War of the Worlds

Rating:
Summary: Over-rated
Review: This book is over-rated, but does make you think...are we alone out here or what?

Rating:
Summary: A book that should be read
Review: H.G. Wells tells of the invasion of Earth by Martians...

The book is vivid and very well-written, and retains its pitch throughout, without any anti-climax.

The book is a very enjoyable read. This is a book suitable for reading by anyone over about the age of twelve. It is well-written and very readable, and contains a lot of good thinking and good ideas.

Rating:
Summary: Unique in its viewpoint
Review: We can all agree that HG (1) wrote a book that defined an entire category of sci-fi, and (2) structured it so that "socio-political" objectives were met. However, the absolutely unique point of view in this book is what sets it forth. This is not a history of the Martian War, and it is not filled with heroic derring-do. It is just one poor guy, an average Joe, whose name we never even find out, and the things he sees in the War. He is just trying to get by, just like anyone else would be. He isn't trying to be a hero, or even join the resistance, he just prays that his wife is somehow safe and that he will live another day. He sure doesn't know all the answers, and gives us only tantalizing views of the "big picture." All we see is what he saw while running or hiding. And that is what makes this book so unique. It is a book about what anyone would do in such a situation - not Arnold Schwarzenegger or Mel Gibson, it is what you and me would be doing and seeing. Hollywood - make this movie from THAT viewpoint and you will have a sure winner. In fact, the movie "Signs" was made in that way, now that I think about it. And, Hollywood, forget the flying saucers and make the three-legged fighting machines. THAT would be cool!!

Rating:
Summary: Still the most superb science fiction written
Review: The British author, H.G. Wells, was a man of many gifts. He wrote the "Outline of History", a superb, two-volume work on man's path through the ages, and many novels about English middle class life. Wells is perhaps best remembered, however, as one of the founders of science fiction. Of his many novels and short stories of this genre, War of the Worlds is one of the best.

A cautionary note or two appears appropriate here. First, I hope you read this book before you see any of the movies taken from this novel. Screenwriters uniformly butcher good literature, and this book has suffered more than most at the hands of these amateurs. Second, Wells wrote many of his s/f novels nearly a century ago, and it is neither helpful nor appropriate to an enjoyable reading to compare the scientific knowledge of today with Wells's narratives, which were based on the best science of his time.

As opposed to the more famous Jules Verne, Wells is an accomplished novelist, and keen wordsmith. His disciplined writing is geared to an educated, adult mind. You won't find any untied ends, or sheer voyages into fantasy, here. Instead, War of the Worlds is a very believable narrative of what would happen if modern man confronted a vastly superior, ruthless alien invader. The fact that a century has passed and science has learned far more about the physical universe doesn't matter at all. Human nature has not changed, and it is here that Wells is peerless in terms of analytical description.

The novel takes place in 1890's-1900's England, at a time when England was the most powerful nation on Earth. The introduction is Genesis-like in quality, describing how man lay somnolent in the face of a gathering alien threat. Without warning, the aliens suddenly appear, and man greets them in innocent gestures of friendship, only to be slaughtered by giant robotic devices carrying heat-rays,(lasers), poison gas, and devices capable of powered flight, none which man had yet invented or used in warfare. The result, of course, is an absolute rout in which the best and worst of people appear. It doesn't spoil things to note that the Martian invaders are beaten by Earth microbes, since everyone knows that anyway. Wells's description of this defeat contains passages as good as any in literature.

This book is the first in which man confronts aliens from places other than Earth, and many commentators have tried to draw more from it than appears on its face. Whether Wells intended an oblique criticism of British imperial policy is unknown to this writer, and I suggest that it really doesn't matter. What is apparent is that only quality novels can engender such hypotheses, and the fact that such theories have surfaced shows the depths of Wells's writing.

Whether you finish the book viewing it as a morality play, or simply a visonary, well-written work, you will enjoy it immensely. I do not make the statement in jest that I consider it one of best novels ever written. I recommend it very highly.

Rating:
Summary: Much more than just the first great alien invasion story
Review: It is ironic and yet totally appropriate that the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories remains the most realistic of them all in that humanity is saved because the Martians have no immunity against our diseases. While that simply explanation may or may not explain what happened to the dinosaurs we do know that the arrival of Europeans in the New World introduced small pox and other diseases which decimated the Native American populations, primarily in the eastern part of the continent. However biological truth only gets in the way of good science fiction so that alien encounters in the worlds of "Star Trek" and "Farscape" rarely worry about speaking the local language or breathing the local air, let alone falling prey to the local diseases.

Written by H.G. Wells in 1898, "The War of the Worlds" also has arguably the most famous opening line in science fiction history, although I am sure most of us always hear the voice of Orson Welles intoning the words, "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" (my second choice would probably be "Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time" as long as we are on that topic). The other major contribution to the alien invasion genre Wells provides is the idea that these strange visitors from another planet come because it is Earth that has something special that they need; in this case it is the delicacy of human blood, sucked from living beings (which begs the question, did the Martians know we were such tasty treats or did they just luck out by traveling to their closest neighbor in the solar system?).

Isaac Asimov argued that "The War of the Worlds" could be read as an argument against British colonialism as the empire expanded to the point where the sun never set upon it. By the end of the 19th-century the British Empire covered a quarter of the land area and the population of the world, and while this is an intriguing parallel it does not strike me as being particularly profitable since the analogy is rather subtle and I would think most of his British readers would have entirely missed the point. Given the omnipresent idea of futurism in Wells' writing it is more worthwhile to look at the issues of mortality, humanity's place in the natural order, and the potential evils of technology.

While rereading "The War of the Worlds" to consider it for a Science Fiction class completely devoted to novels about the Red Planet, I was rather surprised to rediscover that it is a good yarn. The fact that his stories hold up, not just as escapist fantasies or scientific romances but as stories that continue to be relevant critiques of both the time in which he wrote and the times in which we live, only serves to confirm the place of H.G. Wells as not just one of the greatest names in science fiction, but also as a social critics and visionary futurist.

Rating:
Summary: Sean
Review: The War of the Worlds is a classic, which H.G. Wells wrote and wrote ir very fine. A lot of people enjoy the book. Later, they made a radio announcement about it said by Orson Welles. No they are not relatives. The book has Martians [ I think they're ancesters to Marvin the Martian]. This book has death rays, space ships, & even British people running around trying not to get shot down by aliens [no I do not think non-Americans count in this book]. I honestly enjoyed the radio announcement more, but you can not deny how great the book is, since it's a great classic written by the great science-fiction author of all times, H.G. Wells. Now, let the Martians invade your brain while you read this death-defying report of the War of the Worlds, by H. G.Wells.

Rating:
Summary: Monty Python and the Martians
Review: This book wasn't as much a "page-turner " because it was exciting, but because you wanted to see if the main character was going to do what he was supposed to.
When Earth is attacked by Martians, the unnamed main character leaves his wife stranded at a relative's house, and spends the rest of the story looking for her. Along the way, spending two weeks in a pit, fighting over whisky, and later playing cards with a man that wants to start the civilized world, again, by having everyone live in the pipes under London.
I believe that "War of the Worlds" would make an excellent movie.....For Monty Python. This story was very lame. For the protagonist, when Earth is attacked by Martians, the worst case scenario is that they won't be able to play Cricket.
This book is filled with unwanted details, i.e. a whole chapter on alien anatomy, and an obsession with alcohol, (Throughout the book the characters are drinking booze, looking for booze or fighting over booze.) and a very uninteresting storyline.
There are no battles for freedom, making the human race seem like it has no dignity. But what was very unsettling for me was that throughout the book the author was dropping hints on how the Martians could be defeated, and the characters not noticing, instead the Martians are killed by disease. Oh, did I just give away the ending, I'm sorry! Oh well, I just saved you the trouble of reading the book.

Rating:
Summary: Innovative for its time
Review: When I first started reading "WAR OF THE WORLDS" i was a little dissapointed. It seemed a little cliche, and not very original. Then I came to the realization that there never was a book written about aliens before this came out, and it was a blast to read afterwards. Kind of like watching the original "star wars" or playing the pc game "half life," this book lets you see first hand where the cliches of this particular genre have come from. quite the fun read indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Naughty, naughty Martians
Review: This is H.G. Wells' classic novel of the Martian raid on London, England, that he wrote in the 1890s and was broadcast live over the radio Halloween, 1938. This story is very intriguing; full of action and suspense. High tech Martians come shooting into London from Mars in big metal cylinders. They build big walking metal robots that they sit inside to control. This will help the accomplish their big scheme: taking over Earth and all the inhabitants dwelling here.
But, once they get to Earth, there is one drawback that gives the people a little time to prepare - the Martians are unaccustomed to our heavy gravity! The soldiers quickly get to work devising a plan to help them get rid of the Martians before they achieve their goal. Before long, the War of the Worlds rages - with Earth as the prize!
This is a great book, full of adventure and the unknown. Hear about the battles, ugly Martians, and the end results. This is a great action-packed and exciting book and see if the Martians win! Find out how it all ends - read War of the Worlds!

Rating:
Summary: Should be required School Reading!
Review: An excellent book. It amazes me the foresight H.G. Wells had. He is truly a visionary and I prefer him as the father of sci-fi over Jules Verne.