The First Men in the Moon

“So utterly at variance is Destiny with all the little plans of men.”

What a fun trip this was! Reading the book at the dawn of the 20th century must have been even more exciting I guess. The book also served as inspiration for C. S. Lewis' science fiction books. And of course Cavorite, the name of the antigravity material used in the story, will later be borrowed for a myriad of works. ⠀
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This is the journey of two men, a scientist and a businessman, to the moon. They will discover that the moon is inhabited by an extraterrestrial civilisation, the “selenites”, whose society is based in specialisation. These insect-like beings come in different sizes and shapes and together they form an entomological nightmare that will haunt me until I kick the bucket. They live in an enormous system of caverns and, guess what, gold is the most common mineral.

To me, it's a criticism of the society of that time and the inescapable greed and violence of human nature. A satire, if you will. Even though it's dated and it's full of nonsense from a scientific point of view, it was a very enjoyable read for me. Sometimes I can't believe it was written 120 years ago.