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The War of the Worlds

H.G. Wells

Start date: January 1, 2022

Finish date: January 31, 2022

Discussion: Group Reads

Why we're reading this: January 2022 Completist Selection
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What Members Thought

Jan 08, 2022 Tara rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, science-fiction

Like all good science fiction, this book is less about the invading aliens, but more about humanity, and its response to such threats. We see the story through the eye of one man (with the exception of the brief detour chronicling some of his brother's experiences), as he scraps by in the wreckage after the Martians land. The most startling element of the story, albeit not that surprising, is how quickly the veneer of society fades away, and it becomes every man for themselves. Perhaps the most ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Jun 17, 2023 Michael Finocchiaro rated it really liked it

Shelves: english-19th-c, sci-fi, fiction, novellas, classics

I gave Wells 4 stars here because it is such a ground-breaking book. I am not sure many writers if any had developed the idea of an alien invasion back in the last 19th century to the degree that he does here. As for writing and the aliens themselves, it is a somewhat plodding style that does not necessarily age well (particularly if you have read faster-paced sci-fi like The Expanse series or other alien contact stories like The Three-Body Problem or Sundiver). The aliens here have no psycholog ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Jan 19, 2015 Caroline rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

UNFORTUNATELY when I read this, all I could picture was Tom Cruise in the lead role and it drove me crazy! I am not a fan of stories where the protagonist tries to be the hero. Be realistic, not many people would leave their family alone and go try to be some kind of saviour. That's just stupidity. I also thought the ending was a bit lazy. It definitely made sense but I think it could have been executed a lot better. Although I was not a huge fan of this book, I will read more of HG Wells becaus ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 14, 2014 Valerie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: z-2016sffchallenge, sf-f-bookclub

I can see where way back when this book was super scary and exciting. However, while conceptually rich, in today's terms it fell kind flat. It spent more time hinting at action and destruction rather than portraying much in the way of action scenes.

I do have to give credit where it is due that this story laid some serious ground work in terms of science fiction. H.G. Wells was definitely ahead of his time. In fact, this story reads much more as if it could have been published much later than 189 ...more

3 likes · Like · see review