"Although best known for his novels, it was in H. G. Wells's early short stories that he first explored the relationship between science and humankind. This collection brings together twenty-three of his short works. In 'The Star, ' a vast comet hurtles towards Earth while humankind looks awestruck to the skies. 'The Cone' is a story of adultery and revenge amid the blast furnaces of industrial England, while 'The Country of the Blind' tells the tale of a mountaineer who discovers a lost valley in the Andes - and a civilization chillingly different from his own. Here the fantastical meets the everyday, horror meets humour, man-eating squids invade the sleepy Devon coast, and strange kinks and portals in space and time lead to other worlds." "This collection displays H. G. Wells's fascination with the wonders, but also the perils, of scientific progress. Part of a brand-new Penguin series of his works, this edition includes newly established texts, detailed notes, a full biographical essay on Wells and an introduction by Neil Gaiman discussing the lasting influence of Wells's short fiction, and how it differs from his novels."--BOOK JACKET.