Ahh, old sci-fi. I have such mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it fascinates me, and I /adore/ retro futurism. But on the other hand, finishing one of these books usually leaves me feeling so...depressed? I have no idea why.
The same was true of The Time Machine. I really liked it - the futuristic world of 802701 felt so...alien, but at the same time, REAL. It felt credible, which is the mark of quality sci-fi. Certain descriptive bits sounded pretentious and pseudoscientific but hey, it was a different time by far, and I'm no scientist myself, so take me with a pinch of salt.
In spite of its age, The Time Machine also avoided and even called out certain sci-fi cliches and tropes, which surprised me, and I REALLY APPRECIATED. Overall, it's quality literature and definitely worth the read. The whole thing just made me feel miserable though.Vintage sci-fi tends to have that effect on me, for some reason. *reads it anyway*