Books in Classics of Science Fiction series

When Dr. Henry Jekyll dares to explore the delicate balance between good and evil, he little suspects the destructive powers he will unleash. In London’s respectable society, Jekyll’s friends grow concerned. Why has Jekyll suddenly changed his will, and what is his connection with the frightening Mr. Hyde? In London’s squalor, a child is trampled and an elderly gentleman brutally murdered. Why do all fingers point towards Mr. Hyde? Is Jekyll strong enough to resist Hyde’s strange power? Are Jekyll’s friends strong enough to help? In this exploration of two sides of Victorian London and two sides of human nature, the conflict between good and evil has been given a terrifying twist. Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.

‘You must hear my tale. You must hear my terrible, terrible tale.’ Committed to the deadly pursuit of the monster he created, Victor Frankenstein tells his chilling story. It all began with a desire to help mankind, but where will it end? Frankenstein leads us through vast mountainous landscapes and over frozen seas. Can he stop the fiend’s murderous course? Is he prepared to do what the monster demands? The reader will be shocked and surprised. Is the monster as evil as he seems? Is Victor Frankenstein responsible for the tortures he himself endures? What can Frankenstein’s terrible tale teach us today? Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.

No one would have believed that planet Earth was being watched by creatures more intelligent than humankind. But planet Earth was not only being watched – soon it would be invaded by monstrous creatures from Mars who strode about the land in great mechanical tripods, bringing death and destruction with them. What can possibly stop an invading army equipped with heat-rays and poisonous black gas, intent on wiping out the human race? This is one man’s story of that incredible invasion, from the time the first Martians land near his home town, to the destruction of London. Is this the end of human life on Earth? Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.

When Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to sell a house, he little expects the horrors that await. As the guest and prisoner of the sinister Count Dracula, Jonathan is plunged into a terrifying world of ancient evil and unbearable fear. Back in England, Jonathan’s wife Mina is concerned about her friend Lucy, who is mysteriously ill and growing weaker by the day. Can Lucy’s friends save her from the worst horror of all, or are they all doomed to a similar fate? Can love, courage and goodness defeat the evil thirst of a vampire? In this fight to the bitter end, who will live, who will die, and who will be doomed to a living death? Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.

‘On this machine, I intend to explore time ...’ The time traveler has invented a time machine. Its capabilities are beyond even his fertile imagination. Hundreds of thousands of years in the future, the beautiful Eloi people live in a Garden of Eden. But why are the Eloi so fearful of the dark? What horrors lurk beneath the surface of their world? What will the time traveler learn about the future? Will he survive the evil he encounters? Even if he can find his stolen machine, will it return him safely home? What does his future hold? What is the future of the human race? Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.

‘Dinosaurs are most certainly not extinct. I have seen them.’ An incredible claim by the eccentric Professor Challenger leads to an expedition deep into the Amazon, where an unlikely group of men find themselves on a journey into unknown dangers. Will they have the skills, strength, intelligence and good fortune to survive? Do dinosaurs really exist on the inaccessible plateau? How did a human skeleton become impaled on a bamboo spike? Can humans survive in a land of such primitive powers? If journalist Edward Malone ever returns home to write his newspaper report, will it be to declare Challenger a madman or a genius? Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.

In his 1898 War of the Worlds, H. G. Wells imagined aliens from Mars descending to Earth with violent intentions. In Star Begotten, first published in 1937, the suspicion arises that the Martians may have returned―this time using cosmic rays to alter human chromosomes. The protagonist Joseph Davis, an author of popular histories, grows fearfully obsessed with rumors of the Martian plan. He considers the possibility that mutation may have already occurred, and that his child, his wife, and even he may already be Martians. An ironic and often comic novel, Star Begotten portrays discoveries in evolutionary biology and contemplates the benefits as well as the horrors of mutation. This new annotated edition situates the novel in its literary and historical contexts, explains its place in Wells's late development, and highlights its importance as a precursor to the dark comedies of delusion by writers like Robert Sheckley and Philip K. Dick.