Book Review – War of the Worlds

War of the Worlds  by H.G. Wells (1897) – Earth astronomers are surprised by a series of violent explosions on the surface of Mars.  All too soon they will discover the cause of the disturbance as spaceships slam into the quiet English country side near London.  The Martians have landed and their intent is to destroy humanity and take our world.  One man finds himself trapped in the area where the ships have landed.  The story of everything that happened during those terrible days and the surprising ending are detailed here.

This is another classic story that everyone thinks they know by heart and are utterly wrong.  There are several concepts that have carried through the legendary radio broadcasts and the movies.  Mars, Martians, invasion, tripods, death and destruction.  The problem is that we’ve become so comfortable with the radio/TV coverage version of the story that we’ve lost Wells original.

The story in the novel is told completely as a first person account of a man who gets caught in the middle of the invasion.  He sees his fellow citizens first approaching the crash sites with curiousity, only to be killed without provocation by the invaders.  He will see entire villages wiped out by a creeping black smoke and thousands of others fleeing without plan or compassion for others.  The story as we have come to know it isn’t really all that interesting.  It’s fairly stock science fiction fare as the evil aliens invade the world.  Wells story brings a level of true horror to the story because it all begins in such a mundane fashion and our protagonist begins with such every day concerns.  At the time he wrote the story he has the aliens land in the heart of the greatest power in the world.  Against the aliens that power has no answer to the invasion.  The Martians sweep the military aside with as little effort as they expend against the regular populace.  It is clear that if they gain a foothold on this world, humanity will not be able to stand before the onslaught.

This is no lightweight, breezy bit of science fiction fluff.  Wells creates a powerful indictment of human arrogance that is only strengthened by the ending.

The writing stands up fabulously well for the modern reader and the message is truly compelling.

Rating – ***** Highest Recommendation