O Alimento dos deuses

H.G. Wells imagines a chemical, called Herakleophorbia, that makes living things grow to enormous size. Two scientists test it, and it leaks out of their experimental farm, producing giant wasps, rats, and eventually a generation of giant children. The second half of the novel shifts to politics, as ordinary humans react with fear to the oversized children, and the conflict between the old world and the new becomes the focus.

It suits readers of classic science fiction who want Wells in a more satirical mode, with a social argument about progress, fear and how societies treat people who outgrow them. It is quicker and stranger than its reputation suggests.

Outward-looking; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Curious Generalist. Which reader are you?