge difference seems cute， at first， but eventually it just seems pathetic and generally grows tedious。 。。。more

Frances ，

Containing some quite visionary ideas， and quite steampunky in places， this short novel is hampered by too many too many words which confuse the plot and simply don't contribute anything。 It's also very much of its time in expressions of casual racism。 Containing some quite visionary ideas， and quite steampunky in places， this short novel is hampered by too many too many words which confuse the plot and simply don't contribute anything。 It's also very much of its time in expressions of casual racism。 。。。more

M Rins ，

A potentially interesting story poorly told and ultimately this simply has not stood the test of time。 Antiquated racial politics aside， the technology and society that Wells has invented come as being very quaint （with perhaps the exception of the aeroplanes） even drifting into the outright silly at times。 There is also a failure in my opinion to establish a convincing world - the geography/architecture described is muddled and the characters are flat and lacking in personality。 Exposition come A potentially interesting story poorly told and ultimately this simply has not stood the test of time。 Antiquated racial politics aside， the technology and society that Wells has invented come as being very quaint （with perhaps the exception of the aeroplanes） even drifting into the outright silly at times。 There is also a failure in my opinion to establish a convincing world - the geography/architecture described is muddled and the characters are flat and lacking in personality。 Exposition comes in bursts and is often repeated unnecessarily。 Action sequences are also particularly weak。A far cry from The War of The Worlds。 。。。more

Terris ，

An interesting concept， but I think it could have been better。

Brian ，

This was well-written and high-minded but I struggled to follow it all。 Just not for me。

Stephen ，

I have just finished reading WHEN THE SLEEPER AWAKES， as opposed to The Sleeper Awakes，so I have read the original version from 1899。As a huge fan I have to say，after not reading this particular novel in over 20 years，I was surprised at how good the novel actually was，ie not as bad as i thought，and not as bad as some have stated。Yes Wells himself said the book was a mess（hence re edit 1910），but what amazed me，if you read passed the terminology used at the time，there are descriptions of things th I have just finished reading WHEN THE SLEEPER AWAKES， as opposed to The Sleeper Awakes，so I have read the original version from 1899。As a huge fan I have to say，after not reading this particular novel in over 20 years，I was surprised at how good the novel actually was，ie not as bad as i thought，and not as bad as some have stated。Yes Wells himself said the book was a mess（hence re edit 1910），but what amazed me，if you read passed the terminology used at the time，there are descriptions of things that have actually occurred in our society today。Example。。。Babble Machines。。。。tv/internet。 Moving ways。。。。escalators。 Indoor super markets。Pleasure palaces，and the NEED for money，greed and power over the little people。Dodgy politicians， aerial warfare。。。。you name it，it is in this book。When someone states oh its dated，it isn't。。。。it is of it's time。Yes we know there are some，what you might call racist comments （the black police etc），but the message of the novel can still be found and relevant today。The pace of the novel kind of dips midway through，but never the less it deserves，in my opinion， to be discussed just as much as his more famous works。This book was an inspiration no doubt to Orwell（in fact i think he refers to it in Wigan Pier，to Huxley，s Brave New World and maybe even Bradbury。。Faren 。。。more

Rebekah Weinzetl ，

I really hope the 2100s won't be as racist and sexist as H。G。 Wells。Also， I read this for Read Harder cause I thought it was a novella for some reason。 It's a novel with an abrupt ending。 I really hope the 2100s won't be as racist and sexist as H。G。 Wells。Also， I read this for Read Harder cause I thought it was a novella for some reason。 It's a novel with an abrupt ending。 。。。more

Çağlar Ali Doğan ，

İnsanoğlu dinlerin yaratılışından beri bir mesih beklentisi içinde olmuştur。 Bu mitlerde， halk öykülerinde， çizgi romanlarda， filmlerde。。。 kısacası her yerde görülebilir。 Kendinden üstün bir güç ve aklın gelip adalet， huzur， mutluluk dağıtacağı fikri sığınılması güzel bir düşünce。 İşte Wells’te bu düşünceden yola çıkmış adeta。 Ancak ya bu kişi bizden biriyse sadece。 200 sene önce belirsiz tarihte gelişi müjdelenmiş biri gelip bizim kurallarımızı çözümleyip doğru uygulamalara ütopyayı mümkün kıla İnsanoğlu dinlerin yaratılışından beri bir mesih beklentisi içinde olmuştur。 Bu mitlerde， halk öykülerinde， çizgi romanlarda， filmlerde。。。 kısacası her yerde görülebilir。 Kendinden üstün bir güç ve aklın gelip adalet， huzur， mutluluk dağıtacağı fikri sığınılması güzel bir düşünce。 İşte Wells’te bu düşünceden yola çıkmış adeta。 Ancak ya bu kişi bizden biriyse sadece。 200 sene önce belirsiz tarihte gelişi müjdelenmiş biri gelip bizim kurallarımızı çözümleyip doğru uygulamalara ütopyayı mümkün kılabilir mi？ Gerçekten eskimeyen idealler， ideolojiler var mı yoksa ezme-ezilme kültürü her çağa hakim olacak ve insanlık giderek daha yozlaşmış bir hal mi alacak？ Geleceğe dair kısmen tutan tahminlerine rağmen Wells çok zeki bir yazar。 Dünyanın her geçen gün içine biraz daha battığı pisliği görmüş ve hayalgücüyle öngörülerini birleştirerek harika hikayeler yazmış。 Efendi Uyanıyor da bu öykülerden biri。 Korktucu， okurken geren bir distopya。 Kesinlikle okunması gerekenlerden。 。。。more

Michelle ，

Really tried to like this book but the writing is very dated and SLOW。 About a guy who sleeps for 200 years and wakes up the master of a new society。 Has potential but every scene takes too long。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Sleeper Awakes

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Sleeper Awakes&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Sleeper Awakes&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0