The Island of Dr. Moreau, was written in 1896 by H.G. Wells. This novel recounts the story of Edward Prendick, an English man with a training in biology, who gets marooned on a desert island with Dr. Moreau and his assistant Montgomery. Prendick soon learns the island is also full of other humanoid creatures that can speak and walk upright, but each have something animal about them. He discovers that Dr. Moreau has been creating these monsters through a series of vivisection experiments on animals (pigs, apes, bears, hyaenas, etc.). These creatures are bound by "the law", which prohibits them from performing a number of actions that may trigger their animal instincts (e.g. no eating of flesh). They also regard Dr. Moreau as their creator/God-like figure, who doles out punishment to lawbreakers. I won't give away the ending for those looking for a good, short book to read.
For me, this book was about the dangers of unchecked scientific experimentation and also the warning shot of science replacing religious ideals in society. When humans look to scientists as their idealized demigods, then things can go downhill really fast. I am a biologist and I believe that science has an important place to play in society, but also that the scientific method should be kept within a moral boundary. If scientists can gain ultimate power, they will abuse to create things that will have unintended evil consequences (we can think of the nuclear bomb as an example).
Overall, I thought this was a very interesting read. It was only about 130 pages, so it could easily be read in a few days. I especially recommend this to all scientists.
P.S. There are 3 film adaptations of this book: The Island of Lost Souls (1932), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977), starring Burt Lancaster, and The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), starring Val Kilmer and Marlon Brando. I haven't seen any of them. If anyone can recommend or warn me against them, leave me a message in the comments.
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