The War of the Worlds

General Press, H.G. Wells — 2017

In The War of the Worlds (1898) H. G. Wells invented the myth of invasion from outer space. Martians land near London, conquering all before them, and ruin the metropolis; the fate of civilization and even of the human race remains in doubt until the very last. The War of the Worlds is disturbingly realistic both because of its setting -- Wells bicycled the route the Martians take on landing—and because of its characters: the superstitious curate, boastful artilleryman, and enterprising medical student are believable if not sympathetic figures, as well as signifying types of fin-de-siecle change and vision. The novel exemplifies most dramatically the scientific scepticism and vivid narrative imagination which make Wells the pre-eminent founder of modern science fiction. As life on Mars becomes impossible, Martians and their terrifying machines invade the earth.

Reviews

Nicole Goldstein@noonanikki

Dec 31, 2022

It was alright when it came down to it. A little to much detail in the sense that it was time and place specific. Most of the places mentioned I couldn't get a grasp on cause I couldn't visualize it.

Kirsten Simkiss@vermidian

Sep 12, 2022

Ultimately, I didn't much care for this book. It spends an inordinate amount of time detailing everything that I lost focus on the plot and movement of the characters. Don't get me wrong, there's a reason this is a classic. This set the standard for malevolent alien movies going forward and the science community owes it a debt of gratitude, but it's more like reading a documentary than reading a story most of the time, something I find I don't particularly enjoy. I decided to read along using a free audiobook from Librivox as I hoped it would help me to stay focused on the dry content material, but alas, I don't think it helped its case. As I have said, this set the standard for many things. You might see elements of this book in alien movies, certainly, or zombie movies - the every day man just trying to get by. It is also important to note that this book served as a criticism of the brutality of imperialism, and something that he disapproved of as an Englishman whose country had dozens of colonies under their thumbs.