Yes'>#8220;Why do people read science fiction? In hopes of receiving such writing as thisyes'>#8212;a ravishingly accurate vision of things unseen; an utterly unexpected yet necessary beauty.yes'>#8221; So says Ursula K. Le Guin in her Introduction to The First Men in the Moon, H. G. Wellsyes'>#8217;s 1901 tale of space travel. Heavily criticized upon publication for its fantastic ideas, it is now justly considered a science fiction classic. Cavor, a brilliant scientist who accidentally produces a gravitydefying substance, builds a spaceship and, along with the materialistic Bedford, travels to the moon. The coldly intellectual Cavor seeks knowledge, while Bedford seeks fortune. Instead of insight and gold they encounter the Selenites, a horrifying race of biologically engineered creatures who viciously, and successfully, defend their home.From the Trade Paperback edition.