The War of the Worlds

by H.G. Wells

Brian Aldiss (Introduction), Andy Sawyer (Notes), and Patrick Parrinder (Editor)

'The classic tale of alien invasion, and still the best' The Times

The first modern depiction of extra-terrestrials attacking the earth, The War of the Worlds remains one of the most influential of all science-fiction works. It shows the whole of human civilization under threat, as terrifying, tentacled Martians land in England, build gigantic killing machines, destroy all in their path with black gas and burning rays and feast on the warm blood of trapped, still-living human prey. The forces of the Earth, however, may prove harder to beat than they at first appear.

Edited by Patrick Parrinder with an Introduction by Brian Aldiss and Notes by Andy Sawyer

• ISBN10: 0141441038
• ISBN13: 9780141441030
• Publish Date: 31 March 2005 (first published 1 January 1898)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 8 February 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Penguin Classics
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780141441030

Reviews

[wcs53]

The War of the Worlds surprised me. I thought I knew the story, but I didn't really. I should say that it surprised me in a good way. I had heard both good and bad comments about the book, many of the latter being in regards to it being dated, but taken in its context of the late 19th century, I did not really find this to be so.

The story centres around a Martian invasion of earth and is the story is told through the eyes of an eyewitness to the events that take place following this invasion.

Wells paints a very detailed picture of the invading Martians and their technology. His ideas seemed to be well ahead of their time, considering that the book was first published in 1898 and it is a credit to his imagination that many of his ideas were used/adapted by other writes in the years that followed. Without giving any details away, if you are curious then I'd recommend that you read the book for yourself.

I haven't seen the most recent movie adaptation of this story, so I have no idea how it stands up to the book, but I am curious to see it now. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction, but at its heart it is not totally a science fiction story, so it should have appeal to others as well.