I don't know how to review a new collection of 130 year-old short stories. I'm going to say a few things about the stories themselves, but I'm also going to talk about the physical book.

The only Wells I had read before this were The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. I had no idea that he had written the kind of ghost and horror stories that make up at least half of this collection. I don't quite understand the editorial decision of publishing a collection that is half "scientific" and half "horrific". Surely Wells wrote enough of both for a full volume of either. Maybe the aim is to show his range.

The "scientific" stories hold up pretty well for being up to 130 years old. They are undeniably well-written, and well-told, imaginative stories. The "horrific" stories are not really my cup of tea, but, again, they are well-written examples of their kind.

Mint Editions specializes in print-on-demand editions of public domain classics. The covers are attractive; the binding is, in my inexpert opinion, of pretty good quality for POD. The paper is quite nice and the typography is pretty good. I think I would prefer slightly more generous margins. I suspect this copy was rushed a little bit to make LibraryThing's ER deadline: it appears that the last sixty pages or so are not nearly as well proofread as the rest of the book. I trust that later copies will rectify that. It is one of the advantages of print-on-demand that such things are easily fixed.

Handsome edition of some of Wells; best loved short stories. though this volume doesn't offer anything new - the stories are in print elsewhere and there are not notes or introductions, it is a sturdy handsome volume that would make a nice gift.

A beautifully bound book of optimal size by Mint Editions. I have read most of the HG Wells’ novels, but very few of his short stories. This collection brings a wonderful variety of Scientific and Horrific stories together. Wells tends to be very descriptive and very plot focused in his stories as was the style of the time. I tend to favor the more scientific oriented stories in this collection, but I won’t soon forget the horrific ending of the story “The Cone.” I also enjoyed “In the Abyss.” A story of underwater discovery; “The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham.” A exploration of the afterlife“; and The Crystal Egg” which presents a mystery with scientific surprises. Those were some of my favorites, but I enjoyed all the stories of this collection. Recommended for the reader of classics, and very early science fiction and horror. ( )

There are few writers that started in the mid to late 19th century I like. Wells is one the handful that I do. The stories here are quite readable, if perhaps not up to the standards of his best known works. One thing I did notice is that the 'horror' isn't very horrible by today's standards. Still, the SF stories are quite fun. Overall a good read of stories that aren't often collected.

"Scientific and Horrific Stories" is a collection H. G. Wells' short stories, and as all ways, well written and very entertaining. Wells is able to paint word pictures as evocative as works done in oils or pastels. In these stories you are in place, observing actions pleasant or painful, or a composite as in life. In environments and situations realistic or bizarre, it is Wells' power as a storyteller, that make everything real. As a reader you will be in places and witness to a reality otherwise unreachable. Personally, I am looking for more H. G. Wells. review written for LibraryThing early readers. ( )