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The War of the Worlds

by H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke (Introduction)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 72,887 ratings · 2,007 reviews

Introduction by Arthur C. Clarke
Commentary by Jules Verne and an anonymous reviewer from The Critic

“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own.” Thus begins one of the most terrifying and morally prescient science fiction novels...more

Paperback, 192 pages

Published March 12th 2002 by Modern Library (first published 1898)

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Mar 24, 2009 Jacob rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008-2009, verne-and-wells, vote-whore

March 2009

Think of the Martians. Oh, won’t somebody think of the Martians? Seems to me we're not being fair. Seriously, how would you feel if you’d been born on this little red bumblescrew of a planet? You’re this giant head-with-tentacles-on, it’s red and cold and monochromatic, the sponge-people are bland and tasteless, a game of I-Spy leads to all-out war (“I spy, with my massive, pulsating eye, something r--“ “Don’t say it! Don’t you f*cking say it! I will f*cking shove this heat-ray down yo...more March 2009

Think of the Martians. Oh, won’t somebody think of the Martians? Seems to me we're not being fair. Seriously, how would you feel if you’d been born on this little red bumblescrew of a planet? You’re this giant head-with-tentacles-on, it’s red and cold and monochromatic, the sponge-people are bland and tasteless, a game of I-Spy leads to all-out war (“I spy, with my massive, pulsating eye, something r--“ “Don’t say it! Don’t you f*cking say it! I will f*cking shove this heat-ray down your f*cking throat!" “...red." “I’LL KILL YOU, YOU MOTHERF*CKER!”), and nobody ever bothered to invent the wheel.

Seriously, dudes, Mars is freakin’ boring. So after a few millennia of trying to make do with the square, you’ve had it. You’re sick of eating sponge-people, sick of quietly sobbing whenever you look out the window, and sick of threatening the neighbors. But imagine, after years of boredom, someone invents a telescope, points it around a little, and there, closer to the sun, is this big, warm, exciting-looking planet. It's full of people! They look so fat and tasty-lookin'! And there’s hardly any red!

We should invade those guys.

So imagine you're one of the lucky few selected for the first wave of the invasion, you get shot out of this freakin' awesome cannon, and after a good long while ("I spy, with my massive, pulsating eye, something bl--" "SHUT UP!") you land on Earth. But what’s this? What’s with all the gravity? Nobody warned us about the gravity! And the humans, look at them. Just standing around like a bunch of idiots, like they’ve never seen an invasion before.

And hey, it’s a good thing we didn’t come in peace, ‘cause you’d get nowhere with your diplomats all flinching and screaming in terror. You think we’re ugly? You're one to talk, meat-bag! If we weren’t stuck in this stupid pit, we’d show you what-for! Just wait until we get these tripods assembled! Yeah, bitch. Tripods. Three legs are better than two. Plus we got this heat-ray and this black smoke. Just you wait til we get out of this friggin’ pit. Stupid gravity.

See? You see that? That was a heat-ray. You didn't like that, did you? Man, it was easy conquering you guys. You humans are pathetic. Seriously. We just conquered your asses. Time to settle down for a nice meal of blood, haha!

But wait...waitaminnit! What’s this? Oh god, it's--it’s red?! Human blood is red? What the hell? That’s not what it said on the brochure! This is a terrible invasion!
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Jun 26, 2007 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: artillerymen

Shelves: fiction, victorian-lit, scifi

I acknowledge that I am one of the few people who actually enjoyed the recent "War of the Worlds" movie. The reason for this has to do more with the original book than Tom Cruise or Steven Speilburg's tendency to wittle everything, including alien attacks, down to simple family problems. In a lot of ways, "War of the Worlds" (2006) was a close to dead-on adaptation of the original Victorian novel.

Just a few words on why you should like, or if you don't like, respect "War of the Worlds" as a mov...more I acknowledge that I am one of the few people who actually enjoyed the recent "War of the Worlds" movie. The reason for this has to do more with the original book than Tom Cruise or Steven Speilburg's tendency to wittle everything, including alien attacks, down to simple family problems. In a lot of ways, "War of the Worlds" (2006) was a close to dead-on adaptation of the original Victorian novel.

Just a few words on why you should like, or if you don't like, respect "War of the Worlds" as a movie:

It avoids alien movie cliches:
1. There are no characters (Presidents, generals, etc.) who tell you what is going on on a global scale--all information is through rumors.
2. You do not see a major city destroyed nor any iconic landmarks.
3. Instead of humanity banding together to defeat a common foe, the characters and others they interact with are left increasingly fragmented and isolated.

That being said, Speilburg's "War of the Worlds" adapts much of the plot line and themes from the original novel. Instead of the 1950s version which pits a united front against the aliens (Cold War adapted), the original Victorian novel has a character travel isolated. Wells' narrater, like Tom Cruise, finds himself on a ferry-crossing, holed up with a panicked priest (who conflated with the artillery-man, provides us with a freaky Tim Robbins. Robbins even shares a few lines with the artillery-man). The ending is much the same, a kind of "Now what?" sense pervades. And of course, Morgan Freeman's opening and closings, are practically word by word from the novel.

The movie is also a great window into some of the novel's most important themes. "War of the Worlds," is a very Post-9/11 movie. There is the dust, the annhilation of things we find familiar, clothing floats from the sky in mimic of office paper...There is a pervading fear of complete and nonsensical annhiliation. Whereas the 1950s adaption pits humanity against an enemy, the updated version worries itself with unknown enemies who spring from the ground. And, Speilburg, not one to be subtle, has Dakota Fanning ask Tom Cruise, "Is it the terrorists?"

That being said, the Victorian novel is a catelogue of Victorian anxieties. This is the age of colonialism, afterall, and suddenly England is beset by a much more powerful force, unexpected, and completely foreign. 'Reverse' colonialism? The aliens take England's resources, kill off its people, and even cover the landscape with alien plant-life.

And perhaps the most over-arching anxiety of all: Darwin. Here we have evolution at its cruelest; then consume us (drinking our blood like in Bram Stoker's Dracula). Just when humanity seems at its lowest, nature kicks in and saves the day. The ending seems anti-climatic now, but you have to remember that H.G. Wells did not have a pop-reference that included Will Smith destroying the mother-ship.

So my point is, "War of the Worlds" is an amazing book and good movie, and one can inform the other.

"This is not a war any more than it's a war between men and ants."

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Dec 15, 2011 Benjamin Duffy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, awful-movie-great-book, fantasy-sci-fi

I somewhat lazily and arbitrarily clicked this book onto my "science fiction" Goodreads shelf, but it isn't, not really. Sure, the monsters happened to come from Mars, but that isn't essential to the plot. They could just as easily have come from deep under the ground, from the bottom of the ocean, or from Mordor. All the story requires is that they be from Somewhere Else, and Mars fills that bill perfectly well.

So, leaving aside the creatures' extraterrestrial origins, War of the Worlds succeed...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Stefan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this a few years ago in one of my literature classes, but I'm finally getting around to reviewing it.

I truly and genuinely enjoyed this book. Yes, it is quite dated, but the concept still holds pretty well today and his imaginings of the alien race and why they have developed in the ways that they have show just how forward thinking Wells was for his day. Also, the alien technology that he came up with is very far ahead of his time especially the robotic machines that the aliens use, the...more

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Oct 02, 2008 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: science-fiction, classics, dystopias, reviewed, apocalyptic-types, 2008

As I was reading this, two thoughts struck me.

The first was that this book was less about Martians than it was about how humanity views itself as the "Kings of the Earth". Mankind has always had this annoying tendency to think that whatever serves us is good and right, despite whatever injury is done to the Earth and any other living creature on it in obtaining whatever it is that we want. The Martian invasion served only to open our eyes to this blindness and willful ignorance.

I appreciated s...more As I was reading this, two thoughts struck me.

The first was that this book was less about Martians than it was about how humanity views itself as the "Kings of the Earth". Mankind has always had this annoying tendency to think that whatever serves us is good and right, despite whatever injury is done to the Earth and any other living creature on it in obtaining whatever it is that we want. The Martian invasion served only to open our eyes to this blindness and willful ignorance.

I appreciated some of the artilleryman's ideas on cohabitation, in so far as he compared the surviving humans to rodents or small animals -- the Martians (as the "New Kings of the Earth") will let us be, as we mean them no harm-- unless they run out of food, that is. Isn't this really how animals must see us? I think so. Too bad that's not true... Humans will hunt, kill and exploit for the sport of it, not just for survival.

The invasion in the book awakens us to the fact that there is always someone bigger, badder and meaner out there to hunt humans as if we are now the animals.

But I digress!

My second thought was that it was really odd that all 7 of the mentioned Martian cylinders landed in England. I mean, even if we expand this to include Ireland, Scotland and Wales, we are talking about an area of 151,502 square miles. Compare this to Asia at 17,700,000 square miles or even Europe at 3,930,000 square miles. (Figures are from Google.)

About 3/4 through the book, it's mentioned that other cylinders are probably wreaking havoc on other parts of the world. I suppose it must be assumed that they had some trajectory and that the cylinders were shot at the same time each day to follow it, but then why only aim at one area if world domination is your goal?

In this one particular, I could not suspend my disbelief to allow for 7 out of 10 cylinders to hit such a small area of the planet.

I am probably over-thinking this... I feel better after getting all of that off of my chest though! I did really enjoy the story itself, and would definitely recommend it to anyone. It's short enough so that it is not a daunting read, but it contains such a large story that it is immensely entertaining. (less)

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Jan 13, 2008 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: geeks

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There is a small segment of people out there who are completely unaware that this book, which concerns a badass Martian invasion of Earth which lays waste to England, concludes with the aliens succumbing to earth-borne diseases after human defenses prove futile. If you didn’t know that, you do now. You’re welcome; go read something else or go out bowling and huffing paint thinner.

I have very little to say about the book itself, save for the following few things. 1) War of the Worlds is awesome....more There is a small segment of people out there who are completely unaware that this book, which concerns a badass Martian invasion of Earth which lays waste to England, concludes with the aliens succumbing to earth-borne diseases after human defenses prove futile. If you didn’t know that, you do now. You’re welcome; go read something else or go out bowling and huffing paint thinner.

I have very little to say about the book itself, save for the following few things. 1) War of the Worlds is awesome. 2) If you read and enjoy this prior to the age of 15 you’ll probably become a lifelong sci-fi geek, under the delusion that you’ll find equally good sci-fi laying about everywhere. I’m surprised this book, which I’ve now read thrice, didn’t turn me into a sci-fi geek in my formative years when I stole my high school’s copy, although it certainly imparted a general positive acceptance of sci-fi on me. 3) If you like post-apocalyptic work, you’ll probably enjoy this, which can only be considered approaching-apocalyptic fare. The only negative is that unless you are intimately familiar with the geography of England you are better off substituting your own landmarks and cities, as no one knows where they hell Ham-On-Rye, Surrey, England is. Just substitute all references to London with “Chicago” (or your most convenient major metropolitan area circa 1894) and work from there.

That aside, it’s time for some wisdom from Uncle Chris. There is a time when what is commonly known as ‘home-court advantage’ is a sweet thing; during the NFC Playoffs, hide and seek, and when several people have to piss at once and you calls ‘dibs’. Home court doesn’t help much in war these days, not when someone can launch an ICBM from Omaha and plant it up a camel’s ass in Saudi Arabia. It was much different when the dread Redcoats came over after a several-month voyage to assert their dominance in North America and our brave ancestors hid atop grassy knolls picking them off as their dysentery-infected asses disembarked. That was then, this is now; and feel free to ask anyone living in Dresden or Nagasaki in the 1940’s if they disagree. I know that some might counter; what with the familiarity of terrain being such a factor in campaigns in places like Nam or Afghanistan, but if you untie your hands and go completely apeshit with the nukes in a war of complete attrition and annihilation, this would cease to be the case; although I’m not really suggesting this either, just making a point. My favorite tale of home-court disadvantage is when those crafty Spaniards decided that Mesoamerica was to be theirs, and they proceeded to spit some phlegm onto rags and leave them on the natives’ ziggurat walls, then went off on sprees of joyous brigandage and let the smallpox do the dirty work. That was always my favorite bedtime story as a child, and sometimes my father would even spice it up by stating Cortez coughed in his palm before shaking hands with Moctezuma, adding a touch of the human element to the story. That aside, this is exactly the type of fate that befalls the mordant Martians as they level England and siphon the blood from the fools they capture. While one might wonder why humans didn’t catch Martian germs, let it be known that Wells has this covered, stating that their advanced technology either cured it long ago, or such strains never developed on Mars.

What I found most intriguing in this edition is the introduction; which mainly discusses the concept of utopia and social reform which Wells pursued through his life, and of course dwells on his blatant bigotry, especially in the context of his clever new world order, where it is quoted “for the rest, those swarms of black, brown, dirty-white, and yellow people, who do not come into the new needs of efficiency…well, the world is a world, not a charitable institution, and I take it they will have to go.” Shame, shame, Herbert; grow up.
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Nov 02, 2007 Willa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is brilliant! To think that Wells wrote it before anyone else had imagined visitors from other planets coming to Earth is simply incredible... The influence on the genre continues to this day... Well-deservedly, I might add...

But not only is this book a great example of science fiction, it's also a commentary on social practices... Wells points every so often to the feelings of the humans and compares them to the feelings of 'lower' animals who must contend every day with the effects h...more

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Oct 14, 2007 Russell rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book, as it is in many, many cases, was better than the movie.

Except for the movie's Death Ray. The book the Martians used a Heat Ray thing. Think of a giant hairdryer set to "Sear - Cajun Style". Not as cool as a ray that turns people to dust and levels buildings.

Aside from the special effects, I liked the whole execution of the book better than the movie.

I'm not going to do the standard bits about Wells' prophetic visions and how he wrote about the Alien Invasion as a response to the Beatl...more

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Jul 08, 2007 Chazzbot rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: George W. Bush

I use this book as part of my class on terrorism. There are many passages here that will resonate with post 9/11 readers. It's a story of mass cultural anxiety caused by the appearance of an enemy who is highly intelligent, casually destructive, and ultimately unknowable. In this early novel, Wells has yet to fully develop the cynicism and misantropy of his later years, though his disregard for religion and blind faith is obvious. One can easily read it as a sheer adventure story, but there is m...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Marvin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, science-fiction

Finally! A five-star novel by H. G. Wells!

I'm not sure if I read this in my childhood or not. I think not. If I didn't, I should have since I read almost every other H. G. Wells novel as a boy. And this is far and above his best. It is the granddaddy of alien invasion stories and still holds up rather well. Wells foresaw a number of science fiction themes in this book, alien invasion, post-apocalyptic, he even toys with the idea of terra-forming. His descriptions of the Martians and their ensuin...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Julian Leal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

H.G. Wells cranks out another sci-fi classic! The War of the Worlds follows an unamed protagonist living in England. The other world that the title infers is Mars; a planet thought uninhabitable. The martians launch a number of metal cylinders as reconaissance vessels that land in England, the first in the hometown of the protagonist. The story follows this man as he chronicles the first contact with the martians and the ensuing calamity as they prove hostile and attempt a takeover. The man quic...more H.G. Wells cranks out another sci-fi classic! The War of the Worlds follows an unamed protagonist living in England. The other world that the title infers is Mars; a planet thought uninhabitable. The martians launch a number of metal cylinders as reconaissance vessels that land in England, the first in the hometown of the protagonist. The story follows this man as he chronicles the first contact with the martians and the ensuing calamity as they prove hostile and attempt a takeover. The man quickly flees as things ramp up and the martian's true intent is revealed. He is however seperated from his wife and the rest of the story is driven by his search for her and his avoidance of annihilation via martian. The martians quickly lay waste to the country side and towns surrounding London and London itself. The narrator's brother living in London is the focus of multiple chapters to illustrate things occuring and the overall panic while the narrator is making his way from town to town. The protagonist meets very few people that play significant roles in the story and those that do are simply named, i.e. 'the curate' or 'the artilleryman'. The former is with the narrator for a while and they are at one point trapped within a house together for a fortnite while the martians manifest their machines of war outside where one of the cylinders had landed. As the book progressed, the naivety as well as the sanity and optimism of the narrator wane as he is exposed to further martian destruction and his search for his wife becomes more and more unrealistic. The narrator slowly manifests that humans are organisms as much as any other and are subject to the same natural selection as any other animal on earth and that our dominance is taken for granted.

The War of the Worlds is a phenomenal book, but its appeal is not for the masses. This book is a true science fiction story written by the father of science fiction, so if that is not your deal, this book is not for you. One particular aspect of the book(as with all of Wells' books, go read them NOW)that I enjoyed was how many tie-ins and details were rooted in actual science or were realistically science based fiction. This attention to detail amused and impressed me. Another of my fancies with this book is Wells' writing style. It's dry and formal, but conveys all the emotion of any other book and is chock full of details when it needs and pleasingly concise when not. The description of the martian technology, the destruction and utter chaos are superb.
As far as shortcomings, the book has a few, but they're opinional. To me, portions of the book drag on with needless description or monotonous recounts when further action or twists could have been added. Also I wish the characters were developed a bit more, but I suppose the ambiguity lends itself to the overall feel of the novel. Lastly, the ending I felt, though pleasing, was abrupt and could have been more dramatic or added another twist. These grievances of course are minor and the overall book is exceptional and shouldn't be missed.

Julian Leal
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Jan 27, 2013 Shaun rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013

As a piece of literary history, The War of the Worlds is a five star book. As a contemporary read, it is less impressive.

I also recently finished reading The Invisible Man and in each book, the writing, while sensual and descriptive, lacked something. In both cases, I felt minimally invested in the main character. Some of this is perhaps stylistic and the result of when these books were written.

That said, Wells' imagination is amazing. His vision of the Martians as a possible evolution of the hu...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Javier Atapuerca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Este libro supone uno de los primeros en el campo de la ciencia ficción, además de ser el primero, si no me equivoco, que relata una invasión extraterrestre. Pero, como todo buen libro de ciencia ficción (recalco lo de BUEN), no sólo debe entenderse como un relato pormenorizado y más o menos entretenido de estos hechos. La ciencia ficción es un género que, ya desde sus inicios, como se puede comprobar con este libro, puede ser usado como crítica social, o para describir determinados elementos de...more Este libro supone uno de los primeros en el campo de la ciencia ficción, además de ser el primero, si no me equivoco, que relata una invasión extraterrestre. Pero, como todo buen libro de ciencia ficción (recalco lo de BUEN), no sólo debe entenderse como un relato pormenorizado y más o menos entretenido de estos hechos. La ciencia ficción es un género que, ya desde sus inicios, como se puede comprobar con este libro, puede ser usado como crítica social, o para describir determinados elementos de la personalidad humana, de la sociedad, o de cualquier otro elemento. En este caso, H. G. Wells utiliza su relato como una crítica del colonialismo europeo, haciendo una comparación en determinados momentos entre la destrucción de otras especies animales, o de otras sociedades humanas por parte de colonizadores, amparándose en que podían hacerlo por su superioridad tecnológica y "cultural" (las comillas son intencionadas). De la misma forma, los marcianos pueden realizar lo mismo con nosotros, por las mismas causas, y poco deberíamos quejarnos. Además, usa un par de personajes para reflejar lo que considera que son elementos representativos de la sociedad de su tiempo, destacando sus elementos más negativos.
Sin embargo, y pese a intentar situar el libro en contexto, la narración puede hacerse a veces un poco extraña al lector actual. Y hay una cosa que me sacaba del libro por completo, y es su extremo detalle en las descripciones de las localizaciones que el protagonista va atravesando durante la historia. Están claramente dirigidas a alguien que conoce bien Londres y sus alrededores, mientras que para un lector como yo, que no conoce tanto la ciudad, es más bien algo farragoso, y por momentos difícil de seguir.
Recomiendo su lectura para todo aficionado a la ciencia ficción, por todo lo que representa como uno de los primeros de este género, y porque, pese a los puntos anteriormente mencionados, el relato es lo suficientemente corto como para que no sea algo significativo.(less)

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May 16, 2012 Kaph rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1000-books, london-town, final-frontier

Verdict: This may be first iteration of a now-familiar paradigm but it still has a few shocks and surprises up its sleeve. Certainly better than that Tom Cruise crap.

In my review for The Time Machine I commented on how incredible it was that this ancient book which has spawned so many of our now familiar sci-fi elements should still read as fresh and inventive. I’m afraid I cannot bestow similar praise upon The War of the Worlds. I’m afraid it’s just a case of H.G. Wells being a bit too ahead of...more Verdict: This may be first iteration of a now-familiar paradigm but it still has a few shocks and surprises up its sleeve. Certainly better than that Tom Cruise crap.

In my review for The Time Machine I commented on how incredible it was that this ancient book which has spawned so many of our now familiar sci-fi elements should still read as fresh and inventive. I’m afraid I cannot bestow similar praise upon The War of the Worlds. I’m afraid it’s just a case of H.G. Wells being a bit too ahead of his time. After all, this is a man who lived in a world before the invention of airplanes, much less spaceships. (A fact that might explain why Martians prefer to do their interstellar travel by space cannon rather than more conventional UFO methods)

I found that the book dragged a bit, especially at the beginning. Wells is not a ‘story based’ writer, in that the plots in most of his books are fairly thin and linear. The brilliance comes from the scenario, the big idea that the book is based around. Perhaps Wells’ contemporaries had to take a little longer to understand the implications of life on other planets coming to Earth, but as a 21st century nerd I’m pretty familiar with the subject. I’ve seen numerous movies, TV episodes of varying budget and quality, and read a stack of books on the subject of alien invasion, most drawing in no small way from this very novel. I therefore came into War of the Worlds already very well versed in this particular ‘big idea’.

Oh the aliens are from Mars? Well duh. They have a heat ray? Makes sense. Tentacles? Kind of obvious. Wait what’s this? They’re experimenting with some sort of rounded…no. It can’t be. It is! My God, the Martians are building some sort of saucer shaped flying machine! And so on. I’m sorry but these are just not new ideas to me and Wells, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you hadn’t been such a goddamn visionary your source material might not have been the subject of wholesale plunder. This, of course isn’t really a valid criticism to lay at Herbert’s feet, but its all I have. I didn’t enjoy reading this as much as my past Wells’ forays and, as far as I can tell, the fault lies with the fact that it has so completely permeated scifi that I found it rather dull at points.

But I did like it, definitely. Though I’ve absorbed many fictional accounts of space invaders, never has one been so quaint. I’ve already mentioned the adorable terror the people of London had that the Martians might actually make a machine that could fly. Beyond that though, you have people fleeing in dog carts and hackney carriages. The artillery’s guns are on wheels and dragged about by horses. Normal people can afford to live in Zone 1. Truly, this is sci-fi like you’ve never seen it before; in Edwardian sepia.

Also, once Wells is satisfied you’ve overcome the shock of envisioning space folk arriving on Earth, the story actually returns to our nameless narrator and picks up in pace a bit. We meet The Curate and The Artillery Man. Though their responses to pressure do not live up to (cannot live up to) Montgomery’s Bank Holiday they are, nonetheless, interesting character studies.

I especially like the Artillery Man, keen to go feral, form a new city underground from the sewers and tube lines, amass a collection of whatever advances they can glean from the Martians and then, eventually, steal a Martian machine and wipe them all out. Naturally even grand plan starts with digging a ditch in Richmond. Also, ditch digging is thirsty work and this abandoned champagne isn’t getting any fizzier. Hey, you ever played poker? I dunno what Whatshisface got so uppity about. I would totally have chilled with the Artillery Man.

It may not be my favourite, but I was always going to enjoy this book because it’s all about London. Nowadays, thanks to the hubris of Hollywood, it’s always the bloody Whitehouse that’s first on the ET hit list, but Wells’ Martians had it right. They knew right where they wanted to be; Woking. And from there, onto London; Greatest City on the 3rd Rock from the Sun and really the only place worth invading. As you may have deduced I am rather enamoured of my adopted hometown and am almost physically unable to dislike books that name checks places I know.

War of the Worlds, especially towards the end, (I have no great knowledge of Chobham) was a veritable disaster travel-log of places I’ve lived and wandered. Ole Whatshisface even ends up in Regent’s Park standing on Primrose Hill, a locale down the road from where I currently reside. Needless to say, I was thrilled and considered the conclusion a stirring success. I was even pleased by the sappy happy epilogue. An exuberant 3.
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Oct 11, 2010 Lennie rated it 4 of 5 stars

When a capsule falls from space and lands on Earth, the people who discover it don’t know what to make of it at first. It is only after extraterrestrial creatures crawl out of it, that they realize they are being invaded by Martians. These Martians are gigantic, metal figures on tripods which cause death and destruction by using Heat Rays and black, deadly vapors. They move from town to town, destroying everything in their sight. Armies with guns can’t seem to stop them. The human race is in dan...more

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Sep 09, 2009 Ben Babcock rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: english-3950, 19th-century, 2009-read, science-fiction, owned

It's easy to be a jaded reader of science fiction, especially if you grew up with the conveniences of Star Trek, Star Wars, and the reality of spaceflight. So it's important to remember that writers like H.G. Wells never got to see the famous Blue Marble photograph of Earth; they never got to see what our planet looks like from space—something most of us take for granted in this era. This awareness, our conception of the Earth as a big blue marble, has become so pervasive as to make descriptions...more

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Feb 03, 2010 theduckthief rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who likes classic sci-fi

"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own."

I was happy to read this book as it's on my BTRBID list. It describes the invasion and subsequent takeover of England by Martians. We follow the first-hand accounts a man and his brother who experience the Martian landings and their various attacks on the populous. The reader witnesses the power of the Marti...more "No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own."

I was happy to read this book as it's on my BTRBID list. It describes the invasion and subsequent takeover of England by Martians. We follow the first-hand accounts a man and his brother who experience the Martian landings and their various attacks on the populous. The reader witnesses the power of the Martian's tripods, strangely coloured gases and their deadly heat-ray, a pre-cursor to the laser. All attacks against these strange creatures seem futile, prompting a mass evacuation from London and the countryside.

The action is fast-paced and we meet various characters who react differently to the threat of invasion. The reader practically gets a geography lesson with all of the towns and specific areas of country covered and mentioned by the main character. I have to commend Wells' imagination as he couldn't draw upon other literature to create the Martians and their technology.

There is also some beautiful language here "Those who have only seen London veiled in her sombre robes of smoke can scarcely imagine the named clearness and beauty of the silent wilderness of houses."

It was interesting to read the book that has inspired so many works and to read between the lines. Wells was a staunch evolutionist and this is obvious in his detailed description and reasoning behind the Martian's appearance. Isaac Asimov argued the book was a condemnation of British colonialism, comparing them to the aliens.

There were times I forgot this was taking place before the turn of the 20th century. The reason for this was that several places made me think of WWII. For example, All the shipping in the world seemed going Londonward in those days." That made me think of the rationing going on the UK and the ships coming with supplies from North America.

The language is archaic and very much of the Victorian era, being written in 1898. The syntax and diction is more technical than flowery but I had a hard time picturing some of Well's descriptions of the martian's equipment. I think this probably comes from being one of the first science fiction novels out there.

I didn't find the main character believable. I couldn't see how he would remain sane while the rest of the world went mad around him. The scene in the cellar was a good example. I expected this to be the place where Wells redeemed himself and made the protagonist truly contemplate murder to save his own skin. It would have brought up questions about humanity and how far a person will go to survive but instead Wells dodges the issue.

The book also felt extremely short. It was just a recounting of events over a period of three weeks and in some parts I felt Wells had left part of the story out or we were missing something important.(less)

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May 13, 2008 Kristen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, 1001-books-before-you-die

I have been planning on reading this book for over 10 years. I remember watching the movie when I was little (and then the remake a few years ago). First of all, this was far better than either of the movies.

Written in first person from the account of a survivor of the attack (who is never named) and then recounting the tale of his brother, this is a very immediate and unsettling tale. What I did not expect was the time frame the book was written in. I assumed (for some idiotic reason) that it w...more I have been planning on reading this book for over 10 years. I remember watching the movie when I was little (and then the remake a few years ago). First of all, this was far better than either of the movies.

Written in first person from the account of a survivor of the attack (who is never named) and then recounting the tale of his brother, this is a very immediate and unsettling tale. What I did not expect was the time frame the book was written in. I assumed (for some idiotic reason) that it would take place in the twentieth century. Instead, for those of you who like myself, forgot the timeframe that Wells lived in, this book takes place in the nineteenth century. The Martian attack occurs prior to the weapons of warfare that we are so used to thinking about; there are no tanks, no planes with bombs. Hussars and artillery are their greatest defense. People couldn’t hop in their cars and drive from the invaders; they were instead in horse drawn carriages, communicating the disaster via telegraph and daily papers. This put a whole new twist on the tale from what I was expecting.

Our narrator lives only a few miles from where the first “ship” lands and we follow the town’s initial curiosity and complete lack of fear as they peek into the hole in the ground created by the wreak. Even after the first “heat rays” are fired and people are killed, there is still no sense of fear. When the action comes, it comes quickly. Separated from his wife and family our unnamed narrator survives mainly through luck and the fact that he never stops moving. The entire story takes place in less than a month, from initial landing to total devastation. There is a lot of science involved, discussing the physiology of the aliens, speculation on their planet, and how they evolved. For the casual reader it’s not too bad and doesn’t bog down the story. For the rabid science hound, please remember when this book was written before you blast the scientific inconstancies and flat out scientific errors.

I highly recommend reading this book, to just about anyone. It is a fast read, which manages to keep your attention from beginning to end. The political and social commentary though written for another time still holds value today. The religious implication is not jammed down your throat. This is a fun yet chilling read, which you will find yourself pondering over long after you have put the book away.
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Apr 10, 2008 Evan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The War of the Worlds may not be the greatest science fiction novel ever written, but it is possibly the purest.

Stately, economical prose, sometimes reaching delightful peaks of intensity and suspense. Grand, cleanly-thought-out ideas whose full expression produces in the reader a sense of wonder. A plot whose primary function is to showcase the grand ideas in a dramatic fashion. And passages on science that are short, speculative essays.

One chapter, "The Man on Putney Hill," is the blue print f...more

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Jan 15, 2008 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was excellent! And we must give "props" to Wells because this is allegedly the first novel ever written about an alien invasion. I was skeptical when I read that claim on the back cover, but Issac Asimov reiterated it in his interesting afterward. He also provides a post-colonial reading in which the Brits seek atonement for their own invasions of the 19th Century.

Of course the book is better than the movies. It was surprising to see how much the movies got so WRONG. In the classic fi...more

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Rindis Actually, the George Powell version of the movie went for the hover vehicles because actual tripods would have been to expensive to build and animate....more
Jan 15, 2008 11:22am

Mark And if you're a fan of the Thunderchild episode, perhaps your are familiar with Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical rendition of the War of the Worlds. The Figh...more
Jan 15, 2008 11:54am

Rindis Yes, yes I am. ^_^

"The chances of anything coming from Mars..."

There was also a fair WotW computer game that took it's visual cues and soundtrack from...more
Jan 15, 2008 05:03pm

Oct 12, 2007 Dr M rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

Shelves: science-fiction

A true classic of science-fiction, written in the naturalist style developed in 19th-century literature. The story, which probably does not need any further introduction (Earth is invaded by Martians), is set in contemporary, i.e. late 19th-century, England, in the greater London area. Later renditions of the story, in particular the latest movie, is set elsewhere and preserve only the most fundamental elements of the original story.

The story is told from the first person perspective, with the n...more

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Oct 06, 2009 Rindis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A lot has been written about this particular book over the years. There's a lot to say, even discounting the power the story has demonstrated in other media, starting with Orson Wells' infamous radio broadcast. (Note: this review has spoilers as I expect that everyone is thoroughly acquainted with the general plot, even if they haven't read it.)

As to the book itself: Told in the past tense from the viewpoint of an unnamed journalist (obviously Wells himself) who witnessed much of the Martian inv...more A lot has been written about this particular book over the years. There's a lot to say, even discounting the power the story has demonstrated in other media, starting with Orson Wells' infamous radio broadcast. (Note: this review has spoilers as I expect that everyone is thoroughly acquainted with the general plot, even if they haven't read it.)

As to the book itself: Told in the past tense from the viewpoint of an unnamed journalist (obviously Wells himself) who witnessed much of the Martian invasion that is the basis of the novel, the book is the product of the thought experiment "what would happen to me if we were invaded and our civilization overthrown?" The quiet power of this book comes from the careful crafting of his scenario, and the grasp he shows of natural human reactions under stress.

It is worth noting that humans are not as ineffective against the Martians as is sometimes popularly depicted. The struggle as the Martians slowly bring new devices into play after every setback is the focus of the first half of the novel. The disablement of a tripod forces the Martians back into a small defensive line, and for a moment it looks like the British Army has everything in hand until the appearance of the toxic black smoke, which becomes the undoing of all attempts at resistance afterwards.

The War of the Worlds is first book of the continuing genre of alien-invasion stories, and still ranks as one of the more convincing members of the genre. Moreover, not content to invent a new genre, Wells gives it a twist ending. The superior Martians, not used to infectious microorganisms, fall prey to the multitude of them on Earth. This leaves what seems like a sudden deus ex machina ending, but it should be understood that the book as a whole is less about the invasion itself and more an examination of the likely human reaction to it. The final chapter is part moralizing and part postmortem exposition; the previous chapter is the true end depicting the impact of the dying Martians on the narrator.(less)

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Feb 21, 2011 Ego Thurman rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’ve been a huge fan of H.G Wells for almost as long as I’ve been reading books. War of the Worlds, a tale of extra terrestrial invader’s trying to replace man as the dominant species on Earth is perhaps one my favourite science fiction novels by Wells, rivalled only by his earlier novel the Time Machine. This grim tale which depicts man’s first encounter with interstellar life and the horrific, apocalyptic aftermath is still as shocking today as it was in 1898 when it was published.

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Feb 12, 2008 Andrew McBurney rated it 5 of 5 stars

I most recently re-read The War of the Worlds before seeing the Spielberg movie. I liked the film okay, but I'll give it this over the George Pal production: Wells's classic isn't exactly science fiction, it's really existentialist horror. I don't think it would go too far to say it's a fox hunt from the point of view of the fox. Almost literally. I think Spielberg captures this in the way he depicted some patterns of the Martians' behavior (okay, in his film it may not have been Martians) while...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, reading-through-history

Note that Cindy has created a Google map of this book, which is laudably loony. I am SO impressed with that.

Wells just doesn't strike out for me: every one of the four books I've read of his so far has its own feel and succeeds in its own way. Here the story is much smaller than I'd thought it would be - okay fine, I saw that lame Tom Cruise movie a while back - which is a good choice. Wells focuses mainly - almost obsessively - on the reactions of various humans to an invasion that's generally...more

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Aug 01, 2008 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, classic-for-a-reason, magical-mystical-worlds

I haven't been a fan of alien-ist lit, at all - and I really don't know why since I love folklore/mythology. Why is it easier to accept eightlegged creatures that have created the world and put the sun in its place, than little green critters from Mars?

Anyhow - this has been on my classics-list for so long now and I had run out of excuses not to read it. I can only say I wish I had read it sooner. Not only were there no green creatures (they were brown, or grey or something) - there were no dull...more

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Feb 19, 2011 Colin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads

Last time I read this I was at School, many many moons ago, and my view then hasn't changed it's a true classic of science-fiction.

I read the book all those years ago, played the vinyl of Jeff Waynes Musical Version and now have the CD. I admit I watched the crap 1953 movie, and I have never watched the latest. Why cause its not the same. If you going to make a film of this classic book set it the time and place, the book was writern last years of the 19th century, London not modern times Americ...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Kirsty rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2013, broadening-your-horizons, ipad

Wow - a sci-fi book which I actually enjoyed! I normally steer clear of the genre in all its forms, but since I watched and enjoyed the film versions of The War of the Worlds, I thought I'd give it a try. It did get a little repetitive at times, but the storyline was incredibly clever, particularly given the time in which it was written, and I did enjoy the narrative voice which Wells crafted.

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Jan 24, 2009 Kennis rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

First of all, I wish I never saw any of the movies before reading it because I couldn't get the imagery from them out of my head as I read. It was super annoying. Fucking Tom Cruise. In any case, I gotta say that I really didn't care for it. The radio show was probably much more captivating than the book. The way it was told, in third person and everything having taken place in the past, was just not working for me. The story was intriguing enough to keep me going, but boy did I feel like not fi...more

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Nov 29, 2008 Blake rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The War of the Worlds **

By H.G. Wells
First Tor Edition: October 1988
p. 204 including intros and conclusion

The original date of publishing is not mentioned for some reason, but in the introduction it says that the book originally came out in the decade of the 1890's. Some people (academics, fans etc.)claim that this is the original or granddaddy of science fiction.

It's an odd thing really. It's written in an unemotional, detached manner. It makes for some slow, dry read...more
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The War of the Worlds **

By H.G. Wells
First Tor Edition: October 1988
p. 204 including intros and conclusion

The original date of publishing is not mentioned for some reason, but in the introduction it says that the book originally came out in the decade of the 1890's. Some people (academics, fans etc.)claim that this is the original or granddaddy of science fiction.

It's an odd thing really. It's written in an unemotional, detached manner. It makes for some slow, dry reading. The horror of people getting killed and chased is told in a very matter of fact manner. At our book discussion, someone mentioned that it was supposed to be written like a newspaper article. I guess so that it seems more realistic.

Of course the technology is so obsolete that it seems very unrealistic. You would think that the Martians had some sort of computer technology if they were so advanced. The Martians' mode of communications was very crude indeed. You would think that they would come in a space ship instead of a pod being fired out of a giant cannon. It does make the book intriguing as an artifact though.

I haven't seen the movie since I was a kid, so it would be interesting to see what parts from the book they keep. To my memory, think they kept very little besides the fact that there was total destruction.

An interesting theme of the book is that it seems that Wells is comparing the Martians society to that of Imperialistic England, where the story takes place. He mentions that the Martians have no consideration for the lives of the people. That they are ruthless and that people are less than worthy - ie. less than human. Wells is saying that England needs to be more humane to societies that it is ruling. he says, "Surely if we have learned nothing else, this war has taught us pity - pity for those witless souls that suffer our dominion." In other words, we should be more humane to our opponents in times of war.

There's not much of a plot but here is a synopsis of the book. Some scientists see some explosions on the planet Mars. Those explosions are of course the Martians coming to earth. They land and wait. It seems that they are building there war machines, while humans just wait around waiting for things to happen. Then the Martians finally start their war and complete chaos, destruction and defeat happens. The Martians make their way towards London and cause a stream of refugees to vacant London in chaos where concern for fellow humans begins to deteriorate into every man for himself. It reminded me of Suite Francois which depicts the refugees fleeing Paris from the Nazis. I guess that is a fairly common happening in war time. There is a main character who kind of chronicles all of it and describes the activities of the Martians at work. As he works his way towards London to find his wife and family he learns that the Martians are dying . It seems that they have no immune system and simple viral organisms are the death of them.
Posted by Mr. Thirsty at 7:34 PM
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About H.G. Wells

Herbert George Wells, better known as H. G. Wells, was the third son of a shopkeeper. After two years' apprenticeship in a draper's shop, he became a pupil-teacher at Midhurst Grammar School and won a scholarship to study under T. H. Huxley at the Normal School of Science, South Kensington. He taught biology before becoming a professional writer and journalist.

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“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.” — 53 people liked it

“We can't have any weak or silly. Life is real again, and the useless and cumbersome and mischievous have to die. They ought to die. They ought to be willing to die. It's a sort of disloyalty, after all, to live and taint the race.” — 20 people liked it

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