"The Crystal Egg" by H. G. Wells / Horror Meets Sci-Fi
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
- When Horror Meets Science Fiction
Episode 2: The Crystal Egg
Penned by British writer, H. G. Wells, the tale tells of a shop owner, named Mr. Cave, who finds a strange crystal egg that serves as a window into the planet Mars.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:43 - The Crystal Egg
Narrated by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble
Production by Ian Gordon
Intro music: "Above the Blue Smoke"
iangordon.bandcamp.com/album/...
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HGW trivia: Not only was this guy a pioneer if science fiction, he also invented the first published miniature combat game. Well's wrote and published Little Wars, a complete rulebook for simulating combat tactics with toy soldiers and replica canons. The rules are strikingly similar to any contemporary tactical minis game like War Machine or Warhammer 40,000.
Can one find a copy of the rules?
Scott Gastineau it’s just the rules. Men, for the most part, played with miniature soldiers, horses, canons etc. for at least over a hundred years before Conan Doyle wrote them down!!!! war tactics are war tactics - for pete’s sake. there’s a famous old book on war tactics written by a Japanese man centuries ago, but i can’t remember his name. it’s all there.
Of the same type of man as Mr. Charles Babbage I reckon.
340pmtoday
😊
Thoroughly enjoyed it. More H. G. Wells, please.
This was an awesome story by a great science fiction author and read by a marvelous narrator. Thanks so much.
Great story, first time I’ve heard of this. These short stories are perfect for me before bedtime.
Wow what a tale, well ahead of it's time. Perfectly preformed as always. Thank you very much!!
This was one of the first sci fi short stories I read as a kid. I always loved it. You do wonderful readings.
Interesting story and great narration!
This story has H.G. Wells all over it. One can tell he wrote it.
Thanks!
Ian, you're one fabulous narrator and one of my most favorite favorites.
Thank you for your fine renditions.
Peace, Love and Good Vibrations,
BanjoQueen
"Loose-limbed lout." Great descriptions of the characters.
Wells dabbled in both Gothic horror, as well as Victorian horror. Certainly a master of sci-fi, and well studied. I am very hopeful about these applications here. As demonstrated some understanding of general relativity, when looking at a ‘reverse’ image of his small universe, where we wind up where we began. These guys who are writing in this period are curious, and intelligent, at once. Thanks again. Good Sho 🙏🏽🎩❤️✨🌙💫
Classic tale. I remember reading this in Elementary school.
Here we go.... I have been looking forward to this reading since I saw the notification.. THANX HorrorBabble!!
Come to think of it just now. I've always considered this a Prequel to War of the Worlds.
A few folks have drawn that parallel - perhaps we'll tackle WotW at some point! Personally, I'm a huge fan of Jeff Wayne's musical version. Ian
This is one of my favorite stories.
The first 20 minutes were pure comedy gold. Thanks so very much!
I love these stories and your narrations.I've listened to a few others and they 're not as satisfying.Thank you for your efforts.
Great stuff! As a fan of HGW I love hearing his works read well. Maybe you could do 'The Sea Raiders', with its tentacled monsters? Fun for the kiddies!
Thanks David! Indeed, it may be worth a look - we're still considering the possibility of recording sci-fi on a separate channel/platform. Ian
HorrorBabble - If you do, be sure to let us know so we can follow you!
Another brilliant story. Your are the perfect narrator for these kinds of stories.
I would love to hear you narrate Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrel.
I am pleasantly surprised to find I rather enjoyed this story. 😊 Not usually one for sci-fi. Looking forward to the next.
Lindsey Baker me too I never was one for sci-fi the only alien stuff I like is explaining how alien the monster is compared to us in the Eldritch darkness lol
Better yet, they're the aliens from The War of the Worlds.
I feel like you could amazingly narrate The War of The World
Thank you! When I have a little more time, I might just do that.
@@HorrorBabble Please do, sir
Definitely !! Really fantastic reading, look forward to War of The Worlds
Yes! My dad who lived in Philadelphia, PA, heard and witnessed the hysteria from Orson Welles' radio broadcast.
Thank you so much 🌳🌳🌳🥀
Amazing Story ! Really enjoyed listening. I think Mr Cave may have been on something ! 😊
Excellent reading and great dark synth music that lifts the piece without being overbearing. The story seems like a primer for WOTW.
This is a good one that took a few listens in order to achieve full appreciation of the scariness.
Seven Dials was a very run down and unsafe neighborhood, it was the sort of neighborhood one might expect to find gin houses, prostitutes, and all manner of untrustworthy and generally dubious merchants in.
I live near Seven Dials
Just stumbled across your channel and thank the mythos I did!!
Makes me wanna take up scrying again, great story!
I wonder if Tolkien read this story and if it gave him the idea for his Palantir in the LotR, or if seeing stones are an older idea used by both he and Wells?
Good point Kenneth - it's certainly possible 'seeing stones' appeared in earlier literature. Ian
Stone & cystral eggs where part of the ritual items of ancient Celtic druids
From what I understand of this story its a prelude to War pf the Worlds as the crystal egg allows the viewer who gazes into its depths to see what is on the surface of Mars.
I would like to suggest a read of "The Sea Raiders" by H.G. Wells. It's quite the memorable yarn. Thank you, Ian, for your amazing narration.
this waws outstanding - never knew Wells did this type of writing! It also seems more than a bit Lovecraftian, or did Lovecraft's vision seem more Wellsian?
Hey I like the intro I am leaving a thumbs up
A side tale to The War Of The Worlds, and a piece of genius in its own right.
This crystal reminds me very much of the crystal from the story "ubbo sathla" by Clark Ashton Smith. What a great story!
Thank you.
Pretty egg, great story!!
I was so interested in this story that when it ended I felt a bit disappointed, I wish there was more to the story. Awesome reading!
Perhaps that's where War of the Worlds comes in!
HorrorBabble ha maybe!
nickyiil alright, thank you!
At the beginning of War of the Worlds it says they were watching our world. Wonder how many crystal eggs were here?
Agreed. Would have been better if he had found the egg and there was an addition to the story
This tale is somewhat Cthulhu mythos type tale.
When Horror Meets Science Fiction
Episode 2: The Crystal Egg
Penned by British writer, H. G. Wells, the tale tells of a shop owner, named Mr. Cave, who finds a strange crystal egg that serves as a window into the planet Mars.
Chapters:
00:43 - The Crystal Egg
Narrated by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble
Production by Ian Gordon
Intro music: "Above the Blue Smoke"
iangordon.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-monochrome
Support us on Bandcamp or Patreon:
horrorbabble.bandcamp.com
www.patreon.com/horrorbabble
HorrorBabble MERCH:
teespring.com/stores/horrorbabble-merch
Search HORRORBABBLE to find us on:
AUDIBLE / ITUNES / SPOTIFY
Home: www.horrorbabble.com
Rue Morgue: www.rue-morgue.com
Social Media:
facebook.com/HorrorBabble
instagram.com/horrorbabble
twitter.com/HorrorBabble
Resplendent!
Taken me to Wellington Wells.
Idk what I'd do if I didn't have horror babble
get out more ?
This narrator always sounds like the most distant region of an object that possesses a clanger.
Wholeness and balanced vibrations thanks for the upload
This is much better than derpy martians from War of the Worlds.
Good story -- not great but lovely still. I wasn't expecting such vivid and relatable characters. It lacks a certain element of adventure that we have cine to expect from subsequent genre stories. There is no climax, I suppose I am saying. That lack of adventure, however, makes it feel all the more feasible, like a story your neighbor tells you about what happened the previous day. I liked it.
Isn't it fascinating how HGW's crystal eggs mirror the way that entangled particles work in quantum physics? One day, we might have communication devices which look more like radios than a witch's crystal ball but function very much like this. Data goes in one device and comes out the other with no physical linkage between the two for signal interception or interference.
He was quite the visionary, for sure. It's not exactly quantum entanglement, but this recent news is both interesting and promising: www.scientificamerican.com/article/100-million-plan-will-send-probes-to-the-nearest-star1
Would you guys do a reading of The War of the Worlds?
I reckon so - though it would have to be part of another horror/sci-fi series.
hi - i have been trying to find even decent HG audiobook stuff and there's really nothing out there. i know he's usually considered scifi, but you do have two of his stories, and there are other kinda horror-type, scary works, too. i'd love to hear you 'read' more of his shorter works at least. it is just a suggestion, but i really would like to hear some good Wells - pleeeease. thanks much, much, much :} (even if you don't record more HG, you're really the best!!!)
Thanks Alexa! Please send any suggestions via the website: www.horrorbabble.com/contact
£5 in 1897 (when this story was written) is worth almost £700 or US$900 in 2022 monies
This is a really great Sci-Fi story. I just don't get why it is classified as horror.
Well then... I assume this was a prequel to WOTW
What happened to your dedicated Lovecraft channel, went to listen to a story and just get a notification saying the channel does not exist?
Many apologies - we've had lots of problems over the last week or so. See the community tab for more info: th-cam.com/users/horrorbabblecommunity
Reads like a prequel to the more famous "the War of the Worlds" dont suppose there is any chance of that being a future reading at all?
Great job! Have you checked out MotherHorseEye’s Interface series? I think you might enjoy it even if you don’t read it on your channel! :)
Looks like I've got some reading to do! Ian
So the Martians had learned to harness quantum entanglement?
What part of this story is horror?
1000%
One could say that the creatures mentioned could be star spawn or mee go.
they are in fact the martians that also appear in War of the Worlds!
Prequel to War of the Worlds.
So some disliked this...maybe they tried to crack the egg and ruined a good frying pan. I love eggs! Just not the ones from LB426. Rare steak is better than rare starship mate!
Comment
This story is pretty poor in my opinion. Not the narration, which is top notch as always. The prose itself is substandard to what Wells was capable of. As for the story itself, there was no rising action, there was no falling action. The denouement, or lack thereof, was apropos of nothing. It's just one long shaggy dog story - emphasis on long. This is a story that has nothing to say, and spends far too much time not saying it.
It's true that not much happens in this story, but it is special as the only glimpse Wells ever gives us into mars itself. The martians from War of the Worlds are described here as they behave in their natural atmosphere, the humanoids they prey on like cattle, and one of their walkers, but now we also know their planet is full of giant arthropods and some kind of winged martian class.
Strange, because that's why I liked it. Not every story has to be dramatic... That's what I think anyway.
❤